• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Comic Book Marketplace articles and letters

127 posts in this topic

When Russ first took over, it wasn't sooo bad, he just shifted interest to strips rather than comics, which irritated a lot of readers. Only then, after the protests, did it get weird with interviews of recent / current artists and then before it died there was a second string of good issues under Russ's editorship with some really good theme issues ... but you're right, once Gary Carter left the helm, the genie was back in the bottle and the magic gone.

The reason there was a hiatus after the first 21 issues is that Gary went to work for Overstreet and, iirc, the rights to the magazine were part of the deal. Gary was editor for a couple magazines for Overstreet the best of which was Overstreet's GA and SA Quarterly. When Overstreet sold his business and collection to Geppi, Gary was allowed to start CBM back up but was under editorial guidance from Diamond which eventually put constraints on his ability to direct the course of the magazine.

 

The magazine was small potatoes (and small margins) for an outfit like Diamond and much better suited to the shoe-string operation that Gary had previously run. My favorites are issues 2 - 20 (the first issue consisted only of advertisements) coinciding with Gary's ability to do whatever he wished with the content. The GA & SA Forum on these boards is the closest we've come since then to what CBM offered.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CBM was the greatest. As a comic strip collector as well as a comic collector, it was the best of two worlds for me. I wrote an article about Prince Valiant collectibles and merchandising, and Gary published it in #51 in 1997. I can't believe it was almost 13 years ago. I didn't write about Hal Foster and his wonderful artwork. Many people had already done that. My focus was on the collectible side of Prince Valiant which really began to heat up with the advent of the Prince Valiant film in the early 50s.

Several years before the article was written, Ebay was established, and I found many new items to add to my collection which I still have to this day. There were at least four different versions of the puzzle, and I found charms, patches, Easter egg transfers etc. I didn't know existed. I still haven't acquired the Prince Valiant bow and arrow set, but the highlight for me was acquiring the sword and shield in the original box from Richard H. at SDCC.

Gary was kind enough to give me the color section of the magazine, and it was an honor to be in the same magazine with Al Williamson and his "Sound of Thunder" cover, one of my favorite stories by Ray Bradbury. Several years later I did another article on Kelly Freas and the 30 covers or so he did for Mad magazine. I grew up on Mad in the early 60s, but never saw the early EC comics or early Freas covers until I saw them at SDCC in the 70s or in reprint Mad magazines. I did a short interview with Kelly in the late 90s and did an article on his covers for CBM, and Gary accepted it. Those were fun times. CBM was and still is one of the great reference magazines of all time.

 

Here are a few pictures from the Prince Valiant color section.

 

CBMPictures.jpg

 

CBMPicturesA.jpg

 

CBMPicturesB.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm, I wonder if I should go out and buy the first 80 or so issues bulk now.

 

I missed these when they came out because I left the hobby around 1993, those were ugly days for comics in general (at least new stuff).

 

Later issues can be found on ebay pretty cheap. First 10 or so issues are fairly hard to find.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

run. My favorites are issues 2 - 20 (the first issue consisted only of advertisements) coinciding with Gary's ability to do whatever he wished with the content

 

 

I just recently acquired quite a few of the early issues, and I agree that these are the best of the run.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"I was also shocked when a fairly nasty letter I wrote to Russ Cochran was published in the mag. I pretty much accused him of being an elitist who was trying to inflict his own tastes onto collectors instead of publishing something for everyone in the vintage realm of the hobby. My recollection was that he pretty much stated he knew better about what was important in the hobby. Pretty much killed the mag for me."

 

That is hilarious, I did the same thing to Russ and he printed my letter as well. Essentially answered the same way, as in he had 50+ years experience, it should be this way, etc! He must have gotten alot of hate mail!

 

+3, couldn't believe they published it. Hated the change to comic strips, hated intelligence-insulting articles like the FF # 48 one I mentioned, and I remember telling him that nobody wants to read about bluegrass music in a comic mag.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The article that completely blew me away was Jon McClure's first article on Marvel 30 and 35 cent variants. I spent weeks scouring all the bins at all the local LCS' looking for variants. My best find was Tarzan 1-4 35 cent variants. My worst move was trading 3 of them to Dan Cusimano for a stack of mid-grade Marvel squarebounds. :cry:

 

:acclaim:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a subscription which ran from #5 (Oct. 1991) to #18 (Oct. 1992). I forgot about this until I got back into the hobby in '07. Found them and have since picked up #2, 29, 32, 61, 71, 78, 84, and 118.

 

I could be wrong but I'm thinking #121 (May 2005) was the final issue. Also, seems like that e-newsletter Scoop was supposed to be a sort of successor to CBM. Don't know if Scoop still up and running. :shrug:

 

Since CBM #2 (April/May 1991) is fast approaching 20 years old, I thought I'd post some of its contents. Anybody recognize any of these 14 names? They penned the letters to the editor:

 

Tom Mitchell (NY)

Eric McKnight (FL)

Judy-Lynn Wolken (TX)

Bill Yawien (NY)

Mike Dalessandro (NY)

Jeff Patton (OH)

Philip Ciacone (NJ)

Steve Carey (CA)

Harry Thomas (TN)

Joe Delaurentis (OK)

Nate Martinez (OR)

Ron Foss (MO)

:think: Dave Anderson (VA)

Dean Wong (B.C., Canada)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harry Thomas was a long time dealer and Overstreet advisor from near Chattanooga. He used to set up at the Nashville flea market every month and in the 80's and 90's, I bought something from him almost every month there. After eBay took off, he eased over into that and stopped coming to the flea market. I last saw him at a Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt women's b-ball game.

 

He passed away a few years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although #2 began the articles in CBM, there were still TONS of advertisers (the lifeblood of virtually any magazine). Incidentally, full page ads were only 87.50. :whatthe:

 

Here are the folks who placed some kind of ad(s) in CBM #2:

 

World's Finest Comics & Collectibles / Mark Wilson / Castle Rock, WA

Sparkle City Comics / Sewell, NJ

Schanes Products & Services / El Cajon, CA

Gladstone Publishing, Ltd. / Prescott, AZ

J. Keith Contarino / Powder Springs, GA

Joe Dungan / San Antonio, TX

Overstreet / Cleveland, TN

The American Comic Book Company / Terry Stroud / Santa Monica, CA

TRH Gallery / Tom Horvitz / Palm Springs, CA

Bud Plant Comic Art / Grass Valley, CA

Tom French / San Diego, CA

Bruce Hamilton / Prescott, AZ

Dave Anderson / Alexandria, VA

Stateside Comics PLC / London

Harry Thomas / Nashville, TN

Ken Pierce Books / Park Forest, IL

Russ Cochran / West Plains, MO

The Comic Gallery / San Diego, CA

Great Eastern Conventions / Ringoes, NJ

Metropolis / New York, NY

Richard Halegua / Cincinnati, OH

Showcase / Phone # only--404 area code, so Atlanta, GA

Rankin Supply Co., Inc. / Gastonia, NC

Comic Book College / Minneapolis, MN

Storyboard: The Art of Laughter: The Journal of Animation / Nashua, NH

Fantasy Illustrated / Anaheim, CA

Jerry Weist / Jamaica Plain, MA

Nevada City Mylar / Nevada City, CA

James Payette / Bethlehem, NH

Gary Coddington / Pasadena, CA

Gary Dolgoff Comics / Brooklyn, NY

Pat Calhoun / Santa Rosa, CA

Major Graphics / San Diego, CA

Lane Barnett / 714 area code...CA? :shrug:

Comic Heaven / John and Nanette Verzyl / Alhambra, CA

John Hauser / New Berlin, WI

Gary Carter / Coronado, CA

Edwin Stanton / Lubbock, TX

Ronald Bates and Alex Green / San Diego, CA

Fantasy Illustrated / Dave Smith / Garden Grove, CA

Steve Carey, Glendale, CA

Jeff Patton / Massillon, OH

O.L. Duncan / Lake City, TN

Golden State Comics / Ron Bates / San Diego, CA

Marty Hay / Springerville, AZ

James Kistner / Buffalo, NY

Mike Dalessandro, Howard Beach, NY

B&B Nostalgia / Bruce & Bob Davis / Whittier, CA

Silver City Comics / Torrance, CA

The Collector / Buffalo, NY

Rockabilly Comics / Tony Carroll / 213 area code? :shrug:

Superior Comics / Costa Mesa, CA

Excalibur Comics, Cards & Games / John Fairless, Dale Frost, & Chris Zepeda

Tomorrow's Treasures / Richard Muchin

 

How's that for an ad summary? :insane: My eyes are bleeding too. :whistle:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If anyone's got the March 29, 1985 issue of the Comic Buyer's Guide, then there's an ad that includes a listing of Church copies for sale. Unfortunately, the list of comics isn't included in CBM #2, but the text from the ad, from Sparkle City Comics, was. CBM claimed it "featured previously unavailable historical information on the 'Mile Highs' and accompanied an impressive page of 'Mile Highs' offered for sale, even by 1985 standards." Here's the Sparkle City ad:

 

In 1936, a man named Edgar Church began amassing the most significant collection of comic books ever assembled. Mr. Church purchased one copy of EVERY COMIC BOOK PUBLISHED directly from his local newsstand. HE SELECTED ONLY PERFECT COPIES and then stored these treasures, UNREAD, in ideal storage conditions. As a result, the whiteness of the interior pages and the bright gloss and color of the covers is truly astonishing.

 

In 1975, Edgar Church entered a nursing home. His wife, in 1977, sold the entire collection to Mr. Chuck Rozansky who subsequently founded Mile High Comics in Denver, Colorado. This collection of comic books came to be known as The Mile High Collection.

 

Upon the collection's initial discovery, most of the DC, Timely, and EC books were either retained by Mr. Rozansky or quickly purchased by a few large dealers and collectors. VIRTUALLY NONE OF THIS PRIME MATERIAL HAS EVER BEEN AVAILABLE FOR SALE outside a small circle of individuals.

 

The term, 'Mile High Comic' has, over the past few years, been used to describe a myriad of things. It has, in many ways, become almost a generic term for a mint comic. This, however, tends to diminish the actual significance of what a 'Mile High Comic' is. In every field of collectibles there are 'blue chip' items--pieces coming from the finest, most significant collections. The Mile High Collection, without question, is the most important in the comic field.

 

Owning a MILE HIGH COMIC--in almost every instance--means owning THE BEST EXISTING COPY. Books from this collection come with a pedigree; they are the finest--and they are a piece of history.

 

Until now, almost every Mile High book offered for public sale has been of the non-DC or Timely variety. The most desirable comics to collectors as a whole, the best investment comics, have been held by a few individuals. Sparkle City Comics is proud to announce that the following Mile High issues are now in our possession and available for sale; please review the specific list on the next page...

 

The list was NOT in CBM #2. :cry:

 

Someone dust off that March 29, 1985 issue of CBG and post the list of the Church books. I'm thinking there's some boardies who maybe bought from this Sparkle City ad and still have 'em. :shrug: :popcorn:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since CBM #2 (April/May 1991) is fast approaching 20 years old, I thought I'd post some of its contents. Anybody recognize any of these 14 names? They penned the letters to the editor:

 

Tom Mitchell (NY)

Eric McKnight (FL)

Judy-Lynn Wolken (TX)

Bill Yawien (NY)

Mike Dalessandro (NY)

Jeff Patton (OH)

Philip Ciacone (NJ)

Steve Carey (CA)

Harry Thomas (TN)

Joe Delaurentis (OK)

Nate Martinez (OR)

Ron Foss (MO)

:think: Dave Anderson (VA)

Dean Wong (B.C., Canada)

 

I`ve highlighted the boardies that I know of in bold. Technically Anderson has been on the boards but I don`t think he counts! lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harry Thomas was a long time dealer and Overstreet advisor from near Chattanooga. He used to set up at the Nashville flea market every month and in the 80's and 90's, I bought something from him almost every month there. After eBay took off, he eased over into that and stopped coming to the flea market. I last saw him at a Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt women's b-ball game.

 

He passed away a few years ago.

 

Is this the guy that labeled himself the friendliest dealer in the south?

 

hm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harry Thomas was a long time dealer and Overstreet advisor from near Chattanooga. He used to set up at the Nashville flea market every month and in the 80's and 90's, I bought something from him almost every month there. After eBay took off, he eased over into that and stopped coming to the flea market. I last saw him at a Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt women's b-ball game.

 

He passed away a few years ago.

 

Is this the guy that labeled himself the friendliest dealer in the south?

 

hm

 

That would be Harry. I found his ad in OSPG #23 from the early 90's and he billed himself as "for 26 years, the friendliest and most courteous dealer in the South." He also said he was an Overstreet advisor from the very first issue. I'm pretty sure that was true.

 

I guess the mantle of "friendliest and most courteous dealer in the South" has now passed to G.A.tor. (shrug)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harry Thomas was a long time dealer and Overstreet advisor from near Chattanooga. He used to set up at the Nashville flea market every month and in the 80's and 90's, I bought something from him almost every month there. After eBay took off, he eased over into that and stopped coming to the flea market. I last saw him at a Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt women's b-ball game.

 

He passed away a few years ago.

 

Is this the guy that labeled himself the friendliest dealer in the south?

 

hm

 

That would be Harry. I found his ad in OSPG #23 from the early 90's and he billed himself as "for 26 years, the friendliest and most courteous dealer in the South." He also said he was an Overstreet advisor from the very first issue. I'm pretty sure that was true.

 

I guess the mantle of "friendliest and most courteous dealer in the South" has now passed to G.A.tor. (shrug)

 

Harry was quite a character.

 

He absolutely abhorred CGC and made it known openly.

 

From what I hear he was also quite the lady's man. :cloud9:

 

I bought quite a few books from Harry over the years and had a few run-ins with him when his books were a little over graded. At one point he refused to sell to me because I was one of those "CGC guys" but then acquiesced.

 

Over all I really liked dealing with him. He was never boring.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites