The Unofficial Underground Comix thread... 14 14

[ug18]

15 hours ago, L Ludwig said:

Not strictly Underground, but my copy of FOO! #1 just closed at Heritage Auction for a much higher price than I was expecting.

Very nice, congratulation.

(Too bad you had to part with such a gem).

(Also, crazy idea to seal off it in a plastic bag, I don't get it)

-------------------------------

from HA, some useful info:

Foo #1 Original Printing (Animal Town Comics, 1958) CGC NM- 9.2 White pages. In case you're wondering, "Animal Town Comics" was the name Charles Crumb called his little home-made comics organization, run by himself and staffed with his brothers and sisters. All of their comic book output consisted of one-of-a-kind hand-drawn pamphlets, until a teenaged Charles and his brother Robert Crumb took the next step and had copies of their newest endeavor, Foo, printed at their father's workplace. Robert and Charles had both been inspired by EC titles such as Tales From the Crypt and (especially) MAD, and Foo was created along these lines, with additional help from fellow EC Fan-Addict Mike Britt. While the boys sold a few copies by going door to door in their hometown of Dover, Delaware, explaining the book as a "school project," most of the print run was trashed out of frustration by the brothers.
We've seen just a few of these rare first issues come through Heritage auctions, but this copy is as nice as any we've encountered anywhere, in fact, it's the highest-graded copy of only two on CGC's census for the issue (the other is a FN/VF 7.0). Even the 1980 reprint set is hard to come by, and sells for hundreds of dollars, but here it is, Underground Comix fans -- the original edition of the very first printed comic book featuring art by Robert Crumb. Not currently listed in Fogel's Underground Comix Price Guide. CGC census 1/21: 1 in 9.2, none higher.

 

[wpbooks01]

If I had one I'd probably slab it, as I do have the reprint set that I could look at. Maybe L Ludwig did too!

[L Ludwig]

9 hours ago, wpbooks01 said:

If I had one I'd probably slab it, as I do have the reprint set that I could look at. Maybe L Ludwig did too!

I do have the Complete FOO! reprint set (Bijou Publishing Empire) which does soften the loss and actually did lead to my slabbing it. That and the fact that my cats are incredible adroit at pilfering and shredding paper products. I have begun to realize that I have a few museum artifacts that I have ended with by accident more than by design or love for the art/comix. The FOO! was definitely in this category.

[ug18]

On 4/3/2021 at 6:46 AM, L Ludwig said:

I do have the Complete FOO! reprint set (Bijou Publishing Empire) which does soften the loss and actually did lead to my slabbing it. That and the fact that my cats are incredible adroit at pilfering and shredding paper products. I have begun to realize that I have a few museum artifacts that I have ended with by accident more than by design or love for the art/comix. The FOO! was definitely in this category.

lucky ending with by accident :-)

 

 

[Jesse-Lee]

Hoping for some help/info here - I hit an antique fair today, and I like to grab odd and obscure books that I find, especially in the $1 boxes, because some of this stuff is pretty cool. I found a copy of a book called "Daffy Qaddafi - Malice in Wonderland." The premise made me laugh so I bought it.

There are a few on eBay and I've seen it on other sites like MyComicShop, but every single one I see has a full-color cover, and my copy has a black and white (or really, black, blue and white) cover. Anyone have any ideas on if this is some kind of subsequent printing or something?

 

[Brother J]

2 hours ago, Jesse-Lee said:

Hoping for some help/info here - I hit an antique fair today, and I like to grab odd and obscure books that I find, especially in the $1 boxes, because some of this stuff is pretty cool. I found a copy of a book called "Daffy Qaddafi - Malice in Wonderland." The premise made me laugh so I bought it.

There are a few on eBay and I've seen it on other sites like MyComicShop, but every single one I see has a full-color cover, and my copy has a black and white (or really, black, blue and white) cover. Anyone have any ideas on if this is some kind of subsequent printing or something?

 

Good pickup. Could be a printing error where the red and yellow ink was not applied to the front cover.

[Morganmi]

Happy to pick up a couple copies of Slow Death from the boards a while back. Have never read these. Looks like some good stuff!

[FoggyNelson]

There is talk that some underground comics won’t be allowed to be sold on EBay , maybe even some Freak Bro,s 

we shall see if this is true or not😷☹️

[L Ludwig]

16 hours ago, FoggyNelson said:

There is talk that some underground comics won’t be allowed to be sold on EBay , maybe even some Freak Bro,s 

we shall see if this is true or not😷☹️

Is there more you can share on this? I have seen a lot of creative placement of post-it notes there to dissuade prurient interests, I guess. But I am concerned that a good source of undergrounds might be negatively effected by what they started out addressing, ironically.

[felixthecat]

8 hours ago, L Ludwig said:

Is there more you can share on this? I have seen a lot of creative placement of post-it notes there to dissuade prurient interests, I guess. But I am concerned that a good source of undergrounds might be negatively effected by what they started out addressing, ironically.

eBay has decided to ban all sexually explicit material starting in two weeks. They stated that most “adult only” items will not be allowed. I find this disturbing because of the amount of UG books that say adults only or some variation on the cover. There’s more info in a thread in comics general. 
 

 

[L Ludwig]

6 hours ago, felixthecat said:

eBay has decided to ban all sexually explicit material starting in two weeks. They stated that most “adult only” items will not be allowed. I find this disturbing because of the amount of UG books that say adults only or some variation on the cover. There’s more info in a thread in comics general. 
 

 

Appreciate the information; I really do need to get out more in the other chat rooms. I know that you can only be so creative with the artistic placement of Post-It notes (titles are what they are), but there has to be more creative ways to address whatever issue eBay is addressing -- it shouldn't be a binary solution.

I don't use eBay extensively, but like most here, I do use them and do rely on them when all is said and done. I will explore further and make the obligatory "please re-think this approach to them", for what that will be worth.

 

[TIA23]

Somebody have heard/pictures of underground comic(s), a 4 issue's and (#2 first and second print)  Aruba the golden Warrior?

[L Ludwig]

Noticed on eBay two Ebon comix for sale. One is CGC graded at 9.0, the other at 9.4. I understand the backstory for this comix -- first African-American traditional superhero to star in his own comic book. And I understand the dynamics brought about by Marvel Comic Universe upcoming films and the infusion of new and younger buyers for all things memorable. Both effects give dramatic rise to acquisition costs.

I am, however, a bit surprised by the asking price for these comix -- $15K and $26K respectively. Yes, Ebon did have a very low print run. But, it was never that popular in its time. And it really only has a historic thread to the black superhero (Black Adam, for example) as character.

My question Is do you think that the Underground market might be staging a renaissance? 

[For the record, I do love museum artifacts and do understand bold sellers.]

[Morganmi]

On 6/5/2021 at 5:12 PM, L Ludwig said:

Noticed on eBay two Ebon comix for sale. One is CGC graded at 9.0, the other at 9.4. I understand the backstory for this comix -- first African-American traditional superhero to star in his own comic book. And I understand the dynamics brought about by Marvel Comic Universe upcoming films and the infusion of new and younger buyers for all things memorable. Both effects give dramatic rise to acquisition costs.

I am, however, a bit surprised by the asking price for these comix -- $15K and $26K respectively. Yes, Ebon did have a very low print run. But, it was never that popular in its time. And it really only has a historic thread to the black superhero (Black Adam, for example) as character.

My question Is do you think that the Underground market might be staging a renaissance? 

[For the record, I do love museum artifacts and do understand bold sellers.]

I don't know much about Ebon Comix, and crazy comic prices but undergrounds in general, I would think are gonna get their due someday. Not an expert, but my guess is that high grade underground comics are pretty low in number compared to most. I know that even in the 80's when comic book collecting was becoming much more mainstream we didn't treat undergrounds as collectables. They sat on tables and got bong water and beer spilled on them because most of us couldn't figure out if they were 1st, 2nd, or 10th printings but knew they were fun to read. At the time they were easy to find, but now the reprints have dried up and there isn't much that compares to those super fun books. I think  a lot of people might want to find them again.

[CDNComix]

On 6/5/2021 at 5:12 PM, L Ludwig said:

Noticed on eBay two Ebon comix for sale. One is CGC graded at 9.0, the other at 9.4. I understand the backstory for this comix -- first African-American traditional superhero to star in his own comic book. And I understand the dynamics brought about by Marvel Comic Universe upcoming films and the infusion of new and younger buyers for all things memorable. Both effects give dramatic rise to acquisition costs.

I am, however, a bit surprised by the asking price for these comix -- $15K and $26K respectively. Yes, Ebon did have a very low print run. But, it was never that popular in its time. And it really only has a historic thread to the black superhero (Black Adam, for example) as character.

My question Is do you think that the Underground market might be staging a renaissance? 

[For the record, I do love museum artifacts and do understand bold sellers.]

I would say that the underground market has been in decline or sluggish for about five years. Hardest hit are the:

1. commons from the bigger publishers. If there are 20 examples on eBay then good luck selling an example.
2. rarer but still realtively common keys such as FFFB #1, Ozone #1. Compare the pricing listed by the FUGG 2015 and what keys are actualizing at auction today.

However there are some exceptions, the including:

1. freakishly rare items (especially those listed by Kennedy) that are a still on the "want lists" of many longterm collectors often has more one than one "deep pockets" collector bidding; and
2. as a longterm member on this board/thread (Brother J) ) pointed out 2-3 years ago, the Ebon series, due to its being an early African-American comic, not as an underground. Mid-grades are easily going for about a $1000 or apparatently now for more.

IMO, it's actually a great time to be collecting undergrounds which are undervalued relative to the mainstreams. If one were to pay a few hundred today for a certified 7.0 Freak Brothers #1, then what is the risk of it depreciating further over time vs the potential for an upward trend over the longterm?

Edited June 13, 2021 by CDNComix

[CDNComix]

On 6/4/2021 at 2:34 AM, TIA23 said:

Somebody have heard/pictures of underground comic(s), a 4 issue's and (#2 first and second print)  Aruba the golden Warrior?

It's a very rare, probably non-underground but a DIY fantasy comic series. It is cited (small cover image of #1) in the FUGG 2015/16, probably because one of the guide's senior advisors always has had pushed for it to be listed as an underground. I have never seen an example of any of the series for sale, let alone handled a copy, so I cannot offer any more.

 

[ug18]

On 6/5/2021 at 11:12 PM, L Ludwig said:

Noticed on eBay two Ebon comix for sale. One is CGC graded at 9.0, the other at 9.4. I understand the backstory for this comix -- first African-American traditional superhero to star in his own comic book. And I understand the dynamics brought about by Marvel Comic Universe upcoming films and the infusion of new and younger buyers for all things memorable. Both effects give dramatic rise to acquisition costs.

I am, however, a bit surprised by the asking price for these comix -- $15K and $26K respectively. Yes, Ebon did have a very low print run. But, it was never that popular in its time. And it really only has a historic thread to the black superhero (Black Adam, for example) as character.

My question Is do you think that the Underground market might be staging a renaissance? 

[For the record, I do love museum artifacts and do understand bold sellers.]

I would like if those could be plausible market values, but I doubt. I got a copy for a few bucks not too many years ago. Let's see if anybody bids.

(check https://www.ebay.com/itm/324674360538?hash=item4b981994da:g:raUAAOSwTslgxRxJ too)

[TIA23]

On 6/13/2021 at 4:30 PM, CDNComix said:

It's a very rare, probably non-underground but a DIY fantasy comic series. It is cited (small cover image of #1) in the FUGG 2015/16, probably because one of the guide's senior advisors always has had pushed for it to be listed as an underground. I have never seen an example of any of the series for sale, let alone handled a copy, so I cannot offer any more.

 

Its listed in the Fogel's Price guide indeed with 1 small cover from #1, thx for your replay !

Edited June 17, 2021 by TIA23

[TIA23]

For those who are interested: AUSTIN ICONOCLAST MAGAZINE/NEWSLETTER GROUP (All 5) 

 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/austin-iconoclast-magazine-newsletter-19799108

 

[OtherEric]

@CDNComix:

You mentioned over in the Eerie #1 thread that somebody had discovered a real first printing of Collected Cheech Wizard #1.  I was wondering if you could elaborate on that, or at least provide a link to that discussion?

Thank you for your time.