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Underground comic books - I need your advice for buying
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Started by JollyComics,

30 posts in this topic

JollyComics

JollyComics

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The local comic shop is selling two long boxes of the underground comic books and some high value books are inside the glass display.  I am thinking about buying few books for myself.

Two books which are on my mind for sure are Zap #1 3rd print and Bakerfield Kounty Komics (Cherry Prototype).

Your advice for buying them so I will invest them for future - here is the list of the books that are displayed in the glass display:

New Adventures of Jesus #1  1st Print
Mr. Natural #1 1st Print ($250 Asked - I thought about it too)
Tales of Toad #2 (1st appearance of Zippy Pinhead) 1st Print
Mom’s Homemade Comics #1  1st Print
Zap Comics #3  1st Print  ($250 asked)
Art & Beauty Magazine #NN
Gothic Blimp Works LTD #NN
Snatch Comics #2 4th Print
Snatch Comics #3 2nd Print
Snatch Comics #3 3rd Print
Snatch Comics #1 4th Print
Zippy Stories (#?) 1st Print
Color (2 copies both are 1st Print)  #?
R. Crumb’s Comics & Stories #1  2n Print
Complete Cannabis Cultivator  1969  Rare
Ghost Mother Comics #1
Mad Peck Catalogue of Good Stuff #1 with the poster
Felch Comics #1  2nd Print
Zam (Zam Jam?)  1st Print
Pork (two copies 1st Print)
GJDRKZLXCBWQ (A Gallery of Goony Gags) 1st Print
The Adventures of Fat Freedy’s Cat Book 1 to 5 - all are 1st Print except #4 is 4th print.

Too many list to be written from two long boxes but two books that I will buy.  Wait until your advices to buy those books.

Thanks!

 

 

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jdandns

jdandns

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I'd go for the Crumb books first, and Gilbert Shelton next. They are 1-2 on my underground list. I also love Zippy & Griffith, so that's a lot of good stuff to choose from!

I once had a sharp 1st Print Plymell Zap #1, but sold it for $2,700 over 20 years ago.

I still have a 3rd print of my own. Here it is.

Good luck, and I hope you can add some nice books to your collection.

zap1.jpg

zap1b.jpg

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Qalyar

Qalyar

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So, it's tough to know without any idea about condition or (for most of these) asking price. Sure, all else being equal, I'd want Mr. Natural over Gjdrkzlxcbwq over Ghost Mother, and so forth.

In general, I value legitimate 1st print undergrounds over later reprints. They were often low runs and survival rates are poor. That said, trust but verify printing determinations, especially on big books, especially since they have something else wrong. Tales of Toad #2 is not the first appearance of Zippy -- that would be Real Pulp Comics #1.

  • Mr. Natural #1 1st print must say exactly "Printed by Apex Novelties and Published by the San Francisco Comic Book Company" on the inside front cover
  • Zap #3 1st can only be distinguished from the 2nd by the thickness of the cover. 1st prints are 0.006 inches thick or more; 2nd prints are under 0.005. Either bring a micrometer or don't buy this book.
  • Zap #1 3rd is a squinky book, but it was after undergrounds started to take off, so it is MUCH more common than 1st/2nd prints. Don't overpay.
  • Bakersfield Kountry is a cool book, but the three printing were identical, so it's a bit less rare than you'd expect. Total print run was like 40k.
  • Zippy #1 has a green background cover.  First prints have a red and black interior (on some pages); second prints are monochrome black within. #2 has a city street cover.

And so forth. But again, I don't think this is enough info for me to make recommendations. Ultimately, buy what you are happy with!

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JollyComics

JollyComics

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On 5/13/2022 at 8:48 PM, JC25427N said:

Invest in Crypto instead, with the rate that it's plummeting I'm sure its underground by now

 

(Sorry I don't know anything about these comics :()

I thought about it for a while.  If it plummets to few hundred dollars, I will gamble on them.

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JollyComics

JollyComics

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On 5/13/2022 at 9:48 PM, Robot Man said:

I would consider 1st print Crumb and Shelton books in as nice a shape as possible. Rare and scarce issues are great if you collect UGs. But these have a real limited audience.

I would echo the advice to buy what you like though.

I'd considered them but we don't see them in market often.

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jdandns

jdandns

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My Feds & Heads #1 1st print. Not for sale, but nice to look at. I actually got Feds, the Zap #1 third print shown above, and the Zap #1 1st print I mentioned selling, at a comic show about 25 years ago. There was a Zap #0 1st Print with them, too, but I incorrectly thought it was a 2nd print, so I took the Zap 1 third print instead, which was a mistake. I only had enough money for 3 comics, unfortunately, but I did get the best two, at least, the Plymell Zap and this...feds1b.thumb.jpg.6a29b60f93580163c9f58c9013635e73.jpg

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MetalPSI

MetalPSI

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On 5/13/2022 at 10:17 PM, Readcomix said:

Thanks Matt; there’s more knowledgeable underground guys than me already commenting here, but I’d go pretty narrow and stick with 1st print Crumb myself. Though I’d be intrigued by the Cherry Poptart prototype too.

Didn't even know this existed

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MattTheDuck

MattTheDuck

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On 5/13/2022 at 9:17 PM, Readcomix said:

Thanks Matt; there’s more knowledgeable underground guys than me already commenting here, but I’d go pretty narrow and stick with 1st print Crumb myself. Though I’d be intrigued by the Cherry Poptart prototype too.

Somebody else also ran a long UG sales thread not that long ago.  @namisgr?

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Readcomix

Readcomix

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On 5/14/2022 at 12:23 AM, MattTheDuck said:

Somebody else also ran a long UG sales thread not that long ago.  @namisgr?

Might be; but mine were more or less a subset of a much larger collection (1000 books; all over the map) that I bought a few years ago to get 2 keepers — a Sensation 12 and CDNP 46. The rest was mostly read and release fun.

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lizards2

lizards2

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New Adventures of Jesus is a cool book, depending on price. I got a copy off eBay 15-20 years ago or so, and I apparently fell into a good deal. Eggsackly told me mine was a first print.

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Qalyar

Qalyar

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On 5/13/2022 at 7:06 PM, JollyComics said:

The local comic shop is selling two long boxes of the underground comic books and some high value books are inside the glass display.  I am thinking about buying few books for myself.

Two books which are on my mind for sure are Zap #1 3rd print and Bakerfield Kounty Komics (Cherry Prototype).

Your advice for buying them so I will invest them for future - here is the list of the books that are displayed in the glass display:

New Adventures of Jesus #1  1st Print
Mr. Natural #1 1st Print ($250 Asked - I thought about it too)
Tales of Toad #2 (1st appearance of Zippy Pinhead) 1st Print
Mom’s Homemade Comics #1  1st Print
Zap Comics #3  1st Print  ($250 asked)
Art & Beauty Magazine #NN
Gothic Blimp Works LTD #NN
Snatch Comics #2 4th Print
Snatch Comics #3 2nd Print
Snatch Comics #3 3rd Print
Snatch Comics #1 4th Print
Zippy Stories (#?) 1st Print
Color (2 copies both are 1st Print)  #?
R. Crumb’s Comics & Stories #1  2n Print
Complete Cannabis Cultivator  1969  Rare
Ghost Mother Comics #1
Mad Peck Catalogue of Good Stuff #1 with the poster
Felch Comics #1  2nd Print
Zam (Zam Jam?)  1st Print
Pork (two copies 1st Print)
GJDRKZLXCBWQ (A Gallery of Goony Gags) 1st Print
The Adventures of Fat Freedy’s Cat Book 1 to 5 - all are 1st Print except #4 is 4th print.

Too many list to be written from two long boxes but two books that I will buy.  Wait until your advices to buy those books.

Thanks!

 

 

Couple others to do due diligence on:

  • Mom's Homemade #1 1st print has a 49c cover price. Reprints are 50c and not distinguishable. For the record, I have always really liked this book. I think it's genuinely funny, unlike a lot of UGs which are creatures of their era (or just trying too hard).
  • Fat Freddy's Cat: #1 1st prints do not credit Dave Sheridan on the FC. #2 first are halftone FC, later ones are line art and brighter; these are tough to tell apart without exemplars in hand sometimes. #3 first has a 75c cover price. #5 first has a $1 cover price. If the advertised 1sts are all 1sts, that's a tempting pick imo.
  • Pork first prints are 75c, but priced on the inside front cover. I am not much fond of Wilson personally, and don't even think this one's his best, but YMMV.
  • New Adventures of Jesus #1 1st is super easy. It's real. If it's red (or orange) it's not a 1st print. Unless high grade, don't overpay here. I've seen mid-grade copies of this one as cheap as $25 or 30. It is a cool book though!
  • Color only had the one issue (and printing).
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kav

kav

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On 5/13/2022 at 5:06 PM, JollyComics said:

The local comic shop is selling two long boxes of the underground comic books and some high value books are inside the glass display.  I am thinking about buying few books for myself.

Two books which are on my mind for sure are Zap #1 3rd print and Bakerfield Kounty Komics (Cherry Prototype).

Your advice for buying them so I will invest them for future - here is the list of the books that are displayed in the glass display:

New Adventures of Jesus #1  1st Print
Mr. Natural #1 1st Print ($250 Asked - I thought about it too)
Tales of Toad #2 (1st appearance of Zippy Pinhead) 1st Print
Mom’s Homemade Comics #1  1st Print
Zap Comics #3  1st Print  ($250 asked)
Art & Beauty Magazine #NN
Gothic Blimp Works LTD #NN
Snatch Comics #2 4th Print
Snatch Comics #3 2nd Print
Snatch Comics #3 3rd Print
Snatch Comics #1 4th Print
Zippy Stories (#?) 1st Print
Color (2 copies both are 1st Print)  #?
R. Crumb’s Comics & Stories #1  2n Print
Complete Cannabis Cultivator  1969  Rare
Ghost Mother Comics #1
Mad Peck Catalogue of Good Stuff #1 with the poster
Felch Comics #1  2nd Print
Zam (Zam Jam?)  1st Print
Pork (two copies 1st Print)
GJDRKZLXCBWQ (A Gallery of Goony Gags) 1st Print
The Adventures of Fat Freedy’s Cat Book 1 to 5 - all are 1st Print except #4 is 4th print.

Too many list to be written from two long boxes but two books that I will buy.  Wait until your advices to buy those books.

Thanks!

 

 

If they are not first prints they are not really worth buying in my opinion.  I'm talking about all the lesser known books.  Unless you just want to read them which would actually be a good reason because they are great.  

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