Suspense Comics #3 - most overrated GA book in existence???

[ghoulaid]

Let me check the Church copies real quick, he had 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11, and 12

 

No number three my friends!

 

That doesn't mean there ISN'T one. Only about 80% of the Church collection was listed in the Mile High catalog. The rest were sold before that catalog was printed.

[aardvark88]

Maybe the only way to tell is to see if Suspense #2 & 4 are cover coded as Church copies. Then compare to the Gerber copy of Suspense #3.

[Crowzilla]

There is no Church copy of Suspense #3.

Ernie confirmed this to Gary Carter and I at the first Sotheby's

grading committee.

The one pictured in the Gerber guide is the nicest known (now

owned by Magik) and is the one I offered 10x guide for.

 

Sean

[comicwiz]

Good topic Bronty!

 

This is one book that continues to elude me. I have been working on obtaining one (very dilligently) for the past three years. The first complete copy I've come across is this this copy which was priced at US $6K and was graded at VG 4.0 with a staple replacement. I believe this copy to have been priced about 3K too high.

 

Why is there so much demand? I think partly because of the fact that you need a copy of 3 to complete the run. I've run into so many Suspense Comics runs that are missing this one book. The other factor is finding a copy which is complete. From what I have come to understand about this book is that "83 days in a Life Raft" 3 page story is comprised of one wrap and a page glued into the center which was only part of the book for some of the run and doesn't appear in some copies. I have turned down numerous copies which were not complete, but the one mentioned above is the only one I have seen that is complete, and is attainable. Having said all this, I'm still seriously thinking about whether I should buy it!

 

The same can be said about EC collectors. There are numerous EC collectors who find themselves in the predicament of having ever book in the EC run except Shock Illustrated 3. I only found my copy a few years ago, and have always wanted to upgrade it, but there are nowhere near as many copies available to satisfy market demand.

[Dr_Neff]

10.0??? C'mon, there's no way to even speculate on anything above 9.8!

 

We are talking about the 60's Spiderman series not the 90's one, right?

 

 

Of course we're talking 1960's - you should have seen it, it glowed. NO stress lines. I remember it like a vivid dream.

 

B.T.T. : Man that Suspense # 3 VG was a steal at 6k. Five years ago?

 

 

 

 

[Shield]

I don't know, man...that upper left corner would bug me for SIX large. It does present well, has good color and some reflectivity left in it. What does the back cover look like? Is that just a brittle corner to the cover, or flaking?

[Bronty]

Dr. Neff - I know, I was just being sarcastic. But honestly, 10.0? Considering only one mainline silver age marvel has received that grade, that's being optimistic in the least.

[Dr_Neff]

I'm with you. I think eventually some suprises will shake out of collections we may not have seen since the late '60's. Complete runs of crazy "my dad owned a pharmacy" type books. 12 copies deep of Action # 1 and Detective 27. People find comics of value all the time. I heard about a lady who collected comics and turned out she had an 8.5 Four Color 16. The last FC 16 I had was a 2.0, super sharp crisp flat tight and clean book, no blemishes except the razor detached front cover! E! I think more Suspense 3 will turn up when the South turns over a couple more generations.

[Bronty]

I have to disagree with you there... those books are 65 years old now... I don't believe there will ever be a 12 copy deep collection of major keys. Action 1 is from 1938... that's a lifetime ago, both literally, and figuratively, in terms of the way our society operates. These were children's throw-away items back then. You can't apply a 2003 mindset to a 1930's collectible... and remember.. America was just coming out of recession... who in THEIR RIGHT MIND was going to keep 12 copies of Action 1, even if they owned a pharmacy? Times were hard and people had a much different outlook on spending... if dad had inventory, he was going to sell it. And these books were flying off the shelves..

 

 

[Aman619]

no way jose!.....other copies will surface, but never a 12 deep hoard of the book syou are talking about...though I understand the possibility of it, its just tooo slim, as exciting as it would be (or depressing if you owned the books facing a glut!

[Bronty]

Exactly... few GA collections, that I've heard about anyway, have multiples... let alone 12 deep!

[Dr_Neff]

There are still quite a few surprises out there...just stay cool, stay calm ,and stay smart, my friends. And always bring as much cash as you can carry. (And roll with a posse twenty deep!) Actually, I have had people not sell me comics because they knew that if I wanted them, they're worth keeping for the distance. Many, many books have been shelved for the long term. I'm glad that not every original collection has been 'found".

[pogohuqa1-migration]

Anybody know who owns the Mile High Suspense #8? And for the record, while Suspense 3 is a cool cover, I still think 8 blows it away.

 

Still looking for national 26 and fantastic 3

[lou_fine]

I saw the copy of the Mile High Suspense #8 at the Diamond opening in Baltimore back in 1995. It was part of the wall cabinet display which they had set up in the library or den. From what I could tell, it was virtually a flawless book and should probably come out with a CGC 9.6 or 9.8 with white pages. Since we are talking about CGC here, however, it wouldn't surprise me if it came out with an 9.0 or 9.2 grade. From what I can remember, however, the book appeared to look better than some of the Golden-Age 9.4's and 9.6's which are showing up in the Heritage auction catalogues.

 

Just checked with CBM #23 which had all of the prices for the books sold during the opening. The book sold for $2,400 which was 4x OPG although Overstreet had already putten out an price update by then which had the book listed at $850.

Sounds like the buyer ended up with an pretty good deal. Looking back at the event, there were a lot of pretty good deals all around. For example, the Carson City copy of Suspense Comics #1 for $1,000; the Mile High copy of Mystery Men #1 for $6,300; the Denver copy of Mystery Men #1 for $3,000; the Denver copy of Green Mask #1 for $2,000; the Larson copy of Thrilling Comics #1 for $1,400; etc, etc, etc. I still remember the copy of Terrific Comics #5 which Fisher acquired for only $600 and then immediately started to hype it as an quasi Suspense #3 and placed an price tag of arounf $6,500 on the book.

 

Bottom-line, the MH Suspense #8 is worth more than $2,400 in today's market!!!

 

[ajaxfarrell]

[nearmint]

Looks like she's running out of time...

[rjpb]

I still remember the copy of Terrific Comics #5 which Fisher acquired for only $600 and then immediately started to hype it as an quasi Suspense #3 and placed an price tag of arounf $6,500 on the book.

 

So Fisher was responsible for Terriffic #5 becoming an overvalued book. I remember years ago seeing Harley Yee had a VG or VG/F copy for $1800 and thinking WTF? It's a cool cover and all, but it's no Suspense #3 - there are more than a few Marvel Mysteries with better Schomburg covers. Terriffic got caught up in that whole Suspense/Continental price jump. I'd love a copy of #4, but I think it's overvalued as well - I've noticed that when it shows up on ebay with a reserve anywhere near guide, it doesn't sell. Probably a bigger joke is the guide price on Terriffic #6 - it's not rare, it's not one of Cole's best, and I'm guessing in a no reserve auction that a low or mid grade copy would have a hard time reaching 50% of guide.

 

I missed this thread when I joined, and as much as I love the cover, for me Suspense #3 is overvalued - but it still sells for over guide so what I think doesn't matter. If pressed I'd have to say there are alot of books where low guide is already into five figures that I feel are overvalued - which says more about what I'm willing to spend on a comic than the books themselves.

[Bonds25]

 

Very cool clock - he made me one with a Schomburg Thrilling cover!

 

I got an email from the guy who made the clock, so if anyone is interested, PM me and I'll give you his email address.

 

I think he can make a clock with any cover you want, and the clocks were only $20 or so - definitely worth it!

[ajaxfarrell]

Thanks for the plug Bonds, I'm glad you were happy with that clock I made for you. I really enjoy doing it. I can make just about anybodys favorite cover into a clock. For example I can take this.......

and wind up turning into this...... ...if anybody has any comments or wants me to whip one up, just let me know....

[Mephisto]

 

As for being an early KKK cover - big deal.

 

It's also very Raiders of the Lost Ark.