Your Very First GOLDEN AGE Comic! 3 3

[lou_fine]

On 4/21/2023 at 9:46 PM, N e r V said:

On 4/21/2023 at 9:20 PM, woowoo said:

Nope I was buying them in vg for around 250. Guide was 250-500-750. If someone has a guide, please look. I know when I opened the first page the cover was peeling from the page, they were great.

I’m at work right now to look but this site has PG #7 at $85., $170., $255. (G-Fn-M). 

Yes, that Porky Pig cover by Barks was my first price guide that I had ever brought and read through until it was all worn out.  

Looks like the long held Overstreet pricing spread at 1-2-3 and you are indeed correct as the PG #7 has it at $85., $170., and $255.  

[woowoo]

On 4/22/2023 at 9:39 AM, lou_fine said:

Yes, that Porky Pig cover by Barks was my first price guide that I had ever brought and read through until it was all worn out.  

Looks like the long held Overstreet pricing spread at 1-2-3 and you are indeed correct as the PG #7 has it at $85., $170., and $255.  

The time could have been 1978 or 79 since I did not drive till the end of 79 so it could have been 79 guide value would you look @lou_fine I know I was buying them around $250 in vg. and he wanted 750 each for them.

[lou_fine]

On 4/22/2023 at 10:07 AM, woowoo said:

The time could have been 1978 or 79 since I did not drive till the end of 79 so it could have been 79 guide value would you look @lou_fine I know I was buying them around $250 in vg. and he wanted 750 each for them.

No problemo at all. 

Most probably somehwere in the '79 time frae as the 1979 Overstreet Guide has the AF 15 valuations set at $150/$300/$450 and then a full double the following year in 1980 at $300/$600/$900.    

[Frisco Larson]

The first Golden Age comic I ever bought was an incomplete Sub-Mariner #18 that had the covers, the first 2 wraps and the centerfold and folio behind it, so it was missing most of the interior. So, I count the comic below as my first Golden Age comic as it's the first COMPLETE GA comic I ever bought ... this exact copy, as I've managed to hang on to it all these years later! 

[N e r V]

On 4/22/2023 at 10:07 AM, woowoo said:

The time could have been 1978 or 79 since I did not drive till the end of 79 so it could have been 79 guide value would you look @lou_fine I know I was buying them around $250 in vg. and he wanted 750 each for them.

I bought a Fantastic Four #1 that’s in about VG+ around 1986-87 for $150.00. I also picked up an Amazing Fantasy #15 that was probably a 9.4+ by todays standard for about $1500.00. Fantastic Four #1 was still as or more valuable as a AF#15 during this time. I want to say by the late 80’s or maybe very early 90’s they had jumped to as high as 5k but that would get you an upper super high grade. The market even in the 80’s was still all over the place with prices. But there was a general market value for common books like early SA Marvels. It really wasn’t a big deal back then to see high grade early Marvels because there were a whole lot of people around back then that bought them off the newsstands. I bought that cheap FF #1 lower grade because I wanted a reader copy. I bought a lot of lower grade (VG’s) GA too to have reading copies. That stuff would all be sitting in slabs today by todays collectors…

[adamstrange]

On 4/21/2023 at 11:14 AM, whomerjay said:

Not sure if this is my first but certainly the first I remember.

Bought this in 2003 along with a few other HG GA (at a fairly good price but certainly not a steal at the time) after many years of dealing in SA/BA/CA and decided I needed to start learning about GA. Was annoyed by the bindery chip and didn't feel an 8.5 was justified because of it (not knowing CGC's and most of the hobby's attitude towards bindery chips). I took it to several shows and got looks but no buys. One other dealer at one show who clearly knew GA asked me why I dealt in SA/BA/CA when they were so abundant that your business is essentially selling widgets (my words/interpretation). He thought this Nationals #11 was an exceptional book that I shouldn't be pricing as if eager to sell. Swayed more by my grading bias and the fact it didn't sell after 3-4 shows, I sold it on Clink (my first ever CLink sale) in 2004 for $800. 

I guess if you factor in it's been almost 20 years, I guess $800 wasn't bad. Plus this very book, after being pressed and resubbed (netting only an increase to OWWP) sold on HA for only $1560 in 2019; $800 in 2004 was a better sale, you can't net that little after 15 years.  But now after 20 years of gaining a reasonable GA education and appreciation of these books, if I could go back in time I definitely would have NOT sold and instead thrown this one in the vault. Any of you guys buy this book (in 2004 or since)?

 

 

What a great Lou Fine cover!!!

[BitterOldMan]

On 4/21/2023 at 7:09 PM, woowoo said:

I started with my first big book Spiderman 4 vg from Gerry in San Rafel store called Record King. He showed me mint copy's of Fantasy 15 for $750 each they looked like they were never put out. 1977ish. had to take bus was not driving yet.

I than bought my first Golden age Action comics 10 vg 300 cash or 600 trade had no cash so Bob Beerbohm took trade this was at pier 39.

I than went crazy as you can see from some polaroid's I found few years ago.

I sold in the CBG bought from Steve Fishler Ed Kalb I think that was his name sold my Superman 1 to The Dentist he sent me my first check  great times.

 

The Record King was owned by Joe Colabella, who now resides in Clear Lake and sells football cards.  I remember purchasing stacks of old baseball cards from Joe in the seventies and my Four Color 29.

[comicjack]

Amazing Man # 11 still have it today and the first Centaur book when nobody wanted him 

[Frisco Larson]

On 4/24/2023 at 2:56 PM, comicjack said:

Amazing Man # 11 still have it today and the first Centaur book when nobody wanted him 

I remember a time when I had a vg-ish copy of this book and couldn't GIVE it away for around $150. Should've just put it back in the box!!!    Nice copy you've got here!!!

[Robot Man]

On 4/24/2023 at 12:56 PM, comicjack said:

Amazing Man # 11 still have it today and the first Centaur book when nobody wanted him 

I had a few AM and Centaurs VERY early in my collecting journey. Used book  stores and small batches of books from garage sales and flea markets. I had no idea what they were, nor did anybody I knew. Probably traded them away for ECs. It was years later when GA Timelys and DCs got out of my meager price range when I discovered them again along with other non demand publishers like Nedor, Ace, MLJ and others. Went wild on most of them but had (and still do) have very few Centaurs. They have always been rare. AM is still my favorite title in their stable. 

[comicjack]

On 4/24/2023 at 4:08 PM, Frisco Larson said:

I remember a time when I had a vg-ish copy of this book and couldn't GIVE it away for around $150. Should've just put it back in the box!!!    Nice copy you've got here!!!

You couldn't even sell an Amazing Man 22 back in the day now is a different story 

[comicjack]

On 4/24/2023 at 5:29 PM, Robot Man said:

I had a few AM and Centaurs VERY early in my collecting journey. Used book  stores and small batches of books from garage sales and flea markets. I had no idea what they were, nor did anybody I knew. Probably traded them away for ECs. It was years later when GA Timelys and DCs got out of my meager price range when I discovered them again along with other non demand publishers like Nedor, Ace, MLJ and others. Went wild on most of them but had (and still do) have very few Centaurs. They have always been rare. AM is still my favorite title in their stable. 

Even back then Timelys went for good money now they are the price of a home in the 80's 

[*paull*]

On 4/20/2023 at 11:36 AM, BitterOldMan said:

In 1971, my parents moved from North Beach into the Mission District of San Francisco, when I was a sophomore in high school.  I attended the academic Lowell High School located at the other side of the city.  Students at other schools openly despised us.  Every day, I commuted to the high school on public transit.

I started buying regularly from the comic store legend, Gary Arlington, located on 23rd Street.

At first, I collected early silver age Marvels.  My first GA was Superman 22.  Not my copy, but still own it.

Over the years, I bought regularly from Gary.  After his shop closed, I visited him several times until his death in 2014.  We would talk for hours.  He bought an original Carl Barks Duck painting for around $200 from Carl.  He was known as an EC super fan, but never owned a Tales of Terror Annual 1.

Check out the ladder sitting on the old comics.🤢

 

I bet that at least one of the books on that wall are owned by a Boardie today.

[Robot Man]

Leonard Brown with a new buy and Malcom Willitts checkin out Batmans in the safe at Collector's Book Store in Hollywood...

[circumstances]

Welcome to the forum!

I read my first comic off the rack in early 1975.

Shortly after that I found a local shop and discovered back issues. I don't recall them having any golden age for sale or on display, but I did buy the Overstreet in 1976 (the Spirit) there, so i was definitely aware of GA books by then.

I was reading and collecting all my runs (at a different shop) in 1978 when one of the owners said they were flying to NYC for the 4th of July Phil Seuling Comic Art Convention.

We lived in South Florida but had moved from Brooklyn, so I had folks to stay with.

Surprisingly my mom said yes. I was 14.

It was a different world then.

I didn't intend to buy golden age comics at my first Con, but I met Jay Maybruck of Sparkle City, and he cut me a deal on minty fresh World's Finest #9, and Human Torch #12.

Both excellent WWII covers (my tastes must have formed early)!

I was then collecting snd reading my runs and buying gold at the same time.

A few years later after completing all the runs I wanted to complete, I turned exclusively to Golden Age comics for the remainder of time that I collected.

Edited April 26, 2023 by circumstances

[woowoo]

On 4/24/2023 at 12:24 PM, BitterOldMan said:

The Record King was owned by Joe Colabella, who now resides in Clear Lake and sells football cards.  I remember purchasing stacks of old baseball cards from Joe in the seventies and my Four Color 29.

What's up @BitterOldMan I went to Record king and Joes stepson said this just came out and he put it on as I was buying the Spiderman 4. Great times. I did talk to Joe 20 years ago.

 

[Chief1332]

My first GA book was my low grade Diary Secrets #30.  It was found it in a group of 150-200 comics that were mostly 1970's superhero and archie.

[skypinkblu]

I saw and bought my first GA comic on eBay, probably in 2000. I had purchased SA books at flea markets and I had read DC and Marvels as a kid, but when I found eBay I was stunned. A friend's son asked me to sell his ASM books for him on eBay (I had sold a few things there and no one else knew how it worked;) because he was getting married. I had bought him most of the books over the years...I'd find them, read them and give them to him and his brother. 

So I was doing research, I had no idea how many pages books had, what they would sell for, etc...when I saw an old "Superman" book, Action 23. It was missing the cover and I'd later find out it was also missing the centerfold, but I bought it for $50. I got really hooked on finding older comics (SA) that I had never seen, so I kept staying up nights and bidding...then I later found the eBay chatboard for comics, where people explained about page counts, etc...and I decided to sell my copy for what I paid for it, since it was incomplete. I listed an auction and a very nice man from California won it. Turned out he was the head of some studio...and thinking about doing a Superman movie...we got invited to Visit one of the shows my daughter was watching, in person. Those were the fun days on eBay when you got to talk to people by name, lol...and get phone numbers;)

I kept looking for a complete copy of Action 23, but it was many years until I found one I could afford...

 

[ttfitz]

The first Golden Age comic I bought was at a Baltimore Comic Con. It was on Sunday, and I was making a last look around, when I saw a Action Comics #89 on someone's wall. I didn't really look at GA books much, as they tended to be out of my price range, but this one was at least in the neighborhood of what I could afford. I had a hard time deciding, though - I had my want list which had my target price (Overstreet VG usually) but in order to keep it to one page front and back, it didn't go back that far. I kept going back and forth, and finally I think the guy might have pulled out an Overstreet for me to look at. Seemed like a reasonable price, and I've always been a big Superman fan, so I bought it.

Can't remember exactly when this was, but I can say it was 2013 or earlier, as the oldest wantlist I can find on my computer dates from then and indicates I owned the 89 (ie 88 and 90 was on the list).

[*paull*]

I started going to New York shows in the early 90s and saw Golden Age books but didn't pay much attention to anything other than early Tec, Batman, Action, Marvel Mystery, etc.  Man, how I wish I saved up to buy GA and pre-code horror books back then and skipped Silver Age books.  I didn't really start paying attention until around 1995-1998 when Comic Buyer's Guide had multiple page auction listings for GA and pre-code books.  I was mesmerized by the Timelys, Schomburgs, L.B. Coles, and lurid 1950s books in those listings.  I will probably create another post about these CBG auctions...

The first GA book I bought was Mask Comics 1, after having seen one in the CBG auctions.  I just had to have it... fell in love with that cover and am still in love today!

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by *paull*