Doohickamabob

Vault Of Horror 12 and Crypt Of Terror 17 are considered by all E.C. fans to be the beginning of the New Trend (i.e. the period of E.C. comics that everyone cherishes) when the publisher came into its own. They were to all intents and purposes premier issues, despite certain elements of each title appearing earlier. They are the #1 issues of each title, and they are the first EC horror titles (they came out the same month, which I believe was March 1950). I believe Vault of Horror was previously War Against Crime, and Crypt of Terror was previously Crime Patrol. Haunt of Fear followed suit with #15 (?) being its #1 issue, but I can't remember what it was before....Saddle Justice? Haunt Of Fear had previously been Gunfighter. Saddle Justice became Saddle Romances, which then became Weird Science. Ah yes, thank you! Add to that A Moon, A Girl...Romance which became Weird Fantasy.

Vault Of Horror 12 and Crypt Of Terror 17 are considered by all E.C. fans to be the beginning of the New Trend (i.e. the period of E.C. comics that everyone cherishes) when the publisher came into its own. They were to all intents and purposes premier issues, despite certain elements of each title appearing earlier. They are the #1 issues of each title, and they are the first EC horror titles (they came out the same month, which I believe was March 1950). I believe Vault of Horror was previously War Against Crime, and Crypt of Terror was previously Crime Patrol. Haunt of Fear followed suit with #15 (?) being its #1 issue, but I can't remember what it was before....Saddle Justice?

Thanks! I am not too good with the hotkeys, but I did put the snipper in my taskbar. Really cool! Thanks!

I should probably just look this up, but how does the Windows 7 snip-it tool work?

Wow! Here it is, more than 2 1/2 years since my last post about Uthe, and it's remarkable to know the saga continues and Uthe is still making people's lives miserable. Glad to hear that at least Uthe has been dragged through the legal system. I wish for you to get your money back (not sure of your situation or how much he owes you, but you have my sympathies whatever the details). Thanks for the follow-up and keep us informed of any future developments.

Good choice.

I was also really surprised by the prices being commanded by two stand-alone comics, City of the Living Dead! (#1 or #nn), and The Dead Who Walk (#nn). I can only imagine this is a ripple effect from the popularity and through-the-roof value of The Walking Dead comics. Not that both comics aren't super-cool on their own.

I was watching some eBay auctions and was really surprised at some of the prices that horror comics have been getting. These Mystery Tales comics are an example. Note: They are not PRE-code but POST-code, but still in the same realm of interest. The seller's collection included many of these issues in beautiful condition. Nonetheless I couldn't believe some of the end prices (lots of sniping in the last few seconds too). I can only imagine what the price would have been if the seller had a copy of Mystery Tales #40, which was used in the TV show "Lost."

Sparkle City Comics has only been around for a year or so. Prior to that it was NeatStuffCollectibles. I don't think there has been much previous discussion of Sparkle City because he only began aggressive selling of high-grade slabbed comics a few months ago. As NeatStuff he was primarily selling large collections.

Wow, nice grade.

There's a message thread in the Golden Age section titled "Golden Age Marketplace Links." That's the best place for this type of posting.

Here's a Canadian/Bell comic I just noticed on eBay -- Superb Comics: I think the image is from a Reed Crandall "Buccaneers" cover.

The book was offered to me and at least one other dealer (who contacted me after I started this thread). I'm the dealer Roy's referring to. The guy had been in contact with us about the book. He's trying to pull a scam on experienced dealers. Guess he's not an experienced scammer?

Where is he shopping it around? He currently is not offering it on eBay.

I love that one, with the incredible detail, both on the inside (Wood) and along the outer edge (Kurtzman).

6.0 IS high grade for that issue. It is my understanding there are no Harvey File copies of this issue for some reason. I've been looking for a high grade for 15+ years. Great pickup (thumbs u That guy's face sure rings a bell.

That's full-on kickarse. The last panel appears to be one of the earliest recorded instances of the "Wait.... What?" meme.

They are definitely not very common. Many of them I've only seen once. As for whether they're collectible, that is pretty subjective, but there do only seem to be a handful of diehard collectors who go after them aggressively. It also seems to vary from issue to issue, depending on the cover art or the content (i.e. what it's a reprint of). I will tell you one Bell comic that I really wish I had snagged when it turned up (and this is the ONLY time I've ever seen it) -- a Junior/Sunny reprint called Deena & Gwenny.

If it's from a splash then it would be one of the interior stories of the same comic. No, you're right, L.B. Cole did not often sign his interior work. Does it say Bell anywhere on the comic (such as 1st interior page or back page)?

Likely to be a Bell Features canadian reprint. Can you give us an idea of the interiors? Sadly, no online exhaustive listing / resources of the Bell books and since it's Canadian, this wouldn't be covered in OSPG. Bell is a good guess since the cover art looks like it's from an interior splash page (especially since it does not fit the layout of the cover, with all the empty space around the title). I just noticed it's an L.B. Cole cover, which is cool.

Fun Fact about Space Action #3... If you isolate the left area of the image, the alien's arms look an awful lot like a woman's legs straddling the spaceman. Like so....

She's well-waxed.

I used to go to antique stores like this when I lived in the sticks (deep South) for a while. You can smell the mustiness just looking at this pic.

Be sure to set aside the good stuff. If you have any records that are RCA/Victor with "Stereo Action" at the top, be sure to keep those. There are actually some rare jazz and classical albums that collectors will pay hundreds for. A friend of mine is really good at tracking down first-edition rare classical records and for a while he paid his rent buying and selling them. Some records truly are junk and will never be worth anything, but I still hate to throw them in the garbage. Give them to Salvation Army or Goodwill and let them sort it out. Also, album-cover art is a very underappreciated thing, and many album covers are worthy of display. If you see any really cool covers consider buying a frame made specially for records and putting in on your wall. I have several like that and they are very attractive. Post photos when you've sorted out some of the cooler records.

Not only a great score but an eclectic group of comics too. Robotmen of the Lost Planet! What are the odds of finding that alongside a Sheena #1?!