KirbyJack Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 2 hours ago, Robot Man said: printed by Charlton I didn’t know that. Who printed the Canadian books? Those were iffy, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 6 hours ago, KirbyJack said: I didn’t know that. Who printed the Canadian books? Those were iffy, too. Grizzly Bears? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyJack Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 30 minutes ago, Robot Man said: Grizzly Bears? The Hanson Brothers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IngelsFan Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 7 hours ago, KirbyJack said: I didn’t know that. Who printed the Canadian books? Those were iffy, too. The Canadian ECs were printed by Superior (if EVER there was a mid-named company...). The only Charlton printing I’m aware of was Impact #1, most of which were reportedly destroyed because Gaines didn’t like the quality of them. Unfortunately CGC doesn’t distinguish between the two so unless you have them in hand you can’t tell which is which. KirbyJack and OtherEric 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OtherEric Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 2 hours ago, IngelsFan said: The Canadian ECs were printed by Superior (if EVER there was a mid-named company...). The only Charlton printing I’m aware of was Impact #1, most of which were reportedly destroyed because Gaines didn’t like the quality of them. Unfortunately CGC doesn’t distinguish between the two so unless you have them in hand you can’t tell which is which. The logo color is the obvious tell, so at least you don’t need to crack the case to figure out which is which. The charlton version has the white logo, the other one is yellow. IngelsFan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IngelsFan Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 1 hour ago, OtherEric said: The logo color is the obvious tell, so at least you don’t need to crack the case to figure out which is which. The charlton version has the white logo, the other one is yellow. True. I just wish the census would break them out separately so that we could have some idea of how many white logos are out there. OtherEric 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OtherEric Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Just now, IngelsFan said: True. I just wish the census would break them out separately so that we could have some idea of how many white logos are out there. Absolutely agreed. And just for fun, here's the yellow logo version, since we've gone too long without any covers on this page of the thread. KirbyJack, IngelsFan and Larryw7 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post IngelsFan Posted June 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted June 12, 2019 7 hours ago, OtherEric said: Absolutely agreed. And just for fun, here's the yellow logo version, since we've gone too long without any covers on this page of the thread. Nice! I see your yellow and will raise you a white: OtherEric, Raze, gunsmokin and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Robot Man Posted June 13, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted June 13, 2019 Mailman brought me a cool one today. Just the way I like ‘em. Smooth, tight spine, no tears or creases and white pages. Just enough insignificant little defects to keep the price affordable... OtherEric, KirbyJack, IngelsFan and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyJack Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 59 minutes ago, Robot Man said: Mailman brought me a cool one That pun is worthy of The Crypt Keeper. Larryw7 and waaaghboss 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryw7 Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 On 6/12/2019 at 10:40 AM, IngelsFan said: Nice! I see your yellow and will raise you a white: I've always wondered why Impact 1 is so undervalued? It has what is arguably the best comic book story ever(Master Race), other great art, and a fine Davis cover. It doesn't get the respect it deserves. Raze, OtherEric, IngelsFan and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OtherEric Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Larryw7 said: I've always wondered why Impact 1 is so undervalued? It has what is arguably the best comic book story ever(Master Race), other great art, and a fine Davis cover. It doesn't get the respect it deserves. All of the New Direction books tend to be pretty cheap. I suspect, in most cases, it's because they were actually more seriously collected when they came out than any other books of the era, EC having an established fandom. Less people bought them but more of those kept them. And then the New Direction issues wound up overall not going anywhere. So they're viewed as the most minor EC's. None of which entirely explains why Impact #1 hasn't jumped. I suspect part of it is the fact that Master Race was reprinted early and reprinted often. It showed up in the EC Horror Library of the 50's in the early 70's, and was one of the first EC stories I ever read when I found the Smithsonian book of Comic Book comics at the local library. It's always been one of the easier EC stories to find, so people weren't necessarily going to the source like they would for other books. The cover is good but it's not by Krigstein, so it perhaps doesn't have quite the appeal in a slab given the fame of the story. With all that said, I think the book is a hell of a sleeper right now. It probably won't be worth what a Weird SF 29 is (to name another EC on the stands at almost the same time) but I can sure see the day when you can't easily find a super cheap copy in the not too distant future. Now my question for everybody: When did Master Race start getting singled out as a classic? It was clearly recognized as something special fairly early, given its inclusion in the Nostalgia Press and Smithsonian books, but I don't know if that was because it was already considered a classic or just good taste on those editor's parts calling attention to it in the first place. Larryw7, Raze and KirbyJack 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfcityduck Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 3 hours ago, OtherEric said: All of the New Direction books tend to be pretty cheap. I suspect, in most cases, it's because they were actually more seriously collected when they came out than any other books of the era, EC having an established fandom. Less people bought them but more of those kept them. And then the New Direction issues wound up overall not going anywhere. So they're viewed as the most minor EC's. None of which entirely explains why Impact #1 hasn't jumped. I suspect part of it is the fact that Master Race was reprinted early and reprinted often. It showed up in the EC Horror Library of the 50's in the early 70's, and was one of the first EC stories I ever read when I found the Smithsonian book of Comic Book comics at the local library. It's always been one of the easier EC stories to find, so people weren't necessarily going to the source like they would for other books. The cover is good but it's not by Krigstein, so it perhaps doesn't have quite the appeal in a slab given the fame of the story. With all that said, I think the book is a hell of a sleeper right now. It probably won't be worth what a Weird SF 29 is (to name another EC on the stands at almost the same time) but I can sure see the day when you can't easily find a super cheap copy in the not too distant future. Now my question for everybody: When did Master Race start getting singled out as a classic? It was clearly recognized as something special fairly early, given its inclusion in the Nostalgia Press and Smithsonian books, but I don't know if that was because it was already considered a classic or just good taste on those editor's parts calling attention to it in the first place. Late 60s is when Art Spiegelman did his famous paper on it. KirbyJack, Raze and OtherEric 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raze Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 Alright ive got a question and i guess its more of an opinion. im looking at 2 books weird science fantasy 29 ( before it gets out of my price range) and weird science 16 (awesome Wood alien cover), and was wondering which one has the better stories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyJack Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 Both great comics, (both great covers, BTW) no wrong answer. Almost identical artist line ups... Just buy ‘em both! IngelsFan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GomerPyleUSMC Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 5 hours ago, Raze said: Alright ive got a question and i guess its more of an opinion. im looking at 2 books weird science fantasy 29 ( before it gets out of my price range) and weird science 16 (awesome Wood alien cover), and was wondering which one has the better stories? WS 16 has the better stories. Three out of four ("Space-Borne!", "Given the Heir!", and "The People's Choice!") are EC classics: Gaines and Feldstein at their freewheeling prime. Two and a half years later and in the aftermath of the Senate hearings, came WSF 29. Apart from the Frazetta cover, this issue has little to recommend. The stories feel really tired and forgettable, with a cautious editorial not to offend with bad taste. You can really tell the end was near. Larryw7, IngelsFan and Raze 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 I would also agree with Gomer. If I were plunking down my Mercury dime, I would choose WS16 for the same reason. That, and the fact that it has one of Woody’s best covers. So iconic, influencal and represents the era and genre so perfectly. WSG 29 has “that cover” though... Insides are good (hey an EC after all), but not on par with WS 16. As was said, get them both. Take your time and find the right copy for the right price. They are usually both fairly available and I don’t see either taking a huge price spike suddenly. I would man up a little on the 29 though. Dark cover shows all the flaws and this is one you really want nice. And just to make your life more difficult, you might want to consider WF 21 as well. Underrated Frazetta cover and great interior as well... IngelsFan and Raze 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 18 hours ago, OtherEric said: All of the New Direction books tend to be pretty cheap. I suspect, in most cases, it's because they were actually more seriously collected when they came out than any other books of the era, EC having an established fandom. Less people bought them but more of those kept them. And then the New Direction issues wound up overall not going anywhere. So they're viewed as the most minor EC's. None of which entirely explains why Impact #1 hasn't jumped. I suspect part of it is the fact that Master Race was reprinted early and reprinted often. It showed up in the EC Horror Library of the 50's in the early 70's, and was one of the first EC stories I ever read when I found the Smithsonian book of Comic Book comics at the local library. It's always been one of the easier EC stories to find, so people weren't necessarily going to the source like they would for other books. The cover is good but it's not by Krigstein, so it perhaps doesn't have quite the appeal in a slab given the fame of the story. With all that said, I think the book is a hell of a sleeper right now. It probably won't be worth what a Weird SF 29 is (to name another EC on the stands at almost the same time) but I can sure see the day when you can't easily find a super cheap copy in the not too distant future. Now my question for everybody: When did Master Race start getting singled out as a classic? It was clearly recognized as something special fairly early, given its inclusion in the Nostalgia Press and Smithsonian books, but I don't know if that was because it was already considered a classic or just good taste on those editor's parts calling attention to it in the first place. As a rule, I’m not a real big New Direction fan. Overall, the stories just don’t match up to the pre code stuff. The art is wonderful but the stories in general on most of them are a bit bland. Way above most of the other post code stuff but still a little boring. I love Aces High and Piracy. Valor is full of off the hook great art but the stories are just OK. Other than Master Race, the rest of Impact is a struggle for me. The other two are pretty much un-readable for me. Other than completing a full EC run, I have no real interest in them. Just my 10 cents... OtherEric, Raze and KirbyJack 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OtherEric Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 2 hours ago, Robot Man said: As a rule, I’m not a real big New Direction fan. Overall, the stories just don’t match up to the pre code stuff. The art is wonderful but the stories in general on most of them are a bit bland. Way above most of the other post code stuff but still a little boring. I love Aces High and Piracy. Valor is full of off the hook great art but the stories are just OK. Other than Master Race, the rest of Impact is a struggle for me. The other two are pretty much un-readable for me. Other than completing a full EC run, I have no real interest in them. Just my 10 cents... I think you and I are in very close to complete agreement on the New Direction books, other than I have a little more time for them because, as you say, they're way above most other post code stuff. Heck, they're way above most pre code stuff... just not EC's own pre code stuff. I had been mentally ranking the books, now that I've got over 3/4 of them. Still a few holes, so a classic could still surprise me, but here's what I've got from worst to best: 7: M. D. It's got great art, and is well written as far as these things go, but it feels almost like a deliberate attempt to placate Wertham in the subject matter. A bit of a mess, trying to be a 'good' book when that just was never EC's strength. 6: Extra. It's like they tried to do a private detective book, only PD's were unacceptable, so they made them reporters instead. This one I think might have grown into something given more time; the overlapping casts of characters in the different sub-series wasn't a bad idea, and the book was willing to get experimental at a couple of points. But they never got the mix right in the issues we actually got. 5: Impact. Trying to do Shock Suspenstories without the twist friendly genres of that book. I think this was also possibly the worst code undermined book of the lot. It gets 5th rather than last entirely because of "Master Race", and it's a good example of just how talented and dedicated the EC crew was despite the efforts to tear them down. But not one I see myself revisiting much. 4: Valor. Great art, good ideas for stories. Generally so-so execution on the stories, as you said. There's a definite gap between the top 4 and the bottom 3 on my list, Valor is firmly on the "good" side. But just as firmly at the bottom of the good side. 3: Psychoanalysis. No, seriously. It's a horrible idea for a book, or at least 30 years to early. It actually reads a bit like a late 80's- early 90's indy title. But the execution is excellent. Well written, beautifully drawn, good use of flashbacks and descriptions of dreams to keep things visually interesting. And at 4 issues, it tells three complete stories. That doesn't it help its reputation, because the issues don't work as well if you pick up one random one later in the run. A spectacularly complete package, brought down from the top because, as I said, it's a horrible idea. But it takes the horrible idea and creates the absolute best case possible execution of that idea. 2: Aces High. It's an EC war book. It's not as good as the others because it's post-code and Kurtzman isn't involved. But it's an EC war book, EC war books are excellent, and this one is no exception. 1: Piracy. They had a little more time to figure this one out rather than the rush on the other New Direction books. It's a good theme that manages to keep a bit of an edge while not having the excessive edge of the horror books for the tenor of the times. And the artists were clearly having an absolute blast with the material. Anybody else have any thoughts on the New Direction books? KirbyJack and Raze 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raze Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Ive been wanting a copy of this book for awhile now and it was offered in a sales thread and I had to have it! Of course I passed on a 7.0 just to get this one, but hey I loVE my low grade ECs!!!!!! KirbyJack, OtherEric and Larryw7 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
