Collector's Items/Editions - Comics That Called Their Shot 3 3

[grendelbo]

This topic has been touched on before -

However, it's an interesting subgenre of collecting - issues that deemed themselves "Collector's Item" or "Collector's Edition" on the front cover.

Like Babe Ruth, they called their shot.

 

What books do you have that have this proclamation on the front cover?

Surprisingly, I didn't have as many as I thought. There were tons of issues proclaiming themselves "First" or "Premiere" (itself a neat subgenre of covers), but not too many were so bold as to foretell their place in the hobby years into the future.

Which ones were right on? Which ones were a miss? And all I have are first issues - I wonder if there's any collector's editions from within a title's run.

 

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by grendelbo

[grendelbo]

I found a couple more -

This next one basically counts.

As does this one.

Big strike with Arak.

Bwahahaha! Worst cover ever!

[grendelbo]

This one is great in it's self-awareness and frivolousness.

Edited November 15, 2021 by grendelbo

[Domo Arigato]

On 11/14/2021 at 11:34 PM, grendelbo said:

Which ones were a miss?

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by Domo Arigato

[OtherEric]

Here's a couple more.

As to which made the grade, I think of the ones we've seen so far the Vampirella #1 has a clear lead, but there are a couple other solid choices in there.

Here's a related question:  What was the first comic that was a self-proclaimed Collector's Item?

[Ken Aldred]

The Silver Age barrel scrapings…

And the one already posted, just to complete the set of these imaginative reinterpretations of beloved horror characters…

Edited November 15, 2021 by Ken Aldred

[theCapraAegagrus]

Does "BIG PREMIERE ISSUE" count? Marvel Silver Age superheroes has plenty of those.

[grendelbo]

On 11/15/2021 at 6:53 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Does "BIG PREMIERE ISSUE" count? Marvel Silver Age superheroes has plenty of those.

Different subgenre. A lot of books really want you to know it's the first issue.

Examples -

Buy I'm more interested in those so bold as to call themselves "collectible." They wanted to be bought to be kept, maybe hoarded. Not many really stood the test of time.

I'd agree Vampirella probably is now the most valuable and sought-after.

 

On 11/15/2021 at 1:54 AM, OtherEric said:

Here's a related question:  What was the first comic that was a self-proclaimed Collector's Item?

I wondered too. We can certainly find them in the Silver Age, but I wonder if any Golden or Atomic Age books proclaimed themselves collectible?

[Buzzetta]

GI Joe #1 and Spider-man #1 have maintained or increased in value over the years.  I was surprised at what CGC 9.8's are commanding on Spider-man 1. I remember buying a green 9.8 and silver 9.8 for $50 to submit to McFarlane at CGC to be signed.

[grendelbo]

I found a few more, only a couple of which I once owned.

So many didn't live up to their cover hype.

And we have this classic series. It's how I read the SA masterpieces as a kid. And for cheap.

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by grendelbo

[Buzzetta]

Do we see samples of "collector's item" or anything trying to sell a comic as a collector's item before Stan and Marvel in the Silver Age? 

[Qalyar]

On 11/15/2021 at 9:46 AM, Buzzetta said:

Do we see samples of "collector's item" or anything trying to sell a comic as a collector's item before Stan and Marvel in the Silver Age? 

I had a conference call I shouldn't have ever been asked to attend, so decided to put that time to use. I pulled up GCD's cover images of all #1 issues from 1950 to 1959 to check for "collector's issue" text or the like. It's possible I may have missed a book or two. There were way more of these than I expected (north of 1000...), and despite a handful of really great covers, a lot of them were eye-crossingly horrible. There's also a chance that something other than a #1 was marketed this way. After all, the Dell Frankenstein and Dracula "collector's issues" from 1966 are both technically #2s (as they are terrible superhero reboots of previous horror books). If someone else wants to do a broader search through '50s covers, they're welcome to it...

That said, I came up with exactly zero books that marketed themselves as collector's issues, collector's items, or the like. However, Katy Keene Pinup Parade #1 (Archie, 1955) gets an honorable mention for including "A big parade of pin-ups! Pin-ups! For your pin-up collection", which appears to be the first time that a comic book cover explicitly referred to collecting anything comic-related.

[Qalyar]

On 11/15/2021 at 10:46 AM, Parker1865 said:

How about Supersnipe? 

 

I stand corrected in a sense. I didn't browse through the '40s books, so this 1942 issue didn't show up in my list.

[Buzzetta]

On 11/15/2021 at 11:53 AM, Qalyar said:

I stand corrected in a sense. I didn't browse through the '40s books, so this 1942 issue didn't show up in my list.

But we don’t see anything really marketed as a collector’s item until the Silver Age.  Now I am wondering where the mentality of collecting comes into the forefront.  People were collecting stamps and coins for decades if not hundreds of years before that… but when does collecting “something” come into the forefront of the public. 

[Buzzetta]

On 11/15/2021 at 12:06 PM, Parker1865 said:

For comics, the letter pages of EC Comics comes to mind.

Sigh 😔 

almost had me 

[grendelbo]

I found some more.

1965 is the earliest year in which I can find an example of the "Collector's Item" blurb on the cover.

The collector's mentality surely existed prior to that but maybe it was in this era that the hobby was pervasive enough that comic publishers wanted to appeal to enthusiasts. Seems around the time too we see an increase of books with cover blurbs emphasizing "First" or "Premier" issue.

[grendelbo]

On 11/15/2021 at 11:21 AM, grendelbo said:

1965 is the earliest year in which I can find an example of the "Collector's Item" blurb on the cover.

With some exceptions -

[grendelbo]

A couple more including a Hulk issue long past it's premier.

 

Oh, and wasn't this the thing back in the day?

[Qalyar]

On 11/15/2021 at 12:36 PM, grendelbo said:

With some exceptions -

That Millie the Model might be the current contender for the first "collector's item" cover (January 1960). The L Miller Mystic #20 was probably a 1962 release.

I see a lot of these aren't #1s. Sigh. I'm gonna have to figure out a faster way to search through the 50s books again, haha...

[grendelbo]

On 11/15/2021 at 11:46 AM, Qalyar said:

I see a lot of these aren't #1s. Sigh. I'm gonna have to figure out a faster way to search through the 50s books again, haha...

It ain't easy.

Mad Magazine had a bunch of compilations with the blurb. I wonder if any early issues, comicbook format or magazine format, proclaimed themselves collectible?