This Month in My Magazine Collection, or "How I Got Most of the Warren Mags in a Month" 2 2

[Axe Elf]

Ok, here's a few previews before I post them to the Gallery...  Some of these are really sharp--but then they should be.

Ken Kelley for the premier cover.

One of two or three really nice Sanjulians in the run so far.

Richard Corben's final cover art?

Easley seems to be a newer artist, but I've enjoyed his work on the Warrant books and the old D&D materials.

And of course there are a few Frazettas in the mix.

I'm sure it's no coincidence that the 2023 Annual looks a lot like the 1972 Annual.

[oakman29]

On 11/7/2022 at 3:02 PM, Axe Elf said:

This weekend I was treated to the kindness of a fellow board member, @Makmorn, who saw that I was seeking the After Hours series en route to completing my Warren collection, and offered me the first three issues in excellent condition!  I won't say the price, but I will say that these are the first books for which I have paid more than $50 each--but for the condition they're in, he still made me what I considered to be a very generous offer!

It's that kind of thing that makes this board a great place to be.  May we all take care of each other like that.

My Comix International 3 also arrived today, but that's almost incidental to the After Hours acquisition.

A book from Makmorn is always going to be special examples of books. Dud he throw in a Frazetta autograph for you?

[oakman29]

On 11/30/2022 at 6:22 PM, Axe Elf said:

Ok, here's a few previews before I post them to the Gallery...  Some of these are really sharp--but then they should be.

Ken Kelley for the premier cover.

One of two or three really nice Sanjulians in the run so far.

Richard Corben's final cover art?

Easley seems to be a newer artist, but I've enjoyed his work on the Warrant books and the old D&D materials.

And of course there are a few Frazettas in the mix.

I'm sure it's no coincidence that the 2023 Annual looks a lot like the 1972 Annual.

Nice!

[Axe Elf]

On 12/11/2022 at 9:41 AM, oakman29 said:

Dud he throw in a Frazetta autograph for you?

He did not, but I'm still entirely happy with the deal. 

[The Lions Den]

On 11/5/2022 at 5:53 PM, OtherEric said:

I think there’s a few in Famous Monsters.  Not positive 

Just in case Axe Elf ever wants to go completely bonkers, I believe FM #4 has the regular edition and the "Ghoul's Eye" sticker edition, #6 has the regular edition and the "MT Graves" sticker edition and #7 has 3 different versions, as well as a "Lucky 7" stamped edition...and that's not including the 10 issues in the middle of the FM run (#70 to #79) that are now considered to be the Monster World run... 

  

 

Edited December 11, 2022 by The Lions Den

[oakman29]

On 12/11/2022 at 11:17 AM, The Lions Den said:

Just in case Axe Elf ever wants to go completely bonkers, I believe FM #4 has the regular edition and the "Ghoul's Eye" sticker edition, #6 has the regular edition and the "MT Graves" sticker edition and #7 has 3 different versions, as well as a "Lucky 7" stamped edition...and that's not including the 10 issues in the middle of the FM run (#70 to #79) that are now considered to be the Monster World run... 

  

 

That's a helluva rabbit hole.😂

[Axe Elf]

On 12/11/2022 at 1:17 PM, The Lions Den said:

Just in case Axe Elf ever wants to go completely bonkers, I believe FM #4 has the regular edition and the "Ghoul's Eye" sticker edition, #6 has the regular edition and the "MT Graves" sticker edition and #7 has 3 different versions, as well as a "Lucky 7" stamped edition...and that's not including the 10 issues in the middle of the FM run (#70 to #79) that are now considered to be the Monster World run... 

I already have all of those variants on my list, and I wouldn't consider the run complete without them--were I ever to pursue the Famous Monsters of Filmland run (and of course I already have the 10 Monster Worlds).

[OtherEric]

On 11/30/2022 at 6:22 PM, Axe Elf said:

Easley seems to be a newer artist, but I've enjoyed his work on the Warrant books and the old D&D materials.

According to the Warren index, Easley did the covers for Creepy 129 and 133 during the original run, as well as a handful of interiors.

[Axe Elf]

On 12/11/2022 at 5:28 PM, OtherEric said:

According to the Warren index, Easley did the covers for Creepy 129 and 133 during the original run, as well as a handful of interiors.

I thought there might have been a couple, although those were both in the 80s--around the time he would have been doing D&D work too--and as such I stand by my "newer artist" impression.  I'm pretty sure he did some CREEPS covers too.  Not sure if he got in on any of the Dark Horse CREEPYs or EERIEs...

[OtherEric]

On 12/11/2022 at 5:04 PM, Axe Elf said:

I thought there might have been a couple, although those were both in the 80s--around the time he would have been doing D&D work too--and as such I stand by my "newer artist" impression.  I'm pretty sure he did some CREEPS covers too.  Not sure if he got in on any of the Dark Horse CREEPYs or EERIEs...

I'm not sure, given that it's almost 40 years ago that the did their last book, I consider anyone who worked on the Warrens a "newer artist".  I'll grant that he's a later artist, at least.  I'm probably just being excessively pedantic, I do that all too often.

[Axe Elf]

I skimmed through the seven pages of posts, and did not see any prior claims--hopefully there were no PMs or anything--so holding my breath until I get confirmation, but...

 

[Axe Elf]

On 12/15/2022 at 1:16 AM, Axe Elf said:

I skimmed through the seven pages of posts, and did not see any prior claims--hopefully there were no PMs or anything--so holding my breath until I get confirmation, but...

 

"Help! #1-3, #5-26 $275 SOLD!! Axe Elf"

CONFIRMED!

I'm so excited!

Thanks to @OtherEric, my Warren Reading Clubmate, for the tip.

And MCS had a HELP! #4 for $24, which I have also redirected to my home address, so I blasted out the full set (minus the #12B and #12C variants) for $299 and shipping!

Down to 6 books now (not counting any Famous Monsters of Filmland offerings):

• EERIE #1 
• After Hours #4
• Heidi Saha
• House of Horror
• HELP! #12B (white SEPT)
• HELP! #12C (white SEPT/black SEPT)

COULD I GET THEM ALL IN A YEAR???

I have until February 5...

[Axe Elf]

On 12/15/2022 at 11:48 AM, Axe Elf said:

"Help! #1-3, #5-26 $275 SOLD!! Axe Elf"

CONFIRMED!

I'm so excited!

The last of the "big box" shipments arrived today, as the HELP! run is the last full run (hence "big box" shipment) I needed--now it's just picking off those last six issues one by one as the opportunities present themselves.  It's almost the end of an era.  (If eras were years, anyway.)

I'll be working on getting them scanned and galleried soon, but man, the HELP!s were packed so well that I think their condition actually IMPROVED in transit!

Ok, probly not, but they were an amazing deal at an amazing time for me, so shoutouts again to @OtherEric for making sure I saw the listing and to @GACollectibles for making this easier for me than I deserved--and for one of the best packing/shipping jobs I've ever seen!

[Axe Elf]

On 11/5/2022 at 12:24 PM, OtherEric said:

Found one of these for $15 today--does anyone know if this variant (the white SEPT on the left and no black SEPT on the right) is officially "12b" or "12c"?  I tend to think of it as "12c," but I don't want to file it away as such if it goes against convention.

So the countdown continues...  With roughly one month to go, I still need 5 books to do the full Warren run (minus Famous Monsters of Filmland) in a year:

EERIE #1

After Hours #4

HELP! #12b (or #12c?--the one with the white SEPT on the left and the black SEPT on the right)

Heidi Saha

House of Horror

I should have a little fantasy football prize money headed my way if they ever figure out whether or not to play the Bills v Bengals game; that might help with one (or both) of the latter two.  The After Hours #4 and the final HELP! variant are just a matter of locating them.  There's some doofus on daBay right now listing a mid-grade copy of After Hours #4--but he's trying to pass it off as "Famous Monsters of Filmland #0" and asking $2,500 for it.   

Landing an authentic and affordable EERIE #1 in the next month seems highly unlikely, but if I can clear all the "H"s and all I have left to obtain after a year is EERIE #1, I'm counting that as a win!

[OtherEric]

On 1/4/2023 at 7:25 PM, Axe Elf said:

Found one of these for $15 today--does anyone know if this variant (the white SEPT on the left and no black SEPT on the right) is officially "12b" or "12c"?  I tend to think of it as "12c," but I don't want to file it away as such if it goes against convention.

I am not aware of ANY convention regarding the HELP! 12 variants.  I personally believe that it's the last of the three variants, assuming they were printed sequentially, so 12c makes as much sense as anything.  It's always possible that multiple covers were printed simultaneously on one press and have slight variations between them.

[Axe Elf]

I am hopeful that some big news will be arriving soon...

[OtherEric]

On 1/20/2023 at 2:45 PM, Axe Elf said:

I am hopeful that some big news will be arriving soon...

[Axe Elf]

Well, it's not the BIG news, but if there's popcorn involved...

I did receive a couple hundred of Christmas dollars, so I snatched up a dozen of my worst-looking EERIEs, and after tricking the natives into taking me as far as they would into DeBey Swamp, I chopped my way through the last 100 yards of undergrowth and found myself at the Mansion of the Upgrade Warlock...

I'd heard rumors that the old Manwitch could turn ugly-looking back-issues into collectible commodities for a nominal fee, and I wanted to see for myself.

So I found him in the lab, tossed this stack of rags on the cadaver, and asked him what he could do for $20.

First up was EERIE #4...  The first Gray Morrow cover for EERIE, but my 3.5ish copy was horribly faded and abraded.  He looked it over and said he had a solution--and best of all, it was only $17!

I shrugged and said "Sure.  What's the solution?"  It was apparently a liquid solution, as he quickly snatched my magazine in one hand and a long skinny purple lizard in the other, latched the lizard's jaws onto the corner of the magazine, and completely submerged it into a vat marked "PayPal."  And I tell you what, I was skeptical, but when he pulled it out, it DID look better!

But then he handed it back to me, and looking at it more closely, the whole upper right corner where the lizard's jaws had clamped down on it, most of the interior pages all had their corners chewed off!  It was no more than a quarter inch missing on any given page, and you can't really see it from the front or back or even straight on to the edge (this is one case where "see pictures for condition" doesn't apply)--but you can definitely see the damage when you fan the pages a little (or open the book).

So I dunno, I guess it was technically an upgrade--it at least looks a lot better in the bag--but I don't know that it was much of an upgrade in actual grade.  Sometimes when you make a deal with the devil, you know...

{to be continued}

[Axe Elf]

{continued from above}

So obviously I was like, "No more lizards, ok??" and he was like, "Ok, but it's a dollar more if I have to dip it in a solution with my own fingers," and I agreed  "So take my EERIE #7," I ventured.  "For $18, you can clear up this weird little starburst defect that jarringly mars an otherwise gorgeous Frazetta cover?"

He held up one of the fingers in question and went directly to a cabinet marked "Marringly Jars."  He pulled out the darkest one, and I said, "And maybe lighten up the back cover a little," so he put that one back and subsequently dumped the contents of a much lighter jar into the PayPal solution.  I held my breath as he dunked it in.

And again, it was better!

And no lizard-chewed corners this time!

So I decided to put this solution to the test--I pointed out my ugly #12 next.  "For $18, you can upgrade this too?"  I was skeptical.  I mean, that's a LOT of fading, foxing, and just look at those staples!

The Upgrade Wizard just chuckled and snatched it away from me, dunking it with as much confidence as ever into the PayPal solution.  And when it came out, I was like, ok, there really ARE some problems you can just throw money at!  Even the rust was completely missing now!

{to be continued}

[oakman29]

You are a terrific storyteller,  just had to say that. 

Continue.....🤗