AJD Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Oooo - a green two-fanger! 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC ed Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 Oooo - a green two-fanger! Yes! Yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC ed Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 (edited) Well, it's time for a brief 2016 EC collecting recap. During 2016, I actually sold more EC books than I purchased...specifically, I bought 57 ECs and sold 75 EC undercopies (100% of the sales went to boardies ). As for the 57 purchases...if you've been following the journal, you may remember that at the beginning of 2016, I was missing 20 EC issues...standing here at the end of 2016, I'm missing 10. So then, out of the 57 EC books purchased during 2016, 47 were upgrades, and the following 10 issues were first-time entrants into my collection: Dandy Comics #2, #6 Haunt of Fear #8 Mad #28 "with a late and utterly useless Income Tax Guide" variant Picture Stories From the Bible Complete New Testament 1st printing (40-cent cover price) Picture Stories From the Bible Complete New Testament 3rd printing (50-cent cover price) Picture Stories From the Bible Complete Old Testament 8th printing Two-Fisted Annual #1 Two-Fisted Annual #2 War Against Crime #4 Here's a virtual group shot of the entire Class of 2016 (minus one book that's at CGC right now that I forgot to scan before submitting): Edited March 3, 2017 by edowens71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC ed Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 (edited) ...followed by an overall summary of the EC collection, as of today! Recall that there are 470 issues on my EC completist list (LINK, if you need a refresher) At the end of 2015, I had 450 of the issues on that list, and 479 books in my EC collection (because of multiple copies of some issues that I'm not ready to part with). As of the end of 2016, I have 460 of the issues on the completist list, and 487 books in my EC collection (again, because of the multiples). It's these 487 books that I'll now provide some summary statistics for: (note: aside from the 487 books currently in the keeper boxes, looks like I have an additional 142 EC undercopies in my "to be sold sometime" boxes, which is down from 162 at the beginning of 2016...so, I'm making progress ) Summary of the 487 books in my EC collection - December 2016: Acquisition source: 280 were purchased directly from other boardies (57.5%) 91 were purchased from eBay sellers (18.7%) 44 were purchased from ComicLink/ComicConnect/Metropolis/Heritage (9.0%) 72 were purchased from assorted miscellaneous online sellers (e.g., Worldwide, Jim Payette, mycomicshop) Raw vs. Graded: 256 have never been graded by any grading company (52.6%) 223 have been graded by CGC (many of those have been cracked out) (45.8%) 8 have been graded by "other" non-CGC grading companies (1.6%) Pedigree Copies - 94 total (19.3%): 2 Aurora 3 Bethlehem 4 Crippen 1 Crowley 8 Don/Maggie Thompson 1 Edgar Church 47 Gaines File Copies 14 Northford 1 Ohio 1 Palo Alto 2 River City 1 Twilight 8 White Mountain 1 Windy City Grade distribution:Mean grade 7.0; Median grade 7.0 So, to summarize the changes since the end of 2015: I picked up 10 issues on my list of missings (which leaves me with 10 missing issues remaining); I brought in numerous upgrades, which resulted in a slight increase in the average grade of the collection (i.e., from 6.9 to 7.0), a decrease in the proportion of raw copies in the collection (i.e., from 57.3% down to 52.6%), and an increase in pedigree copies (i.e., from 78 pedigree copies to 94 pedigree copies). (note: if you want to go back and see details as of the end of 2015, use this link here: End-of-2015 Stats ) Last but not least...a reminder of my 10 missing ECs: Down to 10 missing EC publications (pre-1957):Across the Seas in a War Torn World Church that was Built with Bread KO Punch Out of the Past a Clue to the Future Picture Stories From the Bible Complete Old Testament 6th printing Picture Stories From the Bible Complete Old Testament 7th printing Reddy Kilowatt 1B (Reddy Made Magic, 1956) Reddy Kilowatt 2B (Light's Diamond Jubilee, 1954) Reddy Kilowatt 3B (Space Kite, S. Calif. edition, 1956) Wonders of Wire Rope Will I find any of these toughies in 2017? Stay tuned! The hunt continues.... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Edited March 3, 2017 by edowens71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Lime Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Good luck with finding the rest of the EC's, Ed. I especially like the breakdown of your collection. I would say I'll keep an eye out for you but the chances of finding any of your missing books in the UK are probably akin to me winning the lottery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black_Adam Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 As the happy recipient of five of Ed's Haunt of Fear undercopies (my first dip in the EC pool and the start of a mid-grade set of Ingels HOF covers) I also applaud his collecting efforts. Hoping you find the books you need in 2017 Ed, because I need those undercopies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azkaban Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Impressive most Impressive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Hi Ed - great stuff in 2016. And thank you for the chance to buy some undercopies. If you'd like, I can send you a list of books you need to upgrade next. My prediction is that you will knock four books off your remaining list in 2017. But I hope to be wrong when you find more of them. Happy New year to you! 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC ed Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 My prediction is that you will knock four books off your remaining list in 2017. I hope you're right, but I'd be thrilled with knocking 1 off this year None of those 10 knocked off in January, but I did bring in a couple upgrades over the past month: The later issues of Shock SuspenStories are tough to find in nice condition...I was happy to find this copy of #17 sitting on the bay...upgrades a raw VG'ish copy. I love the color scheme on this cover: Next, in came a Gaines File Copy from the boards to upgrade my mid-grade raw copy of WF #13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC ed Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 I acquired one other EC of note in January, which deserves its own post. Recall early in the journal, when I was laying out my "EC Completist List", I declared that I was not going to pursue any ECs after 1956 (the post-1956 EC output is limited to Mad magazine and a few promo reprints). Well, this next book was too awesome to pass up, even though it is from 1960. It's one of the promo reprints...the Reddy Kilowatt #3A (1960) reprint to be exact (and what I believe to be the last EC promo book produced). What makes this particular copy awesome is that it came from what is/was the greatest "Kite Fun Book" collection on earth (previously known on the registry as the San Onofre Collection) ...as a result of the partial collection liquidation of our own boardie Kite_Fun_Books. Wishing you and your family all the best, Dave . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmilwaukee6er Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Summary of the 487 books in my EC collection - December 2016 WOW great post and great collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC ed Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 3 upgrades came into the collection in February (still haven't found any of the "Missing 10" issues): SOTI EC book I'd love to upgrade this one yet again with the sweet 9.6 Gaines File Copy in the current CC auction...but we'll see... Tough to find these Panic issues in decent condition...this upgrades a 5.0 copy: Finally, the second magazine issue of Mad, where Al Jaffee begins as a regular writer...this sweet raw copy upgrades a raw VG'ish copy: The nice thing about Mad magazines is that the back covers are also awesome: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 On 2/4/2017 at 6:42 AM, edowens71 said: Always loved this cover. Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Hi Ed - lovely new additions. If you do upgrade the Frontline #4 again we might need to talk. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC ed Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 (edited) It's been awhile since I highlighted a full title run...while we're waiting for me to find some of the missing 10 ECs, I might as well hit you with some Weird Science Weird Science was an American science fiction comic book magazine that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a four-year span, the comic ran for 22 issues, ending with the November–December, 1953 issue. Published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, the bi-monthly Weird Science replaced Saddle Romances with the May/June 1950 issue. Although the title and format change took effect with issue 12, Gaines and Feldstein decided not to restart the numbering in order to save money on second class postage. The Post Office took note and, starting with issue #5, all the issues were numbered correctly. Because of this, "Weird Science #12" could refer to either the May/June 1950 issue, or the actual 12th issue published in 1952. The same confusion exists for issues #13-15, #15 being the last issue published before EC reset the numbering. - Wikipedia I started working on the run in October 2012 (issue #19 was my first issue purchased), and I completed the run in November 2015 (with issue #12). Of course, I've been upgrading as I go along, and still need a few upgrades here and there. Here are the stats for my current 22 issue run: Acquisition source: 15 from other boardies (68%) (shout-outs to stevemmg, fantasyland15, jimjum12, Decepticon, 29dukedog, Spideyfein, goldust40, TorontoDesignGuy, Dale Roberts, and Supernerd ) 2 from eBay sellers (9%) 4 from ComicLink/ComicConnect/Heritage auctions (18%) 1 from mycomicshop (5%) Raw vs. Graded: 9 have never been graded by any grading company (41%) 13 have been graded by CGC (5 cracked out) (59%) Pedigree Copies - 6 total (27%): 3 Gaines File Copy 2 White Mountain 1 Northford Grade distribution: Mean grade: 7.3; Median grade: 7.5 The Group Shot: Edited March 31, 2017 by edowens71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC ed Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Now, my traditional "Spotlight on the Pedigree Copies": Gaines File Copies: White Mountain: Northford: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azkaban Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 That group shot is awesome and I love those White Mountains Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Lovely books Ed. I have the Aurora copy of #14, which is my only pedigree EC other than a Gaines Valor #5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rune Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 On 26/12/2015 at 0:51 PM, edowens71 said: I've been patiently waiting for the Australian dollar to rebound... This is brutal for you.... : You're a lucky guy, sigh - make that *double sigh* The last time I was truly happy was in 2008 (green arrow) Now not so much (red arrow) I'm paying about 30 - 40 % more than in the good days. So 4K in 2017 is like 5K or even 6K in 2008 - 2014. But I don't care that much, I need my books and art, guess there's nothing to do than to bite the bullet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 12 hours ago, Rune said: You're a lucky guy, sigh - make that *double sigh* The last time I was truly happy was in 2008 (green arrow) Now not so much (red arrow) I'm paying about 30 - 40 % more than in the good days. So 4K in 2017 is like 5K or even 6K in 2008 - 2014. But I don't care that much, I need my books and art, guess there's nothing to do than to bite the bullet... In terms of the things we buy holding their value, it depends on what you think the long term trends are. Even at the current 75c exchange rate for me, I'll do just fine if the A$ falls lower. Between the increase in GA prices in US$ and the falling exchange rate, I'm sitting on a tidy paper profit on the stuff I bought when the A$ was higher. If it was to fall to 50c again (like it did in 1999) I'd have to seriously contemplate selling a few high ticket items... (so I hope it doesn't ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
