Remember the days when people paid huge money for old comic books? 2 2

[Telegan]

On 9/11/2023 at 4:13 PM, WolverineX said:

That's probably true.  180k in apple stock is probably insane now

If you invested $180k into Apple back on January 1, 1996, and never sold, your return would be around $46 million.  If you bought $180k of Monster Beverage/Hansen's on the same date and never sold, you'd be sitting on around $240 million.

In the words of Cher, "If I could turn back time ...".  Where's Kang when you need him?

[WolverineX]

On 9/11/2023 at 5:31 PM, Telegan said:

If you invested $180k into Apple back on January 1, 1996, and never sold, your return would be around $46 million.  If you bought $180k of Monster Beverage/Hansen's on the same date and never sold, you'd be sitting on around $240 million.

In the words of Cher, "If I could turn back time ...".  Where's Kang when you need him?

Incredible..I guess what should we buy today?

Edited September 11, 2023 by WolverineX

[Robot Man]

On 9/10/2023 at 9:16 PM, sartrexpress said:

Bill Hughes at one time had the Sup 1 mile high 8.0 restored. priced about 50k . color touch was removed

My understanding was it went from Church to Chuck who sold it to Redbeard who sold it to Bechara. I didn’t know Hughes figured into the picture. I know it was unrestored while in Redbeard’s ownership. 

[N e r V]

On 9/7/2023 at 9:42 AM, Robot Man said:

Back in the day before many comic shops in LA, this was the place to go. David T told me one day that collections of old “valuble” comics came in so fast they didn’t have time enough to process them all. A trip to the back room verified this. There were stacks and unsorted boxes all over the place. In the upper left window from left to right, Carl Macek, Terry Stroud, Bill Stout (who took comics in leu of payment for these ads), unknown guy and David T Alexander. These were VERY savvy guys and nothing was cheap but they had the goods. 

That brings back memories. I think that ad is from the 1976 Overstreet. I was buying all kinds of stuff from them using what I think they called the Rapid want list system or something like that. The late Carl Macek would go more big time as a highly controversial figure of the early anime movement in the west. Terry Stroud and David Alexander are still working on opposite coasts I think and William Stout would enjoy a long successful career in art with being probably the best dinosaur artist I’ve seen. Back in 1976 though they were taking care of my comic book needs rapidly….

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

On 9/12/2023 at 11:25 AM, N e r V said:

That brings back memories. I think that ad is from the 1976 Overstreet. I was buying all kinds of stuff from them using what I think they called the Rapid want list system or something like that. The late Carl Macek would go more big time as a highly controversial figure of the early anime movement in the west. Terry Stroud and David Alexander are still working on opposite coasts I think and William Stout would enjoy a long successful career in art with being probably the best dinosaur artist I’ve seen. Back in 1976 though they were taking care of my comic book needs rapidly….

Curious about the Carl Macek story; care to elaborate?

[woowoo]

On 9/11/2023 at 4:49 PM, Robot Man said:

My understanding was it went from Church to Chuck who sold it to Redbeard who sold it to Bechara. I didn’t know Hughes figured into the picture. I know it was unrestored while in Redbeard’s ownership. 

Did Dave/Dentist not own it than sold it for a better copy? I think in 1982 he told me he just bought it and a Detective 27.

[N e r V]

On 9/11/2023 at 8:20 PM, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

Curious about the Carl Macek story; care to elaborate?

You can can find a lot of information about him from wiki to any number of anime sites but to break his impact in anime down to cup half full and half empty on the positive side he had a tremendous impact on making anime a mainstream product in the west. Robotech was a major mover of the genre in the 1980’s and with Streamline a lot of things arrived here for US consumption. Why he’s controversial is what changes he would do to the product by westernizing the anime. So For some he gets his credit bringing anime to the masses but for many fans he destroyed much of it in order to bring it here. I kind of ride both sides of the coin. I started buying anime stuff and seeing him at anime panels promoting it way back in the 1980’s and well into the 1990’s. I have no idea when I realized he was one of the guys I dealt with at American Comic Book company in the 1970’s. Robotman might know but I think he was involved in another comic book store too. 21st Century comics in Orange I think. Either way he was an important figure of our genres and I was sad to see anyone pass that young regardless. Another face I miss seeing at cons…

[N e r V]

On 9/11/2023 at 10:34 AM, ft88 said:

Top Dog wouldn’t buy an FF1 for $1200 in 1986. 

That price actually sounds about right. I was still building inventory in 1986 which was about 3 years before I started doing mail order. I bought 2 copies of Fantastic Four #1 that year. One was around 1k or more that would grade out today as a high NM. I picked up a reader copy for myself in VG+ for $150.00 in the same deal. I want that issue of Top Dog now. Lol. What comic and issue is that???

[tth2]

On 9/12/2023 at 12:34 PM, N e r V said:

That price actually sounds about right. I was still building inventory in 1986 which was about 3 years before I started doing mail order. I bought 2 copies of Fantastic Four #1 that year. One was around 1k or more that would grade out today as a high NM. I picked up a reader copy for myself in VG+ for $150.00 in the same deal. I want that issue of Top Dog now. Lol. What comic and issue is that???

A NM copy of FF 1 was worth way more than $1200 in 1986.

[Robot Man]

On 9/11/2023 at 9:23 PM, N e r V said:

You can can find a lot of information about him from wiki to any number of anime sites but to break his impact in anime down to cup half full and half empty on the positive side he had a tremendous impact on making anime a mainstream product in the west. Robotech was a major mover of the genre in the 1980’s and with Streamline a lot of things arrived here for US consumption. Why he’s controversial is what changes he would do to the product by westernizing the anime. So For some he gets his credit bringing anime to the masses but for many fans he destroyed much of it in order to bring it here. I kind of ride both sides of the coin. I started buying anime stuff and seeing him at anime panels promoting it way back in the 1980’s and well into the 1990’s. I have no idea when I realized he was one of the guys I dealt with at American Comic Book company in the 1970’s. Robotman might know but I think he was involved in another comic book store too. 21st Century comics in Orange I think. Either way he was an important figure of our genres and I was sad to see anyone pass that young regardless. Another face I miss seeing at cons…

Carl was a great guy. He was the one who took me in the back room from time to time. He would also give me the best deals when David and Terry were in a bad mood. He was the quiet one of the group. Yes, I believe you are right about 21st Century. The older I get, facts seem to get a little blurred though. 

I would hang around John McLaughlin’s Book Sail and John Koukasis’s shop Freedonia Funnyworks a lot more.

Johnny is still a good buddy. I still bump into him and Terry at the local flea markets. 

[Robot Man]

On 9/11/2023 at 8:22 PM, woowoo said:

Did Dave/Dentist not own it than sold it for a better copy? I think in 1982 he told me he just bought it and a Detective 27.

I don’t think Anderson or Hughes ever owned it. I will try and confirm the ownership trail next time I talk to Redbeard. 

[woowoo]

On 9/12/2023 at 6:52 AM, Robot Man said:

I don’t think Anderson or Hughes ever owned it. I will try and confirm the ownership trail next time I talk to Redbeard. 

I thought I read on the boards that he upgraded it since it was not the best copy? 

[MattTheDuck]

On 9/11/2023 at 2:31 PM, Telegan said:

If you invested $180k into Apple back on January 1, 1996, and never sold, your return would be around $46 million.  If you bought $180k of Monster Beverage/Hansen's on the same date and never sold, you'd be sitting on around $240 million.

In the words of Cher, "If I could turn back time ...".  Where's Kang when you need him?

In either case, I'd actually have $250,000 and all the comic books I'd like to have.

[aardvark88]

Collector's Book Store in Hollywood, CA, USA circa 1968(?) mail order ad. Pic courtesy of Bob Beerbohm's FB. Fantastic Comics #3 nm at a lofty $17.50.

[aardvark88]

More Fun #52 nm at a pricey $40 circa 1968(?) or go all in on Special Edition 1 (Capt. Marvel hot Fawcett) gd $85?

[Robot Man]

On 9/12/2023 at 9:41 AM, aardvark88 said:

Collector's Book Store in Hollywood, CA, USA circa 1968(?) mail order ad. Pic courtesy of Bob Beerbohm's FB. Fantastic Comics #3 nm at a lofty $17.50.

At the time, I probably would have bought the 3 Marvel Mystery’s for about the same price. That is, if my dad would have lent me the money…

Fat chance…

[Robot Man]

On 9/12/2023 at 9:45 AM, aardvark88 said:

More Fun #52 nm at a pricey $40 circa 1968(?) or go all in on Special Edition 1 (Capt. Marvel hot Fawcett) gd $85?

Or a Superman #1 even with a panel out for 50 bucks. Collectors Book Store was the highest priced around that time. @Tri-ColorBrian and I were usually thrown out of there.

Ironically, about 3 years later, I bought a nice copy of More Fun 52 around the corner at Bond Street Books for $80. Steve Edrington was a very cool guy. He let me pay payments over the summer with my lawn cutting and paper delivery earnings. According to Rich Olsen a couple years ago, Steve is still alive and well. The last of those 3 legendary LA comic shop owners. Good times!

Edited September 12, 2023 by Robot Man

[lou_fine]

On 9/11/2023 at 2:31 PM, Telegan said:

If you invested $180k into Apple back on January 1, 1996, and never sold, your return would be around $46 million.  If you bought $180k of Monster Beverage/Hansen's on the same date and never sold, you'd be sitting on around $240 million.

Well, still not quite as good as Nvidia where you would be sitting on around $325 million if you had brought it when it first came out in 1999.  One of the much vaunted Magnificant 7 this year and also one of the very small handful of trillion dollar companies, and most of all, one which some financial experts thinks will have no problem doing another double in the years to come with AI coming in like a storm.  

Then again, you could have invested the $180K into something like Enron, Worldcom, or for the Canuckleheads on these boards here, Nortel, whereby if you did, you would be sitting on a big pile of toxic smelling doggie dodo to show for it.  Yeah, I still remember all of the financial whiz kids spouting Nortel as a Strong Buy when it already had a bigger market cap than all five of Canada's chartered banks combined and its market cap also represented more than 30% of the entire Toronto Stock Exchange all on its own.    

Edited September 12, 2023 by lou_fine

[ft88]

On 9/12/2023 at 12:34 AM, N e r V said:

That price actually sounds about right. I was still building inventory in 1986 which was about 3 years before I started doing mail order. I bought 2 copies of Fantastic Four #1 that year. One was around 1k or more that would grade out today as a high NM. I picked up a reader copy for myself in VG+ for $150.00 in the same deal. I want that issue of Top Dog now. Lol. What comic and issue is that???

Top Dog 10 Spiderman cover. 

[aardvark88]

On 9/12/2023 at 2:19 PM, lou_fine said:

 for the Canuckleheads on these boards here, Nortel, whereby if you did, you would be sitting on a big pile of doggie dodo to show for it.  Yeah, I still remember all of the financial whiz kids spouting Nortel as a Strong Buy when it already had a bigger market cap than all five of Canada's chartered banks combined and its market cap also represented more than 30% of the entire Toronto Stock Exchange all on its own.    

Yes, I used to work for Nortel Networks and my company stock went from $176 each down to 87c Canadian. With our luck, back in 1968, we would have selected Capt. Marvel # 1 hot Fawcett in mid-grade $75 rather than Capt. America Comics 1 nm at a lofty $100 (trying to save $$) from Leonard Brown's and Malcolm Willits's Collector's Book Store mail order: