Mask Comics actual pricing 10 10

[cbcnow]

On 11/19/2019 at 8:03 PM, manetteska said:

Congratulations! Very nice looking copy! I have always been a huge fan of Mask #1 & #2 and by the looks of things they are finally beginning to receive the recognition that they both deserve! 

[Robot Man]

Mask #1 and #2 as well as Suspense #8 have always been recognized and in high demand ever since LB Cole was “discovered” by the collecting community. Redbeard was a big promoter of the coolness factor back in the late ‘70’s. I bought both my Mask #1 and #2 from him back in the day, for at the time, pretty aggressive prices. The fact that people now have finally discovered them is no real surprise to me despite the prices they are bringing now. 

[cbcnow]

22 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Mask #1 and #2 as well as Suspense #8 have always been recognized and in high demand ever since LB Cole was “discovered” by the collecting community. Redbeard was a big promoter of the coolness factor back in the late ‘70’s. I bought both my Mask #1 and #2 from him back in the day, for at the time, pretty aggressive prices. The fact that people now have finally discovered them is no real surprise to me despite the prices they are bringing now. 

Personally I've been very familiar with Mask #1 and #2 since the early 90's when one of my best friends brought them to my attention. Ever since then I've been a huge fan of both books! I just wish that I would have kept all of the copies that I bought and sold over the years. Actually I can say that about a lot of comics but Mask #1 and #2 have been quite elusive over the years and by the way things are looking I feel that any copies that come up for sale will most likely be tucked away in personal collections.

[manetteska]

2 hours ago, cbcnow said:

Personally I've been very familiar with Mask #1 and #2 since the early 90's when one of my best friends brought them to my attention. Ever since then I've been a huge fan of both books! I just wish that I would have kept all of the copies that I bought and sold over the years. Actually I can say that about a lot of comics but Mask #1 and #2 have been quite elusive over the years and by the way things are looking I feel that any copies that come up for sale will most likely be tucked away in personal collections.

Is the copy you have on eBay the only copy you own?

[cbcnow]

4 hours ago, manetteska said:

Is the copy you have on eBay the only copy you own?

The copy that I have on ebay is not my only copy. This is a book that I could never have too many copies of! 

[aardvark88]

On 11/22/2019 at 10:49 AM, cbcnow said:

Very nice looking copy! I have always been a huge fan of Mask #1 & #2 and by the looks of things they are finally beginning to receive the recognition that they both deserve! 

+1. Shocking to me that Mask #2 CGC 1.8 on ComicLink already over $5,600 with 9 more days to go.

L.B. Cole masterpiece Mask #2

[lou_fine]

1 hour ago, aardvark88 said:

+1. Shocking to me that Mask #2 CGC 1.8 on ComicLink already over $5,600 with 9 more days to go.

L.B. Cole masterpiece Mask #2

Well, they probably figured that if the CGC 4.0 graded copy can fetch $11,400 or almost 23X condition guide, than an entry level CGC 1.8 graded copy should be worth at least that same shocking multiple of condition guide.    

BTW:  Is there even such a thing as a First Print Edition of this book or does Overstreet simply have it wrong in terms of having an April/May 1945 copy listed in his guide?  Both the CGC census population report and the GCD does not indicate the existence of such a book as they only have a listing for the Fall 1945 edition of this book.  

[cbcnow]

10 hours ago, aardvark88 said:

+1. Shocking to me that Mask #2 CGC 1.8 on ComicLink already over $5,600 with 9 more days to go.

L.B. Cole masterpiece Mask #2

Its getting to the point where just about nothing surprises me anymore regarding the continued rise in value of Mask #1 and #2.

[The-Collector]

On 11/22/2019 at 1:39 PM, lou_fine said:

Well, looks like I might have been a bit premature here as it appears somebody must have thrown a couple extra logs into the Mask fire to get it to burn twice as hot as before. Especially since the CGC 6.0 graded Ohio Copy was able to fetched $13,966 in a CC Auction this past March which was deemed to be an already extraordinary price at the time.  Looks like it's definitely not as mindblowing as this slightly lower graded non-pedigree copy going for almost double the price!!!      

In comparison, it would appear that the fire on the Suspense 8 is still barely starting since it finished only a few bid increments higher from where it was 5 days ago.  Definitely also still a long ways away from hitting 5-figures and looks like it still needs some time to push it over that mark.  Well, either that or a new to market HG copy to hit the auction blocks.   

In my opinion Suspense 8 is far inferior to either of the Mask books. And I'd bet that Startling Terror 11 has a better chance of exploding than Suspense 8. But I don't really see either taking off to the same degree as Mask. My 2c... 

Edited November 26, 2019 by The-Collector

[aardvark88]

9 hours ago, cbcnow said:

Its getting to the point where just about nothing surprises me anymore regarding the continued rise in value of Mask #1 and #2.

The beauty of the L.B. Cole Mask run is that there are only 2 issues collect. Those that have either issue 'have' to buy the other to easily complete  the set/pair, as long as one has enough US $$ greenback$.

[Artboy99]

2 hours ago, aardvark88 said:

The beauty of the L.B. Cole Mask run is that there are only 2 issues collect. Those that have either issue 'have' to buy the other to easily complete  the set/pair, as long as one has enough US $$ greenback$.

5 years ago they were affordable, now far from it.

[Artboy99]

20 hours ago, lou_fine said:

Well, they probably figured that if the CGC 4.0 graded copy can fetch $11,400 or almost 23X condition guide, than an entry level CGC 1.8 graded copy should be worth at least that same shocking multiple of condition guide.    

BTW:  Is there even such a thing as a First Print Edition of this book or does Overstreet simply have it wrong in terms of having an April/May 1945 copy listed in his guide?  Both the CGC census population report and the GCD does not indicate the existence of such a book as they only have a listing for the Fall 1945 edition of this book.  

I have never seen one. The #2 I bought was stated to be the rare Apr/ May copy but it is in fact still labelled as "Fall" on the CGC label.

I have asked over the years in other threads about Mask #2 if anyone that has a copy that says anything in the indicia to say the copy is Apr/ May instead of Fall but never did find anyone that had a copy.

My conclusion: it is a Fall only book.

 

[Robot Man]

My copy is a Fall copy. But above it is a blacked out indicia that says April-May if you look close. 

Just for fun while I had it out are a couple cool splash pages for you people who are unfortunate to only have two sides to look at. 

Interesting, on the first story is a hero named “Red Crandall”. I immediately thought Reed Crandall...

[Artboy99]

1 hour ago, Robot Man said:

My copy is a Fall copy. But above it is a blacked out indicia that says April-May if you look close. 

Just for fun while I had it out are a couple cool splash pages for you people who are unfortunate to only have two sides to look at. 

Interesting, on the first story is a hero named “Red Crandall”. I immediately thought Reed Crandall...

thanks for sharing. My research is that all Mask #2's look like this.

[thehumantorch]

3 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

I have never seen one. The #2 I bought was stated to be the rare Apr/ May copy but it is in fact still labelled as "Fall" on the CGC label.

I have asked over the years in other threads about Mask #2 if anyone that has a copy that says anything in the indicia to say the copy is Apr/ May instead of Fall but never did find anyone that had a copy.

My conclusion: it is a Fall only book.

 

OMG, nice copy dude.  White pages wheeeeeeee

[lhcomics]

Here is a low grade copy of Mask #1 I will be auctioning raw on eBay next week. Hope it have it up by Tuesday night or sooner. I listed a group pic of some old comics in the Comics Market forum that will get auctioned.

I know this isn't the place to pimp ones books but what the heck. No PM's with offers please. I already have several and have promised it will be auctioned.

Some interior pics also for those that will never get to see inside one since they are almost always slabbed if sold.

 

[cbcnow]

15 hours ago, aardvark88 said:

The beauty of the L.B. Cole Mask run is that there are only 2 issues collect. Those that have either issue 'have' to buy the other to easily complete  the set/pair, as long as one has enough US $$ greenback$.

Well said and very true! 

[lou_fine]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:58 AM, The-Collector said:

In my opinion Suspense 8 is far inferior to either of the Mask books. And I'd bet that Startling Terror 11 has a better chance of exploding than Suspense 8. But I don't really see either taking off to the same degree as Mask. My 2c... 

Personally, I feel that any collector would be lucky to have any of these 4 classic cover books in their personal collection.  

Thinking about this reminds me of the time when I was in Geppi's library during the Diamond Int'L Galleries grand opening and saw though the glass the perfect pairing of the Church copies of Mask 1 and Suspense 8 sitting on the top shelf of the mahogany armoire.  Needless to say, they looked absolutely stunning in vibrant black with their usual Church eye-popping colors.  

Only problem was that both of them were apparently already spoken for or previously set aside for other client(s), similar to what supposedly happened with the Allentown copy of Wonderworld 7.  Looks like they went for what would be considered bargain prices today as the CBM magazine indicates the Suspense 8 sold for $2,400 while the Mask 1 went for $2,800; with the Wonderworld 7 lagging far behind at a "steal me" price of only $1,400, or at the exact same price point as all of the other surrounding Allentown copies of Wonderworld #6 - #10.  

[comicjack]

Can we go back to those days when we thought prices were crazy and now they are 

[Howling Mad]

4 minutes ago, comicjack said:

Can we go back to those days when we thought prices were crazy and now they are 

There's crazy and then there's whatever is happening to Mask #1 and #2 prices. Crazy doesn't really capture the insanity IMO.