Mask Comics actual pricing 10 10

[comicjack]

On 12/17/2022 at 2:54 PM, Professor K said:

I know I know. Surely I must be mad to even suggest such a thing. It;s a great cover no doubt. A little grim for my taste, I mean no doubt that guy won't be able to take all those guys with just a spear. But maybe while his brutal murder is happening the girl will get away.  I think Suspense 3 cover is in Florida judging by the foliage. Lots of Nazi KKK human sacrifice activity happening in 1940's Florida I believe. 

Suspense 3 is a shock cover rather than a hero book and will hold up as a classic.The fact that Alex did it which in my opinion was the greatest cover artist maker of the Golden age with no equal.That man knew what it took to have one part with their money for a dime wasn't easy to come by back then 

Edited December 18, 2022 by comicjack

[comicjack]

On 12/17/2022 at 8:29 PM, comicjack said:

Suspense 3 is a shock cover rather than a hero book and will hold up as a classic.The fact that Alex did it which in my opinion was the greatest cover artist maker of the Golden age with no equal.That man know what it took to have one part with their money for a dime wasn't easy to come by back then 

The both Mask books are classic books also done by a master artist to catch ones eye i know he hooked me long ago.

[Professor K]

On 12/17/2022 at 8:29 PM, comicjack said:

Suspense 3 is a shock cover rather than a hero book and will hold up as a classic.The fact that Alex did it which in my opinion was the greatest cover artist maker of the Golden age with no equal.That man know what it took to have one part with their money for a dime wasn't easy to come by back then 

 

On 12/17/2022 at 8:32 PM, comicjack said:

The both Mask books are classic books also done by a master artist to catch ones eye i know he hooked me long ago.

Completely agree with all that. I think what I like most about Suspense 3 is the coloring. The way they blend and how everything is illuminated by the moonlight.The cgc label says Shomburg cover , Cole art. 

Did L.B. do the inking for the cover? 

Edited December 18, 2022 by Professor K

[comicjack]

On 12/17/2022 at 9:26 PM, Professor K said:

 

Completely agree with all that. I think what I like most about Suspense 3 is the coloring. The way they blend and how everything is illuminated by the moonlight.The cgc label says Shomburg cover , Cole art. 

Did L.B. do the inking for the cover? 

Alex has the credits on that with data base but one has to question things that far back 

[Tri-Color Brian]

I have a book with the "Red" Mask in it...Does that count?

 

[lou_fine]

On 12/17/2022 at 6:26 PM, Professor K said:

Completely agree with all that. I think what I like most about Suspense 3 is the coloring. The way they blend and how everything is illuminated by the moonlight.

Isn't that pretty much the same moonlight illumination that takes place earlier in the much more reasonably priced Suspense 1 cover image by Charles Quinlan:   

[adamstrange]

On 12/17/2022 at 9:26 PM, Professor K said:

 

Completely agree with all that. I think what I like most about Suspense 3 is the coloring. The way they blend and how everything is illuminated by the moonlight.The cgc label says Shomburg cover , Cole art. 

Did L.B. do the inking for the cover? 

Unlikely. The inking is consistent with Shomby's style and only rarely did someone else ink his pencils. 

What is special is the color design.  LB Cole was the art director and well known for his color design. I think he is responsible for that on Suspense 3.

[flynavy807]

I picked up Suspense 11 recently, as that is my personal favorite cover of the run, and with that now in the collection it makes me want Mask 2 even more to have the "set." Haven't seen Suspense 11 mentioned (though to be fair I did not read every single page in the thread), so I figured the twin devils needed a shoutout.

[Point Five]

On 12/23/2022 at 11:05 AM, flynavy807 said:

I picked up Suspense 11 recently, as that is my personal favorite cover of the run, and with that now in the collection it makes me want Mask 2 even more to have the "set." Haven't seen Suspense 11 mentioned (though to be fair I did not read every single page in the thread), so I figured the twin devils needed a shoutout.

That's great! I'm with you, fantastic cover.
A bit off-topic, but here's my copy (cracked out of a restored 3.0 slab, if memory serves).

[FoggyNelson]

On 12/23/2022 at 11:37 AM, Point Five said:

That's great! I'm with you, fantastic cover.
A bit off-topic, but here's my copy (cracked out of a restored 3.0 slab, if memory serves).

Sweet‼️‼️❤️

[Jayman]

On 12/23/2022 at 11:05 AM, flynavy807 said:

I picked up Suspense 11 recently, as that is my personal favorite cover of the run, and with that now in the collection it makes me want Mask 2 even more to have the "set." Haven't seen Suspense 11 mentioned (though to be fair I did not read every single page in the thread), so I figured the twin devils needed a shoutout.

Don’t forget the third Cole devil! Great cover and more affordable. 

[pmpknface]

Another auction, another #1.  It will be interesting to see what this restored copy goes for.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

I bought this about a year ago and even then, the price had started to soften. The previous owner had only paid a couple thousand dollars less when he purchased it in 2019, which means a loss to him after the Heritage vig. Back at the time, there seemed to be a Mask 1 in every auction, as owners took advantage of the price run-up. Now that the full financial headwinds have hit, I haven’t seen this book at all. I think the holders of this book have collectively decided to wait it out. 
 

have I just been looking at the wrong times in the wrong places? Anyone else seem a Mask 1 on the market in the last 12 months?

[lou_fine]

On 2/2/2023 at 7:13 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

have I just been looking at the wrong times in the wrong places? Anyone else seem a Mask 1 on the market in the last 12 months?

Just checked the first page of the HA archives and although there is no other copy graded higher than your CGC 5.5, there have been other sales: 

 https://comics.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?N=52+1060+790+231&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&Nty=1&Ntt=mask+comics+1&limitTo=all

Looks like Heritage had a total of 6 other sales in the past 12 months with one in March, April (exc. yours), May, September, November, and January.  In addition, it would appear that CC had one in December while I am quite sure that CL also had at least one or two, but too lazy to check since their auction archive is just a pile of doggie doo doo at best.  

The Heritage one in November was a CGC 3.0 graded copy that sold for $13,800 and the CC one in December was a "lowly" CGC 2.0 graded copy that managed to fetched $7,300 while the January 2023 was a restored copy, so hard to gauge much from that sale.  So, it would appear that even with all of these copies coming into the marketplace, prices for this all-time classic cover book still remains pretty strong.  

Edited February 2, 2023 by lou_fine

[comicjack]

On 2/2/2023 at 10:13 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

I bought this about a year ago and even then, the price had started to soften. The previous owner had only paid a couple thousand dollars less when he purchased it in 2019, which means a loss to him after the Heritage vig. Back at the time, there seemed to be a Mask 1 in every auction, as owners took advantage of the price run-up. Now that the full financial headwinds have hit, I haven’t seen this book at all. I think the holders of this book have collectively decided to wait it out. 
 

have I just been looking at the wrong times in the wrong places? Anyone else seem a Mask 1 on the market in the last 12 months?

The classic covers will always do fine put it away for the family they will be happy 

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

On 2/2/2023 at 9:58 AM, lou_fine said:

Just checked the first page of the HA archives and although there is no other copy graded higher than your CGC 5.5, there have been other sales: 

 https://comics.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?N=52+1060+790+231&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&Nty=1&Ntt=mask+comics+1&limitTo=all

Looks like Heritage had a total of 6 other sales in the past 12 months with one in March, April (exc. yours), May, September, November, and January.  In addition, it would appear that CC had one in December while I am quite sure that CL also had at least one or two, but too lazy to check since their auction archive is just a pile of doggie doo doo at best.  

The Heritage one in November was a CGC 3.0 graded copy that sold for $13,800 and the CC one in December was a "lowly" CGC 2.0 graded copy that managed to fetched $7,300 while the January 2023 was a restored copy, so hard to gauge much from that sale.  So, it would appear that even with all of these copies coming into the marketplace, prices for this all-time classic cover book still remains pretty strong.  

Thanks Lou. I shoulda done what you did

[pmpknface]

HELLO!  Look what's back.  This copy went for $102k back in 6/21:

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/mask-comics-1-the-promise-collection-pedigree-rural-home-1945-cgc-vf-85-off-white-to-white-pages/p/7339-166072.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

[comicjack]

On 2/14/2023 at 12:34 PM, pmpknface said:

HELLO!  Look what's back.  This copy went for $102k back in 6/21:

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/mask-comics-1-the-promise-collection-pedigree-rural-home-1945-cgc-vf-85-off-white-to-white-pages/p/7339-166072.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

Can the magic happen again we will see 

[thehumantorch]

On 2/14/2023 at 10:58 AM, comicjack said:

Can the magic happen again we will see 

Perhaps the buyer in 2021 really wanted the book and circumstances forced him to sell but more likely it was purchased for a quick flip.  I realize it's part of the hobby now but I'm not a fan of people who likely don't care about the history of the books or collecting comics and only care about the Benjamin's.  It's a spectacular book but I hope the owner takes a haircut. 

[lou_fine]

On 2/14/2023 at 12:31 PM, thehumantorch said:

It's a spectacular book but I hope the owner takes a haircut. 

By haircut, do you mean just a trim or do you mean a scalping?  

Seriously though, the owner probably saw the single highest graded 8.5 Universal copy of Mask 2 sell for $118,700 on CL last summer and simply figure that his equivalent graded single highest graded 8.5 Universal copy of Mask 1 should be not only be able to sell for more than its original $102K purchase price, but also to surpass the $118.7K mark for the Mask 2.    

Will definitely be another one of the many big bellwether books that will be worth watching to gauge the current seeming strength of the GA marketplace relative to the current  seeming weakness in the SA, BA, and CA marketplaces.