A Homage to the Selling Forums (and my five favorite items sold by me here). 1 1

[sfcityduck]

For whatever reason, I'm feeling some love for the Forums. Most specifically, the Forum selling areas. Why? Because unlike other venues, when I sell something here I know who it's going to, I generally know why they want it, and I get the pleasure of helping fellow collectors complete their dreams. I'll never be a comic dealer (although I respect them immensely) because I just don't sell much and vast portions of my collection are not going to be for sale for various reasons.

I rarely post comics from my core collection. But I sure do enjoy the few opportunities I get to help someone fulfill their own collecting dreams. To keep myself engaged in the hobby, I tend to hunt stuff that's not central to my collection just to see if I can find them. Most of these are rare, off the beaten path items, which I've acquired after a long and fulfilling hunt. It's immensely satisfying when those hunts pay off and I subsequently get to sell the item to someone who really deserves it. To me, that's two important aspects of collecting that we should all appreciate. So as an appreciation to the selling forums and the emotional satisfaction the've given me, here's a countdown of my top five favorite items I've sold through the selling forums.

HONORABLE MENTION/INSPIRATION. Calvin & Hobbes Collectible Comics! This is the item that inspired me to start this thread. I love Calvin & Hobbes. It warms my heart that a comic strip that only lasted about 10 years has impacted so many people so profoundly. But, collecting C&H is, strangely, a niche activity that most folks don't pursue. Largely because they don't know what's out there. So this past week when I sold to @cbmitch, an enthusiastic C&H collector the following item, it warmed my heart. I don't know him, but he seems like a passionate collector, and he had this to say about the items he did a "take" after a few days of buyers ignoring them which surprised me:  "I happened to come across this yesterday when I read the headline and was intrigued as I was thinking the only thing in print was the reprint books and the rare reading book.  I was simply shocked that these items even existed and that they were still available, so I jumped on them being a huge C&H fan.  I am happy to soon have these rare items in my collection...!" The items? 

CGC 9.8 ow-w Collectible Comics v. 1 no. 4 Calvin & Hobbes cover (first US C&H original issue comic book publication cover, not fanzine or reprint book, during the run) - ONLY ONE ON CENSUS. AND Almost the entire full 53 issue run of v. 1, including the other six C&H covers and the Phantom cover, in ow-w page quality (based on cgc experience with submitted issue) or better.  Missing only 3 issues (maybe 4 if my counting got screwed up). PLUS lesser page quality dupes of 25 or so of the issues.  PLUS another 15+ or so issues from vol. 2.  In short, around 90 issues in total. 

@cbmitch got a steal and I suspect as times goes by some folks are going to be sad they didn't appreciate the offering.

5. Aquateers Meet the Super Friends (1979) mini-comic (5" x 6") in original packaging with googles! Once thought to be a myth, Ian Levine, who compiled a complete set of DCs, called this thing extremely rare and it was one of the last comics he picked up. Very rarely seen - let alone in the original packaging. Anyone know the census count? I can't find it. But it is a real comic that is reprinted in the Super Friends Saturday Morning Comics v. 1. I searched for several years. This one I sold to @greggy greggy - CGC Comic Book Collectors Chat Boards (cgccomics.com) who is obviously a popular Board member (unlike me who is more accurately characterized as a controversial but hopefully respected Board member). It made me happy to reward a guy who has done a lot to enrich the Boards. Hopefully, I fall into that category also.

4. Bill Mauldin's Sketchbook of Sicily (signed by Mauldin, Don Robinson, and numerous soldiers of the 45th Infantry). 

This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen or sold. Sold to @ThePreacher ThePreacher - CGC Comic Book Collectors Chat Boards (cgccomics.com) who had strong family history reasons for wanting to obtain it. Bill Mauldin (born October 29, 1921) enlisted in the Army as an 18 year old teenager in 1940 because he was an interventionist, not an "America first" isolationist, and he knew that under FDR the US would be entering the war against the Germans. He wanted to be part of that. But from 1940 to 1943 he was stuck in the U.S. undergoing training and waiting for mobilization as part of the 45th Division. Fortunately for Bill, in October 1940, the 45th started a division newspaper. Bill had studied art for a while at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and done some cartoons for the Arizona Highways magazine before enlisting. So when Bill applied for a job as an artist with the 45th Division News shortly before his 19th birthday he was accepted. 

Bill then spent the next two and a half years honing his cartooning on stateside army subjects. He became so skilled that civilian newspapers bought his cartoons and a pamphlet book was published compiling some of his stateside work from his Star Spangled Banter cartoon feature. Bill didn't receive the profits from that book, but it taught him a valuable lesson that such pamphlet books could make money. 

Everything changed for Bill when the 45th was mobilized to go to Europe in June 1943 and stormed the beaches of Sicily as part of the campaign to topple Italy. Sicily turned Bill into the cartoonist he is now famous for being. He documented the war with clear eyes and stark perspective, he changed his art style, and he showed wisdom well beyond his years. He also honed his cutting humor. Most importantly, he sided with the infantry soldier because he was one. The Sicilian campaign was hard, and Bill's cartoons reflected that reality. 

Once the island was subdued, Bill used some of his down time to self-publish a book - Sketches of Sicily (1943). Think about that: In the midst of WWII, during an invasion of one of the three Axis powers, Bill Mauldin somehow found the ability to self-publish a book of his cartoons about the Sicily invasion and a few of his columns. That's beyond remarkable. His first printing was 5,000 copies. It was so popular with his division it quickly sold out. The next printing was 12,000 copies those also sold out to his division mates. His division was about 20,000 men. Mauldin was able to make over a $1,000 to send home to his wife and the child born while he was at war. 

17,000 books in print seems like a lot, but the leading authority on Mauldin's WWII career, Rob Stolzer (a collector and writer on comic subjects), has this insight: 

Quote

"Sicily Sketch Book is among the rarest of Mauldin’s books.  The book had a low print run, even with the two printings.  But it was also created during war, near the front, and paper remained a disposable material.  Many of them likely did not survive."

To put it in perspective, Mauldin's next pamphlet published in Europe had a print run of 300,000. Why so high? Because Mauldin's Sicily Sketch Book caught the eye of Star & Stripes - the soldier's newspaper - and Mauldin was able to transfer to working for S&S based on the quality of his work in Italy for the 45th Division. For S&S, he started a new cartoon called "Up Front." By doing so, he increased his audience tremendously and gained the notice of top brass. 

The top brass included General George Patton who threatened to "throw Mauldin's butt in jail" for running what he saw as inappropriate cartoons which showed infantry men unshaven, tired and dishelved. Mauldin, who was given his own Jeep by S&S and a pass which allowed him to travel anywhere he wished, had to drive 200 miles to meet with Patton in person. Patton shouted at him. Mauldin told Patton his thoughts, and then he left the meeting. On the way out, he told a Life magazine reporter that he and Patton had not changed each other's minds. When Patton read the quote in the magazine, he decided to ban S&S within all areas of his command. That decision was only thwarted with Gen. Eisenhower, Patton's superior, sided with Mauldin. Mauldin had faced down Patton. And Mauldin became a legend amongst the dog faces (infantrymen) of WWII.

Mauldin was a legend to the infantry for his accurate portrayal of their lives and concerns. He was a legend for putting himself in danger, even earning a Purple Heart, to accurately document the war. He was a legend for standing up to the brass. And a legend for, at the age of 23, being awarded a Pulitzer Prize. 

In 1945, the Army even awarded him the Legion of Merit for his outstanding services during the war and stated that "Mauldin's work has made him indisputably the best known and most popular soldier in the European theater." After the war's end, the character of Willie was featured on the cover of Time magazine for the June 18, 1945, issue.

Bill Mauldin's legend did not fade. Fellow cartoonists made sure of that. For example, Charles Schultz had Snoopy visit Mauldin for drinks for 17 straight years of Veteran's Day strips:

Even if you heard of the pamphlet, what you may not know, but which Rob Stolzer, who owns five of these things, does know about these books is:

Quote

"[T]hese books meant something to the soldiers, so much so that there are copies that were passed around within divisions, signed like high school yearbooks.  Soldiers would vary the information they would write, sometimes including their rank or a brief comment.  But all listed their hometown and states, sometimes adding their street address.  These are time capsules, documents that capture a momentary time and place.  And war.  Not all of these young men made it home."

The 45th was composed primarily of National Guard units from Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado (but also included soldiers from other states);
It was "federalized" (converted to an Army division) from state control on 16 Sept. 1940 (and Bill Mauldin joined it a few days earlier knowing that was happening);

* For the invasion of Sicily, its first European theater engagement, it was assigned to II Corps under the command of Gen. Omar Bradley;
* It stormed the beaches of Sicily and engaged in hard fighting as part of the successful effort to take Sicily;
* The Italian government actually surrendered on 3 Sept. 1943 while the 45th Division was on Sicily - but German forces had occupied Italy and the war against Italy became a war to liberate Italy;
* The 45th then stormed the beaches of mainland Italy, and proceeded to fight across Italy engaging in storied battles at Salerno, Monte Casino, Anzio, and ultimately liberated Rome and were the first allied troops to reach the Vatican;
* The 45th was then re-assigned to invade Southern France and stormed the beaches at St. Maxime; 
* The 45th then fought its way up through Northern France into Alsace, and then Germany. It took Homburg, crossed the Rhine, captured Nuremberg, and crossed the Danube;
* The 45th then liberated Dachau concentration camp. It is honored in the U.S. Holocaust museum as a liberating unit;
* It then captured Munich where it stayed until the surrender of Germany;
* All in all, the 45th Division fought in 511 days of combat;
* During the war it captured over 124,000 enemy soldiers; and
* Soldiers of the 45th received 9 Medals of Honor, 61 Distinguished Service Crosses, 3 Distinguished Service Medals, 1,848 Silver Star Medals, 38 Legion of Merit medals, 59 Soldier's Medals, 5,744 Bronze Star Medals, and 52 Air Medals.  

So, yeah, those soldier signatures are cool. Think about what those guys saw.

3. Four Color 456 (Uncle Scrooge No. 2) CGC 9.4 white.

 I sold this book to Richard Olson. Richard made an extraordinary offer to me. He also wanted to fly my wife and I over to New Orleans so I could drive to his house and hand deliver this highest graded FC 456 (US # 2), which was one of his favorite comics. He kindly offered to show me his collection and talk comics. It's an offer I couldn't accept due to my case schedule but I regret the lost opportunity.

We did correspond a bit. He seemed to love to tell stories and share his knowledge. I really enjoy seeing the gifts or cards he sent various board members. Obviously a generous guy.

He was one of the founders of modern comic collecting. With Leonard Brown he started mail order dealing in the 1950s. Richard chose to go to college and Leonard, who was older, went and founded one of the earliest and most legendary comic stores with Malcolm Willits in LA. The fact that I had the opportunity to provide one of the founders of modern comic fandom the top copy of his favorite (or one his favorite) comics was a privilege. It also allowed me to gain further insights into comic history which is always a bonus for me. We had an email exchange towards the end of his life I will not forget:

Richard,

I am just curious if you bought, or know who bought, the Barks bound volume inscribed to Malcolm Willits.  I don't want to harass the owner or seek to buy it, but I am curious if it found a good home.  I know you love ducks, and that bound volume is, in my opinion, an important historical document that deserves to be owned by a true duck lover.  On the off chance you don't know what I'm referring to, this is a link.

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/humor/dell-giant-comics-bound-volume-signed-by-carl-barks-dell-1949-51-/a/122049-11117.s?type=lotlink--bidnotice-tracked-dailystatus

Hope you are happy and healthy!  Stay safe.

Alec

—————————————

Alec,

I did not buy the volume, and neither of the two major duck collectors I talk with most frequently didn't buy it either.  However, I think the bidding was strong enough that it went to a collector who will treasure it.

Mal did write me in early 2020 and say that he had decided to stop going to doctors and taking his meds because he had had enough.  He died a few months later and I think of his handwritten letter to me as a sad but important piece of comic history.  Leonard Brown and I had a mail-order comic business.  When I didn't want to open a store with Leonard, he found Mal and they opened Collectors Book Store in 1964.  The three of us would have lunch together when I visited my parents at Christmas in Long Beach.  I visited Leonard for a week before he died, and Mal joined us one day and I treasure the picture Leonard's wife took of the three of us as it was the last time we were all together.  We liked to think that we were one of the driving forces in developing the rare comic business in Southern California.   

Now they have both died and I am 76 and when my time comes, it will mark the end of an important chapter in the history of our hobby.

Take Care,

Richard

These are the kind of relationships these Boards foster. We should all treasure it.

2. Four Immigrants Manga original publication. This book I sold to a young collector building one of the most impressive collections of comics of an Asian American theme that can be assembled. I'm sure it has found a good home. As for the book? What's there to say. Well ... quite a lot actually. 

"To be fair, it hasn't been seen since its original print of only a few hundred copies back in 1931. But Manga Yonin Shosei by Henry Y* Kiyama, translated as ‘The Four Immigrants Manga’, arrives as nothing short of a history-making revelation: America's - and the world's - first graphic novel. In spite of the Japanese title, author and main characters, 'Four Immigrants' is completely American. First published in San Francisco - locus of the underground comix explosion 35 years later, Kiyama's book focuses on that fundamentally American experience - the life of the immigrant. Told with naturalism, humor and a sharp social conscience, it reads as a remarkable primary historical document with surprising resonances to modern times. … Henry, the author's surrogate, wants to study art, giving the story a personal verisimilitude that makes 'Four Immigrants' not only the first graphic novel, but the first autobiographical graphic novel as well."

-  Time Magazine, "A long Lost Comix" (19 Feb. 2005).

 

The Basic Facts That Buyers Might Care About:

This graphic novel is widely regarded by academics and historians as:

• The first comic book page format graphic novel (classic six panel layout portrait orientation of penciled/inked comic/cartoon style drawings) of original non-reprint material issued in the United States (predates DC's New Fun Comics by four years);
• The first autobiographical graphic novel;
• The first manga issued in the United States (per The Comics Journal, "A FIELD GUIDE TO PRE-TEZUKA JAPANESE COMICS IN ENGLISH PT. 1" (25 Feb. 2014)); and 
• An incredibly important document of the Asian-American immigration experience covering approximately 1900-1924, including events such as the 1906 SF Earthquake, WWI, the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, anti-Asian racist incidents, Asian racism towards other minorities, and other important historical events.

Only five copies are in institutions according to the World Cat.  Copies are held by:

1. Ohio State 
2. U.C. Berkeley 
3. Stanford
4. U.S.C.
5. Library of Congress

As far as I can tell, only three copies are in private hands - and the other two (not held by collectors) will not come to market as they are heading to institutions. I believe all of the copies existing in institutions today came from West Coast sources. The only copy in a non-West Coast institution, Ohio State's copy, was donated by the legendary Bill Blackbeard of SF.

Why so rare?  It was issued out of San Francisco's "Japantown" neighborhood in 1931.  Because it was written with English and Japanese dialogue, presented in a left to right (opposite of manga) format, the intended audience was clearly Japanese immigrants to the U.S. - most of whom were on the West Coast. Few others would have been able to read it. Unfortunately in 1941, about a decade after publication of The Four Immigrants Manga, all of the Japanese-Americans on the West Coast were rounded up and sent to camps for the duration of WWII with only the possessions they could carry themselves. Items like books were heavy, and many thrown into the camps left items like that behind or they did not survive the harsh conditions.

The copy I sold was carried in and out of the Tanforan Relocation Center and Topaz Internment Camp. It is a rare book that made a difficult journey.

If Gerber had rated its rarity it would be a 10.  

The Discovery:

In 1980, Frederik ("Fred") Schodt was a young translator of manga at the start of his career. He was fresh off of completing his translation of Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix into English, the first of many translations he would make of Japanese comics for English markets, including Tezuka's Astro Boy, Riyoko Ikeda's The Rose of Versailles, and Keiji Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen. Fred, a San Francisco resident, was researching a book he had decided to write on Japanese comics. That book, Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics!, would be a groundbreaking work which would earn Fred the Japan Cartoonists Association's Manga Oscar, Special Award in 1983, the first of many honors for him. But in 1980, he was still researching that book and one day his researches brought him to UC Berkeley’s East Asian Library.

Fred was searching through an old, pre-digital-era paper card catalog for manga-related Japanese texts when he saw something titled Manga Yonin Shosei (literally, “The Four Students Manga”), written by a “Henry Y* Kiyama.” When Fred pulled the book and paged through it, he was stunned! It was a hardback comic book of 112 pages. The layout was the classic six panel comic format and Fred noted: "the drawings were in the style of the famous early 20th century American newspaper cartoonist, George McManus, but the dialog was bilingual, hand-written in a now-archaic Japanese and broken English. And the place of publication was not Japan, but San Francisco in 1931."  Fred had discovered a forgotten graphic novel presenting a comic history of Japanese immigrants in San Francisco! 

The Reveal and Reaction:

Fred would spend parts of the next 15 or so years translating the book. The translation was finally published in 1998. That's when the existence of this book first came to light. When the re-discovery of Four Immigrants Manga was revealed, the worlds of academia and also of comic history and collecting took notice. I learned of it around that time, and embarked on my own many years long search for one.  As word filtered out and the book became taught more and more frequently in colleges, warranting additional printings, even national publications like TIME Magazine took note - see above.  Notable comic scholars and publications also took notice of The Four Immigrants Manga and weighed in with commentaries:

"Forty years before the birth of underground and alternative comix, Henry Kiyama was experimenting in comic strip form with comics as autobiography, comics as personal statement, comics as sociology, anthropology, and political science, not to mention comics as a comment on racial and class attitudes and antagonism. In a time when traditional comics didn't dare venture into this territory, Kiyama covers it as a matter of course, as if his strip is no more or less than his bemused comic diary. It is that, but it is more, much more."

- Jules Feiffer (cartoonist, comic historian, Pulitzer Prize winner, Inductee - Comic Book Hall of Fame, and Lifetime Acheivement Award - Writers Guild of America and The National Cartoonist Society)

"Kiyama's The Four Immigrants Manga is a treasure. Like the Yellow Kid and Jiggs & Maggie, it is a splendid and authentic example of the immigrant literature of the period. More candid and outspoken than any of its contemporaries, it is a classic that demonstrates the true literary role of the comics to reflect ordinary life. Moreover, it is fun to read. It belongs in every library."

- Will Eisner (Legend) 

An Important Historical Document

This graphic novel presents a wealth of information about the immigrant experience of Japanese Americans and race relations more generally.  A couple examples make the point.  For ease of reading, I'm going to post some of the pages from the reprint. But first, here's a key page from the graphic novel about the "Turlock Incident," a real event on July 19, 1921, in Turlock, California, in which Japanese farm workers were herded into the back of pick-up trucks at gunpoint, and after being driven out of the city, were warned never to return again. Kiyama captures this Turlock Incident in one of his comic strips, and somehow manages to find humor in it:

  

As you can see, the Japanese characters speak Japanese.  The American characters speak a broken English.  It reads that way, because that is how it sounded to Japanese speakers not well-versed in English.  In Fred Schodt's translation, the Japanese speakers are quite articulate when speaking Japanese and when speaking English they're speech is broken in the same way that they hear English.  Fred substitutes typed English for native Japanese speaking to signal the characters are speaking Japanese, and leaves the original hand lettering for when characters are speaking English. The following two pages address the fact that Japanese immigrants who fought for the U.S. during WWI were not granted citizenship despite that they had fought for their country:

But far from just focusing on bigotry and injustice towards the Japanese characters, Kiyama also documents Japanese immigrants' bigotry against blacks and Chinese using the same racist imagery used by white artists of the time.

It is a fascinating document.

About This Copy:

As I said this copy made it through the Japanese internment.  The OO is known.  He was approximately, 19 or 20 at the time the internment commenced. It was well-loved, well-read, and the fact it survived the torrential rain storms at Tanforan and the heat and dust storms at Topaz is a testament that the book, which was issued when the OO was 9 to 11, was a favorite of his.  He died long before I acquired the book from a SF Bay Area book shop.

I am very proud it has gone to a great home. Took  me 15 years to find a copy.

1. The Nightingale. This one went to @SOTIcollector. It is the crux book for anyone to assemble a complete collection of all comics mentioned in SOTI. Only SOTIcollector has done so. I'm glad I could help out. 

The Nightingale published by Henry H. Stansbury’s Once-Upon-A-Time Press Inc. in 1948 (10c, 7-1/4x10-1/4”, 14 pgs., 1/2 B&W). Overstreet described the book:

Quote

(Very Rare) - Low distribution; distributed in Westchester County & Bronx, N.Y. only; used in Seduction of the Innocent, pg. 312, 313 as the 1st and only "good" comic book ever published. Ill. by Dong Kingman; 1,500 words of text, printed on high quality paper & no word balloons. Copyright registered 10/22/48, distributed week of 12/5/48 (by Hans Christian Anderson).

Various members of this board had weighed in on the rarity of this book, and, until I found a copy, the consensus was that the only known copy resided in the Library of Congress, where it was donated as part of Frederick Wertham’s personal files. Some members of this board have stated they were looking for this book for decades, and never found one for sale or even saw a picture of it until SOTIcollector discovered the Library of Congress copy.

That any copies survive is a near miracle. Only 5,000 copies were printed, and distribution was limited to the Bronx and Westchester County with most copies given away at public schools.

This comic is not in Gerber. There are no copies on the CGC census. It has never been sold by Heritage or any other major auction site. As of today, there are only three known copies in private hands (one is very badly damaged and partially burned). Overstreet’s “very rare” designation is extremely apt. This comic deserves a “Gerber 10” designation.

This is a U.S. comic which played a prominent role in the history of comic book censorship. It was the subject of major press coverage when it came out back in 1948. The story surrounding the issuance of this comic, and the publishing venture’s failure to take off, was a key point in Wertham’s anti-comic book publisher case. It is a true GA “key.”

SOTIcollector was absolutely the right guy to own this comic. I'm proud I helped make a complete SOTI collection a reality. It took me a few years to find, but I was able to do so through my collecting of japanese-american art and looking outside the comic book world.

 

 

Edited June 12 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

Please share you experiences selling on the Forum Boards and your favorite items you've sold. 

Selling is part of collecting and its important to remember it can bring great personal satisfaction.

'nuff said.

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

Fun thread, and I like your table and chairs.

I'll note that I have only purchased comic books on the forum or I would add other than this comment to your thread.

[sfcityduck]

On 6/12/2024 at 3:43 AM, Tec-Tac-Toe said:

Fun thread, and I like your table and chairs.

I'll note that I have only purchased comic books on the forum or I would add other than this comment to your thread.

My guess is most of us non-dealers buy much much more than we sell. Selling can be fun and rewarding. It can also give you a reason to hunt for something hard to find you may not need for your own core collection. But I do not think it would derail the thread to identify an item you bought on the boards that you really appreciate being sold to you by a fellow collector.

Edited June 12 by sfcityduck

[mr_highgrade]

I started the Sellers Forum back in day, does that count for anything?  Back in 2002 a couple of boardies and I were bugging Kevin the old Arch about starting a sellers forum, when he basically ignored us, I decided to list a TTA #60 CGC 9.4 for sale on Comics General. A few hours later he removed the thread and added it to the newly sellers forum. I'm forgetting the boardie's name, but he was a lawyer from Daytona Beach Florida. I think his first name was Steve. 

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

On 6/12/2024 at 8:11 AM, sfcityduck said:

My guess is most of us non-dealers buy much much more than we sell. Selling can be fun and rewarding. It can also give you a reason to hunt for something hard to find you may not need for your own core collection. But I do not think it would derail the thread to identify an item you bought on the boards that you really appreciate being sold to you by a fellow collector.

Here I go.

The SPJO 134 was sold to me by Namisgr in 2008. The scan is the one he provided in his sales thread; I'll eventually scan the front and back covers. 

The comic book is spectacular! It is unpressed (to borrow the word from clothes, food, and drink), and will remain so while I own it; which may be "forever", as I'll leave it to my daughter.

[TupennyConan]

About ten years ago on the Boards I was first to bring to market the OA covers to New Mutants 1 & Fury of Firestorm 1 (1982). They both sold within an hour.

Tons of fun! 

[Mr Sneeze]

Back in 2017 I sold my FF run and had a great time doing it. Best place to buy and sell IMHO. 

[1950's war comics]

On 6/11/2024 at 10:43 PM, sfcityduck said:

Please share you experiences selling on the Forum Boards and your favorite items you've sold. 

Selling is part of collecting and its important to remember it can bring great personal satisfaction.

'nuff said.

i was pleased that you bought my lot of decent grade Dells which i had owned for around 45 years

were you able to flip (i hope) or do you still have them ?

[sfcityduck]

On 6/12/2024 at 2:02 PM, 1950's war comics said:

i was pleased that you bought my lot of decent grade Dells which i had owned for around 45 years

were you able to flip (i hope) or do you still have them ?

Stuff like that I don't flip. It's for the joy of reading - especially at the price. 

[Phicks]

I haven’t sold comics here yet.  But I have about a short box of duplicates and under copies that I am considering posting here for a Silver/Bronze sales thread.

 

if I did, would you all be gentle with me?

[thehumantorch]

Fun thread.  Thanks for starting it.

So I'm not focused on any era or type of books or artist.  Just tend to buy what catches my eye when I have the funds.  I sometime buy from the auctions sites or at local shows or off local collectors but a fair bit of what I buy comes from here.  When buying here I tend to look harder at sales threads from boardies I like and trust and ignore sales threads from buyers I don't have a relationship with.  I appreciate the community here and want to support it and a purchase here is not just a comic book but a friendly interaction.  But to be fair the shipping cost plus duty and exchange rates is almost doubling my cost and making my online purchases pretty rare.

[Robot Man]

You have sold some amazing rarities here Duck! Always fun to check out your sales threads. The rarest of the rare is an understatement.

I “lurked” here for a year or so before I joined up. Just getting the lay of the land.

One of several reasons I signed up was to be able to buy some cool stuff. I later tried out a few sales threads of my own. I always have felt the “sense of community” here. Like dealing with your buddies. Wasn’t just about making money or getting stuff but great personal interactions.

This is one of my favorite places to transact. I can’t think of anything big or significant as a seller. I just enjoy moving things on to other collectors or buying a cool item or two for myself. Been a fun ride! 

[thehumantorch]

And since I don't sell here I can only post my favorite 5 comics purchased here.  Thanks to the wonderful sellers on the boards

Lucky Comics.  Not sure of the number, have to dig it up.  Purchased from eccomics.  Canadian White I'd never seen before in quite remarkable shape and frankly, I dig the cover.

Sub-mariner #31 Canadian with #32's US cover.  Sold to me as a fn and CGC graded it as a 6.0.  Love this book and cover.

Fight Comics #40  What a book.  I could stare at it all day.

Super-Magician Vol 3 #9 Mile High

Walt Disney's Comics Vol 3 # 6  Love this book and WW2 cover.  Way too cheap and undervalued.

Edited June 13 by thehumantorch

[Dick Pontoon]

On 6/12/2024 at 6:12 PM, Phicks said:

I haven’t sold comics here yet.  But I have about a short box of duplicates and under copies that I am considering posting here for a Silver/Bronze sales thread.

 

if I did, would you all be gentle with me?

No.

[KirbyJack]

The best time I've had selling here is the feeding frenzy that consumed my Pre-Hero Marvel collection in 2016. A lot of them were nicer copies, vg+-f-vf, and I apparently priced them under top-of-market. Nothing stayed available for more than 10 minutes, and many went instantly with multiple "takes" (It was a different time). I strongly considered raising my prices, but I was having too much fun. Also, I didn't want to kill the vibe; especially since I knew they were going to the same folks I was posting with in the PHM thread. Just a great time.

Most memorable single sale was my answering a Want To Buy post. An infrequent poster asked for original art featuring The Head Men of 70s Defenders infamy. It was such an unusual request that It caught my eye, and I just happened to be sitting on a page, and in the throes of one of my purges. I posted the art and he went bonkers for it! After the sale, I wondered if I had fallen victim to the old " It's my grail! " gambit. I needn't have worried. It's still on his CAF, still NFS, eleven years later. It feels good knowing the page went to the right caretaker.

[143ksk]

I sold a lot of cool books here a long time ago including Planet #1, Human Torch #1, CSS 22, and Black Cat 50.

My favorite pick ups are below

[143ksk]

These sigs were facilitated for me through the Boards.

[sfcityduck]

On 6/12/2024 at 5:21 PM, thehumantorch said:

And since I don't sell here I can only post my favorite 5 comics purchased here.  Thanks to the wonderful sellers on the boards

Lucky Comics.  Not sure of the number, have to dig it up.  Purchased from eccomics.  Canadian White I'd never seen before in quite remarkable shape and frankly, I dig the cover.

 

 

All those books you bought are cool, but I've never seen the Lucky. Those stripes are really cool and the shape is amazing!

[TupennyConan]

On 6/12/2024 at 1:25 PM, TupennyConan said:

About ten years ago on the Boards I was first to bring to market the OA covers to New Mutants 1 & Fury of Firestorm 1 (1982). They both sold within an hour.

Tons of fun! 

Found some photos.

Edited June 13 by TupennyConan