Robot Man

There are way more than a few hundred left in the world. But yes, much more rare. Sometimes the copy in front of you is likely the only chance you will have to ever own it. Others, seem to turn up on a fairly regular basis. Just gotta trust your gut and experience.

Pulled these two out of a stack of old Surfer mags at an antique mall yesterday. So iconic to those of us growing up in SO CA as kids in the early ‘60’s. Before he “tuned in, turned on” and moved to the Bay Area to turn out some of the best concert poster and album cover art, Rick Griffin was just a young, very talented surfer “greemie”. He was, by far, the youngest contributor to this iconic magazine. (Under 16). His character “Murf the Surf” was featured for several years. This is his only cover and the only time there wasn’t a photo on the cover. Sadly, Rick passed away on his motorcycle on a foggy morning. He left us way too soon… The story (a multi issue arch) in evolved a spot called Trestles. An amazing break that was under control of the US Marines and strictly off limits to surfers. Not that folks didn’t try. Me and a couple buddies tried one day. Under cover of darkness, we ventured in and were grabbing some nice “dawn patrol” tubes when a jeep pulled up on the beach and ordered us in. They would usually take your board and drop you off at the gate with a stern warning. We made the mistake of running and were greeted on our back sides with rock salt. Shattered the glass on my board and went right through my wet suit. Stung like an SOB but we got away never to return. The Cartoon Book was a digest full of great Griffin surf jokes. Both are quite rare and went the way of the trash can along with my comics by my mom after I moved out of the house. Glad to have them both back!

Cool! I love the codes especially since it was broken. They aren’t on all of them though. A while ago, I picked up an unoted Crippen from Harley at a show. I wanted it either way. But before I bought it, I did the usual look through and page count as I always do. And there it was. No COA though. Nice book by the way. One that has always eluded me…

Thanks Mike!

And it just might have that pencil code on the top of the first page…

Ha! See that little blinking icon at the top of your page?

Got a well appreciated tip from one of the coolest guys on the boards. He knows I collect vintage magazines with Surfer Girls on them. He had told me about this one but I figured I had near zero chance at finding this 1923 issue. I immediately jumped on it.(very unlikely I will ever see another). Muchos gracias amigo! This one has found it’s forever home!

Thanks for your observations. Glad it has been a favorable experience. I submitted my first ever submissions to CGC at WonderCon on 3/29. Two pulps in Vintage and one in High Value all on one form. About all I can tell yet is they charged my card. The High Value one supposedly is less time than the Vintage ones. Not sure if I can track them through the process. Also not sure if they will be returned to me as a group of 3 as submitted or multiple deliveries. My only concern so far is that there was no “Notes” area on the form. One is a Yakima ped with a copy of the COA in the back of the backing board. The other is a file copy printout from the major dealer I purchased it from. I would have like to note it and “flag” them when the books arrived. Just crossing my fingers. Being a long time GA collector, I have learned the concept of patience. So I guess I will just have to be optimistically excited. As far as grades go, I have no idea what I will get since pulps are so much different than comics.

Washington Confidental goes to Jimbo. In your pile it goes! Thanks!

Probably my favorite one in the run. Don’t think I have ever run into one I could buy. Maybe some day…

Nice! Now you gotta get a copy of this to go with it…

Nice! I spy some real cool ones there. I have a sickness for those great Popular Library books with Belarski covers. Few could paint a terrified woman like ‘ole Rudolph. Now might be a good time to run a sale Steve. I wouldn’t say they are “hot” but gaining a little steam. My current sale has done real well. If priced right, you will move a lot of the ones you decide not to keep. This is one area where a smart collector can put together a nice collection without breaking the bank. Problem is, they just don’t turn up out “in the wild” likely used to so replacing them is a lot harder now. Just be willing to put in a little work and you might be suprised…

Glad you had a good show Rickster! I would think if one had some reasonably priced pulps, one would do well. I imagine there were quite a few priced at “dream expectations”. A year ago, there were quite a few comic dealers and speculators buying up everything they thought was remotely cool. Folks with NO knowledge of pulps. I suspect a number of them have learned the error of their ways.

There are a number of “All Picture” titles with comic pages on each page telling a visual story similar to comic books. Some also had “flip corner” illustrations that simulated animation.

Still some cool “Cheap Thrills” left… will leave this up until tomorrow then send invoices and close it up. Remember if any buyers would prefer Media Mail, let me know otherwise postage will start at Ground Advantage. Thanks!

3 Sherlock Holmes, I the Jury and FREE Counterfeit Eye go to mrwoggieman! And Media Mail it is! Muchos Gracias!

Thanks! Well, there goes that idea…

Let’s just say, the cover on the Private Life of Helen of Troy probably sold a few more books… and classic works of literature like Sherlock Holmes are still sitting here. And nobody will even take Lost Horizons for free…

Sin Street, Journey into Ecstacy & Flee Angry Strangers go to OuterboroGuy. Many thanks! Will add to your pile. Hey, no judgement on my part why anyone wants these…

Can’t remember if I posted this or not. One of my favorites. Dated Dec 22, 1934, my, how festive! Was thinking of sending it in for grading. I spent about an hour searching the net for pricing but like a great many, no pricing available. I wonder how CGC would value it? Most certainly, the Bookery guide wouldn’t work.

Jane Mansfield goes to Cushing Fan. Some how that sounds so wrong…Thank you sir!

Flying Saucers goes to Jimbo.

CRAZY price reductions now in effect. Some up to 50% or more! Priced to move. I will leave this open until Friday and will send invoices then and close ‘er down. If any buyers are on a budget and prefer Media Mail, (these qualify), please let me know and I will invoice that way.

The Phantom seems to be more popular “down under” than anywhere else in the world. Seems like every time I have been there, I have seen quite a few. Have the older ones pretty much dried up there now?

I would much prefer a couple nice SA books or one nice GA books over countless boxes of common easy to get copper or modern books. Takes up a lot less room and much easier to keep track of. In all my years in this hobby, I have found that good scarcer GA books have way out preformed newer ones.