Top Ten Most Valuable Comic Magazines 3 3

[OtherEric]

3 hours ago, N e r V said:

 

As do other magazines like the Spectacular Spider-Man, etc.

Not trying to sound jerkish or single out posters but I really hate the newer term variant now being applied to non US editions. They are just Canadian editions or UK editions or whatever. The term variant in comics in general has been used to apply to differences like with the cover or price or other differences of the same edition from the same country. There are variant copies and there are non US (or foreign depending on your location) editions and they are not the same thing. I honestly believe some people started calling non US editions variants in order to give them interest vs their US counterparts. There are enough foreign books out there that stand on their own merits of scarcity and don’t need the term variant applied to them. You both just sited some.

I would like to partially agree and partially disagree with you on this one. There are plenty of books that are actually reprints or separate editions that are incorrectly labeled variants and I agree, those are extraordinarily annoying.  I also dislike books that were printed elsewhere or in slightly different formats being called variants.  But books like the Creepy 146 or Vampirella 113, which were apparently part of the same print run, they just changed the plates so there was a different price?  That's a variant, just like direct and newsstand are variants.  What do others think?

More generally, loving this thread, even if I don't have much to add (and only have 4 of the candidates mentioned so far...)

[N e r V]

8 minutes ago, OtherEric said:

I would like to partially agree and partially disagree with you on this one. There are plenty of books that are actually reprints or separate editions that are incorrectly labeled variants and I agree, those are extraordinarily annoying.  I also dislike books that were printed elsewhere or in slightly different formats being called variants.  But books like the Creepy 146 or Vampirella 113, which were apparently part of the same print run, they just changed the plates so there was a different price?  That's a variant, just like direct and newsstand are variants.  What do others think?

More generally, loving this thread, even if I don't have much to add (and only have 4 of the candidates mentioned so far...)

The fact that non US copies were simply called what they were, Canadian edition, UK edition, etc... is what the hobby had been using going way back. There are Canadian editions of virtually thousands upon thousands of titles from Marvel, DC, Warren, etc., etc. going back to the golden age. They are exactly that Canadian editions, not variants.

In recent years a number of collectors have complained about why say a UK copy of Fantastic Four #1 is worth less or in less demand than a US 10 cent copy. So I’ve noticed a number of sellers start calling them “variants” like that’s supposed to magically make them more interesting to the collector. If you have a copy of say Captain America #75 that’s from Canada it’s a Canadian edition, not a variant. But I’ve seen a growing number of sellers trying to call them exactly that.

There are many examples of scarce comics from Canada (and elsewhere) that bring a premium due to scarcity and demand. The 40 cent Spectacular Spider-Man Mag. being an example. If a comic or magazine was published in the US with 2 different prices (like those 1970’s Marvels) that’s  a good case for being called a variant but to start calling all Canadian copies variants is not being accurate and really the only motive I’ve seen is collectors trying to create interest vs a US copy. It’s not uncommon either for publishers to print both US and Canadian editions from the same printing source with different markets targeted. Often the price is the only cosmetic difference. They’re still just US and Canadian editions, not variants of one another.

 

Either way it’s the collectors choice to figure this out. I’m just a little tired of seeing it in listings I guess. In that world coverless copies could be variants...

[porcupine48]

Well,I have Blazing,Vampi #1,3,113 and Savage Tales #1!(conditions vary  all raw)

I thought Creepy(have)#1 might be there,but ,hey,I don't know prices.I'd like to say Weird V5 #3 should be there cause it's in my sigline and I love it!

A pulp I know,but anyone have thoughts on Weird Tales Canadian editions?I've heard that there's a Lovecraft issue that's quite desirable,rare and pricey.

 

[OtherEric]

1 hour ago, N e r V said:

The fact that non US copies were simply called what they were, Canadian edition, UK edition, etc... is what the hobby had been using going way back. There are Canadian editions of virtually thousands upon thousands of titles from Marvel, DC, Warren, etc., etc. going back to the golden age. They are exactly that Canadian editions, not variants.

In recent years a number of collectors have complained about why say a UK copy of Fantastic Four #1 is worth less or in less demand than a US 10 cent copy. So I’ve noticed a number of sellers start calling them “variants” like that’s supposed to magically make them more interesting to the collector. If you have a copy of say Captain America #75 that’s from Canada it’s a Canadian edition, not a variant. But I’ve seen a growing number of sellers trying to call them exactly that.

There are many examples of scarce comics from Canada (and elsewhere) that bring a premium due to scarcity and demand. The 40 cent Spectacular Spider-Man Mag. being an example. If a comic or magazine was published in the US with 2 different prices (like those 1970’s Marvels) that’s  a good case for being called a variant but to start calling all Canadian copies variants is not being accurate and really the only motive I’ve seen is collectors trying to create interest vs a US copy. It’s not uncommon either for publishers to print both US and Canadian editions from the same printing source with different markets targeted. Often the price is the only cosmetic difference. They’re still just US and Canadian editions, not variants of one another.

 

Either way it’s the collectors choice to figure this out. I’m just a little tired of seeing it in listings I guess. In that world coverless copies could be variants...

I find it useful to use "variant" to describe a book printed as part of the same print run, and "edition" to describe something printed separately.  I will happily agree that the terms are not always clearly distinguished.  The Captain America #75 you mention is clearly a Canadian Edition, not a variant.  In fact, it was published by Superior, not Marvel.  And yes, annoying sellers try to conflate and confuse the two.

[OtherEric]

38 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

Well,I have Blazing,Vampi #1,3,113 and Savage Tales #1!(conditions vary  all raw)

I thought Creepy(have)#1 might be there,but ,hey,I don't know prices.I'd like to say Weird V5 #3 should be there cause it's in my sigline and I love it!

A pulp I know,but anyone have thoughts on Weird Tales Canadian editions?I've heard that there's a Lovecraft issue that's quite desirable,rare and pricey.

 

The Canadian editions of Weird Tales frequently have different cover art than the American editions.  The May 1942 Canadian edition, which corresponds to the January 1942 American edition, featues The Shadow Over Innsmouth as the cover story, unlike the American edition.  Given that this is one of only four pulps total with a Lovecraft cover, it's understandably very, very high in demand.  The only other Weird Tales is  the May-June-July 1924 issue of Weird Tales, which cover features "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs", a story Lovecraft ghost-wrote for Houdini.  The other two are the February and June issues of Astounding, which feature "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Shadow out of Time", respectively, and are relatively easy to get, at least compared to the insanely rare Weird Tales.

My apologies for the digression; it's one of my personal interests.  I hope someday to get at least one of the two Weird Tales, but both are very very difficult...

[N e r V]

1 hour ago, OtherEric said:

I find it useful to use "variant" to describe a book printed as part of the same print run, and "edition" to describe something printed separately.  I will happily agree that the terms are not always clearly distinguished.  The Captain America #75 you mention is clearly a Canadian Edition, not a variant.  In fact, it was published by Superior, not Marvel.  And yes, annoying sellers try to conflate and confuse the two.

Understood if that helps you with your own clarity, that’s fine. A lot of US and Canadian editions were printed along side each other though then shipped to their respective markets. Happens today still with any number of products manufactured here (US) or abroad.

My problem with calling foreign or non US comics variants you’re confusing the market with true variant editions when selling. It’s a fairly recent phenomenon and it seemed to follow certain collectors complaints about a perceived lack of respect for most collectors preferring US over non US editions of the same issue published at the same time. The listings below are some examples of the new “variant” trend with sellers trying to make you think these are now somehow special because the word variant conjures up scarcity...

 

It wasn’t that long ago that these would have been listed as simply Canadian or UK editions. If foreign books are now real variants then every comic not sold in the US is a variant???

That would be mind boggling....

 

 

[N e r V]

1 hour ago, OtherEric said:

The Canadian editions of Weird Tales frequently have different cover art than the American editions.  The May 1942 Canadian edition, which corresponds to the January 1942 American edition, featues The Shadow Over Innsmouth as the cover story, unlike the American edition.  Given that this is one of only four pulps total with a Lovecraft cover, it's understandably very, very high in demand.  The only other Weird Tales is  the May-June-July 1924 issue of Weird Tales, which cover features "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs", a story Lovecraft ghost-wrote for Houdini.  The other two are the February and June issues of Astounding, which feature "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Shadow out of Time", respectively, and are relatively easy to get, at least compared to the insanely rare Weird Tales.

My apologies for the digression; it's one of my personal interests.  I hope someday to get at least one of the two Weird Tales, but both are very very difficult...

That’s another good example of NOT needing to be called a variant in order to be sought after. I collect a lot of the scarcer Canadian and UK editions of many books myself.

[N e r V]

On 11/26/2019 at 4:56 PM, Randall Dowling said:

I'm interested to get other board members evaluation of what they think this top ten list should be.  In any case, it could be an interesting snapshot of perceived values.  I'm restricting this to comic magazines only (so not including Famous Monsters or other non-comic magazines).  After people have submitted their lists, I'll post a poll with all the submittals to get a tally.  Here's my take but feel free to correct/amend/ridicule as you like. 

1. Vampirella 1
2. Shock Illustrated 3
3. Blazing Combat 1
4. Eerie Tales 1
5. Weird Mysteries 1
6. Marvel Preview 4
7. Savage Tales 1
8. Pussycat 1
9. Vampirella 113
10. Marvel Preview 7

Wow.  That was harder than I thought...  

 

On 11/26/2019 at 7:02 PM, oakman29 said:

Mine would be pretty much identical to your list with few exceptions. 

1. Vampirella 1

2. Eerie 1 ashcan Warren

3.Eerie Tales 1

4. House of Horror 1 Warren

5. Blazing Combat 1

6.Shock Illustrated 3

7.Weird Mysteries 1

8.Savage Tales 1

9. Vampirella 113

10.Marvel Preview 7

Ok, I’m not going to do full price research but here’s some recent GPA sales. I aimed for this year in 9.0 CGC copies but as you can see not always possible. Draw your own conclusions from this of your lists..,

Vampirella #1 (9.0)/(2019) $1400.00

                   #113 (9.0) (2019) $191.00-$412.00

Shock Illustrated #3 (1.8) (2019) $1080.00

Blazing Combat #1 (9.0) (2016) $2000.00

Eerie Tales #1 N/A

Weird Mysteries #1 (7.0)/(2016) $143.00

Marvel Preview #4 (9.0) (2019) $175.00-$350.00

                     #7 (9.0)/(2019) $330.00-$600.00

Savage Tales #1 (9.0)/(2019) $449.00-$525.00

Pussycat #1 (8.0)/(2019) $510.00

House of Horror (9.2)/(2019) $500.00-$911.00

Eerie #1 original ashcan $2000.00+ 

My takeaway? Vampi #1 is hot but clearly not number one against a couple of these grade for grade...

[RockMyAmadeus]

Are we going to consider Captain Britain #1 or #8?

Edited November 30, 2019 by RockMyAmadeus

[porcupine48]

On 11/29/2019 at 6:13 PM, OtherEric said:

The Canadian editions of Weird Tales frequently have different cover art than the American editions.  The May 1942 Canadian edition, which corresponds to the January 1942 American edition, featues The Shadow Over Innsmouth as the cover story, unlike the American edition.  Given that this is one of only four pulps total with a Lovecraft cover, it's understandably very, very high in demand.  The only other Weird Tales is  the May-June-July 1924 issue of Weird Tales, which cover features "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs", a story Lovecraft ghost-wrote for Houdini.  The other two are the February and June issues of Astounding, which feature "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Shadow out of Time", respectively, and are relatively easy to get, at least compared to the insanely rare Weird Tales.

My apologies for the digression; it's one of my personal interests.  I hope someday to get at least one of the two Weird Tales, but both are very very difficult...

 

 

Exactly what I was on about,cheers!

[Randall Dowling]

On 11/30/2019 at 6:01 AM, RockMyAmadeus said:

Are we going to consider Captain Britain #1 or #8?

I thought about those also but doubt they would crack the top ten even if included.

[Randall Dowling]

On 11/29/2019 at 7:20 PM, N e r V said:

 

Ok, I’m not going to do full price research but here’s some recent GPA sales. I aimed for this year in 9.0 CGC copies but as you can see not always possible. Draw your own conclusions from this of your lists..,

Vampirella #1 (9.0)/(2019) $1400.00

                   #113 (9.0) (2019) $191.00-$412.00

Shock Illustrated #3 (1.8) (2019) $1080.00

Blazing Combat #1 (9.0) (2016) $2000.00

Eerie Tales #1 N/A

Weird Mysteries #1 (7.0)/(2016) $143.00

Marvel Preview #4 (9.0) (2019) $175.00-$350.00

                     #7 (9.0)/(2019) $330.00-$600.00

Savage Tales #1 (9.0)/(2019) $449.00-$525.00

Pussycat #1 (8.0)/(2019) $510.00

House of Horror (9.2)/(2019) $500.00-$911.00

Eerie #1 original ashcan $2000.00+ 

My takeaway? Vampi #1 is hot but clearly not number one against a couple of these grade for grade...

I think what this illustrates more than anything is that prices still vary widely on these mags.  For instance,  I think Eerie Tales 1 should be the most expensive due to its content and scarcity, but I could see a 9.0 going for anywhere between $500 and $2k.  Not saying I agree, just saying it seems very unpredictable right now.  People are still figuring out what is rare, valuable, and important.

[N e r V]

9 minutes ago, Randall Dowling said:

I think what this illustrates more than anything is that prices still vary widely on these mags.  For instance,  I think Eerie Tales 1 should be the most expensive due to its content and scarcity, but I could see a 9.0 going for anywhere between $500 and $2k.  Not saying I agree, just saying it seems very unpredictable right now.  People are still figuring out what is rare, valuable, and important.

Well if a 1.8 Shock Illustrated #3 is 1k what’s a 9.0 going to do? 

Had no idea such a low grade hit that level...

Edited December 2, 2019 by N e r V

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/29/2019 at 9:43 PM, N e r V said:

The fact that non US copies were simply called what they were, Canadian edition, UK edition, etc... is what the hobby had been using going way back. There are Canadian editions of virtually thousands upon thousands of titles from Marvel, DC, Warren, etc., etc. going back to the golden age. They are exactly that Canadian editions, not variants.

In recent years a number of collectors have complained about why say a UK copy of Fantastic Four #1 is worth less or in less demand than a US 10 cent copy. So I’ve noticed a number of sellers start calling them “variants” like that’s supposed to magically make them more interesting to the collector. If you have a copy of say Captain America #75 that’s from Canada it’s a Canadian edition, not a variant. But I’ve seen a growing number of sellers trying to call them exactly that.

There are many examples of scarce comics from Canada (and elsewhere) that bring a premium due to scarcity and demand. The 40 cent Spectacular Spider-Man Mag. being an example. If a comic or magazine was published in the US with 2 different prices (like those 1970’s Marvels) that’s  a good case for being called a variant but to start calling all Canadian copies variants is not being accurate and really the only motive I’ve seen is collectors trying to create interest vs a US copy. It’s not uncommon either for publishers to print both US and Canadian editions from the same printing source with different markets targeted. Often the price is the only cosmetic difference. They’re still just US and Canadian editions, not variants of one another.

 

Either way it’s the collectors choice to figure this out. I’m just a little tired of seeing it in listings I guess. In that world coverless copies could be variants...

Hello N e r V 

If you get time, have a read of the post below, and some of the pictorial examples that follow it, and see if it changes your viewpoint at all. Whilst I can understand your feelings, the drive to call first printing price variants of US original comics just that ('price variants', whether they be UK, Australian or Canadian) is less about attempting to 'pimp them up' for pricing and more about seeking a reasonable classification so that they can be more clearly distinguished from reprints and other countries locally produced books.

See what you think:

On 4/29/2019 at 10:19 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Morning bc 

I was trying to get some more participation last night if I'm honest. I accept that people will have different views on this and that's fine. It's difficult to get across a full, definitive description of something with a few words. But the industry needs a few words, as no one wants massive long detailed explanations on their labels. So my choice, as I've stated a few times in this thread and elsewhere, is as follows.

1. We need to confirm that the books are first printings, that is, that they were produced alongside the cents copies, not later / elsewhere. So the word 'variant' is needed, as that word is generally accepted to mean just that in relation to comics (that is, a variant can only be a variant if it was produced concurrently with the 'original'. Anything else is a reprint or a repacked item)
2. Then we need to identify the nature of the variance. In this case, predominantly, it's the price (although there are various other differences throughout the 1960-1982 period, all of which I cover in detail in my threads here).
3. Then we need to identify to which country the price belongs. That will either be the UK, Australia or Canada. There are no other countries that I am aware of that have variants produced specifically for them which were produced at the same time as the cents priced originals. Italian, French, Spanish priced books etc - they are all repackaged books, printed elsewhere at a later date.

In my view, the best way to incorporate those three aspects with the minimum of words is:

• UK Priced Variant 
• Canadian Priced Variant 
• Australian Priced Variant

As Redshade said, it would be great to firm up peoples understanding of pence copies. In an ideal world, and in respect of graded books, CGC would have a page on their site with a glossary explaining these things. It's going to be one of my suggestions to them. Collectors will see the revised label wording, and be able to cross reference it to a page on the main CGC website for further clarification. CGC should do this, as the UK, Canadian and Australian priced variants are products of the US. They are legitimate copies and should have equal status to their cents priced cousins. 

Having said all that, the one thing I would like to achieve, if nothing else, is for CGC to stop labelling UK priced reprints / repackaged books as "UK Editions" alongside the genuine pence priced variants. They have to be labelled differently, or the confusion will not only continue but it will erode the integrity of the census data and normalise a clear misconception. More and more people seem to look to CGC to lead the way now than, say, Overstreet. They have a duty to present accurate assessments and data.  

So I will be running this all by CGC soon. It's of course up to them what they call the books, having considered others input. There are a few permutations of wording that I would be satisfied with. But "UK Edition" isn't one of them, if they are going to lump any book with a pence price under this category.

 

I don't think the price variant prefixes of 'UK', 'Canadian' and 'Australian' that CGC have now adopted muddy the waters in respect of US copies. Quite the opposite in fact.

There are only really four types of comic price variant in respect of US books:

• US Price Variants (first printings with, for example, 30/35 cent prices, the 1999/2000 Marvel newsstand price variants etc)
• UK Price Variants (first printings with pence prices)
• Canadian Price Variants (first printings with Canadian dollar prices)
• Australian Price Variants (first printings with Australian dollar prices)

Everything else is a reprint or a locally repackaged item. If it wasn't part of the original US production run, it's not a variant as it's not the original thing. 

While we're on the subject, I don't refer to newsstand copies as variants of direct editions as some do. They are 'editions'. The only way a newsstand copy can be a variant is if there are two copies of the same first printing newsstand book with printed differences (e.g. the 1999/2000 Marvel Newsstand Price Variants which have newsstand copies with three different cover prices). A newsstand edition with a higher price to it's direct edition cousin is still just a newsstand edition.

[deadleg]

On 11/28/2019 at 6:05 PM, Artboy99 said:

I sold a Pussycat magazine for $1200.00 usd so it definitely is on the list.

Gothic Romances #1 is another magazine of some value.

 

 One day I will own a decent copy of this book. 

Edited December 4, 2019 by deadleg

[Artboy99]

30 minutes ago, deadleg said:

 One day I will own a decent copy of this book. 

I had 2 of them, kept one.

[N e r V]

3 hours ago, deadleg said:

 One day I will own a decent copy of this book. 

Prices vary. As I posted a cgc 8.0 sold this year for $500.00 but I’ve seen raws  show up closer to $300.00 in that grade. It’s one of those books I’ve been told that’s difficult to find but I’ve never not been able to find copies if you’re willing to pay the price which as I said can swing sometimes by a fair amount. Mycomicshop alone has 4 copies up for sale right now from 4.0-8.5. Overpriced too IMO. 

I think the Canadian edition is also more scarce if I remember correctly.

Cool book though for sure....

Edited December 4, 2019 by N e r V

[rakehell]

On 11/30/2019 at 12:28 AM, N e r V said:

My problem with calling foreign or non US comics variants you’re confusing the market with true variant editions when selling. It’s a fairly recent phenomenon and it seemed to follow certain collectors complaints about a perceived lack of respect for most collectors preferring US over non US editions of the same issue published at the same time. The listings below are some examples of the new “variant” trend with sellers trying to make you think these are now somehow special because the word variant conjures up scarcity...

Nitpicking alert!

I used to have issues with this myself until I looked a bit more closely. The two examples you show above, while overpriced, are variants in the classic, technical, dictionary definition sense. They are from the same print run as the regular US cents copies, only the price point has changed. They even have the same indicia as the regular US cents copies, with the price in US cents. This is how they vary.

My favorite example of this (& I use this a lot, so skip this bit if you've seen it before) is Star Wars #2. The first 'edition' was printed with three different prices: 30 cents, 35 cents & 12 pence.

The important thing to consider with these comics is that they all, irrespective of their cover price, have a 30c indicia. The inside pages of these are all identical because they all came from the same print run, or 'edition'. Only the 35c & 12p covers vary, which is why they are variants. Calling the 12p cover a UK edition is misleading because it causes confusion with the actual UK edition of Star Wars #2, which was published in the UK 6 months after the original & looks like this:

The other point to remember is that these variants are scarce when compared to the regular editions. No one knows exactly how many of the 12p cover were printed; I've seen estimates of anywhere between 2 & 10%. I think 2 is way too low, but I also think 10 is high. Finding these in any condition is not as easy as it used to be & I live in the UK. The 35c cover is even more rare.

To be honest, I dislike the price gouging as much as anyone. It prevents me buying nice books without selling a kidney. Also, IMHO, the flood of new variants we're seeing now is what bothers me. The vast majority are just a corporate version of price gouging, anyway. The price experiment, UK, Australian & Canadian variants are the genuine article, ticking away quietly for over fifty years, minding their own business...

 

 

[Stevemmg]

On 12/1/2019 at 8:11 PM, N e r V said:

Well if a 1.8 Shock Illustrated #3 is 1k what’s a 9.0 going to do? 

Had no idea such a low grade hit that level...

Because of the rarity, low grade copies sell at a high price, not necessarily a normal percentage of high grade. FWIW, I was offered a Gaines File Copy 9.8 four years ago from Harley at $12k. I think current market would be around $15k. If there were a 9.8 Blazing Combat 1, it would likely be similar in value, if not a bit higher. My personal opinion is that the 9.8 Vampirella 1, the only 9.8 copy would top the list at $20-25k, followed by the imaginary BC 1 9.8, then SS3. Everything else gets much more murky from there. It’s a huge fluctuation when you get to the nosebleed high grades, which jumbles the rankings. For example, a SS3 in 6.0 would sell for multiple times what a BC1 6.0 does. Makes this list really difficult to assemble. 

[Ant-Man]

From an Overstreet perspective (their pricing of raw, 9.2), I believe most, if not all, of the top 10 would come from the Mickey Mouse Magazine title. After that, many of the books are larger, "magazine-sized" format from the Golden Age, which may or may not qualify as a magazine (not my area of expertise):

1	Wow Comics 1 (1936; 1st Will Eisner-a in comics)
2	Wow Comics 4 (1936; Fu Manchu, Popeye, Mandrake, Flash Gordon; Eisner-a)
3	Wow Comics 2 (1936; Fu Manchu, Popeye; Eisner-a)
4	Tops 1 (1949; large sized-magazine format; for the adult reader; rare)
4	Wow Comics 3 (1936; Fu Manchu, Popeye; Eisner-a)
6	Tops 2 (1949; large sized-magazine format; for the adult reader; rare)
7	Shock Illustrated 3 (1956; 100 known copies; bound & given away at E.C office)
8	Mad 24 (1955; 1st magazine issue)
9	Out Of This World Adventures 1 (1950; sci-fi pulp magazine w/32 page color-comic insert; Kubert-a)
10	Eerie 1 (1965; B&W; low distribution; poor print quality; smaller size)
10	Vampirella 1 (1969)