The thrill of the hunt is thrilling when you find the book 3 3

[shadroch]

On 9/22/2021 at 1:57 PM, SuperBird said:

I remember having to go to show after show to hunt down every little book I needed to complete a dozen runs, from Miller Daredevils to Cerebus. Condition was irrelevant for a lot of it. Truly the thrill of the hunt! These days, I barely see the point in going to shows. It's just a different hobby. I prefer reading TPBs and not bothering with single issues anymore. 

I tried to buy books that were in Fine, but these days they'd be more VG. However, I bought a lot of low grade 12 cent books because I was more concerned with completing a run than having a few better looking books. My friend and convention companion was the polar opposite. We'd come home from a convention  and I'd have two shopping bags worth of books and he'd have a half dozen books, even though we both spent around the same amount.  

Edited September 23, 2021 by shadroch

[Robot Man]

On 9/22/2021 at 1:27 PM, batman_fan said:

My first bags were from Robert Bell.  I bought some heavier ones with his name on them but later bought 100 very thin ones.  I stuck two books per bag.  Good days, good days.

My first bags were cleaners bags. I would bag about 20 fold over the bag and tape it. I eventually forgot about it and just stored them in stacks on shelves in my closet until I discovered these...

[Robot Man]

On 9/22/2021 at 3:40 PM, gunsmokin said:

Same here. I went to shows to meet the silver age artists and buy books. All of the silver and gold artists are essentially gone now and I can find books on the internet so why go anymore?

Oh, I don't know. Perhaps the thrill of discovery as you flip through boxes? Or perhaps the comadaree of your fellow comic geeks? Oh, thats right, cooties have pretty much ruined that now.   Well, then how about the exercise?  

[gunsmokin]

On 9/22/2021 at 7:18 PM, Robot Man said:

Oh, I don't know. Perhaps the thrill of discovery as you flip through boxes? Or perhaps the comadaree of your fellow comic geeks? Oh, thats right, cooties have pretty much ruined that now.   Well, then how about the exercise?  

Actually I go for all of the tremendous food choices offered in the hall.

[Westy Steve]

There’s definitely a reason to go to shows.  Not just the wall books for second mortgage prices, but the box of wall books that the dealer didn’t have room for so he keeps it behind the table (always ask!), but the “junk” $10 boxes are fun to look through.  Look for the dealer with $10 boxes with activity reminiscent of seagulls on a fresh garbage truck. Not meaning to repost this, but found this in a junk box.  Still junk to many, but I thought it was a cool mash up book.  

Besides, it’s good to take the temperature of the market. A lot of dealers wish they had gold right now.
 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Westy Steve
Clarity

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 9/22/2021 at 1:27 PM, batman_fan said:

My first bags were from Robert Bell.  I bought some heavier ones with his name on them but later bought 100 very thin ones.  I stuck two books per bag.  Good days, good days.

My first bags were from Cherokee Book Shop in Hollywood in 1966.  Burt gave them to us for free (1 per comic bought)...

[Tri-Color Brian]

I've posted this book before, but I think this was my longest thrill of the hunt...20+ years since first seeing it in the Photo Journals...only to be eventually found on ebay for $20...

[gunsmokin]

This was always my primary reason for going. Hanging out with my idols!

[Surfing Alien]

On 9/22/2021 at 2:11 PM, twmjr1 said:

Anybody ever buy from Passaic Book Center back in the '70s? I bought tons of books from them. They put out a massive catalog every six months for several years, and advertised through Marvel and DC.

I still have books I bought in lots from them. They would grade lots of 5-10 books with an "Average Grade". Still have a beautiful Detective 387 with the anniversary cover that I got along with others from the lot because I never sold my Detectives when I sold many of my comics

[zosocane]

Captions please?  I recognize Carmine.

[Surfing Alien]

On 9/22/2021 at 2:39 PM, Robot Man said:

I heard he used to hang comics on the fence with close pins. And had tons of unbagged GA on his table. 

Ritchie is one of those peculiar old school dealers. Most who are still active are a bit peculiar. I won’t post my list but you older guys would probably agree. Further evidence that comics rot your mind...

I have always liked Ritchie but he will talk your ears off. And if you want a deal all you got to do is mention baseball and praise the Mets. 

Ritchie used to set up at the Greenberg monthly shows in NYC and always was interesting. He would put out stacks of $1, $3,$5,$10 books on top of the table and I would rifle those stacks and chuckle at the "table banter" on the bigger wall books... I know I still have some of those table books. Mostly silver DC.

[zosocane]

On 9/22/2021 at 10:42 AM, batman_fan said:

I 1st saw the book back in the late 1970s at the library in Cheyenne, WY so that is when I started wanting the book.  I finally bought it around 2017 so about 38 years give or take.  A mere blink in the grand scheme of things.

I purchased a used copy of this book for $2.98 (that's what the pencil-marking on the interior fc notes) maybe around 1981/1982, likely at a New York convention or comic shop (no way to find something like this is South Florida in those days).   It has 40 full-size high-quality cover repros of epic works like Tec 1, Tec 31, Whiz 22, Fantastic Comics 3, etc.  I was a tween at the time, and these covers were just jaw-dropping to see in full color in those days.

[gunsmokin]

On 9/22/2021 at 10:19 PM, zosocane said:

Captions please?  I recognize Carmine.

Me and Gene Colon, next is me and George Tuska and lastly me, Carmine and Julie Schwartz (long time editor at DC)

[Robot Man]

On 9/22/2021 at 8:22 PM, Surfing Alien said:

Ritchie used to set up at the Greenberg monthly shows in NYC and always was interesting. He would put out stacks of $1, $3,$5,$10 books on top of the table and I would rifle those stacks and chuckle at the "table banter" on the bigger wall books... I know I still have some of those table books. Mostly silver DC.

I remember him doing that at WonderCon but they were $10 and $20 piles. He explained that people like impulse buying in even numbers. He told me that he would “salt” the piles with some good stuff to make people interested. He said that after people buy the cheap stuff they will look at the better books and often buy them too.

Worked like a charm on me. He did laugh and noticed that my cheaper stack was pretty “salty”...

[fifties]

On 9/22/2021 at 11:49 AM, Robot Man said:

 

I do have to say, I pull out boxes all the time and look at my books, thumb through them, use for research and yes reread many. I still enjoy the heck out of my hord. 

Yup, this is where it's at for me as well.  Often in the evenings I have to make the big decision, do I want to read horror, or crime?

AFA "the hunt", as with many others here, before the internet and eBay, I would get catalogs and publications, and haunt a few used bookstores, including Cherokee in Hollywood.  But I have to tell ya, once my son hooked up a desktop PC for me, connected to the net, and put it on eBay, I was in hog heaven, LOL!

[AJD]

On 9/23/2021 at 2:02 AM, Robot Man said:

Oh, and now that you found that killer Frazetta cover, you really need to hunt for the rest!

[batman_fan]

On 9/22/2021 at 9:27 PM, zosocane said:

I purchased a used copy of this book for $2.98 (that's what the pencil-marking on the interior fc notes) maybe around 1981/1982, likely at a New York convention or comic shop (no way to find something like this is South Florida in those days).   It has 40 full-size high-quality cover repros of epic works like Tec 1, Tec 31, Whiz 22, Fantastic Comics 3, etc.  I was a tween at the time, and these covers were just jaw-dropping to see in full color in those days.

I got my copy off Amazon.  Cant remember how much but it was pretty cheap.

[Robot Man]

On 9/22/2021 at 9:37 PM, fifties said:

Yup, this is where it's at for me as well.  Often in the evenings I have to make the big decision, do I want to read horror, or crime?

AFA "the hunt", as with many others here, before the internet and eBay, I would get catalogs and publications, and haunt a few used bookstores, including Cherokee in Hollywood.  But I have to tell ya, once my son hooked up a desktop PC for me, connected to the net, and put it on eBay, I was in hog heaven, LOL!

Cherokee, Bond Street Books, Collectors Book Store...

[Surfing Alien]

On 9/23/2021 at 12:33 AM, Robot Man said:

Worked like a charm on me.

Me too! The key was to get to his table early to grab that salt. The psychology of going through random stacks of even priced books and picking out the better values or cooler covers was more rewarding than digging through unmarked boxes and far less intimidating than asking the prices of wall books to the younger collector I was then. Some dealers set-ups and methods were no-mans lands for the light pocketed bargain hunter I was but I always stopped at Ritchies because I knew I'd find a few books and get a chuckle. I got some nods of approval at my pile pickings from him and did eventually buy some other, non-pile stuff.

[Robot Man]

On 9/23/2021 at 8:28 AM, Surfing Alien said:

Me too! The key was to get to his table early to grab that salt. The psychology of going through random stacks of even priced books and picking out the better values or cooler covers was more rewarding than digging through unmarked boxes and far less intimidating than asking the prices of wall books to the younger collector I was then. Some dealers set-ups and methods were no-mans lands for the light pocketed bargain hunter I was but I always stopped at Ritchies because I knew I'd find a few books and get a chuckle. I got some nods of approval at my pile pickings from him and did eventually buy some other, non-pile stuff.

Sadly, he doesn’t do that anymore. All he deals with are slabs. Ironic, because he was one of those guys who hated them for so long. 

He used to “work” on books but called it “conservation” not restoration. He knew if he sent in any of his books they would come back purple.

On anything other than the cheap books, I would look at them very carefully. He would always disclose everything if I asked but if I didn’t...