War Comics 17 17

[MrBedrock]

[MrBedrock]

[MrBedrock]

[MrBedrock]

[bill977]

really like this cover,richard. is this possibly the first frogman cover?

[Larryw7]

Here's my one and only SA war book, which I bought mainly for the cover. I liked the interior art so much that I may have to eventually buy more of these books.

 

 

[bill977]

Here's my one and only SA war book, which I bought mainly for the cover. I liked the interior art so much that I may have to eventually buy more of these books.

great choice for your first war book, beware dc war is very addicting

 

[MrBedrock]

really like this cover,richard. is this possibly the first frogman cover?

I'm not sure if it is the first, but it certainly one of the earliest.

[adamstrange]

Lots of great covers and stories -- and difficult to find looking like these copies!

 

[thirdgreenham]

 

All really, really nice books, Richard!

 

When I wish upon a star....

[bill977]

a question for the guy's and gal's of this great war forum; how many of you have tried to complete the big 5 titles. i have been working on it seriously for a while and my,what a undertaking,esp. with limited funds. by it is great fun,and i will soldier on. i am down to less then 10 gi combats from 44-287,35 issues of off to go, our army at war, i need about 53 issues and the other 2 titles i have over 60 percent done.so i suppose it is a good thing to be chasing the carrot's but how did you folks that completed set's,how did you do it and stay married,keep up with a home,children,ect,ect?

[MrBedrock]

I'm just collecting the ten centers. And I have only been at it about two years. Prior to that I had to abstain as two of my better customers were DC War collectors and I didn't want to compete. Even now there are some issues that I have to give them first shot at. But I am about a third of the way there. It will be quite a while before the finish line is anywhere near in sight.

[Silver Surfer]

Here's my one and only SA war book, which I bought mainly for the cover. I liked the interior art so much that I may have to eventually buy more of these books.

 

 

 

Fantastic cover.

[Hepcat]

But I am about a third of the way there. It will be quite a while before the finish line is anywhere near in sight.

 

Something like that could be a lifelong journey. That's what makes it so sweet.

 

[thirdgreenham]

a question for the guy's and gal's of this great war forum; how many of you have tried to complete the big 5 titles. i have been working on it seriously for a while and my,what a undertaking,esp. with limited funds. by it is great fun,and i will soldier on. i am down to less then 10 gi combats from 44-287,35 issues of off to go, our army at war, i need about 53 issues and the other 2 titles i have over 60 percent done.so i suppose it is a good thing to be chasing the carrot's but how did you folks that completed set's,how did you do it and stay married,keep up with a home,children,ect,ect?

 

Well, I suppose I can give my

 

After Chris Pedrin's Big Five Information Guide came out (1993/94), I decided to seriously collect DC war books.

 

Now I've always felt that you should buy the best that you can afford, so in this case, I was looking for VF or better comics, and concentrating on the earlier ones, but picking up the later ones as well, if I needed them.

 

Although, the plan of attack was the right one, the early books were just not around in VF shape. I was buying one or two books a year. For me, that wasn't a lot of fun. I knew that many of the early issues were hard to find in any grade, so I dropped my standards right to the bottom. I was only going to go after books that I needed on my list and they could be in any condition, as long as the cover was attached. This way was a lot more fun. If I ended up finding a better copy down the road, great, I would just keep the lower grade copy in my seconds box.

 

I was picking up books at an alarming rate, and yes, it can be expensive. I bought a lot off of eBay, and many at shows. Even with my new strategy, I found that some books were damned tough to find, even with my low criteria. Scarce in any grade.

 

I am lucky, I have a very understanding wife. She knew I was buying these books and I had to keep reassuring her that I knew what I was doing. I was also on a limited budget, so I couldn't afford every copy that I came across. I still had to be strict with how I spread out my comic money.

 

Before I knew it, I was getting very close to completion. It started with just under 200 issues left, then 100. Closer and closer I got, constantly crossing off books on my list and upgrading and keeping my undercopy as well. I ended up with about 15 long boxes of DC war.

 

I hit my goal with Our Army At War #11.

 

 

 

With all of my doubles, I decided to do it again.

A little less than a year and a half later, I completed my second run. Star Spangled War Stories #5 was the last book that I needed for that set.

 

 

 

Anyway, those are my experiences. It was a heck of a lot of fun and my advice would be to not give up. It's great to have a collecting goal and it's an amazing feeling once you accomplish it.

 

 

For all crazy enough to try to complete this monumental run, you have my full support. (thumbs u Not monetary, mind you.

 

Andy

 

 

[adamstrange]

I like this book

 

[adamstrange]

I'm just collecting the ten centers. And I have only been at it about two years. Prior to that I had to abstain as two of my better customers were DC War collectors and I didn't want to compete. Even now there are some issues that I have to give them first shot at. But I am about a third of the way there. It will be quite a while before the finish line is anywhere near in sight.

 

I didn't realize your goal was quite so audacious!

[bill977]

a question for the guy's and gal's of this great war forum; how many of you have tried to complete the big 5 titles. i have been working on it seriously for a while and my,what a undertaking,esp. with limited funds. by it is great fun,and i will soldier on. i am down to less then 10 gi combats from 44-287,35 issues of off to go, our army at war, i need about 53 issues and the other 2 titles i have over 60 percent done.so i suppose it is a good thing to be chasing the carrot's but how did you folks that completed set's,how did you do it and stay married,keep up with a home,children,ect,ect?

 

Well, I suppose I can give my

 

After Chris Pedrin's Big Five Information Guide came out (1993/94), I decided to seriously collect DC war books.

 

Now I've always felt that you should buy the best that you can afford, so in this case, I was looking for VF or better comics, and concentrating on the earlier ones, but picking up the later ones as well, if I needed them.

 

Although, the plan of attack was the right one, the early books were just not around in VF shape. I was buying one or two books a year. For me, that wasn't a lot of fun. I knew that many of the early issues were hard to find in any grade, so I dropped my standards right to the bottom. I was only going to go after books that I needed on my list and they could be in any condition, as long as the cover was attached. This way was a lot more fun. If I ended up finding a better copy down the road, great, I would just keep the lower grade copy in my seconds box.

 

I was picking up books at an alarming rate, and yes, it can be expensive. I bought a lot off of eBay, and many at shows. Even with my new strategy, I found that some books were damned tough to find, even with my low criteria. Scarce in any grade.

 

I am lucky, I have a very understanding wife. She knew I was buying these books and I had to keep reassuring her that I knew what I was doing. I was also on a limited budget, so I couldn't afford every copy that I came across. I still had to be strict with how I spread out my comic money.

 

Before I knew it, I was getting very close to completion. It started with just under 200 issues left, then 100. Closer and closer I got, constantly crossing off books on my list and upgrading and keeping my undercopy as well. I ended up with about 15 long boxes of DC war.

 

I hit my goal with Our Army At War #11.

 

 

 

With all of my doubles, I decided to do it again.

A little less than a year and a half later, I completed my second run. Star Spangled War Stories #5 was the last book that I needed for that set.

 

 

 

Anyway, those are my experiences. It was a heck of a lot of fun and my advice would be to not give up. It's great to have a collecting goal and it's an amazing feeling once you accomplish it.

 

 

For all crazy enough to try to complete this monumental run, you have my full support. (thumbs u Not monetary, mind you.

 

Andy

 

andy,i am happy with presentable copies(anything 2.5. up ) and you are right,there is not many hi-grade issues available on most of the pre 1959 runs. but i am having a ball with it,and boy am i glad i bought alot of those books yrs. ago. i had previously thought about just going back as far as my birth yr,(1959) but the more covers i seen of the earlier years,i figured my focus needed to expand!! bad move!! then i knew i had to go back to the start of each title. thanks all for your experiences!

[bigfiver69]

I'm on a serious mission to get all of the DC war books - it's been a dream of mine since I was just a kid (and I had no idea that there were so many!).

 

My initial goal was to complete all the titles from 1968 to 1988 in VF or better condition. It took me close to a decade. That took a decade, and there are still a few 8.0 books I'd like to bump up. I just got the last one (Whitman variant of Sgt. Rock #329) a couple of weeks back.

 

As for the remaining books from 1952-1967, I'm probably 70% there - and that last 30% is going to be painful. I look for nice, clean midgrades (4.5-5.5) for the 1952-1958 books, and 6.0 - 8.0 on 1959-1967. I also prefer to buy them raw - even when I get CGC copies, I take them out of the cases.

 

It's been so much fun, and I love seeing the runs come together. I figure that I should be able to nail them all down over the next three years or so. I would suggest that nearly 75% of the stories in those early war books (up to 1959) have never been reprinted... so I am constantly discovering gems that I never knew about.

 

I have bought a lot of books off these boards (especially from Andy!) and I also have gotten some pretty stupid deals off of ebay. I actually think completing the set today is much easier than it was 10 years ago - more supply, better books and lower prices on the mid-grade material.

 

After the DC war books are done, I'll probably go after a 7.0-9.0 set of Sgt. Fury, and then fill in the holes on my 1968-1983 Charlton War books in the ballpark of 8.0 - I'm probably halfway there on those. Along the way I am slowly picking off the EC war books... but I'm in no hurry there. I just take those as they come up.

 

Shep

 

 

 

[MrBedrock]

I'm just collecting the ten centers. And I have only been at it about two years. Prior to that I had to abstain as two of my better customers were DC War collectors and I didn't want to compete. Even now there are some issues that I have to give them first shot at. But I am about a third of the way there. It will be quite a while before the finish line is anywhere near in sight.

 

I didn't realize your goal was quite so audacious!

Yep. Every ten cent comic (thumbs u