• 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.

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

Started by Reno McCoy,

6,878 posts in this topic

Flex Mentallo

Flex Mentallo

Posted
Posted
Loved the original movie version then they had to go an do the do over :(

 

They remade the remake as well! I loved them all. But the first had Howard Hawks all over it, even if Christian Nyby was credited with the direction, and the quickfire dialogue was outstanding.

 

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/939322%7C0/Cult-Movie-Picks-for-January.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Flex Mentallo

Flex Mentallo

Posted
Posted

 

- Here's another message from Washington.

 

 

"Use every means to protect lives,

 

but take no steps against your prisoner."

 

 

Our prisoner.

 

 

- You can't ignore orders.

 

- Testify to that at my court-martial.

 

 

You're robbing science of the greatest secret

 

that's ever come to it.

 

 

- Go back.

 

- Knowledge is more important than life.

 

 

We've only one excuse for existing.

 

To think. To find out. To learn.

 

 

What can we learn from that,

 

except a way to die?

 

 

It doesn't matter what happens.

 

Nothing counts except our thinking.

 

 

 

We fought into nature.

 

We've split the atom...

 

 

That sure made the world happy.

 

Didn't it?

 

 

We owe it to the brain of our species

 

to stand here and die...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hepcat

Hepcat

Posted
Posted
However, based on the values I've seen in my limited research, it seems that paperbacks have never attained the same level of collectibility of comics and pulps. Heck, it seems that pulps aren't nearly as sought after as the comics, either.

 

Can anyone enlighten me as to why that might be? I know there are exceptions to the rule, but in general, why is it that, in terms of value and apparent interest, it's: comics > pulps > paperbacks? I can understand why super hero comics, which are still in the public eye, have maintained their dominance, but are there any clear reasons why pulps and paperbacks aren't as sought after?

 

It's quite simply because the comics were the kid stuff. Kids didn't buy pulps and paperbacks. Therefore it's the comics that elicit warm feelings of nostalgia decades down the road. Ergo it's the comics that have become the sought after collectibles.

 

:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hepcat

Hepcat

Posted
Posted (edited)
The value of Superhero comics which have no equivalent in paperbacks and limited equivalent in pulps drives the value of all comics.

 

The value of other comics, including obscure GA heroes, PCH and other non-hero genres may seem independent of Gold and Silver hero books, but the superheo comics establish benchmarks in terms of price that make the other stuff seem more affordable, or at least reasonable. I can guarantee no one would be paying 4 figures for classic PCH covers, if DC and Timely keys were still available for the same prices in the same grades.

 

The reason I brought up superheroes in responding to the OPs query as to why pulps seem a great value compared to GA comics, is that while even a decade ago non-key pulps with great covers were priced comparably with "classic" cover non-key GA books, superhero keys have taken a tremendous rise, dragging along many of the classic covers with them. Pulps with great covers don't appear to have seen the same increases, largely because there isn't an equivalent driver for the medium as a whole. Superhero collectors aren't necessarily going to be any more interested in say Baker romance or Archie comics than they are pulps, but the collectors of those other comic genres are fully aware of the value of what they like in respect to the market as a whole, and may feel more comfortable paying escalating prices for what they want as long as the superhero books are keeping the pace up.

 

Sad but very true. While it often annoys me, even on this very board many collectors conflate comics with the superhero genre. Anything else to them might as well not exist. And I think the main drivers of this phenomenon are the Silver and Bronze Age Marvel zombies.

 

:preach:

 

 

Edited by Hepcat
Link to comment
Share on other sites
OtherEric

OtherEric

Posted
Posted
It's quite simply because the comics were the kid stuff. Kids didn't buy pulps and paperbacks. Therefore it's the comics that elicit warm feelings of nostalgia decades down the road. Ergo it's the comics that have become the sought after collectibles.

 

:)

 

I also suspect the survival ratio of paperbacks is 10-100x the survival rate of comics, because as you say adults bought them. (Although I'm sure kids also bought pulps and paperbacks, they were not the primary market for them.) So, even if they were viewed as more disposable than, say, hardbacks, they were much less likely to be abused or casually dumped. If I wanted a copy of Ace Double D-15 in a hurry, I could get one today for under $500; and it's a strong candidate for the most desirable Paperback out there.

 

Pulps, I think, are soft in the marketplace right now because a lot of collections are turning up as the collectors pass away. I've seen more pulps the past decade than I ever did the 20 years previously. Pulps also seem to have survived the paper drives far better than comics; just based on what I see show up it seems people started seriously collecting them in the late 30's- early 40's, and issues from that time forward are fairly easy to locate for the most part. (As always, there are notable exceptions.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hepcat

Hepcat

Posted
Posted (edited)
I also suspect the survival ratio of paperbacks is 10-100x the survival rate of comics, because as you say adults bought them.

 

Mad paperbacks though seem to be even tougher to find than Mad magazines in identical condition. Of course a lot of the Mad paperbacks were bought by kids as well, and paperbacks stand up to reading even worse than magazines,

 

Pulps, I think, are soft in the marketplace right now because a lot of collections are turning up as the collectors pass away. I've seen more pulps the past decade than I ever did the 20 years previously. Pulps also seem to have survived the paper drives far better than comics; just based on what I see show up it seems people started seriously collecting them in the late 30's- early 40's, and issues from that time forward are fairly easy to locate for the most part. (As always, there are notable exceptions.)

 

What about the men's sweat magazines from the fifties and sixties though? They're not at all common.

 

(shrug)

Edited by Hepcat
Link to comment
Share on other sites
OtherEric

OtherEric

Posted
Posted
Mad paperbacks though seem to be even tougher to find than Madmagazines in identical condition. Of course a lot of the Mad paperbacks were bought by kids as well, and paperbacks stand up to reading even worse than magazines,

 

I wouldn't know, other than the comic issues of MAD I tend to just pick up the paperbacks or magazines at random when I spot them cheap. I would agree that the Mad paperbacks tend to be a bit scarcer than I would expect given how common they were back in the 70's and early 80's.

 

What about the men's sweat magazines from the fifties and sixties though? They're not at all common.

 

(shrug)

 

A field almost totally outside my range of expertise, I'm afraid. Other than a copy of the Feb. 1961 issue of Bluebook for Men, which I grabbed for the John D. MacDonald story, I don't have any that even remotely qualify. Even that issue is a borderline case.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hepcat

Hepcat

Posted
Posted
Is this considered a sweat mag? I saw this about 10 years ago and it took me up to just recently to finally obtain a copy.

 

Yes! And it's lovely.

 

The sweats had great artwork by fellows such as Norm Saunders, James Bama, Charles Fracé, Mort Kunstler and Basil Gogos. Here are a couple from my small collection:

 

WildcatDecember.jpg

 

WildcatFebruary.jpg

 

:cloud9:

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
25 25
Go to topic listing