• 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.

The Gobbledygook #1 and/or #2 Club!
5 5

236 posts in this topic

At the beginning of this new year, I thought I'd post some books that most Turtles completists may not even know about... Gobbledygook #1 & 2 2nd printings!  Yes, there was a 2nd printing of the 1984 Gobbledygooks printed by Kevin Eastman himself from the original proofs used to create the original printings.  He made 10 sets of these and gave me one set back in 2012 when I originally purchased the proofs from him.  I unfortunately had to sell the master proofs through Heritage a few years back, but kept this set of the 2nd printings.  They may be the only set in public hands at this point.  They aren't labelled as 2nd printings, but there are some notable differences (which I won't get into here to discourage any potential counterfeiting).  

So, for you Turtles completists... here's something new that you can search for in 2021 that's as rare as the Turtlemania Golds!

Gobbledygook_2nd.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few questions:

I can't help but wonder why create a 2nd printing? I mean, did the first printing sell so well... you go back and create 10 more? 

When (what year) were these created?

Were these made available for sale at any point? Or for personal use only? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TMNT said:

A few questions:

I can't help but wonder why create a 2nd printing? I mean, did the first printing sell so well... you go back and create 10 more? 

When (what year) were these created?

Were these made available for sale at any point? Or for personal use only? 

I believe Kevin made them because he was letting go of the master proofs and wanted to have some copies for the future - so you can consider them personal use.  I assume these were created in 2012 or a little before.  

As far as the first printings.... my understanding in talking to Kevin about them years ago is that they ran them off the master proofs in sets of five down at the local copy place.  That is why there may be some variability even among 1st printings of the books.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds a little dangerous for owners of the original printing.  How do we know that none of the second printings were sold as first printings?  The quality of these "prelim" "books" was so poor that they are much easier to counterfeit I would think.  That always made me hesitant about why these books would be anywhere near the value of TMNT #1 in the overstreet listing and in public/private sales.  That's why I never really considered them the first appearances and wonder about their true value.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, heartened said:

Sounds a little dangerous for owners of the original printing.  How do we know that none of the second printings were sold as first printings?  The quality of these "prelim" "books" was so poor that they are much easier to counterfeit I would think.  That always made me hesitant about why these books would be anywhere near the value of TMNT #1 in the overstreet listing and in public/private sales.  That's why I never really considered them the first appearances and wonder about their true value.

It's actually a good point. While the assumption is that he made those additional 10 around 2012 sounds like its possible he actually did so earlier. And Kevin definitely sold Gobbledygook sets himself around that time frame and beyond. I'm not saying Kevin would intentionally do such a thing (everyone who has met the guy can tell you how genuinely nice is and how much he loves his fans) but it's also true he has people sell his items for him. Is it possible something could have been mixed up at some point, especially with how close in appearance the printings appear to be...? 

Of all people, Kevin knows the storied history of counterfeits of GG and TMNT 1 and seems a bit dangerous for he himself to run off another 10 that are so identical that could confuse uninformed buyers. If these were to always be a legit "personal use" set then sure, no problem. But clearly at least one set is out there. And honestly, if you yourself were to try pass these off as 1st prints and sell them, I bet you'd be able to without much issue. Which is kinda scary IMO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, TMNT said:

It's actually a good point. While the assumption is that he made those additional 10 around 2012 sounds like its possible he actually did so earlier. And Kevin definitely sold Gobbledygook sets himself around that time frame and beyond. I'm not saying Kevin would intentionally do such a thing (everyone who has met the guy can tell you how genuinely nice is and how much he loves his fans) but it's also true he has people sell his items for him. Is it possible something could have been mixed up at some point, especially with how close in appearance the printings appear to be...? 

Of all people, Kevin knows the storied history of counterfeits of GG and TMNT 1 and seems a bit dangerous for he himself to run off another 10 that are so identical that could confuse uninformed buyers. If these were to always be a legit "personal use" set then sure, no problem. But clearly at least one set is out there. And honestly, if you yourself were to try pass these off as 1st prints and sell them, I bet you'd be able to without much issue. Which is kinda scary IMO

Agree.  Most legit people would update the date somewhere on the second printing to avoid all confusion, or label them as 2nd printing.  Even if you didn't want to mess up the original art, you could have easily used an overlay to print "2nd printing" on them and then taken the overlay off.  Chuck mentions some subtle differences, but truth be told it would have been easy and more legitimate (and above suspicion) to make it overtly obvious.  I don't know Kevin Eastman, and it sounds like he is wonderful man who wouldn't want to jeopardize the market or his reputation, so why not make it obvious?

Edited by heartened
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, comiconxion said:

At the beginning of this new year, I thought I'd post some books that most Turtles completists may not even know about... Gobbledygook #1 & 2 2nd printings!  Yes, there was a 2nd printing of the 1984 Gobbledygooks printed by Kevin Eastman himself from the original proofs used to create the original printings.  He made 10 sets of these and gave me one set back in 2012 when I originally purchased the proofs from him.  I unfortunately had to sell the master proofs through Heritage a few years back, but kept this set of the 2nd printings.  They may be the only set in public hands at this point.  They aren't labelled as 2nd printings, but there are some notable differences (which I won't get into here to discourage any potential counterfeiting).  

So, for you Turtles completists... here's something new that you can search for in 2021 that's as rare as the Turtlemania Golds!

Gobbledygook_2nd.jpg

So, I can definitely confirm there are 2nd printings that were made from the master prints of GG #1 & #2.  Kevin brought a set of them for me to see a couple years back and he told me they were made just prior to him selling the master prints.  However, Kevin had said that he colored the little dot in the issue number red for these master print / 2nd printing editions so that they would be set apart from the originals (which you can see in this picture I took of the ones he showed me).  Obviously, the set you have didn't get this coloring applied.  But, he did tell me that he gave you a set of them when you purchased the master prints.

GG-2nd-02.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Again, there are some major differences between the 1st and 2nd printings including the size of the books (this alone makes it obvious).  Kevin had no intention of trying to fool anyone and it's very unlikely that he made additional copies prior to this that he sold as 1st printings.  Kevin has always been very good about helping people identify legit first prints and wouldn't want to contribute to any confusion in the marketplace. 

Yes, I believe mine was the first set of the 2nd printings that he gave away - he may have colored in the dots after I got my set.  So mine may be a unique set. I have COAs from Kevin with mine and somewhere in my files I have a pic from the day Kevin came over to my house and I got the set.  Again, he wasn't selling these... he just gave a me a set, being that Kevin is a generous person and thought I'd want a set.

If anyone believes they have a legit 2nd printing set and need some additional confirmation, I'm happy to help as I did when I when I identified the first set of counterfeit 1st prints many years ago.  But, if you have a set, most likely you would have gotten them from Kevin directly.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/16/2010 at 5:04 PM, Archon_Turtle said:

So here are my copies of Gobbledygook #1 and #2. If you click on either cover, it will take you to a gallery for the book.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/JNCOPosterboy/The%20Collection/Comics/GobbledyGook%20First%20Print/Issue%201/179_2245.jpg

 

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/JNCOPosterboy/The%20Collection/Comics/GobbledyGook%20First%20Print/Issue%202/100_2274.jpg

 

These books were gifted to me by Kevin Eastman after we had made a deal for some pages of art. At the time, I was involved in the creation of a TMNT documentary which was in-part being filmed at Kevin's home; so we decided to make the exchange for the art there. Weeks prior I had inquired if he had any more copies of the books and he told me he would check. I dismissed it after that.

 

When Kevin showed up to the shoot, he had th art in hand...and an extra envelope. When I asked what it was he winked at me. Of course upon opening the envelop my breath was taken away.

 

Here Kevin is signing them :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/JNCOPosterboy/The%20Collection/_DSC0094pjpeg.jpg

 

He drew up this sign when I mentioned that nobody is going to believe this happened ;-)

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/JNCOPosterboy/The%20Collection/_DSC0098_01pjpeg.jpg

 

Something unique to note about my #1 is that it is an error copy. There are a number of pages that appear twice (these pages are Alpha-Numerically noted in the gallery). So far this seems to be the only known book to contain this error, and I am on the hunt for it's possible sister. So if you have a copy that is missing the pages I have doubles of, please let me know!

 

 

It's also worth mentioning that Kevin gifted me the cover art for Gobbledygook #2 after doing me the honor of being my Best Man in October of this year.

 

The art with the book, framed:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/JNCOPosterboy/The%20Collection/Art/Gobbledygook%202%20Cover/100_3874.jpg

 

Myself, Kevin, and my childhood friend Elliott waiting at the altar for my bride :-)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/JNCOPosterboy/Wedding/Wedding25.jpg

 

Lastly, here are links to my Yellow Cover counterfeits:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/JNCOPosterboy/The%20Collection/Comics/GobbledyGook%20First%20Print/Counterfeits/Issue%201/100_2518.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/JNCOPosterboy/The%20Collection/Comics/GobbledyGook%20First%20Print/Counterfeits/Issue%202/100_2531.jpg

The heck with gobbledygook, I want Kevin at my wedding! That would be sweet. The theme song would be tmnt cartoon from the late 80s as my future wife walks down the isle.

Edited by whetteon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/18/2021 at 3:13 AM, whetteon said:

The heck with gobbledygook, I want Kevin at my wedding! That would be sweet. The theme song would be tmnt cartoon from the late 80s as my future wife walks down the isle.

What would a let’s say 7.0-8.0 Gobbleddy gook #1 from the first print go for today roughly as I know not many have been sold at auction

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Kalel38 said:

What would a let’s say 7.0-8.0 Gobbleddy gook #1 from the first print go for today roughly as I know not many have been sold at auction

Way more than I could afford. We're probably talking $50K+

So odd that it's just an advertisement but people love it. Most likely due to it's long history as being connected to the TMNT.  Wouldn't couldn't expect these types of prices from say... Rust #1 (Spawn Advertisement).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, whetteon said:

Way more than I could afford. We're probably talking $50K+

So odd that it's just an advertisement but people love it. Most likely due to it's long history as being connected to the TMNT.  Wouldn't couldn't expect these types of prices from say... Rust #1 (Spawn Advertisement).

It also has historical value as being the first "publication" by Mirage. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ryan. said:

It also has historical value as being the first "publication" by Mirage. 

 

 I'm not here to argue it's merit. This whole industry and gone nuts with "true 1st appearance" to the point of absurdity.  At the end of the day it's all about the money. How much can we squeeze out of the collectors.

My opinion (if anyone even ever cared) is that Gobbleddy gook #1 has ALWAYS had significance to the turtle collectors. 

Edited by whetteon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let me justify my earlier statements by saying that when the TMNT books first became hot commodities in the late 80's and early 90's, Gobbleddy gook #1 was whispered to be a 1st appearance.  I had always thought that it meant there was some story or some info on the TMNTS that defined them more but I found out later it was an advertisement for the 1st issue. It was a let down for me. To each his own. :foryou:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, whetteon said:

Is an advertisement a publication?  (shrug)

 

There are a couple stories in there, including the first Fugitoid story. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, whetteon said:

Let me justify my earlier statements by saying that when the TMNT books first became hot commodities in the late 80's and early 90's, Gobbleddy gook #1 was whispered to be a 1st appearance.  I had always thought that it meant there was some story or some info on the TMNTS that defined them more but I found out later it was an advertisement for the 1st issue. It was a let down for me. To each his own. :foryou:

I don't consider that to be a first appearance either, for what it's worth. Gobbledygook 1 and 2 are particularly unique since they represent the very beginning of Mirage, which is important in its own right. The TMNT ad, to me, is just a bonus. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've owned some of the counterfeits over the years but never originals. I've made peace that I never will, barring some stroke of mad luck. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Ryan. said:

I don't consider that to be a first appearance either, for what it's worth. Gobbledygook 1 and 2 are particularly unique since they represent the very beginning of Mirage, which is important in its own right. The TMNT ad, to me, is just a bonus. 

Cool. :cloud9:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Ryan. said:

I've owned some of the counterfeits over the years but never originals. I've made peace that I never will, barring some stroke of mad luck. 

really? I thought you were an owner of the issues. Huh, when you been around this forum for as long as you and I, you tend to get people confused.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
5 5