Pep 22 in Goldin100 1 1

[BigLeagueSlugger]

I have been looking for a nice Pep 22 for years,  unfortunately, I do not have a lot of experience with high-end golden age books. Any feedback about the pep 22, presently in the Goldin 100 auction would be greatly appreciated.

 

would this be considered a nice 6.5? What do you think would be a fair price to pay?

 

thank you in advance for any feedback.

[sfcityduck]

On 5/11/2023 at 6:33 PM, BigLeagueSlugger said:

I have been looking for a nice Pep 22 for years,  unfortunately, I do not have a lot of experience with high-end golden age books. Any feedback about the pep 22, presently in the Goldin 100 auction would be greatly appreciated.

 

would this be considered a nice 6.5? What do you think would be a fair price to pay?

 

thank you in advance for any feedback.

The 6.5 is the third highest graded copy.  The top graded is an 8.5.  The 6.5 is a very beautiful book.  There are raw copies that likely would grade out higher than the 8.5, so I would not buy the 6.5 thinking it will stay no. 3. But Pep 22 is a rare book, has continuing pop-culture significance, a fantastic WWII cover, and is treasured by collectors.  What's not to like about this 6.5 copy?

The second highest graded 7.0 ow/w sold for $143K prior to the Pandemic and Promise Collection bounces in prices.  A 3.0 hit $66K in 2021 after the bouncing started.   I think this 6.5 ow will go north of the 7.0 price easily, despite the slightly lower page quality, but others on this site are better at judging prices than me because they buy, sell and actually might be bidding on a Pep 22.

Edited May 12, 2023 by sfcityduck

[BigLeagueSlugger]

Thanks for sharing your insight.  Hope  you do not mind me asking.  For golden age comic book investment purposes, do you (or other experts here) think Superheroes or Pop Culture...  For example, Pep 22 vs Batman 1 - which has more upside?

Once again, thanks for sharing.

[sfcityduck]

On 5/12/2023 at 7:09 AM, BigLeagueSlugger said:

do you (or other experts here) think Superheroes or Pop Culture...  For example, Pep 22 vs Batman 1 - which has more upside?

To me superhero’s are pop culture at this point based on looking at box office results.

But as to your question, who can say?  Batman 1 has been a strong book but the pool of buyers shrinks as prices increase.  It takes a lot more resources for a Batman 1 to double in price than a Pep 22.  I don’t really “invest” in comics so you can get better answers, but Action1, D27, Superman 1, Batman 1, are all going up most of the time.  

[lou_fine]

On 5/12/2023 at 7:09 AM, BigLeagueSlugger said:

For example, Pep 22 vs Batman 1 - which has more upside?

Besides just upside potential going forward, the other key factor is rarity as the chance to ever acquire a copy of Pep 22 in any grade is so few and far between which is certainly not sommething you can say about a book like Bat 1.  

[sfcityduck]

On 5/12/2023 at 8:13 AM, lou_fine said:

Besides just upside potential going forward, the other key factor is rarity as the chance to ever acquire a copy of Pep 22 in any grade is so few and far between which is certainly not sommething you can say about a book like Bat 1.  

True, but rarity can depress prices.

[lou_fine]

On 5/12/2023 at 8:14 AM, sfcityduck said:

True, but rarity can depress prices.

Sadly, absolutely true as lack of market activity and price reinforcement over time can certainly slow down price acceleration going forward relative to other much more readily available books.  

Edited May 12, 2023 by lou_fine

[Robot Man]

One might add that Archie is pretty much  a comic book icon although maybe not as much since the series has changed so radically and there are no movies to support him and his crew.

Batman is always going to top Archie in the long run. 

[BigLeagueSlugger]

The promo video Goldin uses about this book, it says that Pep 22 is the most influential comic book not related to a Superhero - not sure if that is true or not...  What else may be a consideration?

Edited May 12, 2023 by BigLeagueSlugger

[waaaghboss]

On 5/12/2023 at 12:38 PM, BigLeagueSlugger said:

The promo video Goldin uses about this book, it says that Pep 22 is the most influential comic book not related to a Superhero - not sure if that is true or not...  What else may be a consideration?

Famous Funnies 1 or Funnies on Parade?

[jimbo_7071]

On 5/12/2023 at 3:38 PM, BigLeagueSlugger said:

The promo video Goldin uses about this book, it says that Pep 22 is the most influential comic book not related to a Superhero - not sure if that is true or not...  What else may be a consideration?

That's a highly subjective statement. (Of course they would say that, however, since they're selling a Pep 22 right now.)

The Crypt of Terror #17 was certainly influential. It wasn't horror comic, but it was the first EC 100% horror comic, and EC dominated the horror genre in the early 50s. Horror comics went on to spawn a massive culture war that shook up the entire comics industry and led to the voluntary censoring of comic books for decades by participating publishers via the "Comics Code Authority."

The Archie characters have remained popular, but I'm not sure that Pep 22 was really "influential." I've never thought of it that way.

To be honest, the first magazine-format issue of Mad (#24) was probably more influential than any non-superhero comic book.

Edited May 12, 2023 by jimbo_7071

[BigLeagueSlugger]

All valid points - thanks.  I am just trying to get a very hard to find comic book in fairly nice shape that represents pop-culture.  I am not an expert at comics but I was told Pep 22 is very hard to find in nice shape and I know for the last few years I have been looking it never appeared.  I am thinking this book may wind up costing over $250K but probably under $300K - does that seem realistic?

[jimbo_7071]

On 5/12/2023 at 4:35 PM, BigLeagueSlugger said:

All valid points - thanks.  I am just trying to get a very hard to find comic book in fairly nice shape that represents pop-culture.  I am not an expert at comics but I was told Pep 22 is very hard to find in nice shape and I know for the last few years I have been looking it never appeared.  I am thinking this book may wind up costing over $250K but probably under $300K - does that seem realistic?

I don't think it will get anywhere close to $250K, but we'll see.

[BigLeagueSlugger]

Hope you are right...

[The Black Hand ®]

For MLJ/Archie collectors it's a grail along with Jackpot 4, Archie 1 and Pep 36.

[lou_fine]

On 5/12/2023 at 1:06 PM, waaaghboss said:

On 5/12/2023 at 12:38 PM, BigLeagueSlugger said:

The promo video Goldin uses about this book, it says that Pep 22 is the most influential comic book not related to a Superhero - not sure if that is true or not...  What else may be a consideration?

Famous Funnies 1 or Funnies on Parade?

Now, that's an absolutely excellent choice and can't go wrong with since it's really the one that begat all else and started the whole enchilada.  

And to top it all off, Funnies on Parade is definitely much rarer than even Pep 22 or Famous Funnies 1 at only 14 Universal graded copies with the highest graded copies being only a CGC 8.0 after more than two long decades of certification.    

Edited May 13, 2023 by lou_fine

[Aman619]

Which Famous Funnies 1?  Golf cover or panel cover?

[lou_fine]

On 5/12/2023 at 1:06 PM, waaaghboss said:

Famous Funnies 1 or Funnies on Parade?

 

On 5/12/2023 at 9:11 PM, Aman619 said:

Which Famous Funnies 1?  Golf cover or panel cover?

As I had clearly stated in my earlier post, although it goes contra to what the Overstreet Guide says in terms of valuation, it would be Funnies on Parade all the way for me here.  

Now, if you are asking me my preference between Famous Funnies: Series One and Famous Funnies 1, I would once again go contra to what the valuations are in the Overstreet Guide and go with Famous Funnies 1.  Reason being that Famous Funnies 1 is the first monthly newsstand comic book while FF: Series One is really nothing special except for its rarity and from my personal POV pretty much nothing more than a "quasi-promo" book that was sold in chain stores.  The other negative with FF: Series One is that although it is a 68-pager, it really has only the first 16 pages of "new" content as the rest of the book is a reprint of the entire 32 interior pages of Funnies on Parage plus another 16 pages from FF: A Carnival of Comics.