CGC Members Choice: Most Single Undervalued GA Comic book your opinion and mine! 7 7

[Professor K]

On 10/8/2022 at 4:54 PM, Nazirite said:

This won’t hold a candle to others on here and it’s not the most undervalued by a mile but I’d toss in Sensation Comics #2 

3rd appearance of WW

2nd cover appearance of WW

2nd appearance of Wildcat and Mr. Terrific 

1st appearance of Etta Candy

 

That's the one I've been hoping to get for a long time. And she still has the skirt. Is that photo cropped or trimmed or something? Because it looks perfect.

[Ameri]

All #2 issues are undervalued in my opinion. Sensation 2 is a great book. Congratulations!

[Nazirite]

On 10/9/2022 at 2:52 PM, Professor K said:

That's the one I've been hoping to get for a long time. And she still has the skirt. Is that photo cropped or trimmed or something? Because it looks perfect.

Yes photo is cropped and this book do not come up for sale often. 

[Nazirite]

On 10/9/2022 at 3:23 PM, Ameri said:

All #2 issues are undervalued in my opinion. Sensation 2 is a great book. Congratulations!

I just pulled this pic off the net , I wish I had copy!

[Pantodude]

So many good candidates, and in relative terms, smaller books could be just as undervalued as some usual, bigger suspects, as nominated above.  But I just wanted to double check in both absolute and relative terms, and it brings me back to Tec38.  The disparity in Overstreet's NM- valuations is a real head-scratcher!   Tec38 at $200K is 1/10 of Supe1 at $2mil and 1/5 of Bat1 at $1mil! 

As discussed initially on pg1, whatever the relative popularity of Superman, Joker/Catwoman, and Grayson/Robin today, Tec38's GA impact (i.e., kid hero revolution), together with the enduring importance of Grayson/Robin and that sweet cover, could make it podium worthy after only Tec27. If so (a big if, I know), that is HUGE in absolute terms (as in 10x).   And in terms of relative scarcity, Tec38 (75 blue out of 142) also has fewer total graded CGC books than either Supe1 (72 blue out of 169) or Bat1 (136 blue out of 291).    

Ideally I would have included this info the first time around, as I like spicing up discussions with data.  Just wanted to cover both the relative and absolute dimension to OP’s inquiry re this book.     

Another caveat is that some GA keys have been MIA w/ no recent sales.  They might appear to be undervalued based on stale sales data, but we can't know for sure until we have a recent sale.  I'm assuming some of those were nominated above?   If so, I expect Silver Streak Comics #1 could be one of those (I have one and am losing hope for data).   

Edited October 10, 2022 by Pantodude

[bronze johnny]

On 10/9/2022 at 1:53 PM, BLUECHIPCOLLECTIBLES said:

Don't forget Famous Funnies 27, the first ever "True Crime" comic, thought it was a one-off.  OOPS.  I see the post ahead of me already said this

Thanks but FF 27 is an anthology that had a partial crime cover and crime story in it. Buck Rogers also appeared in FF before Planet Comics 1 and there were horror stories in Yellowjacket Comics #7 (first appearance of the Ancient Witch horror host) in 1946 - before Eerie 1 (1947) and Adventures into the Unknown 1 (1948) (not counting the Classic Comics adaptations of classic horror stories like Shelly’s Frankenstein). Crime Does Not Pay 22 is the first comic devoted exclusively to the crime genre and its impact resulted in an era of crime comics published by numerous publishers. It’s not just about what’s published but also what impact it had on the comics that followed. Don’t take my word for it, just look at all the crime books that came out with the goal to achieve the success that Gleason did.

Edited October 9, 2022 by bronze johnny

[bronze johnny]

On 10/9/2022 at 12:19 PM, Robot Man said:

Yeah, I too remember the days when people were pretty "close to the vest" about undervalued comics. To some degree, I still am. There are several books I feel very important and undervalued that I buy every time I can and hoard. Like giving up sources. Somethings you just keep to your self.

I'm going to stray a bit on this one. Take it away from the "Men in Tights" genre.

This is a book that is no secret. Nor is it inexpensive especially in grade. I consider it to be one of the more important books in comics. This was the one that even slick talking Bill Gaines could not defend. It was the straw that broke the camel's back and changed comic book publishing forever. I have bought several copies and never sold one. I remember when Russ Cochran's file copy list came out, I called as soon as I saw it. But sadly, I was told it sold just an hour before I called. 

As well known and expensive that it is, I still feel it's growth potential is near limitless.

I would also put MAD #1 in as a runner up...

I love your picks but EC Comics aren’t Golden Age.

[Ameri]

On 10/9/2022 at 3:39 PM, Nazirite said:

I just pulled this pic off the net , I wish I had copy!

My not so purdy copy

[Nazirite]

On 10/9/2022 at 6:08 PM, Ameri said:

My not so purdy copy

Looks great to me, man, so I’m guessing it’s on your NFS list ? 

[Ameri]

On 10/9/2022 at 7:42 PM, Nazirite said:

Looks great to me, man, so I’m guessing it’s on your NFS list ? 

NFS (at the moment) 

[Cat-Man_America]

Shield-Wizard #7 ...This is a popular book, but in my estimation it's a key issue deserving reevaluation and much deeper research to verify it's unique place in comic history.  This is the issue which redesigned the Shield's costume & took away his super-powers making the character more like Captain America. The irony is that Cap was originally provided to Martin Goodman by request in response to Pep Comic's successful super-powered patriotic Shield character. Impressed by the result, S&K were promised profit sharing at Timely and Joe was given senior editorship.  But this honeymoon didn't last long. Frustrated by deceptive basket accounting shenanigans (combining winning titles with losing titles to deceive competitors resulting in lower percentage payouts to Cap's editors) they decided to solicit additional work elsewhere.

When this moonlighting was discovered by Goodman S&K were summarily axed for disloyalty having violated Martin's perception of their binding contract with him. In an intriguing twist, shortly after the dismissal Jack Kirby penciled this unsigned cover of Shield-Wizard (Irv Novick inks?) for MLJ.  

S-W #7 was published less than six months after S&K were dismissed from Timely, around the time they started working for DC.  It's entirely possible that the pencils were done without any paper trail perhaps as a subtle "thank you" to Martin Goodman. But the evidence is sketchy (pun intended). I suspect more proof of how this short side-venture transpired is recorded somewhere. I'm unaware of any other cover work generated by Jack Kirby for MLJ around this time which only serves to fuel curiosity about this book. The timeline is interesting and I'd love to see the evidence developed. This unique issue raises a lot of questions, many still unanswered.

Edited October 10, 2022 by Cat-Man_America
Ale added!

[NormanEdwards]

On 10/9/2022 at 10:23 PM, Ameri said:

All #2 issues are undervalued in my opinion. Sensation 2 is a great book. Congratulations!

Absolutely agree*

[Tsp99]

On 10/9/2022 at 1:02 PM, bronze johnny said:

Is there a more undervalued comic book than Crime Does Not Pay 22 (1943)? This book started what I call the Third Era in the History of the 20th Century American Comic Book (the First era being the Humor Comics that started with Funnies on Parade in 1933 followed by the Second era coinciding with the introduction of Superman and the Superhero Age with Action Comics 1 in 1938). The crime comics would surpass the popularity of the declining superhero based book during the years immediately following the end of the Second World War. Crime would be followed by romance and horror during the postwar years. We know what happened then and this one started it all (not my copy):

My vote

[Ameri]

On 10/9/2022 at 2:16 PM, BLUECHIPCOLLECTIBLES said:

Some other contenders.  Hit Comics 1, first ever horror anthology begins.  Character is an Old Witch, nearly identical to the one EC would use ten years later.

Pep 39 -  Jughead dresses like Hitler (for you WW2 collectors), and one of the very few times that Archie Comics even referenced the war outside of a random "bond rally" reference.  If you want more Jughead, there's Pep 81, which was the only time prior to the 60s that Jughead showed interest in women, and in that issue he's a total playa.

Marvel Mystery 17 -- a year before Pearl Harbor, depicts a Nazi sneak attack on the US. 

Young Men 24 -- short-lived revival of Captain America, Sub-Mariner and Human Torch

Best 1 -- first minority hero with a cover image of a black guy hero smacking the out of a white guy villain., in 1939

Little Giant Comics 2 (1939) and Uncanny Tales 26 (1954) both published by Timely/Marvel and both featuring villains call "The Spider-Man"

Foreign versions of superstar comics with variant artwork.  In some cases they show DC and Marvel heroes on the same covers.  And some coivers get the characters all wrong, like the AF 15 version from India which has Spidey threatening to torture and kill a guy, or the Mexican cover (can't recall which issue) that has Spidey gunning down a cop.  Plus lots of hyper-sexualized versions of women on covers that make it look as if Spidey, the FF and Nick Fury are starring in soft-core porn versions of the Marvel Adventures.  

Romantic Picture Novelettes 1 -- first romance comic, and Young Romance 1 (first rom series)

War Comics 1 -- pre-US entry into the war, a story in this book heralds the Nazis for a victory over the British.

Bill Barnes 7 -- story depicts and describes atomic bombs before the existed.

Captain Marvel Adventures -- 1946 very downbeat end of the world story many years before any films or TV shows did it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Young Men 24 for sure! 

[KirbyJack]

If covers make comics valuable, then National #16 is as good as any.

[MusterMark]

On 10/8/2022 at 6:43 AM, FoggyNelson said:

On 10/8/2022 at 4:00 AM, Ameri said:

This one may not be super duper undervalued but I hardly hear anything about this book.

Expand  

Hour man movie coming out soon👍👍😁😁😁if you are lucky 🤣🤣😁

Well, the TV show is really good (or at least season one was, at least for me - thought it was great.  I still have to catch up, starting near the start of season two.

 

[ChillMan]

On 10/7/2022 at 6:56 PM, Mmehdy said:

Opinion time...many years ago when fandom was just a baby everyone kept comic book knowledge to themselves until after they got the book...LOL. Anyway looking for the great boards opinion as to what is the single most undervalued GA comic book. Here is my vote:

 Human Torch #3 (which is actually The HT's second issue, the first being the outstanding Red Raven #1)....Why...

 Well....It is the true first appearance of Captain America in print form and in reality it truly is the first appearance of Captain American on page 44 of HT #3 (2). Lets say you consider house ad's of the future comic book not to count....Fair enough...I know the infamous Detective 26 etc. However while the inside  promotes Cap one coming out on Dec 20 Newstand I believe the inside front cover,that AD it a  refers to the reader to page 44...this reference is the key here, and the true first appearance of Cap and Bucky...in full page color appears, not a reproduction . You can reference this confirmation by Marvel and the outstanding omnibus edition "Timely's Greatest : The Golden Age Simon and Kirby" book. There description acknowledges as CA First Print appearance. It was the announcement of Cap's Club in full color. HT#3 (2) is clearly the must undervalued  GA comic book out there.

 Agree or Disagree if you disagree what is it?   

PS: somebody just paid $3.12 Million dollars the second apperance of Captain America....and I just love Cap #1 as one of my Favs of the GA, but HT 3(2) is a real bargain!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I absolutely agree 100%.

I was expecting some typical choice as I scrolled down on your post...but you're right on the money with this one!

First published image of Captain America.

Edited October 15, 2022 by ChillMan

[ChillMan]

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by ChillMan

[ChillMan]

How about More Fun Comics #31.  First published image of Superman.  On newsstands April 1, 1938.

Edited October 15, 2022 by ChillMan

[ChillMan]

On 10/8/2022 at 11:49 PM, Crowzilla said:

How has this thread gone on so long without Chillman coming in and pimping his $20 Million Dollar comic?

I'm bringing us all up.

If 1 of dozens of grade-9 (2nd highest) 1952 Mickey Mantle rookies can sell for $7M...I say that several comics should be worth $20M.

You disagree?