Dr. Love Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 10 hours ago, Sqeggs said: Speaking of "Baker" covers that aren't, this one was advertised as such on eBay. It ain't Baker, but I bought it anyway. Kind of an interesting cover. Can't think of another Spin the Bottle cover, although @Dr. Love may know of one. Seems as if the subject matter would have had trouble passing muster once the Code came in. Also kind of weird that these obviously post-teens are playing Spin the Bottle and the guys are in sports jackets and ties. Dr. Love might know about such things, but "The Gentleman Collector" has a tie to knot and no time for tomfoolery. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 8 hours ago, Dr. Love said: Dr. Love might know about such things, but "The Gentleman Collector" has a tie to knot and no time for tomfoolery. Priorities, man, priorities! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorick Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I won the Wartime Romances #12 on HA last night which completes my Wartime run!!! Getting very close... rjpb, Point Five, Ricksneatstuff and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamtoreal1 Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Not Romance but awesome Matt Baker cover . Seven Seas 6 comicjack, Point Five and pmpknface 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Changer Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 On 1/27/2019 at 10:23 AM, Sqeggs said: Wish I'd picked up a copy of this one before prices took off. I was the under bidder, congrats... so tempted to bid higher. Next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagii Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Teen-Age Romances #45 continues to bring bring bucks (counting the Boards sales on top of tonight's C'Link copy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricksneatstuff Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 1 hour ago, sagii said: Teen-Age Romances #45 continues to bring bring bucks (counting the Boards sales on top of tonight's C'Link copy). The best cover of an amazing run (in my opinion) sagii 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m2ak1 Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Poor Man's Cinderella Love #25 DIY Sqeggs, Yorick and comicjack 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 14 hours ago, Changer said: I was the under bidder, congrats... so tempted to bid higher. Next time. So glad you didn't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 12 hours ago, sagii said: Teen-Age Romances #45 continues to bring bring bucks (counting the Boards sales on top of tonight's C'Link copy). I know I've said this before, but there's such a sharp falloff from the way Baker finished up at St John and his work for Quality. Those full cover St John books, published in 1954-1955, include most of his best work. His work for Quality just seems markedly inferior and I don't think it can be entirely attributed to poor inking or having to adhere to the Code guidelines. (The last few issues at St John actually have the Code stamp and there's not much in other covers from this period that would have caused problems with the Code.) Sheer uninformed speculation, but I'm inclined to think that his health took a turn for the worse late 1955/early 1956. Either that or something else was going on in his life that affected his ability to work. jimjum12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Just me, or have the boards been running really slowly the past few days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjum12 Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 9 minutes ago, Sqeggs said: Just me, or have the boards been running really slowly the past few days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 18 minutes ago, Sqeggs said: I know I've said this before, but there's such a sharp falloff from the way Baker finished up at St John and his work for Quality. Those full cover St John books, published in 1954-1955, include most of his best work. His work for Quality just seems markedly inferior and I don't think it can be entirely attributed to poor inking or having to adhere to the Code guidelines. (The last few issues at St John actually have the Code stamp and there's not much in other covers from this period that would have caused problems with the Code.) Sheer uninformed speculation, but I'm inclined to think that his health took a turn for the worse late 1955/early 1956. Either that or something else was going on in his life that affected his ability to work. I should add before @sagii's head explodes that Baker did some good work for Quality. It's just that there seems to be an abrupt falloff from the superb work he was doing near the end at St John to the decidedly mixed work he did for Quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagii Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 23 minutes ago, Sqeggs said: I should add before @sagii's head explodes that Baker did some good work for Quality. It's just that there seems to be an abrupt falloff from the superb work he was doing near the end at St John to the decidedly mixed work he did for Quality. I totally get what you're saying. There are examples that can be chalked up to 'inking' and then some that just looked 'phoned in' (health issues, lower pay rate , who knows), and then there are maybe 3 that are unmistakenly Baker. Either way, whether you are pro or con the post St. John period I appreciate that you are always 'game' to discuss all the work done by this deservedly celebrated artist. It is "The Baker" thread after all and all of his works should be inclusive for showcasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 8 hours ago, Sqeggs said: Either that or something else was going on in his life that affected his ability to work. Like his close friend Archer St. John found dead Aug 12, 1955, in his mistress' apartment from either suicide or a mistaken overdose of sleeping pills. Two years earlier Matt was on top of the world, running the whole art show at St. John out of his own private office on the 8th floor of an office building at 545 Fifth Avenue - fabulous Fifth Avenue, the center of the modern world, within strolling distance of Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany's, Rockefeller Center, St. Patricks Cathedral, etc. In a few short years, Matt would be working under Vince Colletta, a man he did not like, a kind of coarser wiseguy version of himself, a miniaturized dapper life of the party ladies man, but connected in a way, vital in a way Baker never had been. The ultimate quiet personal guy forced to work under the loudest brashest out there guy who not only was successful, he had a mansion in Saddle River NJ for gods sake. Saddle River was where RICH folks lived. So yeh Baker wasn't a happy guy towards the end. comicnoir, 1950's war comics, 29dukedog and 1 other 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorick Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 21 hours ago, sagii said: Teen-Age Romances #45 continues to bring bring bucks (counting the Boards sales on top of tonight's C'Link copy). That was only the second copy I've ever seen go to auction. There are not enough to go around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 39 minutes ago, Dr. Love said: Like his close friend Archer St. John found dead Aug 12, 1955, in his mistress' apartment from either suicide or a mistaken overdose of sleeping pills. Two years earlier Matt was on top of the world, running the whole art show at St. John out of his own private office on the 8th floor of an office building at 545 Fifth Avenue - fabulous Fifth Avenue, the center of the modern world, within strolling distance of Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany's, Rockefeller Center, St. Patricks Cathedral, etc. In a few short years, Matt would be working under Vince Colletta, a man he did not like, a kind of coarser wiseguy version of himself, a miniaturized dapper life of the party ladies man, but connected in a way, vital in a way Baker never had been. The ultimate quiet personal guy forced to work under the loudest brashest out there guy who not only was successful, he had a mansion in Saddle River NJ for gods sake. Saddle River was where RICH folks lived. So yeh Baker wasn't a happy guy towards the end. Yeah, St John falling apart -- both the person and company -- had to be a blow. I hadn't heard before about his having a private office on Fifth Avenue. One of the odd things about his time at St John in the accounts I've read is that he was apparently the art director but some people who worked there said they rarely saw him and didn't think he had much input. It's unfortunate that he didn't live into the 1960s, for his sake, primarily, but also because he wasn't around when 1960s fandom began tracking down and interviewing GA artists, inviting them to cons, and so on. We would then have his account of his time at St John in the early 1950s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 23 minutes ago, Yorick said: That was only the second copy I've ever seen go to auction. There are not enough to go around... GPA lists exactly one sale of this book -- a 3.0 that sold for $63 in June 2009. The cert is no longer in the census. There is a 3.0 on there, so maybe this copy was resubmitted and remained a 3.0 or maybe it turned into the 5.0 on the census or .... The sale of this 2.5 won't make it onto GPA because, of course, CLink doesn't report its sales. Yorick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagii Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 41 minutes ago, Yorick said: That was only the second copy I've ever seen go to auction. There are not enough to go around... I thought there were two Boards sales . I could be mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorick Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 7 minutes ago, sagii said: I thought there were two Boards sales . I could be mistaken. Those don't count as auctions. I wish I could have purchased the 6.0 copy that Rick sold. I need to get back to playing the lottery... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
