Golden Age Collection 22 22

[MrBedrock]

In the same vein as the above, Winsor McCay's "Dream of the Rarebit Fiend" has just recently been reprinted.

 

Website Link

 

Here's some info from the press release:

 

The complete DREAM OF THE RAREBIT FIEND (1904-1913) by Winsor McCay

as 'Silas', edited and annotated by Ulrich Merkl

 

A friend who bought this book absolutely raved about it! He considered it a bargain even at the steep price of $114 plus shipping. I'm already overflowing with so much "stuff" that I've resisted. Maybe I can talk the library onto buying it and the Nemo book, then borrow a pick-up truck to carry them home.

 

Jack

 

Get a van so they don't get wet.

[Scrooge]

I would not have thought that a library would carry the book but glad they did.

 

Well, not the public library but my school library which would naturally have more items of that type in its collection.

[selegue]

The complete DREAM OF THE RAREBIT FIEND (1904-1913) by Winsor McCay

as 'Silas', edited and annotated by Ulrich Merkl

 

A friend who bought this book absolutely raved about it! He considered it a bargain even at the steep price of $114 plus shipping. I'm already overflowing with so much "stuff" that I've resisted. Maybe I can talk the library onto buying it and the Nemo book, then borrow a pick-up truck to carry them home.

 

Jack

 

Get a van so they don't get wet.

 

No worries -- we're having a drought.

 

Jack

[selegue]

I would not have thought that a library would carry the book but glad they did.

 

Well, not the public library but my school library which would naturally have more items of that type in its collection.

 

Not true here. U of KY is very conservative about buying graphic novels, strip collections and such, whereas the public library gets a lot of them. That's largely thanks to a local cartoonist who works at the public library and makes a lot of the "art" selections, plus us patrons who make sure they get plenty of circulation.

 

JPS

[BangZoom]

I was wondering, are there any comic strip collectors among you?

 

If so, what do you collect?

 

[Robert Beerbohm]

Yo BZ - i collect comic strips outside of the format which people love to CGC these days, have for decades

 

- i have maybe a dozen feet of vintage Sunday pages re-built following the ware house flood back in 86 - back into the 1800s

[BangZoom]

 

Bob, I thought you would probably have an interest. (thumbs u

 

And I figured there must be a few others although I don't actually recall anyone making more than a passing reference.

[Scrooge]

Well, I read them (which is easier lately with a new Golden Age of Strip Reprints in full bloom) but I don't collect the originals.

[Robert Beerbohm]

heck, i have many many favorites with Polly & Her Pals by Sterrett circa 1928-1935 being in the Top Five - of course Herriman's Krazy Kat is in that same running

 

McCay's work in Nemo, Little Sammy Sneeze, Rarebit, Hungry Henrietta, and others are way cool to absorb

 

McManus BUF Sunday pages are beautiful to read, as are many of the 1920s-30s Gasoline Alley Sundays by Frank King

 

Thimble Theatre by Segar is also in my Top Five - pre Popeye as well as the Popeyes up until he passed on in 1938

 

there are sooooo many more, time is fleeting right now

 

[Robert Beerbohm]

Well, I read them (which is easier lately with a new Golden Age of Strip Reprints in full bloom) but I don't collect the originals.

 

i do not collect them if the paper is not at least just cream - many of my pages i pick up are off white to white paper, then they do not flake apart when one pages thru them

 

i don't collect every Sunday under the sun, nor do i go after the dailies, as that would be too crazy to try to fill in

 

My main collection is my Foster PV series, which i think i am 90% complete on now

[BangZoom]

 

My main collection is my Foster PV series, which i think i am 90% complete on now

 

Once upon a time I purchased a complete collection of Prince Valiants from a family that lived in a log cabin not far from me.

 

Their asking price was only $50 so naturally I didn't hesitate in making the purchase.

 

Unfortunately, they had bound them by punching holes in every page so that they could be placed in binders.

 

Still, it was quite the bargain even for those days.

 

I ended up selling them to a woman who lived in the state of Washington.

 

I wonder if she still has them?

 

I wish I had kept those from the 1930's and early 40's. They were beautiful.

 

 

[BangZoom]

To recap for those who missed it.

 

In my continuing series of Pop Quizzes, Scrooge won both competitions last night.

 

 

 

That gives him 4 straight victories (six altogether out of a total of 14 contests).

 

 

Scrooge, congratulations once again on your accomplishments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robert Beerbohm]

 

My main collection is my Foster PV series, which i think i am 90% complete on now

 

Once upon a time I purchased a complete collection of Prince Valiants from a family that lived in a log cabin not far from me.

 

Their asking price was only $50 so naturally I didn't hesitate in making the purchase.

 

Unfortunately, they had bound them by punching holes in every page so that they could be placed in binders.

 

Still, it was quite the bargain even for those days.

 

I ended up selling them to a woman who lived in the state of Washington.

 

I wonder if she still has them?

 

I wish I had kept those from the 1930's and early 40's. They were beautiful.

 

 

You guys bought and sold a lot of stuff back in the day - heck, i sent money in yo you as you also had great bargains in my opine on many classic comics treasures, a couple times money came my way for a few things on want list, there might even had been a trade worked out, i bring this up for a reason:

 

my only main point with the above is to point out that all the "old" timers in this hobby i know take in the full grasp of the worlderful world of comics: comic magazines & books, BLBs, pulps, movie material, art, OZ, ERB, Howard being just three of the pantheon of Ghods we worship

 

and i still remain dumbfounded that so many limit their enjoyment of the riches of the popular culture collecting world be it FF style, or so many other formats and venues with newspaper comics just being a small segment of that world, just as surely are the Famous Funnies format comic books most of the persons here limit themselves to

 

shame, really

 

- but i also understand the concept of "budget", so, maybe moot point

 

but still

 

- whether in original format form (my preference also), the next best is the reprint version, which, to me, is OK, as the point is to read, learn and absorb the images and the stories, some incredibly brilliant, some beautiful but boring, others,

 

well, i am glad in America we stll get to choose what brand of comics to enjoy

 

My motto is "anything good" which leaves out some, embraces most comics as most of them are entertaining - and it is easy to chop out the lower quality stuff

 

that reduces down to what do you like, personal preferences, and all that

 

which is what makes the San Diego Comicon so wonderful as it is a gathering of the tribes as it were - absorbing the energy of that single comicon each year will renew your faith in the vibrancy of this hobby - BZ, you & missus should come out to San Diego next year

 

- stick yer toe into the well, find the water is good, the time has come, you could do a panel on how you were able to pick up so much stuff early on, but, more importantly, you could maybe relate how you were fortunate enough to be able to maintain the various collections, an imposing structure worthy of a museum all for itself if i ever have seen any collection, except maybe Bruce Hamilton in his prime, Russ Cochran in his prime time, oh, of course, for one of each like you have, it approaches Leonard Brown and Malcolm WIllits when Collector's Bookstore on Hollywood Blvd (former BofA with walk in time vault) was peaking right before their monthly auctions began to wow us for some years.

 

Heck, get a booth, cash in part of the "investment portfolio" - ok, i am getting ahead of myself here and probably spoke sacrilege for which i apologize

 

- change subject

 

what is your most prized circus item right now?

 

I went to the Ringling Museum in Sarasota whilst CGCing when they had time for me, hectic as it appeared at their HQ - the place is mind-boggling to me, all the various aspects of it, i always knew it was their winter HQ, but this, that house, the displays of stuff, that miniature circus extravaganza in that first building to your right just inside the main entrance.

 

anyway, the logical-nus of collecting beautiful Sunday pages of key strips, or, rather, those who do not i do not understand

 

it has always been about art & story - everything else will wither away eventually if it does not keep that in mind

 

this year's G-4 TV feed Thursday night of the San Diego Comicon was two hours long - i am told it featured all of 1.5 minutes of comic book anything as far as the comic books go

 

one guy from Britain was hawking a Capt America #1 for $120K - that was it !@@#$%$%##

 

everything else was movie toy etc

 

nada else on wot brung em to the party

 

i think we need to advocate for more coverage to be noticed more -

 

the concept of the expanding dollar value of comics & related material is "dead, Jim"

 

Just Like Capt Kirk

 

I co-pioneered the concept of sky-rocketing comiv book prices back when we discovered the Tom Reilly stash -

 

i mean, we were 20/21 years old - kids, and we got world wide AP/UPI coverage when Burl Rowe bought the Reilly Detective 27 for $2200

 

our business exploded from that - within a month we had three more Tec 27 Batman issues

 

a word i used to say all the time back then was "yowza" every time we got yet another huge collection from some original old timer original owner collector who found it was his time to pass on some of his stuff into proper homes to saffe guard them for future generations

 

that is what i find the San Diego Comicon to be, for me, by & large

 

at least it was for the first 35 years of its existence. It surely has been changing up the last three years.

 

speaking as one who has been selling there since #1 every show since 1970 - and just did #38, another hgih energy drain and gain - all at once, more mind boggling to handle than any court room situation, if you ask me, because there are times you need to be able to make 20-30 conversations go on at the same time, if you want to make the bucks as the salmon flow down the river bank you are standing in, otherwise known as your booth

 

heck, circus stuff would sell there also

 

there are guys doing "old paper" genuine original old stuff out of warehouses, remnants thereof, so there is pottential for all kinds of popular culture to be gobbled up by the 150,000 people there

 

but that was disturbing a trend potential for me which i led up to here so as many comic book collectors as possible within my sphere will read this

 

my question is to every one reading this is:

 

How can we get a larger collective piece of the coverage of comicon?

 

The G-4 TV feed before the con - the one with 2006 footage featured my booth banner and comic boxes for a few seconds, and it is quite colorful, i think

 

In that prequel a couple weeks back, my booth was spotlighted right after Stan Lee was saying how the comic business had begun modest and grown up

 

boy was i jazzed - I have known the power of TV to generate business for my firms since i began going on TV interviews about comics more than 35 years ago.

 

was waiting for the G-4 TV people to come around and really give them a great interview if they were interested - and from the preview they showed, it looked like comicbooks were going to get their fare share.

 

LA Times interviewed me several times on various aspects of the hobby

 

no G-4 this year - no comic book talk both Thursday or Friday, i was told by those you watched back east and taped it - i got home, began watching, and it was ALL about the comics movies as one big advert for the movie studios plus companies like Mattell who showed up this year - the Disney booth display would knock yer socks off

 

some people say the old comics portion is being ghetto-ized, it all begins with consciousness-awareness raising known as "face time" on TV - and into the internet feeds

 

and we get that by approaching the San Diego Comicon people with a small group as a united front with a common list devleoped of ideas to improve things for all parties involved

 

See if they can interest reporters in the art (and story) aspect of the back issue magazines we all sell, CGC'd or not, that is how we are perceived by a lot of people outside the hobby

 

Maybe an Antique Roadshow concept re old comic books etc could be broadcast from San Diego next year - close up of Wood, Cole, Eisner, Barks, Kelly covers (ah!), McCay, Herriman, Ditko Kirby Wrightson -

 

who here has connections to potentially help promote the wornderful world of comics knwoing who to talk to to try to set something like this up

 

you want the hobby to grow & expand, media coverage is the only answer to bring in new recruits - and many answer the call once exposed to the cool stuff

 

I am all for reprints of the classic stuff that meets Sturgeon's Law to pass onto to future consciousness in the generations yet to be - that is why my Italian comic book friends at Lucca then Napoli immediately reprinted one of my copies of Obadiah Oldbuck and called it America's First Comic Book.

 

The media does not want to hear about the big dollars any more like they used to - some of us were doing same-o same-o 35 years ago, and i learned from Leonard Brown and Malcolm WIllits, many of us did back then.

 

Learned a lot from Phil Seuling - and everyone learned from Jerry Bails.

 

Can i get a witness?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BangZoom]

 

...which is what makes the San Diego Comicon so wonderful as it is a gathering of the tribes as it were - absorbing the energy of that single comicon each year will renew your faith in the vibrancy of this hobby - BZ, you & missus should come out to San Diego next year

 

- stick yer toe into the well, find the water is good, the time has come, you could do a panel on how you were able to pick up so much stuff early on, but, more importantly, you could maybe relate how you were fortunate enough to be able to maintain the various collections, an imposing structure worthy of a museum all for itself if i ever have seen any collection, except maybe Bruce Hamilton in his prime, Russ Cochran in his prime time, oh, of course, for one of each like you have, it approaches Leonard Brown and Malcolm WIllits when Collector's Bookstore on Hollywood Blvd (former BofA with walk in time vault) was peaking right before their monthly auctions began to wow us for some years.

 

...what is your most prized circus item right now?

 

Bob, thanks for the compliments.

 

I haven't been to a comic convention in over 20 years. I'm sure I'll make it to one again some day, but who knows when.

 

My most prized circus item?

 

That would be difficult to say. I have a great deal of 19th century and early 20th century material which I treasure. Among my top picks would be the 1857 diary of a performer, correspondence between show owners from the 1830's, the account ledgers of different showmen, a multitude of early advertising heralds and couriers, etc. It's all very colorful to me.

 

Here's a few pieces of original art for 1930's Ringling Brothers posters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robert Beerbohm]

 

...which is what makes the San Diego Comicon so wonderful as it is a gathering of the tribes as it were

...what is your most prized circus item right now?

 

Bob, thanks for the compliments.

 

I haven't been to a comic convention in over 20 years. I'm sure I'll make it to one again some day, but who knows when.

 

My most prized circus item?

 

That would be difficult to say. I have a great deal of 19th century and early 20th century material which I treasure. Among my top picks would be the 1857 diary of a performer, correspondence between show owners from the 1830's, the account ledgers of different showmen, a multitude of early advertising heralds and couriers, etc. It's all very colorful to me.

 

Here's a few pieces of original art for 1930's Ringling Brothers posters.

 

All three are the original art? wow

 

I only have some scattered circus pieces i have picked up from around here, some dating to 1910s, nothing earlier though - i add to those collections as i come across it and can afford it, with those days getting fwer & fewer inbetween - most of the good stuff on the ground was scooped up long ago/

 

but seriously consider SD comicon for next year as a family vacation - you would all enjoy

 

- letters between show owners from 1830s must be fun to go thru -

[adamstrange]

Those are absolutely stunning pieces, BZ!

 

This may be a comics forum but feel free to post whatever you find interesting.

[BangZoom]

Here is the latest of our Pop Quizzes.

 

As usual, the challenge is for you to be the first to name the comic book from which this image appears on the cover and to identify the issue number.

 

 

 

 

[Theagenes]

Here is the latest of our Pop Quizzes.

 

As usual, the challenge is for you to be the first to name the comic book from which this image appears on the cover and to identify the issue number.

 

 

 

 

Blue Bolt v.3 no. 9!

 

Sorry Scrooge, the streak is over!

[BangZoom]

Congratulations on your second victory.

 

 

You join a select group of only Scrooge and selegue who have won multiple times.

 

 

 

 

See you at the awards banquet.

[BangZoom]