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Pulpfest 2021
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50 posts in this topic

On 8/21/2021 at 10:45 AM, OtherEric said:

A year ago, I would have agreed with you, hands down.  But looking at recent auctions, it looks like The Spider is rapidly pulling ahead.  It's all down to the covers, I think; and just in general the more sedate covers on Street & Smith aren't going to be in as high demand.  We're seeing that on Astounding SF as well.

Once you start looking at first appearances, the Shadows & Doc Savages will definitely continue to be the higher demand books, I think.  But for the bulk of the run covers will rule.

However if you throw out the one ridiculous and suspicious result for a Spider  @comicconnect were somebody paid a crazy amount of money for a common copy, they (Spiders) didn’t go for an overly crazy amount.  Matter of fact unless the Spiders were special covers or very high grades, they didn’t go that high at all, I was surprised.

There were a few other Spiders,  matter of fact 5 or 6 that went for the $600-$800 range (other than the number one), but they were high grade, as I won two of them.

However you haven’t seen Shadows from 1933-37 ultra high-grade being offered at sale in any auction?  A 1936 copy of the Shadow Partners of  Peril in VF condition and Heritage with a severe Trimming sold for around $1000

The problem with the shadow is that there are so many copies of them in mid grade or mid to high grade,  but when you see them in ultra high grade they can go for a very high price which I have seen and paid for privately. Subsequently the spiders are harder to find even in mid to high grade, so they will go for the a good price when they come up.

Bring out some Shadows from 1931 to 33 in truly high grade condition and see how quickly they would blow the doors off even the first year spiders and many of them would blow away the #1.

There are always going to be classic covers in each run and they are going to go for good dollars believe me.  Even with the Docs that aren’t quite as flamboyant cover-wise, the prices for copies in the first year are skyrocketing.

I know what you’re saying about the spiders because they have that crossover with the weird menace type of covers (Which I really like by the way),  but following the market over years you’ll see that like any other run there are certain 10 to 12 Spider covers that people really like and will bid aggressively on, but that’s no different than any other run.

I’ve carefully followed and monitored the market for the last 20 years and I buy and sell hundreds of high-grade Pulps every year, including this year and last year, so I’m constantly trying to keep ahead of the curve and what’s going to happen but who knows, But I wouldn’t sell the shadow short yet.

Edited by detective35
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On 8/21/2021 at 11:59 AM, catrick339 said:

Ya WANT pitchas? Ya GOT pitchas!

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Comics, Pulps and PBs, oh my!

Looks like an Awsome show that would suck the money outta my wallet like a vacuum! 

Love the picture of GA comics like Jo Jo and PCH just strewn out on a table old school style. 

To heck with the big media shows. These shows are for us old paper folks. 

Thanks Rickster. Hope you do well. I know you are having fun. 

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On 8/22/2021 at 1:12 AM, detective35 said:

However if you throw out the one ridiculous and suspicious result for a Spider  @comicconnect were somebody paid a crazy amount of money for a common copy, they (Spiders) didn’t go for an overly crazy amount.  Matter of fact unless the Spiders were special covers or very high grades, they didn’t go that high at all, I was surprised.

There were a few other Spiders,  matter of fact 5 or 6 that went for the $600-$800 range (other than the number one), but they were high grade, as I won two of them.

However you haven’t seen Shadows from 1933-37 ultra high-grade being offered at sale in any auction?  A 1936 copy of the Shadow Partners of  Peril in VF condition and Heritage with a severe Trimming sold for around $1000

The problem with the shadow is that there are so many copies of them in mid grade or mid to high grade,  but when you see them in ultra high grade they can go for a very high price which I have seen and paid for privately. Subsequently the spiders are harder to find even in mid to high grade, so they will go for the a good price when they come up.

Bring out some Shadows from 1931 to 33 in truly high grade condition and see how quickly they would blow the doors off even the first year spiders and many of them would blow away the #1.

There are always going to be classic covers in each run and they are going to go for good dollars believe me.  Even with the Docs that aren’t quite as flamboyant cover-wise, the prices for copies in the first year are skyrocketing.

I know what you’re saying about the spiders because they have that crossover with the weird menace type of covers (Which I really like by the way),  but following the market over years you’ll see that like any other run there are certain 10 to 12 Spider covers that people really like and will bid aggressively on, but that’s no different than any other run.

I’ve carefully followed and monitored the market for the last 20 years and I buy and sell hundreds of high-grade Pulps every year, including this year and last year, so I’m constantly trying to keep ahead of the curve and what’s going to happen but who knows, But I wouldn’t sell the shadow short yet.

Oh, I hear you. The Shadow is the man and probably the best known pulp character. Early and high grade examples are real tough and will always be in high demand. Probably the same for Doc although he has always left me cold. 

Being a huge PCH comic collector, I have always been really drawn to the “shudder” pulps. The covers are striking and really grab my attention. 

I have read a good number of pulps but these are the ones I always actually read. The stories in the Spider and pulps like Horror Stories, Terror Tales, Dime Mysteries and Strange Detective Mysteries are real page turners. 

If and when pulps start being graded, any with outstanding or shocking covers are going to be the ones in highest demand. After all, once slabbed, all you got are the covers anyway. 

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On 8/22/2021 at 10:00 AM, Robot Man said:

Oh, I hear you. The Shadow is the man and probably the best known pulp character. Early and high grade examples are real tough and will always be in high demand. Probably the same for Doc although he has always left me cold. 

Being a huge PCH comic collector, I have always been really drawn to the “shudder” pulps. The covers are striking and really grab my attention. 

I have read a good number of pulps but these are the ones I always actually read. The stories in the Spider and pulps like Horror Stories, Terror Tales, Dime Mysteries and Strange Detective Mysteries are real page turners. 

If and when pulps start being graded, any with outstanding or shocking covers are going to be the ones in highest demand. After all, once slabbed, all you got are the covers anyway. 

Absolutely! 👍

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On 8/22/2021 at 9:00 AM, Robot Man said:

Oh, I hear you. The Shadow is the man and probably the best known pulp character. Early and high grade examples are real tough and will always be in high demand. Probably the same for Doc although he has always left me cold. 

Being a huge PCH comic collector, I have always been really drawn to the “shudder” pulps. The covers are striking and really grab my attention. 

I have read a good number of pulps but these are the ones I always actually read. The stories in the Spider and pulps like Horror Stories, Terror Tales, Dime Mysteries and Strange Detective Mysteries are real page turners. 

If and when pulps start being graded, any with outstanding or shocking covers are going to be the ones in highest demand. After all, once slabbed, all you got are the covers anyway. 

The Shadow and Doc Savage are the Superman and Batman of the pulp world, and while they both have some great covers in the run (that do exact a premium), just as with their DC counterparts, the more lurid covers of lesser known runs from other publishers drive the classic cover market. 

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On 8/22/2021 at 11:39 AM, Robot Man said:

Comics, Pulps and PBs, oh my!

Looks like an Awsome show that would suck the money outta my wallet like a vacuum! 

Love the picture of GA comics like Jo Jo and PCH just strewn out on a table old school style. 

To heck with the big media shows. These shows are for us old paper folks. 

Thanks Rickster. Hope you do well. I know you are having fun. 

Fun time indeed, except for the hot sticky weather for the load out, lol

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On 8/4/2021 at 11:31 AM, waaaghboss said:

I know, I thought pulps were supposed to be cheap compared to comics 🙃 

I'm guessing this one went to high because it was an l Ron Hubbard, the best fiction writer of the Era.  The other issue from that run I lost went for 300ish.  Still more than I was expecting a defective pulp to go for.  My pulp price guide is already out of date 😀

"I'm guessing this one went to high because it was an l Ron Hubbard, the best fiction writer of the Era."
L Ron Hubbard is avidly collected by L Ron Hubbard fans. 
L Ron was a hack.  

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