Fox Comics Appreciation Thread! 20 20

[bix3131-migration]

It can be pre-ordered at Amazon. By the way, the cover shown at Amazon and in the PW piece is just a sketch. Wait'll you see the real thing! ka-BLAM!

 

Thanks for the positive support, guys. I hope that the book lives up to your expectations.

 

Adam, I will deliver the message to my mom with pleasure...usually it she telling ME to get in line!

[ciorac]

By request...the Mystery Men run story, (the short version)

 

Many of you know that back in the mid 90's a bunch of old time collectors were looking to sell off their collections, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time. The broker for the collections (Richard Olsen) had already sold me his books (stunning collection) and had made arrangements for me to buy two others.

 

Now we went to Laguna Beach to look at what would become the More Fun Collection. The seller comes over to the motel room where I am staying. He is accompanied by Olsen. We chat for a while and are discussing when I can get a look at the books. Suddenly, Olsen asks me if I can step into the bathroom with him for a moment. Struck me as odd, but I knew Olsen wasn't interested in me in "that way", so with some trepidation, I follow him into the lavatory. He was holding a small briefcase and placed it on the sink. He opens it up and pulls out a stack of comics that was a complete run of Mystery Men Comics. He says, Chuck, the seller waiting in the other room doesn't know about this side deal. If I want the books I have to buy them right here and now....in the bathroom.

 

If you knew the sordid story of how all these deals came together and the odd characters I had to deal with to get all the books, this may not sound as weird as I'm sure it does now.

 

Fortunately, I had a wad of cash in my pocket as I had anticipated buying some books while I was out here. Just not in this particular way! So, we agreed on price and I paid him in cash. I was very excited about getting the books, and knew the seller in the other room had 2400 golden age books just waiting to be bought as well. I tried to contain my glee as we walked out of the bathroom, partly so Chuck would be none the wiser that a comic deal had just gone down, and partly because I didn't want him to think Olsen and I....well you know....

 

Not sure what Olsen told Chuck later about that bathroom visit, but hey, at least I got all the books...right??

 

Just a reminder of what Chuck's books looked like when we finally made the deal...

 

 

 

 

 

And since there was a run of Mystery Men in Chuck's books, I ended up with two runs!

[lou_fine]

By request...the Mystery Men run story, (the short version)

 

 

And since there was a run of Mystery Men in Chuck's books, I ended up with two runs!

 

Bill;

 

Great little story and that's a nice looking Mystery Men #1 you got in the Fotress.

 

Which was the better copy and do you remember whatever happened to your two copies of Mystery Men #1?

[jimm]

Awesome deal

[ciorac]

By request...the Mystery Men run story, (the short version)

 

 

And since there was a run of Mystery Men in Chuck's books, I ended up with two runs!

 

Bill;

 

Great little story and that's a nice looking Mystery Men #1 you got in the Fotress.

 

Which was the better copy and do you remember whatever happened to your two copies of Mystery Men #1?

 

The More Fun copy was the best by far, the bathroom copy was a GD+ if memory serves. I will have to find the old catalog list to verify the MF copy, but I think it was VF+.

 

They both sold at shows, to whom? I don't recall.

 

Wish I had the MF copy back.

[adamstrange]

No pics of the bathroom?

 

Great story, Bill!

[TheEyeSees]

Thanks, Bill, for sharing that, er, encounter!!

 

Awesome story, even better pictures!!!

[Comicdey]

By request...the Mystery Men run story, (the short version)

 

Many of you know that back in the mid 90's a bunch of old time collectors were looking to sell off their collections, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time. The broker for the collections (Richard Olsen) had already sold me his books (stunning collection) and had made arrangements for me to buy two others.

 

Now we went to Laguna Beach to look at what would become the More Fun Collection. The seller comes over to the motel room where I am staying. He is accompanied by Olsen. We chat for a while and are discussing when I can get a look at the books. Suddenly, Olsen asks me if I can step into the bathroom with him for a moment. Struck me as odd, but I knew Olsen wasn't interested in me in "that way", so with some trepidation, I follow him into the lavatory. He was holding a small briefcase and placed it on the sink. He opens it up and pulls out a stack of comics that was a complete run of Mystery Men Comics. He says, Chuck, the seller waiting in the other room doesn't know about this side deal. If I want the books I have to buy them right here and now....in the bathroom.

 

If you knew the sordid story of how all these deals came together and the odd characters I had to deal with to get all the books, this may not sound as weird as I'm sure it does now.

 

Fortunately, I had a wad of cash in my pocket as I had anticipated buying some books while I was out here. Just not in this particular way! So, we agreed on price and I paid him in cash. I was very excited about getting the books, and knew the seller in the other room had 2400 golden age books just waiting to be bought as well. I tried to contain my glee as we walked out of the bathroom, partly so Chuck would be none the wiser that a comic deal had just gone down, and partly because I didn't want him to think Olsen and I....well you know....

 

Not sure what Olsen told Chuck later about that bathroom visit, but hey, at least I got all the books...right??

 

Just a reminder of what Chuck's books looked like when we finally made the deal...

 

 

 

 

 

And since there was a run of Mystery Men in Chuck's books, I ended up with two runs!

 

Sickeningly awsome story and now it's time for the extremely jealous gremlin dancing. (improvised)

[whomerjay]

By request...the Mystery Men run story, (the short version)

 

Many of you know that back in the mid 90's a bunch of old time collectors were looking to sell off their collections, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time. The broker for the collections (Richard Olsen) had already sold me his books (stunning collection) and had made arrangements for me to buy two others.

 

Now we went to Laguna Beach to look at what would become the More Fun Collection. The seller comes over to the motel room where I am staying. He is accompanied by Olsen. We chat for a while and are discussing when I can get a look at the books. Suddenly, Olsen asks me if I can step into the bathroom with him for a moment. Struck me as odd, but I knew Olsen wasn't interested in me in "that way", so with some trepidation, I follow him into the lavatory. He was holding a small briefcase and placed it on the sink. He opens it up and pulls out a stack of comics that was a complete run of Mystery Men Comics. He says, Chuck, the seller waiting in the other room doesn't know about this side deal. If I want the books I have to buy them right here and now....in the bathroom.

 

If you knew the sordid story of how all these deals came together and the odd characters I had to deal with to get all the books, this may not sound as weird as I'm sure it does now.

 

Fortunately, I had a wad of cash in my pocket as I had anticipated buying some books while I was out here. Just not in this particular way! So, we agreed on price and I paid him in cash. I was very excited about getting the books, and knew the seller in the other room had 2400 golden age books just waiting to be bought as well. I tried to contain my glee as we walked out of the bathroom, partly so Chuck would be none the wiser that a comic deal had just gone down, and partly because I didn't want him to think Olsen and I....well you know....

 

Not sure what Olsen told Chuck later about that bathroom visit, but hey, at least I got all the books...right??

 

Just a reminder of what Chuck's books looked like when we finally made the deal...

 

 

 

 

 

And since there was a run of Mystery Men in Chuck's books, I ended up with two runs!

 

Dude, that it one serious score. Awesome.

[The Black Hand ®]

He probably thought you guys were snorting something. How many great collections do you think were sold because of drug addictions? I know this isn't a pleasant subject, but an old friend from Oakland California, who had the best collection I had ever seen, lost his collection because of a cocaine addiction. He was a couple of years older and we lost touch after I went into the service in 1970. Years later I learned that he was killed in an auto accident but not before selling his collection piece by piece to fund his new hobby, fast drugs and fast cars. At the end he was working as a security guard with nothing left of his amazing collection. I remember as a kid,laying on the floor in his "batcave" reading stacks of GA, surrounded by boxes and boxes of comics. So sad.

[Detroit MIke]

Wow! I love those pix! Great story!

[ciorac]

By request...the Mystery Men run story, (the short version)

 

Many of you know that back in the mid 90's a bunch of old time collectors were looking to sell off their collections, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time. The broker for the collections (Richard Olsen) had already sold me his books (stunning collection) and had made arrangements for me to buy two others.

 

Now we went to Laguna Beach to look at what would become the More Fun Collection. The seller comes over to the motel room where I am staying. He is accompanied by Olsen. We chat for a while and are discussing when I can get a look at the books. Suddenly, Olsen asks me if I can step into the bathroom with him for a moment. Struck me as odd, but I knew Olsen wasn't interested in me in "that way", so with some trepidation, I follow him into the lavatory. He was holding a small briefcase and placed it on the sink. He opens it up and pulls out a stack of comics that was a complete run of Mystery Men Comics. He says, Chuck, the seller waiting in the other room doesn't know about this side deal. If I want the books I have to buy them right here and now....in the bathroom.

 

If you knew the sordid story of how all these deals came together and the odd characters I had to deal with to get all the books, this may not sound as weird as I'm sure it does now.

 

Fortunately, I had a wad of cash in my pocket as I had anticipated buying some books while I was out here. Just not in this particular way! So, we agreed on price and I paid him in cash. I was very excited about getting the books, and knew the seller in the other room had 2400 golden age books just waiting to be bought as well. I tried to contain my glee as we walked out of the bathroom, partly so Chuck would be none the wiser that a comic deal had just gone down, and partly because I didn't want him to think Olsen and I....well you know....

 

Not sure what Olsen told Chuck later about that bathroom visit, but hey, at least I got all the books...right??

 

Just a reminder of what Chuck's books looked like when we finally made the deal...

 

 

 

And since there was a run of Mystery Men in Chuck's books, I ended up with two runs!

 

Dude, that it one serious score. Awesome.

 

It sure was whomerjay! I remember calling Jeff Hinds and telling him I needed 2500 - 3000 golden age mylars and boards, and he was asking me if I had my numbers right. Yep! I sure did!

 

It was a staggering sight to see that many golden age books in one collection sitting on a bed in a motel room. Just mind blowing. Run, after run. Most of them complete runs.

 

It'll never be that good again.

 

I should have taken more pictures. The big batch on the bed, was the DC's, Fox, MLJ, Fiction House, Chesler, Centaur, and various other publishers. The Fiction House runs were complete. The DC's were 80% complete.

 

The next batch a few months later was the Timely's and the Fawcetts. The Fawcett runs were complete.

[TheEyeSees]

A FOX question about Mystery Men #1 and 2...

 

My restored #1 seems to be a good 1/4" shorter in width than my unrestored #2 ... is this consistant with anyone elses #1 and 2? Or, (choke), could my #1 have been trimmed? I don't want to think about that possibility... it doesn't look trimmed, or seem to be missing any art.

 

Maybe Jon Berk can help out here...

 

S.O.S. --- S.O.S. ----

 

[Mad Dog]

A FOX question about Mystery Men #1 and 2...

 

My restored #1 seems to be a good 1/4" shorter in width than my unrestored #2 ... is this consistant with anyone elses #1 and 2? Or, (choke), could my #1 have been trimmed? I don't want to think about that possibility... it doesn't look trimmed, or seem to be missing any art.

 

Maybe Jon Berk can help out here...

 

S.O.S. --- S.O.S. ----

 

 

Its trimmed, i offer you 10% of guide

[TheEyeSees]

A FOX question about Mystery Men #1 and 2...

 

My restored #1 seems to be a good 1/4" shorter in width than my unrestored #2 ... is this consistant with anyone elses #1 and 2? Or, (choke), could my #1 have been trimmed? I don't want to think about that possibility... it doesn't look trimmed, or seem to be missing any art.

 

Maybe Jon Berk can help out here...

 

S.O.S. --- S.O.S. ----

 

 

Its trimmed, i offer you 10% of guide

 

HARDY har har

[sacentaur]

A FOX question about Mystery Men #1 and 2...

 

My restored #1 seems to be a good 1/4" shorter in width than my unrestored #2 ... is this consistant with anyone elses #1 and 2? Or, (choke), could my #1 have been trimmed? I don't want to think about that possibility... it doesn't look trimmed, or seem to be missing any art.

 

Maybe Jon Berk can help out here...

 

S.O.S. --- S.O.S. ----

 

 

Or maybe I can help...

 

My Mystery Men 1 (Denver copy) is about a 1/4" shorter in width than my Mystery Men 2 (Larson copy).

 

You can rest at ease, my friend.

 

STEVE

[CentaurMan]

Dude, it totally sucks that your Denver copy is trimmed. Sorry to hear that.

[sacentaur]

Dude, it totally sucks that your Denver copy is trimmed. Sorry to hear that.

 

That's OK - it takes my mind off the time that the book was dropped into the bathtub, or when that bottle of Lime Away was accidentally spilled on it.

 

STEVE

[TheEyeSees]

Dude, it totally sucks that your Denver copy is trimmed. Sorry to hear that.

 

That's OK - it takes my mind off the time that the book was dropped into the bathtub, or when that bottle of Lime Away was accidentally spilled on it.

 

STEVE

 

Whew, thanks Steve!! That takes a load off...

 

now, I wish i could figure out why my #2 is three inches shorter than my #1 .

 

 

 

ps. name-dropper!!

[jbcomicbox]

A FOX question about Mystery Men #1 and 2...

 

My restored #1 seems to be a good 1/4" shorter in width than my unrestored #2 ... is this consistant with anyone elses #1 and 2? Or, (choke), could my #1 have been trimmed? I don't want to think about that possibility... it doesn't look trimmed, or seem to be missing any art.

 

Maybe Jon Berk can help out here...

 

S.O.S. --- S.O.S. ----

 

 

Or maybe I can help...

 

My Mystery Men 1 (Denver copy) is about a 1/4" shorter in width than my Mystery Men 2 (Larson copy).

 

You can rest at ease, my friend.

 

STEVE

 

 

 

Ditto on the Church books....note that the image of 10 cents is smaller on issure #1