Mall Variants of Adventures of Superman 443 - was there ever a DC issue with more variants prior to New 52? 6 6

[Cpt Kirk]

On 8/5/2023 at 11:18 PM, FlyingDonut said:

Thanks for the bump because I found this today! Anyone need this one? The scan is hosed, not the book

 

Nice find.  I recommend listing it on ebay.   If you started the bidding at $100, I would gladly bid on it to get it started for you.   If no one else wants it, I would gladly add it to my collection as a spare for future trade value.

[FlyingDonut]

On 8/6/2023 at 10:07 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

Nice find.  I recommend listing it on ebay.   If you started the bidding at $100, I would gladly bid on it to get it started for you.   If no one else wants it, I would gladly add it to my collection as a spare for future trade value.

Here you go!

[Cpt Kirk]

first bid placed.  It will be interesting to see if there's any interest out there.   In the past, I've seen competition for them and they went from $100 to $200 I believe but on the other hand I bought one on ebay for $7 once before these became widely known.   I looked at the records for all the ones I one, and it appears as if almost every purchase I made was either from connections I made on this CGC website or ones that I found in the wild (one was from a 2nd and Charles in Chicago and the other was found in a small comic shop in Albany GA).  

[Cpt Kirk]

I see that there are two other bidders out there besides myself for the mall variant that @FlyingDonut posted on ebay.   That to me is interesting.   I sometimes wonder if anyone besides myself really cares about these mall variant.  Apparently the answer is yes.

[BigLeagueCHEW]

On 6/25/2019 at 4:35 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

p.s.    It is amazing to me how few of these mall variants have surfaced.  I have a feeling that many of them are still buried in collections (because it seems that most people stopped throwing away comic books in the late 1970s).   I have offered bounties for these variants and written about them just to see if I could bring them out of the closet, so to speak.   This has worked to some extent (seven of the ones now in my collection came from fellow boardies).   Of the 14 known mall variants, I know of only one single copy for the following:  Montclair Plaza, Georgetown Park, Eden Prairie, Cranberry, Willowbrook, Town East, North Shore Square, Fiesta, Westgate, and The Parks at Arlington.   If anyone has any of those on hand, I would love to hear about it.

I need the Montclair Plaza one please, that's my hometown 

[Cpt Kirk]

On 8/13/2023 at 3:57 PM, BigLeagueCHEW said:

I need the Montclair Plaza one please, that's my hometown 

I have it in hand.  As soon as I decide to sell my collection, I will be in touch with you.  I have a feeling that it will be really hard to find another one.  I think you would have to canvass all the comic shops in that area to see if anyone has one

[Carl Elvis]

 

[Cpt Kirk]

On 8/16/2023 at 10:33 PM, Carl Elvis said:

 

Apparently people do care about this Superman variant.   I'm feeling pretty good about having 14 different ones right now.   If I didn't already have the Clearview Mall copy, I can almost say for sure that I would have been the high bidder on this recent auction.   Great result by the way for @FlyingDonut !

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Cpt Kirk

[FlyingDonut]

On 8/17/2023 at 7:55 AM, Cpt Kirk said:

Apparently people do care about this Superman variant.   I'm feeling pretty good about having 14 different ones right now.   If I didn't already have the Clearview Mall copy, I can almost say for sure that I would have been the high bidder on this recent auction.   Great result by the way for @FlyingDonut !

 

 

That was nice, but lets see if the buyer actually pays.

[BCoffee]

On 8/17/2023 at 7:53 AM, FlyingDonut said:

That was nice, but lets see if the buyer actually pays.

Oh man, I hope they pay! That would not be cool. 

[Cpt Kirk]

On 8/17/2023 at 10:11 AM, BCoffee said:

Oh man, I hope they pay! That would not be cool. 

I'm sure they will.    And I can assure @FlyingDonut that I would pay at least $150 for it just to have a spare, but it appears that there were lots of bidders above that figure.

[FlyingDonut]

On 8/18/2023 at 12:45 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

I'm sure they will.    And I can assure @FlyingDonut that I would pay at least $150 for it just to have a spare, but it appears that there were lots of bidders above that figure.

Paid and shipped. That was a very pleasant surprise.

[hulk181man]

One more version for your master list. I picked this up at Baltimore Comic Con in September - out of a random unsorted box.

Looks like Mercer Mall is in West Virginia.

[Cpt Kirk]

On 11/21/2023 at 5:35 PM, hulk181man said:

One more version for your master list. I picked this up at Baltimore Comic Con in September - out of a random unsorted box.

Looks like Mercer Mall is in West Virginia.

Thanks for posting that image @hulk181man!

[Cpt Kirk]

Thanks to @hulk181man, the Mercer Mall variant joins 14 other of it's companions.  For completeness, the direct sales, newsstand and Canadian versions are also included in these photos. 

I had offered the owners of Fiesta Mall and The Parks and Arlington $500 a piece for those mall variants, and I got no response.  I will be very surprised if anyone can ever compile more of those mall variants than I have (and I imagine no one would even care to try).   But I have a couple spare mall variants so if you ever find one and want to trade it plus earn a few hundred dollars, don't hesitate to contact me.  

By the way, these images get a little fuzzy when I post them to this CGC site.  If anyone has a tip for making the photos sharper, please let me know.

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Cpt Kirk

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 12/17/2023 at 3:38 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

(and I imagine no one would even care to try). 

[Cpt Kirk]

On 12/19/2023 at 1:42 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

Well, my friend, if someone wants to try to compile a larger collection of Adv of Superman 443 Mall variants, they better bring their wallet and some patience.  For example, when my friend Jerome Wenker retired from collecting, I flew to Minnesota to buy his three mall variants (he had the only known copy of the North Shore Square mall variant).   I've had to offer bounties of $300 to $500 to convince people sell their copies to me.  If we figure that each of the 15 mall variants would cost $300 each on average, then someone would have to pay out approximately $5K to get that many.   I often ask myself why I would try to keep adding to this collection because I feel like they may be next to worthless one day (however, recent auctions of these variants keeps proving me wrong). 

For the record, I also collect all issues of Superman comic books going back to the Golden Age.  I feel like my high-grade Superman 14, 17, 21 and 24 are much better investments.  When it comes to chasing variants, I fully realize that it is not an investment.   Instead for me it's all about the chase, pride of ownership, and the fun of comparing notes with fellow variant collectors.... I just question myself from time to time... lol.

p.s.  A new mall variant seems to surface about once per year.  I wonder how many of these things were made.   My guess is somewhere about 50 or more.   I've only seen 18 so far after searching and offering bounties for them for more than 12 years.   

Edited December 20, 2023 by Cpt Kirk

[Cpt Kirk]

On 12/20/2023 at 11:08 AM, Cpt Kirk said:

Well, my friend, if someone wants to try to compile a larger collection of Adv of Superman 443 Mall variants, they better bring their wallet and some patience.  For example, when my friend Jerome Wenker retired from collecting, I flew to Minnesota to buy his three mall variants (he had the only known copy of the North Shore Square mall variant).   I've had to offer bounties of $300 to $500 to convince people sell their copies to me.  If we figure that each of the 15 mall variants would cost $300 each on average, then someone would have to pay out approximately $5K to get that many.   I often ask myself why I would try to keep adding to this collection because I feel like they may be next to worthless one day (however, recent auctions of these variants keeps proving me wrong). 

For the record, I also collect all issues of Superman comic books going back to the Golden Age.  I feel like my high-grade Superman 14, 17, 21 and 24 are much better investments.  When it comes to chasing variants, I fully realize that it is not an investment.   Instead for me it's all about the chase, pride of ownership, and the fun of comparing notes with fellow variant collectors.... I just question myself from time to time... lol.

p.s.  A new mall variant seems to surface about once per year.  I wonder how many of these things were made.   My guess is somewhere about 50 or more.   I've only seen 18 so far after searching and offering bounties for them for more than 12 years.   

p.s.  I love the variants that weren't produced to be "rare".  Great examples are these mall variants, 2nd prints from the 80's and 90's, and Mark Jeweler variants.   I stopped collecting modern variants (unless the cover is really attractive or unique) because they are manufactured to be "rare".  I question the value of something that is manufactured to be "rare" ... of course some of those items become quite valuable but I'm not sure they will hold value over time.

Edited December 20, 2023 by Cpt Kirk

[OtherEric]

On 12/20/2023 at 9:29 AM, Cpt Kirk said:

p.s.  I love the variants that weren't produced to be "rare".  Great examples are these mall variants, 2nd prints from the 80's and 90's, and Mark Jeweler variants.   I stopped collecting modern variants (unless the cover is really attractive or unique) because they are manufactured to be "rare".  I question the value of something that is manufactured to be "rare" ... of course some of those items become quite valuable but I'm not sure they will hold value over time.

My favorite example of unintentionally rare variants are the June 1980 DC Whitman variants.  Notoriously hard to find among those in the know, but also still frequently found by others (not me, sadly) in dollar bins because most people don't know.  I've only got one of them, since I collect the Legion:

I may not personally care about the Mall Variants for my own collection, but I love hearing about the hunt and love your passion for the project.

[Cpt Kirk]

On 12/20/2023 at 1:18 PM, OtherEric said:

My favorite example of unintentionally rare variants are the June 1980 DC Whitman variants.  Notoriously hard to find among those in the know, but also still frequently found by others (not me, sadly) in dollar bins because most people don't know.  I've only got one of them, since I collect the Legion:

I may not personally care about the Mall Variants for my own collection, but I love hearing about the hunt and love your passion for the project.

Thank you!   Your encouragement means a lot to me.   And yes, those June 1980 Whitmans are great examples.  I love that you found the Legionnaire one in the wild.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Cpt Kirk