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

[Surfing Alien]

6 hours ago, OtherEric said:

Once Campbell took over as editor, Astounding/ Analog tended to very... shall we say, sedate covers, compared to most of the other SF magazines.  They made up for it by having a pretty much uncontested reputation as having the best stories by a mile.

Even their classic covers tend to be fairly quiet compared to most pulps.  (Feel free to debate which ones you consider "classic", while I think some of these do qualify there's certainly nothing that's on the level of, say, the January 1950 Startling Stories).

No doubt on the reading quality. I've been reading a bunch of the pulps i've bought lately. It is a lot of fun to journey back in the time machine these present and enjoy the innocence of some of the tales and the period ads and letter columns. I've found the various reputations true - Astounding and Argosy have been the most polished stories in their niches. Weird Tales is a league of it's own in the ghost/weird stories - many that wouldn't fit in another publication. Planet falls in the middle with some great stuff and some sketchy work. The lower end mags like Fantastic Adventures vary incredibly widely in story quality, with one or two cool tales and some stories that seem to be just raggedly thrown together.

That all said, I enjoy the Astounding Freas period and the October 1953 issue is unavailable for anywhere near what the guide price says it is.

[ThothAmon]

15 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

Just curious how you handle it.

Buy it. 

[Surfing Alien]

6 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

Hypothetical Question:

Some of these books are pretty rare...even on the internet.  Once in a while, I'll be surfing the internet and I'll run across a book I already have for a deep discount...like less than half of what it's worth.  Sometimes the book is really rare and isn't really an upgrade from what I already have. 

What do you guys do?  Do you buy it because it's rare and at a discount?  Or do you keep shopping?  Does your answer depend on the grade of the book?  Does your answer depend on the size of the discount?

Just curious how you handle it.  I've got my eye on a book meeting that description right now.

Steve

It depends on that combination of factors. Since I sell books fairly regularly, i'll take the plunge if I'm confident i'll double my money. If it's a sharp copy of Marihuana for $100 i'm buying it no matter what (and no, that never happens anymore ). But it's super hot and always sells. For less sure things, even if they're rare, as with all "store stock" you have to have the time/patience/$ to be tied up in something that might not sell quickly and 2x price isn't enough. If you don't sell books, you have to ask yourself if you'd rather spend that money on something you really need.

 

 

[Surfing Alien]

6 minutes ago, ThothAmon said:

Buy it. 

Most times that I go against this advice I regret it when the book disappears later

Edited June 11, 2020 by Surfing Alien

[Westy Steve]

Thanks for the answers.  I found the lack of concensus comforting because it validates my own confusion.  I'll seek wisdom in the answers.

Hey, since I'm asking questions, what do you think about cheesy photo covers?  They are a shortcut to the brilliance of the real artists of the sleaze genre.  However, lately I've come to appreciate photo covers that are so bad that they're actually good. 

What are your thoughts on this one? (ebay photo...not my book...I just pulled the trigger on one sight unseen elsewhere)  Have any other examples of cheesy photo covers?

 

 

[OtherEric]

7 hours ago, Surfing Alien said:

 

That all said, I enjoy the Astounding Freas period and the October 1953 issue is unavailable for anywhere near what the guide price says it is.

Oh, I love the Freas work on Astounding... and, honestly, most of the covers in general.  I just recognize it's very much a different style than most SF pulps.

I found my October 1953 issue at a con a few years ago, for the life of me I can't remember if it was Emerald City or Jet City.  I do remember it was under $10 and I was showing it to anybody who would stand still as "look at what I found!"  Easily second only to the May 1950 issue in terms of difficulty for the 50's Astoundings- and for a much better reason than the May '50 issue.

[Surfing Alien]

1 hour ago, Westy Steve said:

Thanks for the answers.  I found the lack of concensus comforting because it validates my own confusion.  I'll seek wisdom in the answers.

Hey, since I'm asking questions, what do you think about cheesy photo covers?  They are a shortcut to the brilliance of the real artists of the sleaze genre.  However, lately I've come to appreciate photo covers that are so bad that they're actually good. 

What are your thoughts on this one? (ebay photo...not my book...I just pulled the trigger on one sight unseen elsewhere)  Have any other examples of cheesy photo covers?

 

 

That one's a little smuttier than what i'd keep in my collection but there are tons of brilliant photo covers 

[Surfing Alien]

6 minutes ago, OtherEric said:

Oh, I love the Freas work on Astounding... and, honestly, most of the covers in general.  I just recognize it's very much a different style than most SF pulps.

I found my October 1953 issue at a con a few years ago, for the life of me I can't remember if it was Emerald City or Jet City.  I do remember it was under $10 and I was showing it to anybody who would stand still as "look at what I found!"  Easily second only to the May 1950 issue in terms of difficulty for the 50's Astoundings- and for a much better reason than the May '50 issue.

That's what I want to pay but sadly I don't think it's gonna happen unless it's mixed in a lot and no one notices it

[OtherEric]

Just now, Surfing Alien said:

That's what I want to pay but sadly I don't think it's gonna happen unless it's mixed in a lot and no one notices it

I would have happily gone $25 for my copy... but that's still a lot less than what you're likely to find it for. 

If I ever come across another copy in  that price range I'll let you have it at my cost if you want it.  It's one of those books that you really do have a chance of stumbling across cheap at some point.

[Surfing Alien]

17 minutes ago, OtherEric said:

I would have happily gone $25 for my copy... but that's still a lot less than what you're likely to find it for. 

If I ever come across another copy in  that price range I'll let you have it at my cost if you want it.  It's one of those books that you really do have a chance of stumbling across cheap at some point.

For sure! Thanks!

[Westy Steve]

3 hours ago, Surfing Alien said:

That one's a little smuttier than what i'd keep in my collection but there are tons of brilliant photo covers 

Yeah it’s riding the ragged edge of smut but she’s fully dressed and not doing a sex act so I view it in the same class.  

I figured when I asked my question that reform school girl would come up. Incredibly awesome and it fits in perfectly with the path I want to follow. Same with Marijuana girl.   But the Broadway Virgin is new to me and super cool. I’m afraid to see what they cost.  

Are there books much like Reform School Girl that aren’t celebrated?  I mean if it didn’t have the notoriety from the comic book version it might not be so spendy.  Looking for the ones with vamps smoking cigarettes that were relatively early in the photo cover Genre.        Mine is 1963.  I’d think it should be older than that ideally...something pioneering?

[Surfing Alien]

15 hours ago, Westy Steve said:

But the Broadway Virgin is new to me and super cool. I’m afraid to see what they cost.

I love it, It's kind of a poor man's Reform School Girl because it's the same publisher and composition. Reform School Girl is like the hot trashy girl at school that the cool kid got but if you were lucky you got to ride shotgun with her not-quite-as-dangerous friend Broadway   The light bulb typography is pretty cool too. Nowhere near as expensive as Reform School girl but there's not a whole lot of them out there these days.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Surfing Alien

[Randall Dowling]

14 minutes ago, Surfing Alien said:

Nowhere near as expensive as Reform School girl but there's not a whole lot of them out there these days.

I'm nominating this for understatement of the year.  

[Surfing Alien]

15 hours ago, Westy Steve said:

Are there books much like Reform School Girl that aren’t celebrated?  I mean if it didn’t have the notoriety from the comic book version it might not be so spendy.  Looking for the ones with vamps smoking cigarettes that were relatively early in the photo cover Genre.        Mine is 1963.  I’d think it should be older than that ideally...something pioneering?

RSG is the pioneer in photo/cigarette covers - it came out in 1948, 3 years before the comic book and before most other paperback photo covers started in the 50's- and was controversial in and of itself at the time with the model's father successfully getting the letters pages cut out of the book.

Photo covers in general are scattered pretty far and wide but Uni Books come to mind off the top of my head with prominent photo cover usage (including the aforementioned Marijuana Girl) and quite a few Avon digests and 1st series Avons used them. 

[Surfing Alien]

Speaking of Uni Books, this rare one just arrived. It appears unread and the colors and page quality are astonishing, especially considering the poor paper quality they used. 

I was ready to go all in but I got it relatively cheaply, probably because no one really knows what it is. It's the only copy i've even seen a picture of. That's what is satisfying to me about collecting these, there's still a chance to get scarce books cheap, while the opposite is true of comics with so many people thinking their drek is gold bars.

[Randall Dowling]

40 minutes ago, Surfing Alien said:

Speaking of Uni Books, this rare one just arrived. It appears unread and the colors and page quality are astonishing, especially considering the poor paper quality they used. 

I was ready to go all in but I got it relatively cheaply, probably because no one really knows what it is. It's the only copy i've even seen a picture of. That's what is satisfying to me about collecting these, there's still a chance to get scarce books cheap, while the opposite is true of comics with so many people thinking their drek is gold bars.

I'm glad this went to you!  I was very hot for it but got busy with work and missed the close.  I did get some other things, though...  

Nice grab!! 

[Surfing Alien]

1 hour ago, Randall Dowling said:

 I did get some other things, though...  

Let's see 'em

Glad you had to work lol, I was expecting more action on it, has everything going for it - interracial romance PBO, incredible condition for the series and the last book of the series, which I am sure did not sell well.

I got in a bunch of lots that I have to unbox that I did really well with but I'm gonna have to sell a bunch of the unfocused ones 

[Randall Dowling]

5 hours ago, Surfing Alien said:

Let's see 'em

If you insist... 

I picked up these 3 digests which I've always liked.  I know there's at least a couple of people here that have complete sets of Venus, Diversey, Uni, etc., but I'm still working on them and pick them up when prices aren't offensive.  Also, they're awesome!

And then a couple of Avons.  @Surfing Alien has me very interested in the first 50 Avons and by corollary, I've been also interested in the early Dell 10 cent books.  Lots of fun!

Always liked this little gem with the white hoods  

I'm into the Belmont books and SciFi will always be my very first love!

And last, but certainly not least, an old favorite.  Not my first copy.  Not my second copy.  I just can't help but buy it whenever I see it in decent shape for a good price.  Hannes Bok will always hold a very special place in my heart and this is such an undervalued cover.  If it was a comic book, it would be one of the most sought after comics of the atomic age.  Instead, I can afford it and it's super cool! 

 

[OtherEric]

48 minutes ago, Randall Dowling said:

And last, but certainly not least, an old favorite.  Not my first copy.  Not my second copy.  I just can't help but buy it whenever I see it in decent shape for a good price.  Hannes Bok will always hold a very special place in my heart and this is such an undervalued cover.  If it was a comic book, it would be one of the most sought after comics of the atomic age.  Instead, I can afford it and it's super cool! 

 

Agreed on this one, it's a beautiful Bok cover and first publication of a Conan story that's primarily by Howard, even if DeCamp overzealously edited it?  Very under-rated, no doubt about it!  This is the only issue I've got of the title, but I would love to get the other three issues.

[Surfing Alien]

16 hours ago, Randall Dowling said:

I'm still working on them and pick them up when prices aren't offensive

Same here. That's a wonderful and eclectic hoard you showed there