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Cherish a Chesler!
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Started by adamstrange,

638 posts in this topic

rjpb

rjpb

Posted
Posted

Looking over this thread I recall a brief period in the mid-nineties when nearly all Chesler's were on fire and routinely sold for at least double guide even in low-mid grades, and then seemingly overnight the interest cooled ( the key classic covers excepted).

 

I gather part of it was the perennial interest in the classic covers like Dynamic 8 and Punch 9,12 & 20 spilling over to the rest of the publisher's output, and even with having to pay multiples for the classic covers ( if you could find them), the lack of any even moderately well-known heroes meant that the publisher was a pretty affordable one to collect. Still it's interesting to see the ebb and flow of collector interest over the years.

 

I'm old enough to remember in the 70s when all of sudden Avon sci-fi one-shots were suddenly among the priciest non-superhero books of the pre-code era. In retrospect they would have been one of the weaker long term investments in comics.

 

 

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*paull*

*paull*

Posted
Posted
Looking over this thread I recall a brief period in the mid-nineties when nearly all Chesler's were on fire and routinely sold for at least double guide even in low-mid grades, and then seemingly overnight the interest cooled ( the key classic covers excepted).

 

I gather part of it was the perennial interest in the classic covers like Dynamic 8 and Punch 9,12 & 20 spilling over to the rest of the publisher's output, and even with having to pay multiples for the classic covers ( if you could find them), the lack of any even moderately well-known heroes meant that the publisher was a pretty affordable one to collect. Still it's interesting to see the ebb and flow of collector interest over the years.

 

I'm old enough to remember in the 70s when all of sudden Avon sci-fi one-shots were suddenly among the priciest non-superhero books of the pre-code era. In retrospect they would have been one of the weaker long term investments in comics.

 

 

Interesting points about Avons. So what are the Avons of today? Stuff that sells for top dollar but will be undesirable in the future.

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rjpb

rjpb

Posted
Posted
Looking over this thread I recall a brief period in the mid-nineties when nearly all Chesler's were on fire and routinely sold for at least double guide even in low-mid grades, and then seemingly overnight the interest cooled ( the key classic covers excepted).

 

I gather part of it was the perennial interest in the classic covers like Dynamic 8 and Punch 9,12 & 20 spilling over to the rest of the publisher's output, and even with having to pay multiples for the classic covers ( if you could find them), the lack of any even moderately well-known heroes meant that the publisher was a pretty affordable one to collect. Still it's interesting to see the ebb and flow of collector interest over the years.

 

I'm old enough to remember in the 70s when all of sudden Avon sci-fi one-shots were suddenly among the priciest non-superhero books of the pre-code era. In retrospect they would have been one of the weaker long term investments in comics.

 

 

Interesting points about Avons. So what are the Avons of today? Stuff that sells for top dollar but will be undesirable in the future.

 

Good question. In retrospect the stronger investments over time have largely been those with a connection to the present (i.e. Superman, Batman, Archie keys and early appearances), books with generally agreed upon iconic classic cover status and books that are genuinely scarce in relation to interest. And of course the higher the grade, the better the investment.

 

If I had to pick a GA genre which can be fairly pricey, but I have doubts concerning long term viability it would be GGA. As the retro charm of things like "headlight" covers are lost to a generation that has grown up with far more obvious cheesecake as routine in their comics, I'm not sure that they will be as in demand long term. A related area of collecting would be Baker Romance covers. While some of the more classic and scarce issues will probably retain value, I believe what initially drove completists was the relative affordability of such books. As they become less affordable, I see them becoming less appealing to new collectors.

 

There's a good lesson in pre-code horror. The books that were most sought after 15 years ago are the ones that have seen stronger rises in price, the stuff that "went along for the ride" including many second tier "classic" covers were often a poor investment unless in high grade, and even then not a spectacular one.

 

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*paull*

*paull*

Posted
Posted (edited)

You beat me to it... I was going to cite Baker Romance books as an example. I can't see how they can hold at current prices over time. I agree with GGA as well. Only the wild bondage/menace covers will maintain value, in my opinion.

 

I'm actually surprised by the strength of non-key cover pre-code horror right now. I think in the long run, these books will start to fall by the wayside and the keys (BCM 50, WM 5, MM 12, etc.) will keep tracking upward.

 

Disclaimer - I keep buying a lot of stuff that is either undesirable now or will be in the future, so I have no horse in this race ;)

 

Edited by *paull*
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Electron

Electron

Posted
Posted
classic chesler covers

 

chesler.jpg[/img]

 

WOW!! Stellar group of Cheslers.I'm no expert on the publisher,but I have a feeling you're going to get a few pm's about the Dynamic 8.I've heard it's kinda rare..

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vaillant

vaillant

Posted
Posted (edited)
WOW!! Stellar group of Cheslers.I'm no expert on the publisher,but I have a feeling you're going to get a few pm's about the Dynamic 8.I've heard it's kinda rare..

Besides being rare (it seems most of them are not easy to find, especially in great condition), I get it’s terribly sought after by rabid collectors. :insane:

Edited by vaillant
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Et-Es-Go

Et-Es-Go

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Pretty cool, West - I don't collect the later Cheslers, but now I'm thinking I should!

 

 

No, Cheslers are not the books you are looking for. Look! Over there! Isn't that a high grade Centaur with white white pages?

 

 

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