Robot Man Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 7:45 AM, tth2 said: Some massive hair cuts were taken on 3 Promise books that I was following in the ongoing Heritage weekly auction: Kerry Drake Detective Cases #15 CGC 9.8 OW/W just sold for $660. It sold for $1200 in October 2022. This was the smallest percentage loss among the three! Kerry Drake Detective Cases #18 CGC 9.8 OW/W just sold for $552. It sold for $2640 in October 2022. L'il Abner #69 CGC 9.6 OW/W just sold for $840. It sold for $2640 in October 2022. Even if this is money laundering, I don't think you're supposed to take 80% losses in the process. The consignors may have some visitors soon. Even the lower prices are nuts for those. How many people are still alive who know who Kerry Drake or even Lil Abner are these days? They almost fall into Dell western areas. I can’t think of anyone who seeks these out. Obviously, still Promise hype… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 (edited) On 3/27/2023 at 8:42 AM, buttock said: If you just told me the prices on this most recent sale for all three I would have thought they sounded high. I mean... Kerry Drake and Li'l Abner?!? And yet a seemingly overwhelming portion of this Promise pedigree was made up of exactly these kinds of long forgotten and not in-demand titles which were successfully hyped by the gang at Heritage and with the able help by the boys at CGC were able to market the pedigree as an once in a lifetime generational collection of books in condition grades that had not been seen to this point in time. Then again, I wonder if the bidders ever considered the possibility that these titles were not seen in this condition due to the possibility that collectors never thought it would have been worthwhile to have these types of books graded and slabbed in the first place. Edited March 27, 2023 by lou_fine Robot Man, mjoeyoung and Larryw7 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 Looks like Greg Reese may have squeaked out a profit on this one. lou_fine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 10:53 AM, Badger said: Looks like Greg Reese may have squeaked out a profit on this one. Well, it would appear that buyers stand a much better chance of not losing their shirts and pants if they avoided the much overhyped uber HG copies of the Promise books, and possibly even their undies by staying far away from the even more overhyped so-called single highest graded copies of these Promise Collection books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronty Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 11:59 AM, Robot Man said: Even the lower prices are nuts for those. How many people are still alive who know who Kerry Drake or even Lil Abner are these days? They almost fall into Dell western areas. I can’t think of anyone who seeks these out. Obviously, still Promise hype… 2500+ for a kerry drake book, oy. 2021 was a different time, let's leave it at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregreece Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 1:53 PM, Badger said: Looks like Greg Reese may have squeaked out a profit on this one. While I'm retired these days I still keep up with some of the goings on with the business and we just took that book, along with some other really cool GA books, in trade this past week. Best to all, Greg Point Five and lou_fine 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 8:39 PM, gregreece said: While I'm retired these days I still keep up with some of the goings on with the business and we just took that book, along with some other really cool GA books, in trade this past week. Best to all, Greg Congratulations on your retirement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat-Man_America Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 10:59 AM, Robot Man said: Even the lower prices are nuts for those. How many people are still alive who know who Kerry Drake or even Lil Abner are these days? They almost fall into Dell western areas. I can’t think of anyone who seeks these out. Obviously, still Promise hype… At one time L'il Abner was quite popular... PopKulture and ThothAmon 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 (edited) On 3/27/2023 at 7:45 AM, tth2 said: Some massive hair cuts were taken on 3 Promise books that I was following in the ongoing Heritage weekly auction: Kerry Drake Detective Cases #15 CGC 9.8 OW/W just sold for $660. It sold for $1200 in October 2022. This was the smallest percentage loss among the three! Oh, wow......................I am actually stunned and totally shocked that this all-time classic cover book with the "can't take your eyes off the cover" artwork didn't sell for more on its second go round: As for the Promise re-offerings on Heritage this past Sunday, it appears that you missed a couple of them here: https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/MR.-tracy-monthly-12-the-promise-collection-pedigree-dell-1948-cgc-nm-92-off-white-to-white-pages/a/122313-17089.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 MR. Tracy #12 CGC 9.2 sold for $456 as compared to $1,020 in October of 2022 for a percentage loss of >55%; and https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/li-l-abner-70-the-promise-collection-pedigree-toby-press-1949-cgc-vf-nm-90-off-white-to-white-pages/a/122313-17164.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 Li'l Abner #70 CGC 9.0 sold for only $192 as compared to $780 in October of 2022 for a percentage loss of >75%. Edited March 28, 2023 by lou_fine goldust40, GreatCaesarsGhost, comicnoir and 1 other 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatCaesarsGhost Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 11:41 PM, Cat-Man_America said: At one time L'il Abner was quite popular... That clip is frickin hilarious Cat-Man_America 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronty Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 what the actual fork? Wilbur Comics #7 The Promise Collection Pedigree (Archie, 1945) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white pages.... $840.00 Apr 10 2022 $47,500 Rejected Mar 26 2023 ThothAmon, lou_fine and mjoeyoung 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post GreatCaesarsGhost Posted March 28, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 28, 2023 (edited) The Promise collection is a fine and worthy collection. It’s the way it was overhyped that has drawn so much derision here on the boards. And rightfully so. But those crypto guys were never coming back anyway, so the fact they are now finding out how poor their comic investments are is of little importance. That money was gone from our beloved hobby anyway. Yes, I know there’s an iceberg directly in my path ahead, but none of this has stopped me from enjoying this book. I’ve never seen a book of this age with such a perfectly white back cover, and flaws and all, I still love the front cover too. maybe I should start a support group for us Promise book owners. Or at least maybe a 12 step program. . . Edited March 28, 2023 by GreatCaesarsGhost mjoeyoung, Black Bat, tth2 and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gregreece Posted March 28, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted March 28, 2023 I own a few and have seen several others in hand. Obviously there were terrible misses by CGC on many books in this collection. That said, if you were careful there were some absolute one of a kind gems to be picked up. I am still thrilled with what I purchased and would write the same check for them today. I believe a lot of the retreads, not all but most, are not the most desirable of the Promise books and that it's likely the vast majority of the better Promise books haven't been seen or offered since the auction. If you haven't had a chance to see one, seek them out at the next convention (speaking of which I hope to see some of you in Orlando as I'm filling in as our other crew will be in C2E2) you attend. The colors are mind blowing. Point Five, lou_fine, Larryw7 and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post tth2 Posted March 28, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 11:59 PM, Robot Man said: How many people are still alive who know who Kerry Drake or even Lil Abner are these days? I don't know anything about the comic books, but I'm a collector of Lil Abner original art from the 1930s. Al Capp was a really underappreciated artist and writer whose tight lines and lush inks have to be viewed in person to be properly appreciated. Also, some of his storylines were so whacky that I have to wonder if there was some reefer madness going on back then. They could have seamlessly fit into an underground comic. goldust40, lou_fine, GreatCaesarsGhost and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post buttock Posted March 28, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/28/2023 at 6:35 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said: The Promise collection is a fine and worthy collection. It’s the way it was overhyped that has drawn so much derision here on the boards. And rightfully so. But those crypto guys were never coming back anyway, so the fact they are now finding out how poor their comic investments are is of little importance. That money was gone from our beloved hobby anyway. Yes, I know there’s an iceberg directly in my path ahead, but none of this has stopped me from enjoying this book. I’ve never seen a book of this age with such a perfectly white back cover, and flaws and all, I still love the front cover too. maybe I should start a support group for us Promise book owners. Or at least maybe a 12 step program. . . I targeted only a select few, and couldn't be happier with my choices. If I tried to sell them now, who knows what would happen, but I didn't buy them for an investment, I bought them as a collector. sagii, Dark Knight, GreatCaesarsGhost and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 10:13 PM, lou_fine said: Oh, wow......................I am actually stunned and totally shocked that this all-time classic cover book with the "can't take your eyes off the cover" artwork didn't sell for more on its second go round: As for the Promise re-offerings on Heritage this past Sunday, it appears that you missed a couple of them here: https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/MR.-tracy-monthly-12-the-promise-collection-pedigree-dell-1948-cgc-nm-92-off-white-to-white-pages/a/122313-17089.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 MR. Tracy #12 CGC 9.2 sold for $456 as compared to $1,020 in October of 2022 for a percentage loss of >55%; and https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/li-l-abner-70-the-promise-collection-pedigree-toby-press-1949-cgc-vf-nm-90-off-white-to-white-pages/a/122313-17164.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 Li'l Abner #70 CGC 9.0 sold for only $192 as compared to $780 in October of 2022 for a percentage loss of >75%. Non Promise copies of books like this even in very high grade would have trouble even finding new owners in the $100-150 range on a normal basis. Probably the reason they sold at all was the “Promise”. I had hoped to maybe get a strip reprint copy or two in that price range just to have one in my pedigree collection. But that turned out to be not the case. I can live without one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Robot Man Posted March 28, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/28/2023 at 5:35 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said: The Promise collection is a fine and worthy collection. It’s the way it was overhyped that has drawn so much derision here on the boards. And rightfully so. But those crypto guys were never coming back anyway, so the fact they are now finding out how poor their comic investments are is of little importance. That money was gone from our beloved hobby anyway. Yes, I know there’s an iceberg directly in my path ahead, but none of this has stopped me from enjoying this book. I’ve never seen a book of this age with such a perfectly white back cover, and flaws and all, I still love the front cover too. maybe I should start a support group for us Promise book owners. Or at least maybe a 12 step program. . . A beautiful and wonderful book that went to a true collector. There is nothing wrong in paying up (even dearly), for a book you truly love. I often pay no attention to GPA, EBay prices or guides when I really want a book. I pay what it is worth to me to keep and enjoy it. Congrats, an excellent choice. mustang33guy, Dr. Love, GreatCaesarsGhost and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MrBedrock Posted March 28, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/28/2023 at 9:32 AM, buttock said: I targeted only a select few, and couldn't be happier with my choices. If I tried to sell them now... ...I would buy them. batman_fan, buttock, tth2 and 2 others 1 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/28/2023 at 6:58 AM, tth2 said: I don't know anything about the comic books, but I'm a collector of Lil Abner original art from the 1930s. Al Capp was a really underappreciated artist and writer whose tight lines and lush inks have to be viewed in person to be properly appreciated. Also, some of his storylines were so whacky that I have to wonder if there was some reefer madness going on back then. They could have seamlessly fit into an underground comic. Indeed. If you have an open mind and enjoy the medium, they can be quite enjoyable. I have a handful of the comics and have liked reading them. But his time has passed and I only buy them cheaply. Daisy Mae was a hottie! GreatCaesarsGhost and tth2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 On 3/28/2023 at 11:30 AM, MrBedrock said: On 3/28/2023 at 10:32 AM, buttock said: I targeted only a select few, and couldn't be happier with my choices. If I tried to sell them now... ...I would buy them. The other fan of Kerry Drake has been found! MrBedrock, Point Five and GreatCaesarsGhost 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
