Pantodude

Release date = 7/2/63, so 6th appearance of Spidey.

Haha. They were making some strides past decade, a bit more consistently through 2019, then the pandemic happened and the environment since then. It's nice to see them get this implicit recogition of their unique status among Marvel keys, especially during these times.

Sensible advice generally, but too broad a statement because Marvel keys include the feisty UK price variants. As a practical matter, the Marvel UK price variants would be an exception, as much as GA books would be, due to their undeniable rarity in uber high-grade. Yesterday's Heritage sale of the Amazing Spider-Man #1 CGC 8.5 UK price variant for $84K is a case on point. Hailed as the single-highest graded pence ASM#1, it blew past the $66K January Heritage sale of the cents 8.5 OW/W, even surpassing the comic-boom's former all-time high for any ASM#1 8.5 at $72K. In fact, that pence ASM#1, while the highest-grade for a pence issue, is not even "uber" high grade. That's the highest grade that has survived, which makes it quite special. And this phenomenon is true of ALL Marvel UK price variants, particularly of the early SA. The highest FF#1 pence is only a 6.5!!!, and the highest-graded Incredible Hulk #1 and TOS #39 pence are just 7.5s, and so on, despite all the incentive to grade those babies due to their lofty valuations as mega SA keys. It's exceedingly difficult to land just one in a high grade, let alone two for the luxury of being able to let a lesser one go, as you suggest. So a highest-grade pence of a SA key is likely just that, as much as any key comic book can be.

Very interesting to have TWO high-grade pence Spidey mega-keys in the same auction, but then again, a lot of the big-boy books were in play today. Incredible auction. The Amazing Spider-Man #1 CGC 8.5 UK price variant OW/W sold for 84K on Heritage today, way ahead of the January sale of the cents 8.5 OW/W that sold for 66K on Heritage and even surpassing the comic-boom's all-time high for any 8.5 at $72K. The 8.5 pence is the single-highest graded. The AF15 UKPV 6.5 OW (not the very top of pence census--there are two 7.0s above it--but close) sold for $84K today (way up from 2016 sale for $16.7K). Decent but still shy of the $104K for the cents 6.5 OW/W that sold in January.

Taken per PM

I did not get to meet or chat with him, but he was a kindred spirit in things Victorian. Hopefully an historian as knowledgeable as he will pick up the mantle. RIP.

Take

Thanks for thread and posting these! I might have missed them, as busy as I've been of late.

Hi. Just saw this interesting thread. Vision of DC as existed to-date or vision of DC divorced from its rich history dating back a century? Real heroes presented to the younger population, as practically ALL the offerings by DC and Marvel have been in the GA and SA, wisely included a sidekick. While DC embraced it more broadly, Timely did too. After DC enjoyed a doubling of sales of Detective Comics due to Tec38, many publishers/titles from DC to Timely to etc added sidekicks to their leads, which revolutionized the industry. And rightly so, as we are talking about comics intended for the much younger crowd. Make it more relatable = success. If you are talking about vintage content/back issues, I appreciate the importance of sidekicks in comics history but also MY history. For example, growing up enjoying Batman AND Robin ( Grayson), as that was the version of the shows I saw (RIP Adam West) and the comics I came across, Robin is integral to my experience of The Batman. Naturally, as a kid I related to Robin, not Batman, so they were inseparable to me. And now as an adult, I learned and appreciated that Robin is also everywhere in the GA and SA, and since then has become his own standalone hero as Nightwing, who remains important today. For many readers at the time, Grayson literally grew up with them. That must have been very cool for fans. If you are talking about newer content that is divorced from the foregoing history (a new hero from likely a new publisher), then anything goes so long as the quality is good. If a sidekick makes sense, and it's done well, then why not? I have no default rule about whether there should be a sidekick for new stuff I might want to read (as opposed to collect) as an adult. But to me GA/SA = sidekick era, and it was special and appropriate for the younger crowd...and very profitable for publishers, needless to say. In the end, especially in light of the industry woes we have been seeing of late, what is good for the industry is ultimately good for me, too. If it turns out that the industry needs to increase readership by the younger crowd, I'm all for it returning to the tried-and-true sidekick formula, as it would likely get the parents involved, too. Those parents might rekindle or discover they like comics, so a potential win there. And their kids, as they get older, could then seek out more mature content, whether or not it involves sidekicks. So I'm all for material including sidekicks, particularly for younger readers. It just works for that crowd and would likely garner more approval from parents (who would or could be doing the buying), which is why it likely translated to much higher sales in the past, as in the case of early Detective Comics. The vintage stuff, while still cool for young'uns, is probably too expensive/fragile for bedtime storytelling with the kids, so it would be cool to have new offerings with sidekicks that parents could read to their children as they put them to bed. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Right about belated CGC correction! The penmanship angle was my thoughts based on my childhood setting when one's penmanship was more of a substantive thing than today, the result of it being a required class (!) during early years of schooling and less likely to change. But you make good points. I was focusing on just the 5 characters in Eldon. Also, even if two different people signed the script and block versions, that does not mean those books are not properly part of the same pedigree if a parent /relative or book seller signed Tuffy's books when he could not. Interesting stuff!

I just noticed this thread. COOL idea! Warms the heart, too.

That back cover signature. Could be the biggest cursive Eldon....ever. Cool stuff!

Hmm. But...the block script on the ped covers is "ELdon", while on that coupon, its "ELDON," which is different with respect to the "d", "o" and the "n". Is it true that the Eldon ped does not involve covers with a "ELDON" type of block script? If so, the block ELDON on your coupon does not prove that Eldon M. Tuffentsamer aka "Tuffy" also signed the block-script books out there, which are of the "ELdon" variety. To the contrary, those who predate the computer era will tell you that back in the day, one's writing generally did not change in such significant respects from month to month or even year to year.

Real Life Comics #3 is a great, standout non-Timely. While Schomburg (like most other artists) generally humiliated or otherwise softened Hitler's presense on the covers (perhaps to help build morale when things looked bleak in Europe), RLC3 is one of the few that told it like it was: An emboldened and defiant Hitler on top of the world, as the Emperor of Hate responsible for concentration camps, while hugging a human skull. Feelings are so strong when it comes to Hitler that a cover like RLC3 almost doesn't feel right as a subject of appreciation, as if the only appropriate covers are the one's trying to bring him down. But I prefer a good dose of reality every now and then, too! And RLC3 provided that in spades at a special time (early 1942). The man was bad news, not just a popular comic foil, so kudos to the publisher (Nedor Publications) for keeping it real.

Arrived today, per tracking! Almost home....

Nah, yall got it wrong. It's actually: the "Bat-Man", literally, with the quotes and all, or just the Bat-Man, as per Tec27! In Tec28, they used these two versions: the "Bat-Man" and "Bat-Man". In Tec29, they used THREE versions: the "Bat-Man", the Batman, and Bat-Man. It wasn't until Tec30 that the quotes and hyphen disappeared and they used just: the Batman. So when did it become just Batman?

per PM.

And here's the last one I saw from the initial hunt, but could be more. And that's not including the GA hommage covers. Tec38 might be the most hommaged cover ever?