Christine Farrell - DC Collector RIP 3 3

[sfcityduck]

On 5/16/2024 at 8:43 AM, vheflin said:

Well, if it gets slabbed up and sold it's certainly deserving of a 'collection of' label.  Shame it can't be a pedigree because 'Earth Prime' would be perhaps coolest pedigree name of all.

  it could be 'Earth Prime collection' on the label

Ian's is labeled the "The DC Universe Collection." So "The Earth Prime Collection" would be a cool related name.

[adamstrange]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:09 AM, sfcityduck said:

Two big differences between her and Ian: (1) She started collecting DC in the 1950s and (2) she bought better condition comics. She had her Action 1, D27, etc. no later than the early 1980s. They all looked nice.

I had DC collector friends who remarked at how thorough she was in extracting the good stuff from a dealer's boxes.

[electricprune]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:24 AM, DanCooper said:

To give an example of how things have changed, the;last book found for the collection was "Girls Love Stories" #56. There are four copies currently on ebay!

If I remember correctly, this book was also one of the last 4 or 5 Ian Levine needed as well. Two of those four on eBay are listed by a boardie that might have more DC Romance books than anyone else out there.

[Frisco Larson]

Oh no, such sad news. I never met her but had heard about from fellow collectors, one of which was on the same path of building a complete DC library. RIP dear lady.

[tth2]

It's funny how when she was first mentioned on these Boards years ago in the context of Ian Levine's quest, no one seemed to know her or of her, but now connections are appearing everywhere! 

Edited May 17 by tth2

[DanCooper]

I had posted the link earlier to the Scoop article on Chris's passing in my first posting.

It looks like Scoop did some expansions and corrections (like the Buzzy 70 comic and Joe V.'s JHV company).

Scoop also, in the updated article, links the original article they did back in 2007 when Chris completed the DC collection (see "Editor's Note" in the article)

Here is the updated Scoop article:

https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1012?articleID=274513

 

[archivist]

 

Thank you @vheflin for providing the link, I still wasn't able to see the video before.

Looking at it, my heart always skipped when the guy grabbed a comic book. I'm not a condition collector but it pains me to see when a comic book is handled like this.

But I'm eternally grateful to the guys visiting and interviewing, AND creating a video. So now I have a little insight of how this collection looks like. And the shown books look like they're in great condition.

Thank you also, sfcityduck, for pointing out to the Action #1 and the time when it was shown. I didn't notice the book while viewing the video and had to go to the time you mentioned to actually see it.

Overall, it's interesting to see how the books were stored in the 1990s. Probably the books laying around in front of the boxes were the ones which were bought lately and need to be sorted into the collection. I still haven't finished that with books bought ten years ago (but I'm already at "K" !). I wonder if she was also collecting the Trades or if it was "just" the standard comic books. Maybe the Trades were in a different room because the shown room wasn't big enough to store them, too.

Thanks for the information, and I wonder too what will happen now with all the books. It pains me when a collection is divided into smaller lots but I can understand it if the books need to be sold and nobody is there to buy the whole collection.

If only DC would realize that this is a time to acquire a complete library without much effort. Imagine a DC museum where guided tours are given and the guide would be able to show you each book you want to see ...

 

[sfcityduck]

Here’s the Scoop article linked above. There is no doubt she was very savvy in her collecting. As a collector all she deserves from us is 

 

 

 

 

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Exclusive: Collector Amasses Complete DC Collection

A private collector in the northeastern United States has accomplished the astounding and unprecedented feat of assembling a complete collection of every comic book ever published by DC Comics.

For those of you who have trouble visualizing the enormity of the task, that’s over 30,000 individual comic books!

Amazingly, with the exception of a small handful of items toward the end of the quest, this collection was achieved the old-fashioned way with a lot of legwork and mileage, scouring comic shows and stores large and small from coast to coast. Almost no Internet usage was involved in assembling this amazing collection.

The collector, who has chosen to remain anonymous at this time, started on the road to this accomplishment in 1970, when it was decided on whim, to accumulate all the back issues of all the DC superhero comics. Subsequently at the San Diego ComiCon (as it was then known) in 1987, with the superhero titles virtually completed, the collector had reached a crossroads.

“What do I do once my primary collecting goal has been achieved?” was the basic gist of the discussion, a situation many collectors have faced.

At the urging of the staff of the now-defunct Sparkle City Comics, the collector chose to expand the parameters of the collection to include all of the comic books ever published by DC.

For 5 years, until its dissolution in 1992, Sparkle City served as the main conduit, funneling vintage DC Comics into the collector’s hands. With their heavy annual show schedule, the company was able to easily connect with other dealers and private collectors throughout the country in order acquire needed items.

A dedicated band of fellow collectors and other supportive dealers also actively participated in the hunt over the years. It was common practice at the beginning of a major convention for the hunters to congregate at the Sparkle City table for copies of the latest want list update, before fanning out into the dealers room.

In early 1992, Mike Wilbur of Diamond International Galleries and Alan Grobman (both then of Sparkle City) entered the ranks of the select few who have personally seen the collection. They spent three weeks that winter at the collector's house. Day after day, from morning until after midnight, they flipped through a seemingly endless succession of boxes, as they checked, verified and toke notes.

Complete runs of Action, Adventure, All Star, Batman, Detective, More Fun, Sensation, Superman, and other titles both well-known and obscure passed through their hands as the weeks progressed. From early rarities like Big Book of Fun Comics and New Fun Comics up through the Golden and Silver Ages to then-current titles, the main core of the DC collection was there. All that remained at that point was to finish filling in the fringes with the rest of the war, western, romance, mystery, and humor titles. Ongoing new releases were covered through a long-standing arrangement with a local comic shop.

“It was an almost surreal experience,” Wilbur said, “just box after box of books that most collectors can only dream of seeing.”

Among the more esoteric items in the collection is the two-volume set of Cancelled Comics Cavalcade, published by DC in 1978. With a print run of only 35 copies, these books contain stories left over following the infamous “DC Implosion.” Printed for copyright purposes, these were distributed internally to creators whose work it featured. The collector’s copy was acquired from The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide’s publisher Bob Overstreet. Included with the books is a cover letter to Overstreet from then-DC Editor Mike Gold, detailing the information for the Guide.

“I remember [the collector] spent a lot of time visiting when we were still down in Tennessee,” recalled Overstreet, “I sold [the collector] an Action Comics #1 and a few other things.”

The almost final book in the collection was the romance title Girls’ Love Stories #56, a nothing-in-particular issue of a nothing-special title that was simply frustratingly difficult to locate. Acquired in late 2002, this was thought to be the end of the long road, until the discovery of the obscure Golden Age DC comic, the Fat and Slat Joke Book. Once this additional piece became known, a copy was acquired within a couple of months, in early 2003.

Since the assembly of the collection was primarily a labor of love and not a search for glory, the collector had chosen to avoid the limelight. However, in light of the historical importance of the achievement, the collector did acknowledge to Scoop that “The First Complete DC Collection” was a reality.

The collector would like to extend personal thanks to Joe Vereneault of JHV Associates, Alan Grobman, Gene Carpenter of All-American Comics, fellow collector Mike D’Alessandro and Wilbur, with special mentions also going to Joe Mannarino, John Verzyl of Comic Heaven, Mike Goldman of Motor City Comics, Ron Pussell of Redbeard’s Book Den, Harley Yee, Richard Evans of Bedrock City Comics, Rob Ronin, Michelle Nolan, and Nostalgia Zone of Minnesota for their assistance, support, and encouragement.

Edited May 17 by sfcityduck

[RareHighGrade]

From all reports, it appears that Christine was a very nice and unassuming person.  I remember being disappointed by Ian Levine's frequent efforts in his board posts to denigrate Christine and her collection when he was on the verge of completing his own set.  I guess his competitiveness got the best of him.

[plady69]

What a great story.  Thanks all for the information.  Makes you wonder what other collections might exist…

[batman_fan]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:48 PM, tth2 said:

It's funny how when she was first mentioned on these Boards years ago in the context of Ian Levine's quest, no one seemed to know her or of her, but now connections are appearing everywhere! 

Lieutenant Tuttle effect 

[Hepcat]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:09 AM, sfcityduck said:

Two big differences between her and Ian: (1) She started collecting DC in the 1950s and (2) she bought better condition comics. She had her Action 1, D27, etc. no later than the early 1980s. They all looked nice.

Wow! Just wow.

I'd love to view her seldom seen DC romance, teen, funny animal, war and western comics from the 1950's.

[Hepcat]

On 5/17/2024 at 11:55 AM, plady69 said:

What a great story.  Thanks all for the information.  Makes you wonder what other collections might exist…

I think there are probably quite a few non-publicized collections belonging to private individuals out there. Keeping things secret to avoid theft would seem to be very prudent behaviour.

Edited May 17 by Hepcat

[sfcityduck]

On 5/17/2024 at 12:34 PM, Hepcat said:

I think there are probably quite a few non-publicized collections belonging to private individuals out there. Keeping things secret to avoid theft would seem to be very prudent behaviour.

It was also the culture of early collectors. Bangzoom and Farrell are two known examples now. But my own LCS owner was always closed mouth about his collection when I was a kid.

[Bronty]

On 5/17/2024 at 3:34 PM, Hepcat said:

I think there are probably quite a few non-publicized collections belonging to private individuals out there. Keeping things secret to avoid theft would seem to be very prudent behaviour.

Also so that people didn't know which rare issues you needed and hold you hostage, I suspect.

[buttock]

On 5/17/2024 at 2:38 PM, Bronty said:

Also so that people didn't know which rare issues you needed and hold you hostage, I suspect.

Someone could put the wheels in motion...

[Yorick]

On 5/17/2024 at 6:06 AM, sfcityduck said:

toke notes

I haven't toked a note before...  maybe I should roll a dollar and see how it tastes.

[jimjum12]

On 5/17/2024 at 1:48 AM, tth2 said:

It's funny how when she was first mentioned on these Boards years ago in the context of Ian Levine's quest, no one seemed to know her or of her, but now connections are appearing everywhere! 

She rejected my marriage proposal. Can't blame her. R.I.P. Christine. GOD BLESS ...

jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

I never had one. 

[jimjum12]

On 5/19/2024 at 11:21 AM, buttock said:

Someone could put the wheels in motion...

That was SO funny .... until it wasn't. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

... and here the only complete set I ever had was a parking ticket for every street in town.

[ExEPC]

No Chris never sold EPC. She just stopped physically going into her stores in the 2000s. She didn't care about selling old comics to customer just for her collection so that's why the store was only new stuff.