Action 1 Cgc 8.5 white in next CC auction 1 1

[clarkkentdds]

This book sold in 2010 for $1.5M

And previously unknown to me-  again in 2013...

[sfcityduck]

17 minutes ago, clarkkentdds said:

This book sold in 2010 for $1.5M

And previously unknown to me-  again in 2013...

Interesting.  Makes me wonder if Hariri bought it in 2010, since he bought the Cage 9.0 in 2011 and wouldn't have had the same motivation to hold an 8.5 as he does for holding both 9.0s.

[rob_react]

Wait. What?

[woowoo]

23 minutes ago, rob_react said:

Wait. What?

[rob_react]

[Mr bla bla]

Huh ?

[rob_react]

Quote

Metropolis Gallery is excited to host the Second City Collection, a preview of ComicConnect's amazing upcoming auction.  Gallery opening will be Friday April 13th from 7pm-9pm.  ComicConnect's auction begins May 7th and ends the week of June 11th.

 

ComicConnect, the premier vintage comic auction house, is delighted to announce The Second City Collection, an impressive assortment of rare comics, important key appearances, and exciting memorabilia, assembled by a lifelong comics fan who turned an obsession into something special. “This collection is like a love letter to pop culture, and it really shows the dedicated personality of its owner,” said ComicConnect COO Vincent Zurzolo. “The Second City Collection is comprised of some of the most carefully and meticulously curated comics we’ve had the pleasure to work with.”

Amassed by a true comic book and movie fan from the Chicago area over the course of decades, the Second City Collection displays the breadth and dedication of his passionate interests. A sharp-minded individual, inveterate thrill seeker, and a collector of interesting paraphernalia, this comics fan was detail-obsessed, a voracious reader, traveler, and philanthropist. “I helped put a lot of his collection together, and got to know him pretty well,” said Zurzolo. “He was a remarkable guy, kind of shy, but very open to new experiences and ideas, and when he fell in love with something, boy did he go all the way.”

Determined to build a world-class private library of comic book treasures, he eventually obtained a collector’s dream lineup of major keys and first appearances. “The Action Comics #1 CGC 8.5 with bright white pages is a real treasure, and in fact, until we sold the 9.0 from the Nicolas Cage Collection for over $2 million, the 8.5 unrestored CGC copy was the most expensive comic sold to that point.” This record-breaking copy of the first appearance of Superman takes a place of pride in this auction alongside a restored 8.5 CGC Detective Comics #27, the first appearance of Batman; a 7.5 Amazing Fantasy #15, featuring the debut of Spider-Man; and an unrestored 7.5 Captain America Comics #1, featuring the premiere appearance of what may have been this comic fan’s favorite hero.

“He loved Cap so much, he actually ended up buying the costume worn by Chris Evans in Captain America: The First Avenger, which is an auction I actually helped him out with,” recalled Zurzolo. “I remember how excited he was winning that costume, he was like a big kid, it made me so happy to be able to share that moment with him, and seeing Cap’s suit again brings back very warm memories.” The screen-worn costume is not only part of this auction, but also one of the central displays in the opening at ComicConnect’s midtown Manhattan Metropolis Gallery, which will display a group of Second City Collection highlights, open to the public starting April 13th. “He would have loved this,” stated Zurzolo, “and it makes me very happy to be able to share this wonderful collection of comics and memorabilia with other fans before they find their eventual home come hammer-time.”

Other highlights in the auction include the highest-graded run of the Avengers, including a dazzling copy of Avengers #1 highest-graded CGC 9.6, and the highest-graded #2 CGC 9.8; an unrestored CGC 9.2 copy of the super-rare Detective Comics #33, featuring the first-ever origin story of the legendary Batman; and a complete run of the extremely scarce pre-Marvel horror anthology Mystery Tales. “I think this might have been his favorite-ever comic,” said ComicConnect Consignment Director Rob Reynolds. “He especially loved issue #40 which was prominently featured on the TV show Lost. He knew how rare this title was and would snap up low and high-grade examples including many pedigree copies." In recent years, early Marvel comics horror and mystery anthology books have exploded in demand and value, as savvy comics fans come to realize that the foundations for the Marvel comics Silver Age revolution are laid out in these issues. “All the artists and writers who made Marvel into a powerhouse in the 1960s cut their teeth and honed their style in these horror comics,” continued Reynolds. “They’re so rarely seen that anyone who really cares about the history of Marvel, or the history of comics in general gets extremely excited when these books come to market. You can trace how Marvel became Marvel by reading these titles and watching them slowly morph from horror comic knockoffs to a very specific and sharp style all their own.”

Join us for the opening of the Second City Collection show, Friday, April 13th from 7pm - 9pm, to view this amazing collection.   After the opening the gallery will be open to the public Tuesday - Friday from 12-5pm.  

Because Metropolis Gallery is located at 36 West 37th Street, 6th Floor --a central location in midtown Manhattan, it is easy to get to from NY Pennstation and the subway system!

 

[lou_fine]

On 3/28/2018 at 11:35 AM, buttock said:

On 3/26/2018 at 12:24 PM, lou_fine said:

Sean;

It was directly as a result of your Sleepers column in CBM that I gained the foresight to snagged books like Startling 10 and Jackpot 4 when they were still kind of flying under the radar at the time.

I remember being at the Diamond Int'l Galleries Grand Opening back in '95 and fortunate enough to spot the Startling 10 and  putting it into my pile.  Fishler noticed it in in my pile and kept transferring it over into his pile of books before finally giving it back to me for good.  His rationale was that he would be able to turn that book into a major key that would "rock and roll", whereas if it was sitting in my collection, it would be locked up in there for decades going absolutely nowhere.

I guess in a sense he was absolutely correct. 

Not to brag, but I'm guessing you're referring to an article I wrote way back when.  I think it was in the quarterly #6. 

But I also remember Sean's articles.  He was huge on B&B 34, enough to convince me!

Then I most definitely have you to thank for pointing out those two relatively undervalued books to me. 

I clearly remember having that last issue of the Quarterly #6 with me and referring to your article when I was fortunate enough to find a copy of Jackpot 4 inside one of the boxes in the Diamond vault. 

 

[buttock]

1 hour ago, lou_fine said:

Then I most definitely have you to thank for pointing out those two relatively undervalued books to me. 

I clearly remember having that last issue of the Quarterly #6 with me and referring to your article when I was fortunate enough to find a copy of Jackpot 4 inside one of the boxes in the Diamond vault. 

 

If only I had followed my own advice

[Tsp99]

I followed your advice!  I'm the only kid on my block with multiple Startling 10s.   

[gino2paulus2]

3 hours ago, Tsp99 said:

I followed your advice!  I'm the only kid on my block with multiple Startling 10s.   

Tough book. Hey I think I heard a rumor of a Fighting Yank film in the works!! maybe not but still cool!! 

[rob_react]

"From the estate of a private collector. "

Is how some of the Second City books are being listed in the CC monthly. 

[sfcityduck]

Quote

“He loved Cap so much, he actually ended up buying the costume worn by Chris Evans in Captain America: The First Avenger, which is an auction I actually helped him out with,” recalled Zurzolo. “I remember how excited he was winning that costume, he was like a big kid, it made me so happy to be able to share that moment with him, and seeing Cap’s suit again brings back very warm memories.” The screen-worn costume is not only part of this auction, but also one of the central displays in the opening at ComicConnect’s midtown Manhattan Metropolis Gallery, which will display a group of Second City Collection highlights, open to the public starting April 13th. “He would have loved this,” stated Zurzolo, “and it makes me very happy to be able to share this wonderful collection of comics and memorabilia with other fans before they find their eventual home come hammer-time.”

I'm more than a bit confused by why Metropolis thinks the above paragraph will hope promote the collection when they don't identify the deceased seller.  Folks DO want to buy books because they were owned by important collectors (Don & Maggie, Berk) or famous people (Cage).  But, I'm not sure why Metro thinks talking about how much an anonymous deceased would have loved to see his collection auctioned and what a great guy he was is going to help sell comics.  The fact that they are keeping the seller anonymous makes this sort of testimonial seem more than a bit strange.  You'd think if Metro really wanted to promote what a great guy the seller was they'd say who he is.  This just comes off as very curious puffery that's not even about the goods being sold.

For what it's worth, my guess based on a hint about the collector dying unexpectedly and relatively young is that the deceased seller is Jack Cummins: 

http://www.multiversitycomics.com/news/rip-jack-cummins/

But, it's just a guess. Could easily be wrong.  Anyone want to confirm or deny this guess? 

[Sqeggs]

1 minute ago, sfcityduck said:

I'm more than a bit confused by why Metropolis thinks the above paragraph will hope promote the collection when they don't identify the deceased seller.  Folks DO want to buy books because they were owned by important collectors (Don & Maggie, Berk) or famous people (Cage).  But, I'm not sure why Metro thinks talking about how much an anonymous deceased would have loved to see his collection auctioned and what a great guy he was is going to help sell comics.  The fact that they are keeping the seller anonymous makes this sort of testimonial seem more than a bit strange.  You'd think if Metro really wanted to promote what a great guy the seller was they'd say who he is.  This just comes off as very curious puffery that's not even about the goods being sold.

For what it's worth, my guess based on a hint about the collector dying unexpectedly and relatively young is that the deceased seller is Jack Cummins: 

http://www.multiversitycomics.com/news/rip-jack-cummins/

But, it's just a guess. Could easily be wrong.  Anyone want to confirm or deny this guess? 

My take is that Metro would love to say who it was, but has been instructed by his family not to.  Not that I actually know anything!

[rob_react]

2 minutes ago, Sqeggs said:

My take is that Metro would love to say who it was, but has been instructed by his family not to.  Not that I actually know anything!

That would be my guess. they are going to sell as best they can, and this seems like the best they're going to be able to do in this particular case.

 

[rob_react]

19 minutes ago, sfcityduck said:

Folks DO want to buy books because they were owned by important collectors (Don & Maggie, Berk)

For what it's worth people chase the Don & Maggie books (to the extent that they do) because they're a designated pedigree collection and not just a collection. I own a number of them and they're nice books. They're not a top tier Silver Age pedigree in terms of freshness and eye appeal, but they're just a step below that so they're worth chasing. 

Edited April 2, 2018 by rob_react

[Sqeggs]

21 minutes ago, rob_react said:

For what it's worth people chase the Don & Maggie books (to the extent that they do) because they're a designated pedigree collection and not just a collection. I own a number of them and they're nice books. They're not a top tier Silver Age pedigree in terms of freshness and eye appeal, but they're just a step below that so they're worth chasing. 

I picked up a few D&M books when Heritage auctioned them a while back.  Iirc, most of them went for a premium to comparable non-ped copies, but not a large premium.

[rob_react]

2 minutes ago, Sqeggs said:

I picked up a few D&M books when Heritage auctioned them a while back.  Iirc, most of them went for a premium to comparable non-ped copies, but not a large premium.

Yeah, that's about my experience. You're definitely paying more for them, but they're not win-at-all costs books for people. 

[lou_fine]

1 hour ago, rob_react said:

1 hour ago, Sqeggs said:

My take is that Metro would love to say who it was, but has been instructed by his family not to.  Not that I actually know anything!

That would be my guess. they are going to sell as best they can, and this seems like the best they're going to be able to do in this particular case.

+2

This would definitely be my guess also, as the auction house really has to go with what the consignor wants to do. 

[Mr bla bla]

18 hours ago, rob_react said:

For what it's worth people chase the Don & Maggie books (to the extent that they do) because they're a designated pedigree collection and not just a collection. I own a number of them and they're nice books. They're not a top tier Silver Age pedigree in terms of freshness and eye appeal, but they're just a step below that so they're worth chasing. 

The best Ive seen ever is probably the Curator books. They are Unreal.