My Sunday chat with Joe Krolik ( Original Owner of Winnipeg Pedigree)

[Dad&Son-migration]

Saturday I was wandering around the Manitoba Comic Con in disgust at what looked to be aisles of toys at a Walmart, should have been renamed Manitoba Toy Con. I get a tug at my sleeve and turn around to see Joe standing there. He asks, " I thought you had no money??" I say to him, " Do you see me with anything!?!?" I did spend about $60.00 CDN on some high grade Bronze stuff that I put in my car but that was none of his business. He just wants me to spend everything at his shop. I told him I'd come by his shop Sunday as I had a few questions for him. So anyways... here's Sunday...

Went to Joe's place and brought some slabbed Strange Tales from the Winnipeg Pedigree. Some had his buddy Dennis' name and some not. He said that he didn't sign his but kept them in a log as a child which he proceeded to show me. A little bit of history with seeing the originally scribbed pages of a youngster in the middle of creating one of the finest pedigrees in my opinion. An interesting revelation that he said to me was that everything he sold to Dan Greenlagh back in 1996 was just the doubles from his extensive collection. ( I personally see the angst on his face when told about what his books command now-a-days, which I can only imagine he let go for a fraction of the prices 10 years later. ) I think the idea of having all the issues is for him to save face. I told him that he should widen his range on back issues by becoming a member here and posting but he said he wants total privacy, so unfortunately Joe won't come aboard. I think he's rather sour about past business choices. Keep in mind, I am very respectful to him and I am not rubbing salt in an open wound.

One interesting story he told me was about a time he went to a pharmacy that was going out of business during his early days as a shop owner. He was looking for fixtures that he could use in his store. What he discovered was an old wooden newspaper stand that the person said he could take. Upon inspection he discovered a gap in the wood and peered inside to discover comics ranging from 1957-1969 untouched as the slide into the gapping seams in the wood over the years.

He then proceeded to pull out a stash of Strange Tales from 102-155 from a collection he bought as I was interested in acquiring some raw books. Let me tell you first and foremost he is a business man. These copies wouldn't grade any higher then 7.0 but he wants 9.6 prices for them. He's always been infamous for over grading his own stuff and over pricing it also. I told him that the cold, hard reality is that I can buy this stuff in higher grade for lower prices via the internet and again expressed that he should get his stuff out there with such a medium. He once again eluded that he isn't hard up for cash and once again I told him I respect that decision. Bottom line is, he's a quiet, unassuming fello that would prefer to work his brick and mortar store until he goes off into the sunset. He did say that when the day comes in the next 10 years, he will unleash his private collection to the highest buyer and that it will rival the original Winnipeg Pedigree.

That's my 3 hours with Joe today. All in all, a great guy to swap stories with but in the end he's happy doing what he's doing. Don't be surprised though if one of the anonymous people on the boards is him. A special note to you Doug, he says he's well aware of you and your site and if you're ever interested in contacting him he'd be happy to discuss things.

[squidmo2000]

Cool story.I remember seeing a few of those books that slipped behind the panel on Ebay a while ago.I also heard about comics put in the walls of houses in the 30's and 40's.They used to use them as insulation.What are the odds that an Action #1 or Tec #27 is sitting in someone's wall right now?

[codfish]

ugh Joe Krolik. I appreciate his enthusiasm but I am not fond of him or his "pedigree" (collection is better since he was not the first owner). I buy the odd new book off him but I would never do much more than that. He has (some) of his back issues at half price now and only the newest unhot issues are worth the money. I would much rather talk to Doug Sulipa ... which I did for a bit yesterday.

 

As for Mike Paley and his conventions .... it is going to take more than five year for that guy to pull off what I would call a "convention". He is a liar and a cheat.

[ShoNuff-migration]

 

 

[Dad&Son-migration]

I would much rather talk to Doug Sulipa ... which I did for a bit yesterday.

 

 

Aaron, by mentioning Doug in my last sentence, I meant Doug from Pedigree. As for Doug Sulipa's inventory. It's nothing short of overpriced mid-grade stuff. Always overcharged, just like Joe has, since way back in the day when he owned Comic World on Portage Avenue in that old moldy basement.

[tth2]

As for Doug Sulipa's inventory. It's nothing short of overpriced mid-grade stuff. Always overcharged, just like Joe has, since way back in the day when he owned Comic World on Portage Avenue in that old moldy basement.

Be careful Dad, Sulipa has fanatical supporters on these boards.

 

Personally, I have no opinion since I've never purchased anything from him.

[codfish]

Well I have purchased quite a bit of stuff from Sulipa since he closed his storefront down. I was never really impressed with his last few years of storefront operation but I KNOW that Doug had long before basically lost the desire for a store front. He saw the end coming he was doing WAY more business via mail order.

 

What he had in his stores was really nothing much compared to what he has and still has in his warehouse. I have seen his warehouse and it is amazing. I also find that for much of the stuff that I purchased from Doug I was very pleased with both the price and definitely the grade. He replaced the Wonder Woman stuff I had stolen and all of it was graded bang on. Most was easy 9.2 the worse being maybe 8.0. I paid easily what I would have paid from any dealer other than Joe in Winnipeg or Calgary and I can tell you without a doubt it is all higher grade that what I would have got from Joe and other Winnipeg dealers.

 

Yeah my opinion of Sulipa's stock, grading, and pricing has changed a great deal from the last few years of his store front. His best store front years was when he was on Portage Avenue and browsing through his small vault supply. Most of that was fairly graded thinking back but was over priced but damn he had TONS of great SA and GA in there including a really smart looking run of Batman from about 2 to 50 only missing maybe one or two issues most in VG/F to FN-

 

Basically I would take Doug's prices and grading over most eBayer sellers and CGC graded books with their artificially inflated prices. For most of my SA and GA desires no one has what I consider "cheap" prices. Doug prices and grading certainly can compete.

 

(shrugs) But hey if you don't like him you don't like him. I don't like Krolik and that is from more than just a collector's POV. I wasn't all that fond of how he ran his distribution facility either. I could tell you at least one horror story from when I owned my store. (and it actually is minor compared to one of my Diamond experiences)

 

Now don't get the impression that I do not have any respect for Krolik. I may not like him but I do respect him to some degree. He has managed to make a great deal of cash so he obviously does enough thing right. I certain have alot of respect for some of his opinions and perspectives.

 

Mike Paley though I have no respect for any more. I will not bother setting up tables at his shows any more. Heck I may not even attend one as a collector any more if all he is going to attract is one dealer with stuff that is interesting to me. Thank God Greg Waller was there and I renew aquaintances with him after six or seven ... or is more? .... years.

[Dad&Son-migration]

Well said Aaron, I agree with you. I speak from the store front days when Doug had Comic World and I've heard a lot of good things about his warehouse and internet sales. I also know that he's well respected. I guess things definitely change over 15 to 20 years. I also see your points with Joe. First and foremost, he's a pure business man and he will always look out for himself. As I'm sure any of us would.

[Captain Tripps]

Paul,

 

Awesome story. It's funny, I was at a show as well yesterday (Florida Supercon in Ft. Lauderdale, not far from where you should be landing!!). Had a few local dealers but I didn't pick up anything. I did sell a GSXM 1 8.0 to a dealer, though.

 

That's great that Joe knows who I am. I have nothing but great respect and admiration for him, especially since I am probably the biggest supporter/advocate of his collection as being the best Bronze Age one EVER and one of the better SA ones. I wouldn't know how to get in contact with him so if you can give him my email address or website info. that would be great. I would love to pick his brain about the Winnipeg collection for a few hours (days??).

 

I can't believe he still has even more stuff. If it's even half as nice as the collection Dan bought he's holding onto a small fortune. Still can't forget the smell and feel of those pages, Paul. I was so excited when I first went to Dan's store to cherry pick those books and it's a feeling I hope happens many more times in my life! I still can't believe it was 10 years ago.

 

I was actually the second guy to see the books. A collector who has since sold his books (John Sargent) lived closer to Dan and also got first call on a collection I had purchased from Dan in 1995 called the Bloomfield collection. He only bought a few of the Winnipegs (which I tracked down later since I was aware whom he sold his books to) so it was open season when I showed up at Dan's store. Believe me, there is nothing quite like getting the first (or even second) call when new books/collections come in. It means everything if you are trying to fill holes with high grade books.

 

Thanks for the thread, Paul. I assume we'll have many more stories to swap over dinner come January. Just don't get any duck sauce on my Strange Tales 110!

[Dad&Son-migration]

Hey Doug, I'll PM you more details about the trip later tonight and some other things Joe and I discussed. I'll get you all his contact info as well. He's very unassuming and private so you may want to make the first move by email... either way, I'll email you tonight... I guess I should get to work here..

BTW.... I won't get any sauce on the ST's .. I promise!!!

[sterlingcomics]

As for Doug Sulipa's inventory. It's nothing short of overpriced mid-grade stuff. Always overcharged, just like Joe has, since way back in the day when he owned Comic World on Portage Avenue in that old moldy basement.

Be careful Dad, Sulipa has fanatical supporters on these boards.

 

Personally, I have no opinion since I've never purchased anything from him.

 

If he has only mid-grade stuff at this point, it's because his high grade stuff is all that and a bag of chips.

[Silver Surfer]

Hey D& S do you know if he has any Canadian prints like those from Superior Publishers from the 1950's in his collection?

[Dad&Son-migration]

Hey Silver Surfer... That's a good question. I can find out for you. He's quite the historian when it comes to comic book facts and he has a very extensive collection of books that he hasn't even gone thru. He'd know exactly what you're talking about. I'll post his email when I can dig it up here and you can even email him to ask. Believe me... he'll never shy away from a sale.

[Silver Surfer]

Hey Silver Surfer... That's a good question. I can find out for you. He's quite the historian when it comes to comic book facts and he has a very extensive collection of books that he hasn't even gone thru. He'd know exactly what you're talking about. I'll post his email when I can dig it up here and you can even email him to ask. Believe me... he'll never shy away from a sale.

 

That would be awesome as I am all over these books.

[Dad&Son-migration]

Hey Silver Surfer, I was going to PM you ... put I'll just post his email here as it's his shop anyways. It's Comics_America@mts.net . Shoot him an email and let him know that you were referred from Paul at the boards here. Be careful... he is pricey!!!

[codfish]

If he has to go through his back room expect a long wait too. I have been waiting for nearly for him to "find" his Xena magazines.

[Silver Surfer]

Hey Silver Surfer, I was going to PM you ... put I'll just post his email here as it's his shop anyways. It's Comics_America@mts.net . Shoot him an email and let him know that you were referred from Paul at the boards here. Be careful... he is pricey!!!

 

On it, thank you.

[Dad&Son-migration]

My pleasure!!

[drdonaldblake]

wow

great post

 

it is awesome to know there is a super collection to rival the winnipegs out there

and that the Winnipeg Pedigree was actually Joe kroliks doubles.......................jeez!

 

if Joe sold his original collection now- what would it be called? Winnipeg 1??

 

would dan greenhalghs find have to renamed Wiinipeg 2.

 

if what you say about Joe is true, in that he is a very savy businessman then u know Dan G would have had to pay top $$ for those Winnipegs

[jbud73]

I tried to refrain from posting in this thread, I really did - but the flood gates just wouldn't hold. For the non-Winnipeg forumites, I can break it down for you real easy.

 

Mr. Krolik is the equivalent of Chuck in terms of business model, grading and pricing.

 

IMO Mr. Sulipa has no equivalent, but envision grading similar to say, Bob Storms.

 

What you have to realize is that, back in the day the "K" had you by the short ones as Winnipeg really was and still is, a very very isolated market, so collectors didn't know better - if all you eat is dirt then well you might think its caviar. So with limited choices you often found yourself making bad discussions and accepting inferior grading.

 

Sulipa's Portage Ave store was one of those classic shops with comics everywhere. Now again the pricing was a bit aggressive, however the product was solid AND you could negotiate.

 

I could go on at length over analogies and caveats, but the Wpg. community is very small and even though I no longer exist in it, those are my roots and I prefer to leave them be.

 

Two things in closing. If you are going to buy a back issue off of a Dealer in the "peg as its known, your first and only stop should be Sulipa, almost everything else crosses the Rubicon.

 

Lastly, I would love to be a fly on the wall for the Schmell / Krolik purchase negotiations for his private collection talk about similar business personalities butting heads, throw in Metro, Chuck (though I can assure you Krolik would NOT be agreeable to the Dallas Stephens arrangement ) and Neatstuff and that's a -script that writes itself.