Jon Berk has passed. 12 12

[adamstrange]

Jon was keenly aware of passing of many of the early GA artists, which motivated him to connect with those who were "found".  He viewed recreation commissions as a way to demonstrate his sincere appreciation for their art and, for some, to provide a little bit of extra cash.   These requests could be a little tricky to navigate and didn't always go quite as planned.  In one case, the artist shaved off the left 15% of a cover image because they relied on a photo he sent from a bound volume to make sure they knew which issue would be recreated.  He didn't think they would sketch based on that image.

 

Quote

We are part of the last generation of fans to know the first generation of comic book artists.

-- Jon Berk

[fishbone]

Respect to a Comic Giant 

[Professor K]

On 8/15/2023 at 12:38 PM, adamstrange said:

Jon was keenly aware of passing of many of the early GA artists, which motivated him to connect with those who were "found".  He viewed recreation commissions as a way to demonstrate his sincere appreciation for their art and, for some, to provide a little bit of extra cash.   These requests could be a little tricky to navigate and didn't always go quite as planned.  In one case, the artist shaved off the left 15% of a cover image because they relied on a photo he sent from a bound volume to make sure they knew which issue would be recreated.  He didn't think they would sketch based on that image.

 

-- Jon Berk

That Detective Comics 18 he had on his wall in the picture you posted looks totally awesome. I was wondering if Creig made it especially for him. "Shelly" Moldoff created some particularly nice quality ones as well. I bet Mr. Berk had at least one of his also. 

Kind of funny, the shaved off part. Kind of. Kind of not. I know you probably don't want to out the artist but I'd love to see that finished work. 

edit: Looking at it again , is it numbered as 15 instead of 18? If so no big deal, makes it even more unique. 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Professor K

[adamstrange]

On 8/15/2023 at 2:26 PM, Professor K said:

That Detective Comics 18 he had on his wall in the picture you posted looks totally awesome. I was wondering if Creig made it especially for him. "Shelly" Moldoff created some particularly nice quality ones as well. I bet Mr. Berk had at least one of his also. 

Kind of funny, the shaved off part. Kind of. Kind of not. I know you probably don't want to out the artist but I'd love to see that finished work. 

edit: Looking at it again , is it numbered as 15 instead of 18? If so no big deal, makes it even more unique. 

Jon had dozens of recreations, probably half purchased and half commissioned.  He talked me through stories of many of them, but not so that I remember the details of more than a few.

[Professor K]

On 8/15/2023 at 2:44 PM, adamstrange said:

Jon had dozens of recreations, probably half purchased and half commissioned.  He talked me through stories of many of them, but not so that I remember the details of more than a few.

Makes sense. I just noticed his Science Comics 1 on the wall..........by Murphy Anderson. 

https://www.comicconnect.com/item/713713

I didn't see the Detective 18 as being sold. I bet he kept that one. 

 

 

[adamstrange]

On 8/15/2023 at 3:02 PM, Professor K said:

Makes sense. I just noticed his Science Comics 1 on the wall..........by Murphy Anderson. 

I think he had 3 or 4 Murphy recreations of Lou Fine covers.  They were part of a series commissioned by Steve Geppi, who managed the sales through Diamond Galleries.  There was a special kick-off celebrating Murphy's career and displaying all the recreations at the Diamond offices in Baltimore.  Jon got first pick through his relationship with Murphy and Geppi.

[Tbone911t]

Rest in peace Mr.Berk. Thoughts go out to his family. The only auction catalogue I ever saved.  

[twmjr1]

On 8/15/2023 at 9:11 AM, Robot Man said:

Wow! We have all sold books and been sorry afterwards. Sad part, is the money is re-spent and you now longer have the book or the money…

I’m pretty much a keeper. So other than the fact that a book has gone up way more than you sold it for, I hate to regret owning it once and knowing I will never have it again. 

In five decades of collecting, I've bought 70,000 books, sold zero. 

[Professor K]

On 8/15/2023 at 3:12 PM, adamstrange said:

I think he had 3 or 4 Murphy recreations of Lou Fine covers.  They were part of a series commissioned by Steve Geppi, who managed the sales through Diamond Galleries.  There was a special kick-off celebrating Murphy's career and displaying all the recreations at the Diamond offices in Baltimore.  Jon got first pick through his relationship with Murphy and Geppi.

Oh wow. Thanks so much for posting that. Every one looks great. Love what he did with the Hit 4. 

[Robot Man]

On 8/15/2023 at 1:10 PM, twmjr1 said:

In five decades of collecting, I've bought 70,000 books, sold zero. 

I only sell books to buy others. My collection is totally self funded. But I also have sold books for real estate purchases and my kids college. I only sell books I can’t live without for the most part. It is a self funding hobby not a business for me.

[adamstrange]

On 8/15/2023 at 3:53 PM, Tbone911t said:

Rest in peace Mr.Berk. Thoughts go out to his family. The only auction catalogue I ever saved.  

Jon thought some items went below his expectations, but, overall, he was extremely pleased with the results. 

Sometime around 1990, he stepped up his spending on the hobby in a big way, using what he called "family money", which he promised Bonnie would be well spent.  While he watched the books and art go to new homes, the resulting payments more than met the expectations he had given to her.  They were both very pleased with the results.

[Weird Paper]

On 8/14/2023 at 9:37 AM, adamstrange said:

Pictures from another visit to Jon's "Aladdin's Cave"

 

I was deeply saddened yesterday when I heard of Jon's passing. Such a nice guy, and this visit was a collector's dream. (I am the goofy guy in the photos.) I have a couple pages in my art collection from Jon's CC auction, including one of my favorites from our visit.

 

[adamstrange]

I have shared my great respect for Jon, both as a friend and as benefactor of our hobby, but I also am indebted to him as the catalyst for my comic collecting focus over the last three decades.

I first met Jon 30 years ago at a barbecue place in San Diego that was the beginning of the American Association of Comic Collectors.  In those initial casual conversations his interest in the early years and origins of comic books were discussed, as well as his purchase of the Church copies of the Lou Fine Hit Run that I had read about in the Overstreet Guide.  He also mentioned acquiring a few Fox books from the Church collection, Fantastic 1 - 3.

From the conversation, two things became very clear to me:  he was very knowledgeable about this era, both from the perspective of what issues were desirable and which were the copies to own, and he was making significant progress due to excellent connections with dealers and fellow collectors.  

I was on the verge of a more serious focus on comic collecting, though uncertain as to what direction to take.  The big GA superhero books were already expensive relative to my budget, and Jon had already snaffled many of those early GA books that I had on my wantlist.  His purchases and the rarity of many of these issues would make it very difficult for me to assemble the kind of collection I wanted.

Those conversations helped me step back and look at the breadth of the American comic history to consider an alternative focus.  That's when I was struck by the gap from the end of WWII to the beginning of the Silver Age a decade later.  Not much was documented and very little collecting attention was paid to it as superheroes was not the transcendent genre.  Jon called this "The Dark Age" of comics which, despite his decades in the hobby, he could only dimly illuminate and was only mildly interested in.

This was an era rich with the maturing of the comic art medium and the greatest readership, yet as unexplored as that of the primitive Golden Age.  Collecting this era sounded like and has been a grand adventure, one which I might never have begun without his open welcome to the hobby.

[The_Investor]

Sad news indeed about his passing!

I bought a raw Warrior Magazine #1 on ComicConnect and it came with a certificate " ...Jon Berk collection ). My presser sent it off to to CGC and it recently came back with a blank label with no certificate because CGC lost it. I reached out to ComicConnect a few weeks back and they mentioned that the certificate would be reissued and mailed to me. I have yet to receive it !!! Will call them again a 4th time to see if it was mailed out. My presser and I e-mailed CGC customer service and the lady wrote back that CGC no longer adds " ...Jon Berk Collection" . That it was done in the past but no longer now. I was confused and wrote back that CGC should and must respect a book if it has a certificate of authenticity from this collection. Her following reply simply reiterated that CGC no longer labels it as such. 

Am I missing something here gentlemen? Is the lady at customer service correct? I feel cheated by such a response. Anyone here experienced the same or know someone at CGC who actually knows how to help fix this because they understand why my book should have the proper label? 

Thanks for any advice and contact information I could use to reach someone at CGC in the know. 

[action1kid]

On 8/16/2023 at 9:58 AM, The_Investor said:

Sad news indeed about his passing!

I bought a raw Warrior Magazine #1 on ComicConnect and it came with a certificate " ...Jon Berk collection ). My presser sent it off to to CGC and it recently came back with a blank label with no certificate because CGC lost it. I reached out to ComicConnect a few weeks back and they mentioned that the certificate would be reissued and mailed to me. I have yet to receive it !!! Will call them again a 4th time to see if it was mailed out. My presser and I e-mailed CGC customer service and the lady wrote back that CGC no longer adds " ...Jon Berk Collection" . That it was done in the past but no longer now. I was confused and wrote back that CGC should and must respect a book if it has a certificate of authenticity from this collection. Her following reply simply reiterated that CGC no longer labels it as such. 

Am I missing something here gentlemen? Is the lady at customer service correct? I feel cheated by such a response. Anyone here experienced the same or know someone at CGC who actually knows how to help fix this because they understand why my book should have the proper label? 

Thanks for any advice and contact information I could use to reach someone at CGC in the know. 

I’ve heard too many reviews about things being lost. How can you be comfortable mailing in an Action # 1 for example. Wish it could be graded at a show as an option. Of course, I could get mugged too.

[lpsunburst]

Jon will be sorely missed, he is one of the main reasons I became interested in collecting Fox superhero books. i was only able to get one from his CC auction but its a keeper.

[tb]

I was deeply saddened to hear this. Jon was one of the people that I always admired most in the hobby.
It was nice to read through all the great comments. Among his many accomplishments, the one that I feel is most overlooked is the effort he put into consigning recreations. I can imagine being in his shoes back in the 1990s and recreate the thinking process that led up to his decision to devote all that time, effort, and money to finding and meeting Golden Age artists towards the end of their lives. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful way to not only give back to these artists, but also let them give him something uniquely meaningful in return. Meeting Jon in person and experiencing his passion for their life's work must have been just as wonderful for them as the experience was for him. Jon was truly one of a kind and he had a profound impact on my own approach to collecting.
RIP.

[CGC Mike]

On 8/16/2023 at 9:58 AM, The_Investor said:

Sad news indeed about his passing!

I bought a raw Warrior Magazine #1 on ComicConnect and it came with a certificate " ...Jon Berk collection ). My presser sent it off to to CGC and it recently came back with a blank label with no certificate because CGC lost it. I reached out to ComicConnect a few weeks back and they mentioned that the certificate would be reissued and mailed to me. I have yet to receive it !!! Will call them again a 4th time to see if it was mailed out. My presser and I e-mailed CGC customer service and the lady wrote back that CGC no longer adds " ...Jon Berk Collection" . That it was done in the past but no longer now. I was confused and wrote back that CGC should and must respect a book if it has a certificate of authenticity from this collection. Her following reply simply reiterated that CGC no longer labels it as such. 

Am I missing something here gentlemen? Is the lady at customer service correct? I feel cheated by such a response. Anyone here experienced the same or know someone at CGC who actually knows how to help fix this because they understand why my book should have the proper label? 

Thanks for any advice and contact information I could use to reach someone at CGC in the know. 

I checked into this.  Here is what I was told from Matt Nelson:

Whether they are from Berk, or any significant collection we recognize on our label (pedigrees included). We can’t simply go off a cert because the books can be switched. Proof must be provided beyond that. In this case we would need a link from the CC auction or website, or since we know the guys at Comicconnect, an email from one of them confirming that they sold this particular copy from the Berk collection to him. If I can get that, I’ll add it to the label if he sends it to my attention. But he should secure that info before he mails me the book.

[The_Investor]

On 8/16/2023 at 1:30 PM, CGC Mike said:

I checked into this.  Here is what I was told from Matt Nelson:

Whether they are from Berk, or any significant collection we recognize on our label (pedigrees included). We can’t simply go off a cert because the books can be switched. Proof must be provided beyond that. In this case we would need a link from the CC auction or website, or since we know the guys at Comicconnect, an email from one of them confirming that they sold this particular copy from the Berk collection to him. If I can get that, I’ll add it to the label if he sends it to my attention. But he should secure that info before he mails me the book.

Hi Mike, thank you so much for your reply!!! Being the owner of the book, I can definitely ask ComicConnect to write me an e-mail providing proof that I won this raw Warrior Mag #1 on their auction years ago and in fact that there is a certificate of authenticity proving the book comes from the personal collection of Jon Berk. This was one of two reasons why I bought it in the first place. I'll get you that info ASAP Mike.

Thanks again for making my day!  Customer service was not  very helpful when I kept telling the young lady that what she was saying made absolutely no sense. She also never once asked for the proof. She kept saying CGC no longer does this on the label. Maybe she was a new employee, one who does not understand or collect comics thus does not know how to address the problem adequately without asking her immediate supervisor who intern, also does not collect comics and hands down a clear verdict, " NO"  without ever once  taking 2 minutes and communicate with me directly.   

Regardless, it's no one's fault, glad I have a way of getting this fixed. God Bless 

Edited August 16, 2023 by The_Investor

[misterrmystery]

So sorry to hear the news of Jon's passing. I first dealt with Jon when I sold him some Fox comics through Comic Buyers Guide in the 1990's.  I believe two books were a Science #2 Larson copy and a Mystery Men #14 Allentown copy. We had many discussions over the phone about comics and did some trading which was always fair for both of us.

I finally met Jon in the mid 1990's at a Hartford, Connecticut show. Jon brought some of his books which he showed with a crowd surrounding him. He enjoyed talking comics and his knowledge was second to none. He had a few Amazing Man which he said was an acquired taste. Jon never had to have the best existing grade. He was happy to acquire a copy. We were both Centaur and Fox collectors so had some interesting conversations. He will be missed.

RIP Jon

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by misterrmystery
revision