Post Your FOUR COLOR Comic Covers Here 15 15

[MusterMark]

Fantastic books! Congrats! (thumbs u

[Sqeggs]

FC 144 Roy Rogers I am not exactly thrilled with this copy but I couldn't help myself. Another great example of poor grading at Metropolis Where this was sold as VF. Pressing saved it from worse. Metropolis seems to grade books as if the grade today is what it might get after it was pressed by us saps. Poor grading may not make a difference for a 10-15 dollar book but with Golden Age books like this you are talking about 50-$100 or even a lot more. Another good reason why many people are better advised buying ONLY graded copies.

 

 

Sensational posts! Hugely informative as well with respect to the relative scarcity of these books.

 

I hear what you are saying about Metro's grading. I paid through the nose for a (supposedly) 9.4 raw GA book a couple of years ago. Finally got around to having it graded and -- after a press! -- it came back a 9.0. I've had similar -- if less painful -- experiences with them.

 

With any dealer I suppose it's useful to ask yourself, "Why haven't they gotten this book graded?" If they are doing a quick flip at a con, maybe it's ok -- and you have a chance to look at the book in hand. But I will never again buy a high-grade raw book for significant money off a dealer's site.

 

All that's OT, though. I stand in awe of your quest to do the whole FC run in high grade. (thumbs u

[Sqeggs]

FC 603 The Two Mousketeers A great example of why I am leery of Metropolis grading to this day. This was sold as something like VF/NM. Even a good press could not save this book.

 

 

Great book but Ouch! with respect to the gap between Metro's grade and the actual grade.

 

They may well be counting on few of their raw books being graded, which I think is a reasonable assumption even these days. And, of course, by the time a graded book returns from Florida, their return window has long since closed.

[sagii]

FC 918 Beep Beep The Roadrunner :: Monster tough book to find. Super popular title with a huge following. Yet there are only 3 graded copies on the books of CGC. It rarely shows up for sale at all and almost never above VG.

 

I'm still hunting for one, 6.0 or better

[4GEMWORKS]

FC 918 Beep Beep The Roadrunner :: Monster tough book to find. Super popular title with a huge following. Yet there are only 3 graded copies on the books of CGC. It rarely shows up for sale at all and almost never above VG.

 

I'm still hunting for one, 6.0 or better

FC 603 The Two Mousketeers A great example of why I am leery of Metropolis grading to this day. This was sold as something like VF/NM. Even a good press could not save this book.

 

 

Great book but Ouch! with respect to the gap between Metro's grade and the actual grade.

 

They may well be counting on few of their raw books being graded, which I think is a reasonable assumption even these days. And, of course, by the time a graded book returns from Florida, their return window has long since closed.

 

I should be clear. I recognize when I get these books that the grade has been inflated.. Metro does offer the ability to return and I have returned plenty. Sometimes though you think you can save a book by pressing. Once it hits the press I think that takes Metro (or whoever) off the hook. It's now my responsibility. If I buy a 2-300 book in 8.0 and it comes to me as a 6.5 or 7.0 and I think I can press it to 7.5 or 8.0 I will usually keep it. It might be my best chance to get the book in the desired grade. Roy Rogers 144 is not exactly a book that you find every day, especially as a file copy , which I have gathered quite a few of.

 

But the point is, I think places like Metro sell books that are over-graded and they are asking full guide for that higher grade. I think that is unscrupulous.

 

I have submitted thousands of books for grading including many of the four colors ion my run. I consider myself a reasonably good grader. It explains why I suggest that many buyers ought to simply buy graded material in the first place. Otherwise they send a book in for grading years later, only to find they were ripped off because they did not know how to grade very well themselves.

Edited May 10, 2015 by 4GEMWORKS

[porcupine48]

FC 990 Huckleberry Hound # 1 Another book that simply evades easy capture. Only five graded copi8es of which this is the lowest. But go try to find one. I bough tthis from Duck-R-Us on EBay as a VF or better. They seem to be grading ability challenged. Even a press could get it no better.

 

Just love the yellow covers!Thanks for sharing all the info. and eye candy.

[Sqeggs]

FC 918 Beep Beep The Roadrunner :: Monster tough book to find. Super popular title with a huge following. Yet there are only 3 graded copies on the books of CGC. It rarely shows up for sale at all and almost never above VG.

 

I'm still hunting for one, 6.0 or better

FC 603 The Two Mousketeers A great example of why I am leery of Metropolis grading to this day. This was sold as something like VF/NM. Even a good press could not save this book.

 

 

Great book but Ouch! with respect to the gap between Metro's grade and the actual grade.

 

They may well be counting on few of their raw books being graded, which I think is a reasonable assumption even these days. And, of course, by the time a graded book returns from Florida, their return window has long since closed.

 

I should be clear. I recognize when I get these books that the grade has been inflated.. Metro does offer the ability to return and I have returned plenty. Sometimes though you think you can save a book by pressing. Once it hits the press I think that takes Metro (or whoever) off the hook. It's now my responsibility. If I buy a 2-300 book in 8.0 and it comes to me as a 6.5 or 7.0 and I think I can press it to 7.5 or 8.0 I will usually keep it. It might be my best chance to get the book in the desired grade. Roy Rogers 144 is not exactly a book that you find every day, especially as a file copy , which I have gathered quite a few of.

 

But the point is, I think places like Metro sell books that are over-graded and they are asking full guide for that higher grade. I think that is unscrupulous.

 

I have submitted thousands of books for grading including many of the four colors ion my run. I consider myself a reasonably good grader. It explains why I suggest that many buyers ought to simply buy graded material in the first place. Otherwise they send a book in for grading years later, only to find they were ripped off because they did not know how to grade very well themselves.

 

I agree with this. Metro can miss by a couple of grades or more on raw books, even after they have been pressed. Another case in point, I bought a 8.5 (Northford pedigree) from them that just came back as a 6.5, after being pressed.

 

It's one thing to charge very aggressive prices on graded books where the buyer has some idea of what he's getting, it's something else to charge very aggressive prices on raw books and overgrade them.

[DR.X]

Just a few of them.

 

 

 

 

[AJD]

Some very nice books in this thread lately - great stuff.

 

 

Must. Resist. Lure. Of. Four. Colors.

[MusterMark]

Just a few of them.

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful books.

[Sqeggs]

Just a few of them.

 

 

 

 

 

Very nice! Trying for the full run?

[DR.X]

no. i picked these up many years ago in a big collection that included about four hundred Dells. there were about 100 of the movie related covers that I just couldn't part with.

[DR.X]

A few more random ones from the short boxes of death.

 

 

 

 

 

[sacentaur]

FC 1234 The Phantom Planet :: Insanely difficult book to find in any grade.

 

 

I had no idea that this book even existed - straight to the top of my Want List.

[comicjack]

Never seen that one either

[Sqeggs]

A few more random ones from the short boxes of death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great stuff. Some of these covers are another reminder of the prominent place Westerns once held in popular culture.

[4GEMWORKS]

I was updating my Four Color Collection Description in advance of the annual awards. I thought I'd share the last part which is new this year: I'll post some pictures that will likely be new to a few people.

 

Missing Four Colors:

 

I have previously discussed the missing Four Colors. Here now is a list of comics that might well be the “missing Four Color issues”. These were derived by looking at date marks on the cover and determining if they were part of another numbered series of comics that might have existed. For example if Bonanza #5 was trtuly #5 it would say so in the indica. Most of the missing Four Colors simply used a cryptic code of letters that few people understood. But what could be done was to match up dates and the issues that were not part of another series match up nearly perfectly with the missing issues:

 

1217: Ken and Barbie #1 01-053-207

1228: Bonanza 01-070-207

1292: Cain’s Hundred #1 01-094-207

1314: Donald Duck Album 01-204-207

1315: Follow the Sun 01-280-207

1316: King Leanardo 01-390-207

1317: Laramie: 01-418-207

1318: Leave it to Beaver 01-428-207

1319: Lolly and Pepper 01-459-207

1320: Man From Wells fargo 01-495-207

1321: Marge’s Lulu and Tubby in Japan 01-476-207

1322: The Prince and the Pauper 01-654-207

1323: National Velvet 01-556-207

1324: Pixie Dixie and Mr. Jinx 01-631-207

1325: The Real McCoy’s 01-689-207

1326: The Twilight Zone 01-860-207

1327: The Untouchables 01-879-207

1329 This is unusual. Ben casey seems to fit the spot (#1 ) 12-063-207

However Gyro Gearloose also seems to fit the spot. In fact I have a Gyro Gearloose in a CGC case titled Four Color #1329, despite the fact that 1329 is listed nowhere on the title or indica.

1331: Blue Phantom #1 01-066-208

1334: Dazey’s Diary 01-174-208

1338: Fury 01-292-208

1339 Rawhide 01-684-208

1340: Beany and Cecil 01-057-209

1342: Brenda Lee’s Life Story 01-078-209

1343: Bullwinkle 01-090-209

1344: Drift Marlo #1 01-090-209

1345: Famous Indian Tribes #1 12-264-209

1346; Jungle War Stories #1 01-384-209

1347: King Of Diamonds 01-391-209

1351: The Magic Sword 12-496-209

1352: Ponytail #1 12-641-209

1353: 77 Sunset Strip 01-742-209

One book that seems to be lost and would also fit in this slot (1353), is The Twist 01-864-209

1355: Bonanza 01-070-210

1356: The Three Stooges Meet Hercules 01-828-208

1357: Mickey Mouse Album 12-518-210

1358: National Velvet 12-556-210

1359: The Twilight Zone 12-860-210

1360: The Untouchables 12-879-210

1361 (questionable?) Walt Disney’s Goofy: Scoutmaster

 

I have added a great many of these to my collection, but like a lot of the later Four Colors, many are seriously elusive in high grade or in any grade. Cain’s Hundred. King Of Diamonds, Dazeys Diary, The Twist and Jungle War stories are just a few of the titles that many people have never seen, unless they were really looking. Even Marge’s Lulu and Tubby in Japan is practically impossible to find in higher grade. Frankly, you might not see it show up for months at a time.

[Sqeggs]

I was updating my Four Color Collection Description in advance of the annual awards. I thought I'd share the last part which is new this year: I'll post some pictures that will likely be new to a few people.

 

Missing Four Colors:

 

I have previously discussed the missing Four Colors. Here now is a list of comics that might well be the “missing Four Color issues”. These were derived by looking at date marks on the cover and determining if they were part of another numbered series of comics that might have existed. For example if Bonanza #5 was trtuly #5 it would say so in the indica. Most of the missing Four Colors simply used a cryptic code of letters that few people understood. But what could be done was to match up dates and the issues that were not part of another series match up nearly perfectly with the missing issues:

 

1217: Ken and Barbie #1 01-053-207

1228: Bonanza 01-070-207

1292: Cain’s Hundred #1 01-094-207

1314: Donald Duck Album 01-204-207

1315: Follow the Sun 01-280-207

1316: King Leanardo 01-390-207

1317: Laramie: 01-418-207

1318: Leave it to Beaver 01-428-207

1319: Lolly and Pepper 01-459-207

1320: Man From Wells fargo 01-495-207

1321: Marge’s Lulu and Tubby in Japan 01-476-207

1322: The Prince and the Pauper 01-654-207

1323: National Velvet 01-556-207

1324: Pixie Dixie and Mr. Jinx 01-631-207

1325: The Real McCoy’s 01-689-207

1326: The Twilight Zone 01-860-207

1327: The Untouchables 01-879-207

1329 This is unusual. Ben casey seems to fit the spot (#1 ) 12-063-207

However Gyro Gearloose also seems to fit the spot. In fact I have a Gyro Gearloose in a CGC case titled Four Color #1329, despite the fact that 1329 is listed nowhere on the title or indica.

1331: Blue Phantom #1 01-066-208

1334: Dazey’s Diary 01-174-208

1338: Fury 01-292-208

1339 Rawhide 01-684-208

1340: Beany and Cecil 01-057-209

1342: Brenda Lee’s Life Story 01-078-209

1343: Bullwinkle 01-090-209

1344: Drift Marlo #1 01-090-209

1345: Famous Indian Tribes #1 12-264-209

1346; Jungle War Stories #1 01-384-209

1347: King Of Diamonds 01-391-209

1351: The Magic Sword 12-496-209

1352: Ponytail #1 12-641-209

1353: 77 Sunset Strip 01-742-209

One book that seems to be lost and would also fit in this slot (1353), is The Twist 01-864-209

1355: Bonanza 01-070-210

1356: The Three Stooges Meet Hercules 01-828-208

1357: Mickey Mouse Album 12-518-210

1358: National Velvet 12-556-210

1359: The Twilight Zone 12-860-210

1360: The Untouchables 12-879-210

1361 (questionable?) Walt Disney’s Goofy: Scoutmaster

 

I have added a great many of these to my collection, but like a lot of the later Four Colors, many are seriously elusive in high grade or in any grade. Cain’s Hundred. King Of Diamonds, Dazeys Diary, The Twist and Jungle War stories are just a few of the titles that many people have never seen, unless they were really looking. Even Marge’s Lulu and Tubby in Japan is practically impossible to find in higher grade. Frankly, you might not see it show up for months at a time.

 

Wow! Great work. Even more books for the FC completist to track down!

 

Do you have any thoughts on why these issues didn't receive the FC numbering?

[4GEMWORKS]

I was updating my Four Color Collection Description in advance of the annual awards. I thought I'd share the last part which is new this year: I'll post some pictures that will likely be new to a few people.

 

Missing Four Colors:

 

I have previously discussed the missing Four Colors. Here now is a list of comics that might well be the “missing Four Color issues”. These were derived by looking at date marks on the cover and determining if they were part of another numbered series of comics that might have existed. For example if Bonanza #5 was trtuly #5 it would say so in the indica. Most of the missing Four Colors simply used a cryptic code of letters that few people understood. But what could be done was to match up dates and the issues that were not part of another series match up nearly perfectly with the missing issues:

 

1217: Ken and Barbie #1 01-053-207

1228: Bonanza 01-070-207

1292: Cain’s Hundred #1 01-094-207

1314: Donald Duck Album 01-204-207

1315: Follow the Sun 01-280-207

1316: King Leanardo 01-390-207

1317: Laramie: 01-418-207

1318: Leave it to Beaver 01-428-207

1319: Lolly and Pepper 01-459-207

1320: Man From Wells fargo 01-495-207

1321: Marge’s Lulu and Tubby in Japan 01-476-207

1322: The Prince and the Pauper 01-654-207

1323: National Velvet 01-556-207

1324: Pixie Dixie and Mr. Jinx 01-631-207

1325: The Real McCoy’s 01-689-207

1326: The Twilight Zone 01-860-207

1327: The Untouchables 01-879-207

1329 This is unusual. Ben casey seems to fit the spot (#1 ) 12-063-207

However Gyro Gearloose also seems to fit the spot. In fact I have a Gyro Gearloose in a CGC case titled Four Color #1329, despite the fact that 1329 is listed nowhere on the title or indica.

1331: Blue Phantom #1 01-066-208

1334: Dazey’s Diary 01-174-208

1338: Fury 01-292-208

1339 Rawhide 01-684-208

1340: Beany and Cecil 01-057-209

1342: Brenda Lee’s Life Story 01-078-209

1343: Bullwinkle 01-090-209

1344: Drift Marlo #1 01-090-209

1345: Famous Indian Tribes #1 12-264-209

1346; Jungle War Stories #1 01-384-209

1347: King Of Diamonds 01-391-209

1351: The Magic Sword 12-496-209

1352: Ponytail #1 12-641-209

1353: 77 Sunset Strip 01-742-209

One book that seems to be lost and would also fit in this slot (1353), is The Twist 01-864-209

1355: Bonanza 01-070-210

1356: The Three Stooges Meet Hercules 01-828-208

1357: Mickey Mouse Album 12-518-210

1358: National Velvet 12-556-210

1359: The Twilight Zone 12-860-210

1360: The Untouchables 12-879-210

1361 (questionable?) Walt Disney’s Goofy: Scoutmaster

 

I have added a great many of these to my collection, but like a lot of the later Four Colors, many are seriously elusive in high grade or in any grade. Cain’s Hundred. King Of Diamonds, Dazeys Diary, The Twist and Jungle War stories are just a few of the titles that many people have never seen, unless they were really looking. Even Marge’s Lulu and Tubby in Japan is practically impossible to find in higher grade. Frankly, you might not see it show up for months at a time.

 

Wow! Great work. Even more books for the FC completist to track down!

 

Do you have any thoughts on why these issues didn't receive the FC numbering?

 

Dell had lost a lot of Licenses taken away by Western Publishing which went to Gold Key. and the writing was on the wall with respect to their ability to continue to publish existing titles that they were losing. I would guess that the Four Color Team was disassembled to try and work out a survival strategy. These books had already been assigned to writers/artists and I am guessing they were just titled and sold. Dell went in a new direction thereafter which culminated in their closing down.

[4GEMWORKS]

I posted it in the wanted to buy section, but if anybody has a lead on 1962 Dell Brenda Lee's Life story, let me know. Thanks-