• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

The Gerber List ???

Started by swapto,

22 posts in this topic

valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted

"Gerber List" is actually a four-volume set of books.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0962332801

 

The first two books are the "core" of the set...

"Photo-Journal Guide To Comics" Volume I and Volume II

... provide 900+ pages of visual reference for Golden Age comics,

and the "Gerber Scarcity Index" (a number from 1 to 11)

that tells how scarce a book was believed to be in 1989

(or prior, based upon the author's research).

 

When a seller says that "Gerber lists" this book as an 8...

 

It means that the Gerber Photo-Journal referenced the book as having 11-20 known copies.

 

GERBER SCARCITY INDEX

(1) Very Common (new comics)

(2) Common (80's books)

(3) More Than Average (70's, some 60's)

(4) Average Scarcity (1,000-2,000 existing copies)

(5) Less Than Average (200-1,000 existing copies)

(6) Uncommon (50-200 existing copies)

(7) Scarce (21-50 known copies)

(8) Rare (11-20 known copies)

(9) Very Rare (6-10 known copies)

(10) Unique (less than 5 known copies)

(11) Nonexistent (but known to have been printed)

 

(The author doesn't use 11, but it's mentioned in his system.)

 

Many collectors today double the estimates because the internet has shown

more copies than Gerber estimated for several of the harder to find books.

 

The other two volumes (Volumes III and IV) focus on Marvel Comics (1961-1991)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted

The other two volumes (Volumes III and IV) focus on Marvel Comics (1961-1991)

 

why was their no DC 1961-1991 made? or is that still coming?

 

I doubt if it's going to be made... DC was highly featured in Volumes I and II.

 

In essence, if you have all four volumes, you would have:

 

Golden Age (as a whole)

The first 30 years of Marvel

The first 20+ years of D.C. (part of Golden Age as a whole)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
seank

seank

Posted
Posted

If you collect GA, Gerbers are practically a must-have.

 

I waited until Wondercon 2007 to buy mine and I have two regrets from that:

 

1. Waiting so long to purhcase them, and

2. Purchasing them at a convention then having to drag them around all day and into the night. Those $%&^@$ers are heavy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dekeuk

dekeuk

Posted
Posted

 

I found you can get volume 1 on ebay for about $20. Great deal.

 

But I still think they should do at least a 1960's DC version.

 

DC in the 60's and 70's was so much different than the first 20 years. Think of all the Neal Adams covers that would be included in such a book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nearmint

nearmint

Posted
Posted

I'd love to see DC Silver and Bronze, as well, but Ernie Gerber has passed away, and I don't know if anyone else has the initiative to get it done. I seem to remember that Ernie wanted to do volumes 5 & 6, but had trouble getting DC to give him permission to reprint the covers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Metarog

Metarog

Posted
Posted

I am pretty sure I saw an ad or announcement for the DC set in CBM a long time ago. That would have been a must have set as far as I'm concerned. Of course, today it would be much easier to assemble but would it be feasible to publish? With sites like GCD and Mike's you can pretty much find any comic except for a few rarities. I prefer the Photo-Journals to online pics myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dekeuk

dekeuk

Posted
Posted
Of course, today it would be much easier to assemble but would it be feasible to publish?

 

It would be more difficult to photograph high grade copies. When Gerber took his photos in the 1980's, none of them were slabbed. Today most high grade copies are slabbed. Try convincing someone to remove their 9.6 comic from a slab so you get get a good photo of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
adamstrange

adamstrange

Posted
Posted

The other two volumes (Volumes III and IV) focus on Marvel Comics (1961-1991)

 

why was their no DC 1961-1991 made? or is that still coming?

 

Ernie worked on a DC book that was going to start in the 50s where the prior volumes left off. He told me that he had a lot of the photos prepared but was still missing quite a few so I gave my contact info as I was pretty sure I could help him to locate nice copies. When I followed up with him approx a year later he said that Gemstone didn't see the demand for a DC book like the Marvel volumes and so declined to print it. Those books cost him quite a tidy sum to print and there superbly well made (every cover had its own color separation -- more than for any other printed book) but, so far as I could tell in my conversations with him, they did not sell to his expectations and he lost money on them. Geppi owns the rights to the books and the photos so he has the means should he want to resurrect the project.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
adamstrange

adamstrange

Posted
Posted
Of course, today it would be much easier to assemble but would it be feasible to publish?

 

It would be more difficult to photograph high grade copies. When Gerber took his photos in the 1980's, none of them were slabbed. Today most high grade copies are slabbed. Try convincing someone to remove their 9.6 comic from a slab so you get get a good photo of it.

 

I don't think we are at the point where most of the high grade DCs are slabbed. Definitely not with regards to books from the 50s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheShadowKnows

TheShadowKnows

Posted
Posted
Hello fellow collectors,

 

where can i find 'The Gerber List'???

 

can someone please supply me with a link or a doc?

 

Thanks very much! thumbsup2.gif

 

Bennoss

These books are a must have.There is so many cool covers that I hadnt seen before.Where can you see a suspense 3 anytime you want.

Also a quick way to enjoy old comics without getting out your collection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
codfish

codfish

Posted
Posted

Out of curiosity just how realistic is the scarcity index in this day and age? I have the data on a few series and I was frankly shocked at the scarcity index on some of the books because I have had a very difficult time locating some books that are mere 5 and 6's (eg. some of the first series Wonder Womans between 40 and 111, Lorna the Jungle Girl/Queen of the Jungle) while a few higher index books I have seen pop up more often than their scarcity index would indicate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted
Can anyone scan a couple of pages? I was thinking of ordering the Marvel volumes from Amazon

 

Here's a page from the Golden Age volumes... the same format is used in the Marvel volumes.

 

1888210-GerberPage.jpg

 

(Some pages have larger images than others... but the format is similar.)

1888210-GerberPage.jpg.9648b06c789db121f76677b713e16faa.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing