Comics, Pulps, and Paperbacks: Why such a discrepancy in values? 25 25

[Randall Dowling]

Just got this unusual item.  It's in a shrink wrap which may or may not have originated with the publisher.  Either that or the retailer wrapped it to protect the innocent.  For the uninitiated, the Brandon House books are very tough in higher grades but the covers are some of the best quality in terms of artwork (no matter what one may think about the subject matter).

 

[Randall Dowling]

These are way too much fun!  Newly acquired.  

[Surfing Alien]

3 hours ago, Randall Dowling said:

These are way too much fun!  Newly acquired.  

Nice copy! I like the composition on this one.

[Westy Steve]

New pickup.  The back is cooler than the front.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Westy Steve

[Surfing Alien]

Sorting some Avons so took a quick group shot in the 200's where the change from the triangle and banner to the classic circle logo occurred in 1949. Avon's color palette was attention grabbing for sure.

[Randall Dowling]

11 hours ago, Surfing Alien said:

Sorting some Avons so took a quick group shot in the 200's where the change from the triangle and banner to the classic circle logo occurred in 1949. Avon's color palette was attention grabbing for sure.

This is a pretty impressive group shot, SA!  

[Surfing Alien]

2 hours ago, Randall Dowling said:

This is a pretty impressive group shot, SA!  

Thanks. It's a work in progress... Pocket Books were first, and I love them, but in my mind, the 2nd true mass market paperback company defined the lurid, pulp style cover phenomenon that collectors think of now as vintage paperbacks

Edited July 9, 2020 by Surfing Alien

[Randall Dowling]

Pleasantries and polite parlance to my paperback peeps!  

Today was a very special day for me.  Here in Minneapolis, there has always been a store that stood outside of all the rest in regard to diverse stock of novels, comics, paperbacks, gaming accessories, and assorted other ephemera.  It's called Dreamhaven Books, Comics and Art.  I've visited the store off and on over the last 30 years and had great conversations with the staff and the owner (Greg Ketter).  The last time I talked to Greg was a couple years ago at the local FallCon, and I told Greg the new direction some of my interests were taking.  He encouraged me to stop by and check out his stock as he had a lot of what I was after... Fast forward to several months ago, my friend @Stevemmg was in town for business and being the thorough box diver that he is, called me and said I really needed to get down to Dreamhaven and check it out.  

Well, busy with work led to the advent of the pandemic and then the George Floyd protests happened... Dreamhaven is located literally down the street from where the George Floyd memorial and is also blocks away from where the police precinct that was burned down stood.  Unfortunately, a group of kids used the protests as cover to break into the store and smash glass cases, vandalize, steal, etc.  This combined with the burning down of another decades old bookstore in the area, Uncle Hugo's, was very painful to see.  These shops are gems that have managed to survive the onset of Border's books, Barnes & Noble and Amazon to maintain the zen like joy of perusing shelves that went to the ceiling, filled with books of all kinds- Mystery, Sci-Fi, True Crime, Romance, Fantasy, Teen Love.  From all eras and virtually all genres.

At any rate, Greg decided to put it all back together and managed to reopen a couple weeks back and today I made a point of driving over to give him my business and do my part to help them get back on their feet.  It was so exciting and truly refreshing to see the store back up and running.  I haven't had that much fun hunting for material in many years!   If you're interested, there's a gofundme set up to help them offset the damages-

https://www.gofundme.com/f/dreamhaven-restoration

Later tonight, I'll post the bountiful harvest of amazing books that I picked up today (and maybe set up a little game).  Their grading is very solid and their inventory is... enormous!  If you live near here or are ever in town, I highly recommend you check these guys out.  

[Westy Steve]

Don’t they sell on AbeBooks? I’m pretty sure I’ve ordered stuff from them.

[Surfing Alien]

4 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

Don’t they sell on AbeBooks? I’m pretty sure I’ve ordered stuff from them.

I'm pretty sure that's them. I've bought from them and they turn up some great books. That's a shame about the vandalization. I'll make sure to order some more from them.

[Westy Steve]

6 minutes ago, Surfing Alien said:

I'm pretty sure that's them. I've bought from them and they turn up some great books. That's a shame about the vandalization. I'll make sure to order some more from them.

Same here. They’re grading is very accurate/tight. I’ve got some really nice copies from them.

[Surfing Alien]

So they're posting Pulp/paperback swipes over in the new pulp section. I'll leave this here because it's a vintage pb (although listed in Bookery as well as all the Paperback guides). When I bought this pulp I knew there was something familiar about that cover!

The Argosy is Belarski,1939. In '47 someone used it to craft a ride for the evil Harpy/Demon of The City of the Living Dead.

 

[Randall Dowling]

51 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

Don’t they sell on AbeBooks? I’m pretty sure I’ve ordered stuff from them.

Yes.  They have some of their inventory there.  I was shocked to see how much more was in the store.  

[Randall Dowling]

Okay.  Here we go.  Buckle up because I went on something of a spree.  As you look at this, the little game will be "can you guess which book was the most expensive?"  I'll give you a hint as you look and consider.  When I go to a con or a shop that I don't get to often, I usually seek out one or 2 big books, a few mid-level items, and a bunch of small things.  Kind of like a buying pyramid.  Today was no different.

First right answer wins a stack of 5 vintage paperbacks (of which there will be one Maguire cover and one Fixler cover), conditions will vary greatly but all complete, and I will pay shipping so will just need your address.  One guess only per person.  Game ends Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. CST at which time I'll disclose which book was the big boy and how much I paid.  Until then, I won't respond to any of the guesses in the interest of keeping it open for all that want to play.  @Pat Calhoun I'm really interested which of these you feel is most valuable/more difficult (not necessarily highest paid).  All books are in really remarkable condition, FYI.

So... First, I was shocked at the number of high grade Monarchs were there with awesome covers (including many new Maguires!).  One of these is probably a duplicate but who cares!  

Here's my haul from those!

And there was another Monarch that was so cool so I grabbed that as well as a classic Midwood:

Then there were the digests... so many digests... after going into a deep dive, this is what I came up with:

Also, I found another nice copy of Gulf Coast Girl at the right price so...

Then, there were these excellent titles.  The Pyramid is just so inappropriate in today's world.  I'm almost scandalized owning it.  Almost... (actually it's not as bad as another title I have but let's not go there).

And then last, but certainly not least, these 2 rarely seen titles emerged from the stacks and I had to snap them up.  

Good luck, all!  I hope you like this little assortment as much as I do.  So much fun discovering all these new titles!

[Hamlet]

I’ll guess the Gulf Coast Girl is the most expensive.

[Surfing Alien]

22 minutes ago, Randall Dowling said:

Okay.  Here we go.  Buckle up because I went on something of a spree.  As you look at this, the little game will be "can you guess which book was the most expensive?"  I'll give you a hint as you look and consider.  When I go to a con or a shop that I don't get to often, I usually seek out one or 2 big books, a few mid-level items, and a bunch of small things.  Kind of like a buying pyramid.  Today was no different.

First right answer wins a stack of 5 vintage paperbacks (of which there will be one Maguire cover and one Fixler cover), conditions will vary greatly but all complete, and I will pay shipping so will just need your address.  One guess only per person.  Game ends Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. CST at which time I'll disclose which book was the big boy and how much I paid.  Until then, I won't respond to any of the guesses in the interest of keeping it open for all that want to play.  @Pat Calhoun I'm really interested which of these you feel is most valuable/more difficult (not necessarily highest paid).  All books are in really remarkable condition, FYI.

So... First, I was shocked at the number of high grade Monarchs were there with awesome covers (including many new Maguires!).  One of these is probably a duplicate but who cares!  

Here's my haul from those!

And there was another Monarch that was so cool so I grabbed that as well as a classic Midwood:

Then there were the digests... so many digests... after going into a deep dive, this is what I came up with:

Also, I found another nice copy of Gulf Coast Girl at the right price so...

Then, there were these excellent titles.  The Pyramid is just so inappropriate in today's world.  I'm almost scandalized owning it.  Almost... (actually it's not as bad as another title I have but let's not go there).

And then last, but certainly not least, these 2 rarely seen titles emerged from the stacks and I had to snap them up.  

Good luck, all!  I hope you like this little assortment as much as I do.  So much fun discovering all these new titles!

You are diving deep and in great directions!

I am def going to support them with some buys 

No doubt in my mind that Homicide Hotel is the doozy. A great digest!

[Pat Calhoun]

I'm sure Surf knows prices and scarcity better than I. But I was going 'Homicide Hotel'  even before I saw his post as I remember Phantoms being uncommon. The Carnival 'Girl of the Slums' has many virtues as well.

[Surfing Alien]

47 minutes ago, Pat Calhoun said:

I'm sure Surf knows prices and scarcity better than I. But I was going 'Homicide Hotel'  even before I saw his post as I remember Phantoms being uncommon. The Carnival 'Girl of the Slums' has many virtues as well.

The market is still so unorganized, but, like you, I know Phantoms have always been sought, and then just look at that cover art!

[Westy Steve]

I also would’ve gone with  homicide hotel just because it’s a great bondage cover I’ve never seen before. Those are some seriously nice books! Congrats on your pick ups.

Edited July 10, 2020 by Westy Steve

[damonwad]

2 hours ago, Randall Dowling said:

 

Good luck, all!  I hope you like this little assortment as much as I do.  So much fun discovering all these new titles!

I haven't been collecting pb's long enough to have any idea which of these is more valuable, but I do appreciate the awesomeness of these great covers in that condition. Great haul.