The DC Collection Is COMPLETE. 9 9

[esquirecomics]

Both seller and buyer seemed happy

 

I'm sure the buyer was happy.

I certainly would be at that price.

My friend Jerome will be gutted when he finds out he missed one for less than four hundred bucks.

 

Indeed, as the buyer, I was quite happy! Harley Yee has a copy for sale for $900.

 

BTW, Ian, I don't have the individual Gaines Narrative, but I was fortunate enough to purchase the actual professional journal that the article appeared in. Do you have that?

 

These?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&item=300239430856&rd=1

 

Indeed! (thumbs u

[innocuous]

With so many comics, I think it is great you can rememer the story of how you acquired many of them. Any other interesting "acquisition" stories?

[Miraclo]

I'm sure Ian has an interesting story on how he acquired most of his books, since many are so rare. Hey Ian, you should start a thread where every day you post one story about one particular issue in your collection. I am sure all of us would like to know the stories behind your keys, the books you had a hard time with, and the books that are special to you.

[Ian_Levine]

P.S. I don't know what's more impressive...the collection itself, or your encyclopedaic knowledge of it.

 

Considering I have to start again every couple of years to put all the runs into order, a certain amount of it sticks in my mind.

[Ian_Levine]

I'm sure Ian has an interesting story on how he acquired most of his books, since many are so rare. Hey Ian, you should start a thread where every day you post one story about one particular issue in your collection. I am sure all of us would like to know the stories behind your keys, the books you had a hard time with, and the books that are special to you.

 

 

Well the Big Book Of Fun Comics came from Dave The Dentist.

 

Action 1-4 and 6-10 came from Harley Yee.

 

Detective 1 came from Metropolis

 

Detectives 3 and 4 came from Harold Hill

 

Double Action 2 caused a huge amount of grief and eventually came from Metropolis after a very public argument about it.

 

Action 5 and 15 came from Robert Rogovin

 

Buzzy 70 was a wonderful gift from Shield.

 

etc etc

 

In 1973 when I was a kid, I visited a comic shop in London called "Dark They Were And Golden Eyed" and met another teenager working there who helped me fill in gaps in my collection. His name was Mike Lake. He took me down to the basement full of second hand comics, and he sold me Brave and the Bold 28, 29, 30, and Justice League, 1 through 22 apart from the ones I already had, which were 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 20. I was HOOKED. I had a complete run from 23 onwards so this was the fulfillment of my dream, to complete my Justcie League run.

 

He then started supplying me with every new DC every week.

 

He then formed a new company called Titan, selling wholesale out of an old mini-warehouse in Askew Lane in Acton.

 

Titan grew and grew in size until Mike became the first proper comics distributor in the UK.

 

He then opened up a shop in Denmark Street called Forbidden Planet, and every time anyone brought in a Golden Age DC, I had first dibs on it. This was now around 1976, I think. I got New Adventure 13, Green Lantern 16 in near mint, Action 28 and 31, Detective 37, and several All Star Comics, Flash, and Wonder Womans.

 

In the end he sold out his shares in Titan and Forbidden Planet to his partner and retired, But lets say I probably wouldn't have my collection now at all if it weren't for Mike Lake.

[brasseye]

Wow!

 

Fantastic stories, and to think all down the road from me on Shaftsbury ave there.

 

There's a lot of history stored up in the collection of those books, and the history of the books unto themselves.

Very impressive from what ever angle you look at your collection Ian.

[Ian_Levine]

Wow!

 

Fantastic stories, and to think all down the road from me on Shaftsbury ave there.

 

There's a lot of history stored up in the collection of those books, and the history of the books unto themselves.

Very impressive from what ever angle you look at your collection Ian.

 

People don't realise, in our internet age, how utterly utterly impossible it was to find old DCs back in 1973, and there were hardly any Goldn Age in England at all, so back then, it was a big thing, but my dreams of collecting every DC seemed like a pipe dream way back then.

[Miraclo]

Great stories Ian, thanks for sharing

[Ian_Levine]

Great stories Ian, thanks for sharing

 

Back then in the early 1970s, the only other comic dealer in the UK was a guy called Alan Austin, who had a rather small and dinghy shop in Hackney.

I gave him my DC wants list and week by week he found mssing number off it, usually late 1950s or early 1960s.

 

Each new find, each comic ticked off the list was a thrill.

 

It was twenty years before the internet. There was no worldwide hookup of fans, no way of finding rare issues other than scour fan photocopied lists for them. Collecting was seriously hard work. Not like typing DC into the comics section of e-Bay, and wading through twenty thousand comics for sale. No. It was tough. Alan Austin never found me a comic earlier than 1957. The Golden Age I had were all off Mike Lake, and only then because he owned the first real comic shop in England, and American visitors occasionally brought Golden Age in to sell. And whenever they did, he automatically let me have them. They were usually around £25. The most expensive was Detective 37, which he charged me £45 for. But I was the only guy in England to have Golden Age DCs. I only realise now, looking back after thirty years, how lucky I was back then.

[G.A.tor]

when I first heard of Ian's feat, I considered trying to accomplish the same... and then I got to thinking, it has already been done, so I just secretly lived vicariously through Ian's accomplishment... but, part of me does wish I had of "ventured" into this arena ...too late now though...

[Straw-Man]

when I first heard of Ian's feat, I considered trying to accomplish the same... and then I got to thinking, it has already been done, so I just secretly lived vicariously through Ian's accomplishment... but, part of me does wish I had of "ventured" into this arena ...too late now though...

 

get every centaur and call it a day, geek.

[Jeffreykli]

 

Because the promos are so hard to find, and the list is incomplete and ever evolving, there was no point when it ever felt TOTALLY complete and still doesn't.

 

Here's what I think I still need...

 

 

ADVERTISE IN DC AND JOIN THE STARS

 

CARTOON NETWORK PRESENTS Platinum Edition - 1

 

COMIC CAVALCADE GIVEAWAY - 3 ("The Twain Shall Meet")

 

FLASH TV BROCHURE GIVEAWAY - 1

 

GOOD TRIUMPHS OVER EVIL (M.C. Gaines)

 

LOONEY TUNES TYSON MINI-COMICS "The Great Scavenger Hunt" - 7

LOONEY TUNES TYSON FIRST SERIES - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 except for the Daffy Duck, and the Yosemite Sam

 

OVERSEAS EDITIONS for US Armed Forces - Superman 27, 28, 72

 

QUEST FOR CAMELOT Mini Comic

 

SPECIAL NAVY EDITION (1944) - 1, 5, 6

 

SUPERGEAR COMICS - 1

 

SUPERMAN CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE 1944 (Second Of Two That Year) - 2

SUPERMAN GOLDEN PRESS - 1

 

SUPERMAN TIM - August 42, September 42, November 42, December 42, January 43, February 43, April 43, November 43, January 44, December 45, August 46

 

Ian, is this the Cartoon Networks Presents one you need? I can't believe that I actually have a book that you don't. One of the reasons I got hooked on these Boards was reading about your quest.

 

[maxstuf]

Ian, how important would you say that the presence of American Military bases in England and Europe were to the importation of Early American comics?

 

If at all?

 

 

[HouseofComics.Com]

Ian, these are great stories. I'm very impressed that you still know which early JLAs you already had before buying 1-22!

 

I like Nerf's dubbing you The DC Jedi.

 

Plus you got Wormboy to post again, which is super.

[HouseofComics.Com]

Btw, my eperience has been that It's Gametime has been a little tough to sell. I've had two issues sitting on my site for two years. Of course I think that's the name of some sort of popular video game thing too, so any Google search for it won't find the comics in the early pages.

[G.A.tor]

when I first heard of Ian's feat, I considered trying to accomplish the same... and then I got to thinking, it has already been done, so I just secretly lived vicariously through Ian's accomplishment... but, part of me does wish I had of "ventured" into this arena ...too late now though...

 

get every centaur and call it a day, geek.

I think I would have an easier time completing DC

[kimik]

 

Because the promos are so hard to find, and the list is incomplete and ever evolving, there was no point when it ever felt TOTALLY complete and still doesn't.

 

Here's what I think I still need...

 

 

ADVERTISE IN DC AND JOIN THE STARS

 

CARTOON NETWORK PRESENTS Platinum Edition - 1

 

COMIC CAVALCADE GIVEAWAY - 3 ("The Twain Shall Meet")

 

FLASH TV BROCHURE GIVEAWAY - 1

 

GOOD TRIUMPHS OVER EVIL (M.C. Gaines)

 

LOONEY TUNES TYSON MINI-COMICS "The Great Scavenger Hunt" - 7

LOONEY TUNES TYSON FIRST SERIES - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 except for the Daffy Duck, and the Yosemite Sam

 

OVERSEAS EDITIONS for US Armed Forces - Superman 27, 28, 72

 

QUEST FOR CAMELOT Mini Comic

 

SPECIAL NAVY EDITION (1944) - 1, 5, 6

 

SUPERGEAR COMICS - 1

 

SUPERMAN CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE 1944 (Second Of Two That Year) - 2

SUPERMAN GOLDEN PRESS - 1

 

SUPERMAN TIM - August 42, September 42, November 42, December 42, January 43, February 43, April 43, November 43, January 44, December 45, August 46

 

Ian, is this the Cartoon Networks Presents one you need? I can't believe that I actually have a book that you don't. One of the reasons I got hooked on these Boards was reading about your quest.

 

 

I wonder what multiple of guide this would fetch..........

[Ian_Levine]

when I first heard of Ian's feat, I considered trying to accomplish the same... and then I got to thinking, it has already been done, so I just secretly lived vicariously through Ian's accomplishment... but, part of me does wish I had of "ventured" into this arena ...too late now though...

 

It is NOT too late.

If you like having DCs, what does it matter whether someone else did it or not ??

Do it for yourself and for the thrill of filling in the gaps.

 

In the 1970s, when I did it in earnest, I had no-one to help me.

You have me to help you.

 

Plus you have the greatest obstacle already overcome - a copy of New Adventure 13, the only DC Gerber 10.

 

Do it - slow and sure - and I'll help and even have some spares of rare promos that I've saved for years till the right person came along who deserved them.

 

Be like Jerome. He's quietly gotten within 200 of having the whole lot.

[Ian_Levine]

Ian, is this the Cartoon Networks Presents one you need? I can't believe that I actually have a book that you don't. One of the reasons I got hooked on these Boards was reading about your quest.

 

 

BLOODY HELL !!!!!!

 

I swear to you, I was actually beginning to believe it didn't exist.

 

No one else had ever seen one, although it's always been listed, with a three dollar value if I recall.

 

I'm a bit staggered.

 

Wanna part with it

[Ian_Levine]

Ian, these are great stories. I'm very impressed that you still know which early JLAs you already had before buying 1-22!

 

I bought my copy of number 7, the Cosmic Fun House, when I was eight. I had those others from newsstands when they came out.

 

When you're a kid you can remember EXACTLY which cones influenced you.

 

I used to see the ads in other comics for issues I was missing and long for them. I had a couple of old comics which had ads in them for Starro The Conqueror, World Of No Return, Slave Ship In Space, and used to gaze at the ads longingly. Wondering if I would EVER get to read them.

 

Imagine my excitement when Justice League 39 came out, reprinting three early classics. I bought two copies.