Shield

I've seen and held one about 20 years ago - it was in one of those old school fotress holders. Same guy at the time had a pedigree copy of Detective #27 and I was allowed to hold it and read it with my grubby hands (later was graded a Blue 6.5). That was one of the greatest comic book days of my life.

Looks like this much nicer copy sold back in 2008:

I remember when I was a kid and bought the 1983 Comics book price guide they had an article about finding an Oct 1939 copy and how rare it was. I could only find one in the Heritage Auction archive, but to be honest I didn't spend a great deal of time looking. Based on the condition this one sold for $52,580. Does anyone know if any super high grade copies have sold with the OCT date?

What did this end up selling for, and are you the new owner?

So glad to see this thread still active after all these years! What a fun time to be collecting these books back in the day.

Man this is a great thread. Whoever started this must be a genius!

I know some of the history on that Rockford Detective 27. I read it / flipped through the pages prior to it being sold. I would swear to you all it had never been opened before or it had been decades since it was opened. Back half of the book had that "crack" to them upon opening the book. That was probably 2003 when I read it. Most expensive book I've ever held with my bare hands. Friend of mine named Brad here in the Columbus area was the owner - he sold it to Met I believe.

That's the nicest copy I've ever seen, ever. By a long shot. My copy was about a 1.5 fair at best. Hold onto that sucker - sky's the limit on value with the first app of Veronica Lodge!

Not bad. Your very best material was when people were talking about dealers you said "Not to mention those two, huge boobs". I still laugh to this day...GOAT CGC line.

How's my old Pep #33 CGC 9.0 doing?

My initial response was going to state: "I like to read 9.2 copies of Action #1, All-American #16's, Pep 22's and Archie #1's"...:)

That is awfully kind of you - I wouldn't be able to accept such a gift though! Save that act of kindness for someone down on their luck. I have a good job - just thinking more about my retirement accounts than spending that $$$ on golden age. I forgot how kind most of the folks are on these boards. Don't know how long you've been on here, but I did something like this once - a guy (Ian Levine) was looking for a Buzzy #70 to complete an entire DC run. I found a copy - a large dealership wanted to charge him a ton for a "nothing" issue - I sent it to him for free. Feels so much better to give - you've got the right mindset in life Josh...:)

I sure miss buying and reading golden age comics. Sadly in my mid 40's and with prices way out of reach now, I can enjoy them on here only.

Can't believe I started this thread 16 years ago...:)

Glad to see my thread still exists. What brought me here today - out of the blue I was looking at prices on ebay (which have gone through the roof). Of note, apparently beat up copies of Top-Notch #22 are going for $2500 - $4k if you can believe that. Good to see you guys again.

And to think about 12 years ago I got to read a pedigree copy of Detective #27 with my bare hands. It ended up coming back a blue label 6.5 Fine + from CGC unrestored and exchanged hands for $115k. I will not disclose the pedigree, the buyer or the seller. However it seems the seller got a real bargain based on this thread....:) When I carefully leafed through the book towards the rear folios I swear it had that slight paper opening "crack" of a book that hadn't ever really been read. Tough to explain; like the pages had never been separated since it came off the press. I would by lying if I said I wasn't pretty nervous....

Having tried to collect the entire MLJ run twice, I'd put them in this order of scarcity, or at least availability on the market. From hardest to find to less: Pep 26, 22, 23, 24, 25 IMO. 26 is just really hard to find; I've only seen two for sale. First post on the new boards! Thanks ARCH and Vince!

BLB has been cast into the outer darkness but I did find a lot of the stuff he posted in this thread to be interesting. Of course, there were other threads .... Link to the thread that "cast" Bob out? I've wondered where he was. I'm pretty sure the mods poofed it. What was the crime? Brief summary is fine.

BLB has been cast into the outer darkness but I did find a lot of the stuff he posted in this thread to be interesting. Of course, there were other threads .... Link to the thread that "cast" Bob out? I've wondered where he was.

[font:Times New Roman]Again, the minutiae isn't what collectors find persuasive. Arguable facts tend to supersede tenuous theoretical connections if a strong enough foundation is laid. The success of the Yellow Kid and the development of Sunday color comic strips though Buster Brown, Little Nemo et. al., has a direct connection to the evolution of comic books. Obediah Oldbuck's contribution is much less obvious except as historical anecdote and from a marketing standpoint it's a tough sell. [/font] Huh? You are simply wrong and make no sense. Comic Strips in Books and periodicals in all their varied myriad formats have been evolving in the USA since 1842. Yellow Kid is not a comic strip - simply a large single panel ilustration to an accompanying text by Townsend - until its last half dozen apperances and presents nothing which is not already "invented". Simple Fact. Color? "Daily" newspaper comic strips now become not part of your equation. One must simply throw out all of the Cupples & Leon black and white comic books from 1919-1933; or to bring it in to more "modern" times, stuff like Zap Comics, Slow Death, on in to Cerebus, Elfquest, etc etc etc? All I have presented here are a few thumb nail sketches. You keep bringing up concepts of "....marketing standpoint it's a tough sell..." which makes me wonder your intent of replying to the snippets I presented in the first place. All three of the history articles as I worked on them inside Overstreet covering 1840s-1880s, 1880s-1930s and "Origins of the Modern Comic Book" have zero hints of marketing same for bucks. [font:Times New Roman]The early origins of the word balloon are relevant, but far less important than it's wide-spread use. It's origins are quaint, but it's implementation later on as part of a package that included sequential art and color was in response to a need of the expanding medium.[/font] Huh? The above statement makes no sense other than fulfilling a need by you to think refutation is important. What you wrote here makes no sense. [font:Times New Roman]Bob, that's interesting, but not ground-breaking, IMO. That could just as easily be a label on a mid-19th century tuna can. To get any context the entire book needs to be seen and evaluated.[/font] OK, have your tuna can fun. It is a long sequential art story. I agree, it needs to be reprinted and placed out for others to read. [font:Times New Roman]Interesting and quaint, but again, it doesn't provide any gosh-wow revelation for comic book origins. IOW, another tenuous connection.[/font] [font:Times New Roman]In desperation Bill Gaines tried to revive this in his Picto-Fiction line. Alas, the results were less than spectacular and suggest a failed branch of the comic evolutionary tree.[/font] Huh? Bill Gaines? Either sarcasm on your part or simply lack of seeing very many - if any, I suspect - comic strips from the 1800s. There are 1000s of comic strips in 100s of pubs from the 1800s. [font:Times New Roman]Very impressed by the depth and scholarship of your work even though I differ with you somewhat about it's direct relationship with comics as we know them today.[/font] I presented just a very few of what i have as examples here. So you "differ" in what way? The three presented are very much sequential comic strips as "we" know them today. Brings to mind on one level the format used by Hal Foster in Prince Valiant from 1937 onwards, a "comic strip," never using word balloons. And the one presented with out words at all, also sequential comics. Obviously, I did not address all of your "points" as some of your statements simply make no sense to even begin to attempt to understand actual intent on your part of where you came up with what you have here. My apologies..... I have no point to make, or have any rebuttal for the points made above. I am just quoting for those who like to scroll. You son of a spoon! I lol'd. Good to see you posting again (thumbs u All I want for Christmas Richard, is for you to find that thread where you say Metropolis is like a hot girl with 2 huge boobs. Every time I see your username I think of that and laugh. How's my old Pep 33 9.2 CGC?

[font:Times New Roman]Again, the minutiae isn't what collectors find persuasive. Arguable facts tend to supersede tenuous theoretical connections if a strong enough foundation is laid. The success of the Yellow Kid and the development of Sunday color comic strips though Buster Brown, Little Nemo et. al., has a direct connection to the evolution of comic books. Obediah Oldbuck's contribution is much less obvious except as historical anecdote and from a marketing standpoint it's a tough sell. [/font] Huh? You are simply wrong and make no sense. Comic Strips in Books and periodicals in all their varied myriad formats have been evolving in the USA since 1842. Yellow Kid is not a comic strip - simply a large single panel ilustration to an accompanying text by Townsend - until its last half dozen apperances and presents nothing which is not already "invented". Simple Fact. Color? "Daily" newspaper comic strips now become not part of your equation. One must simply throw out all of the Cupples & Leon black and white comic books from 1919-1933; or to bring it in to more "modern" times, stuff like Zap Comics, Slow Death, on in to Cerebus, Elfquest, etc etc etc? All I have presented here are a few thumb nail sketches. You keep bringing up concepts of "....marketing standpoint it's a tough sell..." which makes me wonder your intent of replying to the snippets I presented in the first place. All three of the history articles as I worked on them inside Overstreet covering 1840s-1880s, 1880s-1930s and "Origins of the Modern Comic Book" have zero hints of marketing same for bucks. [font:Times New Roman]The early origins of the word balloon are relevant, but far less important than it's wide-spread use. It's origins are quaint, but it's implementation later on as part of a package that included sequential art and color was in response to a need of the expanding medium.[/font] Huh? The above statement makes no sense other than fulfilling a need by you to think refutation is important. What you wrote here makes no sense. [font:Times New Roman]Bob, that's interesting, but not ground-breaking, IMO. That could just as easily be a label on a mid-19th century tuna can. To get any context the entire book needs to be seen and evaluated.[/font] OK, have your tuna can fun. It is a long sequential art story. I agree, it needs to be reprinted and placed out for others to read. [font:Times New Roman]Interesting and quaint, but again, it doesn't provide any gosh-wow revelation for comic book origins. IOW, another tenuous connection.[/font] [font:Times New Roman]In desperation Bill Gaines tried to revive this in his Picto-Fiction line. Alas, the results were less than spectacular and suggest a failed branch of the comic evolutionary tree.[/font] Huh? Bill Gaines? Either sarcasm on your part or simply lack of seeing very many - if any, I suspect - comic strips from the 1800s. There are 1000s of comic strips in 100s of pubs from the 1800s. [font:Times New Roman]Very impressed by the depth and scholarship of your work even though I differ with you somewhat about it's direct relationship with comics as we know them today.[/font] I presented just a very few of what i have as examples here. So you "differ" in what way? The three presented are very much sequential comic strips as "we" know them today. Brings to mind on one level the format used by Hal Foster in Prince Valiant from 1937 onwards, a "comic strip," never using word balloons. And the one presented with out words at all, also sequential comics. Obviously, I did not address all of your "points" as some of your statements simply make no sense to even begin to attempt to understand actual intent on your part of where you came up with what you have here. My apologies..... I have no point to make, or have any rebuttal for the points made above. I am just quoting for those who like to scroll. You son of a spoon! I lol'd.

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Kudos to 143ksk - Always a pleasure to do business with - packs well, and slightly undergrades. Plus he like Archie, so how bad could it be? Shawn

My vote goes to Pep Comics #22, December 1941. The question wasn't "which cover" it was "which book". The fact that you had a superhero on the cover protecting the USA from the Axis powers (both Japanese and German swastika on the boot) 2 months before the United States entered the war (book was on the stands in Oct '41) plus the fact that Archie Andrews made his debut. I mean who would ever suspect that wholesome little Archie, Betty and Jughead would be in the back of a book with that cover. That's like finding a Donald Duck story in an EC Comic... Now if we're talking which COVER represents the golden age, I'd go with Superman #17 or an early Marvel Mystery...