Action Comics #96 9.8 or Action #4 8.0, which is a better investment?

[tb]

What an awesome article, Alan.

 

Does anyone out there have a copy of Supe #1? Would you share

with us what printing it is?

 

[ghoulaid]

That's tremendous information! How old is this article (not that it really matters). My copy is the "On sale June 2nd version". 1st? 2nd?

 

Now I'm wondering if more info can be gleaned from the indicia or lack thereof. My copy doesn't really have one. All it has is a copyright line "copyright 1939 by Detective Comics." (inside front cover). Maybe later printings have more info like an address or something?

[Aman619]

It doesnt say "Superman #1" either?

that sure means it was a giveaway of a sort as opposed to a first issue////

[tb]

I have not given up on this one yet. Someone told me that there is a picture of

"the best existing copy of WDCS #1" in Overstreet #27; I was busy at MIT back

then and missed it. Can anyone tell (directly or by exclusion) which of the two

copies (Denver or Crescent City) the picture showed?

 

> Whoa! - since we are batting 100% on all the toughball questions tonight, let's

> raise the bar another notch:

>

> How does the Crescent City copy of WDC&S #1 compare to the Denver copy?

> Have any Crescent City copies been certified so far? Who bought the Crescent

> City collection?

 

[greggy]

I have not given up on this one yet. Someone told me that there is a picture of

"the best existing copy of WDCS #1" in Overstreet #27; I was busy at MIT back

then and missed it. Can anyone tell (directly or by exclusion) which of the two

copies (Denver or Crescent City) the picture showed?

 

> Whoa! - since we are batting 100% on all the toughball questions tonight, let's

> raise the bar another notch:

>

> How does the Crescent City copy of WDC&S #1 compare to the Denver copy?

> Have any Crescent City copies been certified so far? Who bought the Crescent

> City collection?

 

It doesn't state whether the books are from either of these pedigrees. It just states that it is the best known copy.

[tb]

You are right, it could be a third one. I am curious because I have

heard different sources claim that both of those two copies is "the

best existing". So, I was assuming the picture shows one of them(?).

 

If anyone has more info along these lines, I'd be very interested in

hearing about it.

[supapimp]

im a late comer to this thread, but this is one of the best threads i've read in awhile. BTW mr. glass, i would keep the MH 9.8 hands down!

[Arty]

There's a picture of WDCS #1 in Matt Nelson's webpage, described as "the highest grade copy known". web page

There's no additional info about it though. But maybe Matt knows something?

It's an interesting link, a lot of other nice pictures.

 

Btw...I think this topic is so important it deserves it's own thread?

Hkp: do you know what is the highest price paid for a Disney comic?

[ghoulaid]

It doesnt say "Superman #1" either?

that sure means it was a giveaway of a sort as opposed to a first issue////

 

Nope, doesn't even say "Superman #1". Pretty unusual now that it's been brought to our attention.

[tb]

Thanks for the links Arty. Excellent geeking out pictures that answered

one of my $64,000 questions.

 

> do you know what is the highest price paid for a Disney comic?

 

The Denver copy sold around 1991 for $8,000 at a time when the NM/M

guide was $6,000 - must be a killer at that price. An unspecified NM

copy is reported to have sold at $2,600 (at guide) in Overstreet 13. I

don't know how much Rob Hughes paid for the Crescent City copy in

'95.

 

Oh, and the CGC 9.6 copy of Four Color 9 that sold a year or two

ago could be a candidate as well.

[PedigreeMan]

That's tremendous information! How old is this article (not that it really matters).

 

My understanding is that the article is about 10 years old.

 

My copy is the "On sale June 2nd version". 1st? 2nd?

 

Again, those issues with the "On sale June 2nd" blurb are either the 2nd or 3rd printings. There doesn't appear to be any other distinguishing marks between the two.

 

Incidentally, the notes from Michael Uslan indicated that the first printing was 500,000 copies, the second 250,000, and the third 150,000, so technically the non-first prints are rarer!

 

Alan

[PedigreeMan]

It doesnt say "Superman #1" either?

that sure means it was a giveaway of a sort as opposed to a first issue////

 

The following is from researcher Michael Feldman:

 

I'm pretty certain that the initial SUPERMAN #1 was a pre-ordered printing done specially for the New York City area. I think the complete printrun might have been bought by Interborough News. The national distribution followed shortly after.

 

There was a similar distribution arrangement with that World's Fair special of the same year that would eventually morph into WORLD'S FINEST.

 

Steve Rowe and I discussed this offline a few weeks ago. Sol Cohen, who worked for Gaines at All-American as a teenager, in 1970 recounted some stories about what he remembered or was told about the comics business.

He definitely mentioned the 'only NYC distribution' aspect, but It's possible he may have had some information garbled.

 

One of the fascinating aspects of the Golden Age is the unearthing of lore such as this and the debates that ultimately ensue. I don't believe we know even the smallest of a percentage of the real happenings that went on "behind the scenes" at those early comic companies. Quite a departure from today where a half-dozen websites report whenever Joe Quesada sneezes or Bill Jemas goes to the bathroom.

 

Alan

[ghoulaid]

That's tremendous information! How old is this article (not that it really matters).

 

My understanding is that the article is about 10 years old.

 

My copy is the "On sale June 2nd version". 1st? 2nd?

 

Again, those issues with the "On sale June 2nd" blurb are either the 2nd or 3rd printings. There doesn't appear to be any other distinguishing marks between the two.

 

Incidentally, the notes from Michael Uslan indicated that the first printing was 500,000 copies, the second 250,000, and the third 150,000, so technically the non-first prints are rarer!

 

Alan

 

From the article:

I think the most supportable statement we can make is that a copy with "Now on Sale" is definitely NOT a first printing, and that a copy with "On Sale June 2nd" is definitely NOT a third printing.

 

My understanding of this statement is an "On sale June 2nd" version would be a 1st or (maybe) 2nd printing. Correct? I suddenly have the urge to try to determine the other printings and think the key will be in the indicia (if there IS one on any copies). Sadly, I don't have multiples of Superman #1 to check

[tb]

Actually, this could be a fun collecting challenge; I wonder if anyone

has ever assembled a complete set of each of the two identifiable

versions of Batman 1, Superman 1, and Marvel 1?

[PedigreeMan]

From the article:

I think the most supportable statement we can make is that a copy with "Now on Sale" is definitely NOT a first printing, and that a copy with "On Sale June 2nd" is definitely NOT a third printing.

 

Duh. Looks like I need a course in reading comprehension. Sorry about the confusion ... you're correct, the "On Sale June 2nd" is either a first or second printing according to the article.

 

Alan

[metropoliscomics]

What is the feeling out there between the difference in price of an Oct Marvel #1 as compared to a November copy? I believe that there were 100,000 Oct printed and 800,000 November copies.

[lou_fine]

Steve;

 

I believe that like the current books being published today, first prints should always be worth more than the subsequent second and third printings. Especially in the case of a situation when the second print has a substantially larger number of copies printed. The offset, I guess is that these key Golden-Age are so rare that collectors are just happy whenever they can find a copy. Still, the first print should carry some kind of a premium. Maybe this is a good point to bring up with Overstreet since you have a lot of influence with the big boys.

 

From another thread, it's nice to hear that you have the MH copy of Suspense Comics #4 in your arsenal. What type of condition is it in and are you planning to sell this book or just hang onto it for now? Do you also have the MH Suspense #8 and #12 which was also brought up in the other thread?

[Zonker]

Incidentally, the notes from Michael Uslan indicated that the first printing was 500,000 copies, the second 250,000, and the third 150,000, so technically the non-first prints are rarer!

 

Right-- we first saw that on one of hkp's other great threads!

Asterisk (*) denotes Superman cover. What this doesn't take into

account is when DC listed SUPERMAN #1 (Summer) which appeared for sale in June

1939 with the following history:

 

#1 FIRST PRINT 500,000

#1 2ND PRINT 250,000

#1 3RD PRINT 150,000

TOTAL 900,000

 

 

So this seems to be dual-sourced from Michael Uslan and also Russ Maheras' notes from the Chicago Audit Bureau of Circulations microfilm (the thread noted above). Damn! There's a lot of fascinating scholarship out there! Thanks for sharing, everybody!

 

[tb]

It's still a little out of my league to answer this since I am just getting started

seriously on high end GA. When I have been looking for all this info about

pedigrees etc, it is because I've decided to put a substantial amount of

money into my hobby over the years to come. Currently, I am leaning

towards high grade runs of Adventure, More Fun and possibly early

Detectives (Steve, you may have noticed I was bidding against you and

Geppi on the two #6 copies recently) - these are my favorite titles

and my survey has already made it clear that a wide variety of interesting

pedigrees are circulating for these. I would never collect Whiz, for example,

since pedigrees appear to be unobtainable. Likewise, Marvel Mystery is less

interesting to me since all the Church copies are unavailable. Aside from

the above runs, I would like to collect G-VG range copies of the major GA

keys. A long time project, of course; I am in no hurry and want to do my

homework first.

 

With that disclaimer, to your question: To me, there is a huge difference

between the October and November issues. I would much prefer the

earlier, rarer issue if I were to pay this kind of money for a single book.

I don't understand at all why the two versions have been selling for the

same price??? With the new knowledge about Superman #1, I would also

pay more for a first printing than a third one.

 

 

 

[metropoliscomics]

The truth of the matter is that all the high grade pedigree copies of this books that exist are ALL November copies. There have been many people over the years, with their high grade November copies firmly in hand, saying "So what's the big deal?" Just ask a rare book collector his opinion on the matter.

In my opinion, an October copy should be worth at least 50% more than a November copy. The best unrestored October copy that I have ever seen was a FN-. AND I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF BOOKS

 

S