tth2 Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 You are posting some unbelievable books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transplant Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 You are posting some unbelievable books! Agreed. And that's saying something coming from you. Now, if we could just get that MMM thread up and going again. It was so dreamy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 (edited) I love this forum - it allows guys like us to reconnect after 10 years or so - and it's so cool to see books I once owned again. 10 years pass like a blink of an eye when you collect this kind of stuff. One fun thing about my MMM run is that I probably wouldn't have been any further if I'd had unlimited funds available. I later bought some of the books I didn't get from you the first time around. Since then I've been able to secure virtually every book I wanted for a relatively modest budget since these books are much cheaper than those most people here are interested in. --- Completely unrelated, I was very surprised the other day when I realized that CGC has certified less than 100 books from the 1930s in CGC 9.4 or higher. I was so intrigued by that that I sat down today and identified 89 of the 94 books that meet this criterion according to valiantman's census analysis. Using various sources, I was able to determine the provenance for all but 13 of those as shown below. I am posting this here in the context of pointing out how exceptional the survival of the Mickey Mouse Magazines is, even compared to all other titles from the 1930s. I've often heard collectors talk about what the Church funny animal comics might have been like if they had existed. Well, I would argue that question has a perhaps surprising answer. The stats become even more remarkable if you consider the two next grade tiers. 16 of 64 books graded CGC 9.2 are Mickey Mouse Magazines. For CGC 9.0, 32 out of 130 total are MMMs. Again, all these numbers are up to December 1939. --- Edit: I realized my (geeky) post didn't have any Ducks, so here is one of my favorite covers to make up for it. This copy is almost unbelievable; I suspect CGC hammered it due to a small tear on the top of the back cover. Very hard to find this nice. ---- PS: Transplant: I'm afraid I am not going to revive that thread anytime soon. I noticed that the pictures started popping up in random places on the internet. I'd really like to share my books with other fans who'd appreciate them, but I would like to have some say on how the material is used and presented. That's also why I don't use CAF for my original art (although I have offered it to exhibitions). Edited May 13, 2011 by tb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondog Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Fascinating. The impact on the hobby that the Church books have made cannot be overstated. Are the MMMs on the list mostly file copies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tth2 Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 tb, thanks for posting the 1930s census data. Very interesting stuff. I was amazed to see a Mystery Men 3 in 9.4. Unless Jon has submitted his copy, that means it`s not the Church copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Are the MMMs on the list mostly file copies? I think it should be safe to assume that virtually all existing copies in 9.4 up are file copies. A few more data points to add to my already boring list: of the 18 books from the '30s that CGC has graded 9.4+ since May 2009, 14 are Series 3 Mickey Mouse Magazines. 2 of the remaining 4 are Series 1 and 2 MMMs. Since 2004, a total of 5 books have been graded 9.6 or higher. 2 of those are Series 3 (including the one below) and one is Series 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronty Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 goodness that's a beaut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 goodness that's a beaut Isn't it just! Wow, these books are extraordinary. I have some mundane ducks to post, but I'm holding off to allow the MMMs to continue to dazzle. Keep 'em coming guys, mine will keep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50YrsCollctngCmcs Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 There was a group of file copies that were sold in Kansas City in 1995. Apparently an accountant for Western (which had a plant there) was about to be laid off, and they asked him if he wanted to stay on for a week or so to clean out some sheds. In the shed he found a run of WDC&S (multiples of 2-10 only one copy of the first issue), multiple runs of all the four-color MMMs and sundry BLBs, Fast Action, etc. These were all file copies. Some had dings of course, and the # 1 was only a F/VF, but they were beauties. He asked if he could have the stuff and they said sure - take it. This was an odd auction. Bob Cook was there representing Steve Geppi. Mark Wilson was there. Steven Fishler was on the phone and there were a few other dealers. Every dealer was asked to submit one sealed bid and the seller would sell to that person. My offer of $27,500 (75% of OPG) finished fourth. Steve was the high bidder at $46,000 (Guide and half). I knew I really didn't have a chance against all this high-powered competition so as I was inspecting the MMMs (which I collected at the time), I would take the best copy and put it off to the side. When I had the top run completed (Vol. 2 # 10 through Vol. 5 # 12 I believe), I approached the seller and offered him double guide for the 30 odd books (around $12,000 if I remember correctly). He almost sold them to me, but finally said that it would not be fair to everyone else. That was one that got away that still hurts. A few years later I sold my MMMs (tb bought a few!) knowing that I would never have another chance like that again. I believe Steve sold the MMMs to Jim Payette who had a buyer lined up. This is such a great story on so many levels. First, I love the happy ending here; you get laid off and given a crappy job to do to make a few extra bucks and end up getting to walk home with a treasure trove. No doubt that auction netted him more than a year's salary. Talk about a Gold Watch! Second, it is hard to believe that this type of find was still available in 1995. By then high prices for old comics had been old news for twenty to thirty years. Hard to believe that the Western Executives didn't know what they had there or maybe they just didn't care. I actually participated in the cleanup of thousands of drawings in our company archive and I can tell you that things certainly get lost and not everything of value gets saved. Oftentimes the sheer quantity of material gets in the way of understanding the value of some items. Thanks for sharing a great story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 I have some mundane ducks to post, but I'm holding off to allow the MMMs to continue to dazzle. Keep 'em coming guys, mine will keep. By all means do so: it is great to see other people who are enthusiastic about the Ducks. I had a few quiet days and wanted to share some arrivals from the last couple of years, but I'll take a break now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markseifert Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 This is such a great story on so many levels. Yep. I absolutely love hearing stuff like this. (thumbs u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transplant Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 PS: Transplant: I'm afraid I am not going to revive that thread anytime soon. I noticed that the pictures started popping up in random places on the internet. I'd really like to share my books with other fans who'd appreciate them, but I would like to have some say on how the material is used and presented. That's also why I don't use CAF for my original art (although I have offered it to exhibitions). I remember why you took them down. It was just such a great display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Donald might have been taking a low profile lately but he should be back on track and possibly looking for a position as governor of California after the latest law suit was dismissed. copyright by delcotimes By CINDY SCHARR cscharr@delcotimes.com PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge Thursday signed an order dismissing the lawsuit filed by an Upper Darby woman who claimed Donald Duck groped her breast during a 2008 trip to Epcot. April Magolon claimed the incident occurred in May 2008 while she was vacationing at Epcot Center with her fiance and young children. Magolon alleged that when she approached Donald Duck for an autograph, he grabbed her breast and molested her, according to the lawsuit. Magolon, 28, filed suit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts LLC, claiming the alleged incident has caused her to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks, nausea, cold sweats, insomnia, nightmares and digestive problems that are preventing her from attending her usual duties and occupation, causing her great financial detriment and loss. According to the lawsuit, she believes her injuries are permanent. She sued Walt Disney Parks and Resorts LLC for negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, battery and intentional/reckless infliction of emotional distress. She was seeking damages in excess of $50,000 “plus delay damages, punitive damages, costs, interest and other damages permitted by law.” Court documents indicate that when Magolon’s allegations were brought to the attention of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in Florida, the man in the Donald Duck costume was criminally charged, but subsequently acquitted. On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Padova signed an order dismissing the case, with prejudice, according to court filings. The order bars Magolon from filing another case on the same claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Looks like it was 6 years since I last posted this scan and that the image somehow disappeared. Thought it was time to share it again. Among the first 6 issues of WDCS, only 3 different copies have graded CGC 9.0 or better to date. Two of them came from the "Crescent City" collection: #1 at CGC 9.4 and #2 at CGC 9.0. This is the 3rd. I was unbelievably lucky to get this very cheap when it sold on eBay in 2003 as part of a larger set of nice WDCS. I contacted the seller up to the auction and was told that Steve Geppi also had approached him. This was one of the 3 nicest books, #6, #10, and #12 all in CGC 9.0, to sell. I got it for $1,800 with a snipe bid in the last 5 seconds which apparently surprised "the competition". 2 minutes later, I won #10 for $2,500, again with a snipe bid. The only book I did not get was the #12 which sold for around $2,750. I normally don't like to talk about prices, but in this case the way the auction played out made me extra happy about getting the #6, which clearly was the most exciting of the bunch - not least because of the fun Duck cover (the earlier issues get progressively harder to find). There is absolutely no way I would have won any of these books if I had not been sniping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tth2 Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Gorgeous! Who was the seller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Such a nice book. (thumbs u The high grade really brings out the subtleties in the coloring. Beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I can't remember who the seller was, but it was a dealer who had picked up a very nice run. It also had a #1 in 5.5 as well as many later issues. I'm enjoying a quiet evening off at the Marriott in Copenhagen tonight with a gorgeous view of the harbor. With nothing better to do, here's a book I don't think I've posted before. What's interesting about this is that I had been looking for a beautiful copy ever since I won the original art to the first, rejected version of the cover in the auction of the Bruce Hamilton estate. A friend of mine had bought the only prior CGC 9.4 from eBay seller execsec2's fantastic auctions a few years before, but despite many attempts and appeals to his conscience I could not get him to sell it to me. Another case where the background story made me extra happy to finally add this book to my collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tth2 Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 You need to be bored more often! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showcase22gr1959 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 (edited) Tim, my rusted Duck will be here soon. Edited May 21, 2011 by showcase22gr1959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Based entirely on nostalgia, I have a great fondness for the Australian editions of Uncle Scrooge from the late 60s early 70s. Some were reprints of the US editions (though I didn't know that at the time) and introduced me to Barks. Others, like this one, were local translations of Italian stories. They aren't too bad at all. And this is a beaut I just picked up. You should all be aware that eBay is evil - none of you should ever shop there for WDC&S. Ever. Bad, bad bad. Let me take the bullets for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
