Baker's Best Covers (Top 10) 6 6

[Yorick]

Sweet books Rick!  That DS28 would rate higher for me if not for that man's HUGE eyebrow.  And the elusive TAR44!  So awesome.  My current submission has been in "verified" status for a week now....  I've got two copies of DS15 in the batch (really enjoy that issue).

[Robot Man]

Mailman dropped by today with a book from our own Ricksneatstuff. Thanks for the quick service Rick!

No cool reader/hole filler that I didn't have. Nice cover huh? Yes, it is but I was a little blown away by the insides...

Now this is pretty brutal.  Aint' nothing romantic about this one.    "Man a swell looking dame like that, do you have to torture her Oily?"

Wertham must be rolling over in his box right now...

[Sqeggs]

On 3/3/2017 at 6:58 PM, Junkdrawer said:

Someone mentioned here a bit back ago, but they mentioned the Bakers without word bubbles. I kinda gravitate that way

Most of his very late covers for St John lack word balloons.  I'm not exactly sure, but my impression is that he turned out these covers with the knowledge that they would be used for issues that were made up entirely of reprints -- which was about all St John could do at that point as he scrambled to keep the company going.  So doing without word bubbles made them into generic romance covers that could used with whatever the contents turned out to be.

[Sqeggs]

On 3/7/2017 at 8:50 AM, 29dukedog said:

Those are all beautiful books... but that Pictorial Romances #18 just knocks my socks off.  Why on earth hasn't that one been slabbed yet?? 

I also have a nice (looking) PR #18, but I'll probably never get it graded because it has some unusual silverfish damage to the spine and bc.  You'd never know that from just looking at the front cover, though...

One of my favs as well.  

[sacentaur]

2 minutes ago, Sqeggs said:

One of my favs as well.  

Shhhhh... PR 18 is one of my top Baker wants (seriously, two great copies!).

[29dukedog]

37 minutes ago, Sqeggs said:

Most of his very late covers for St John lack word balloons.  I'm not exactly sure, but my impression is that he turned out these covers with the knowledge that they would be used for issues that were made up entirely of reprints -- which was about all St John could do at that point as he scrambled to keep the company going.  So doing without word bubbles made them into generic romance covers that could used with whatever the contents turned out to be.

And have you noticed; the vast majority of those covers are simply portraits of couples, in a variety of poses and situations, and little more.  Yet, it's the purely illustrative approach that seems to be what makes them such masterpieces!  

[Sqeggs]

1 minute ago, 29dukedog said:

And have you noticed; the vast majority of those covers are simply portraits of couples, in a variety of poses and situations, and little more.  Yet, it's the purely illustrative approach that seems to be what makes them such masterpieces!  

Yeah, I think they are great.  Shows you what he wanted to do, at least at that stage of his career, when the only constraint was that the subject be "romance."

[comicjack]

2 hours ago, Sqeggs said:

One of my favs as well.  

What a great copy !

[29dukedog]

Kinda cool seeing Teen-Age Romances 43 with reversed values... makes it easier to study the background, which normally is white on black.

Edited March 21, 2017 by 29dukedog

[comicnoir]

15 hours ago, 29dukedog said:

Kinda cool seeing Teen-Age Romances 43 with reversed values... makes it easier to study the background, which normally is white on black.

Thanks for making this visible. Those background vignettes are incredible, like everything he did.

[Doohickamabob]

 

On 3/21/2017 at 8:16 AM, 29dukedog said:

Kinda cool seeing Teen-Age Romances 43 with reversed values... makes it easier to study the background, which normally is white on black.

That is a really cool idea. I did a little more adjusting for fun:

[RICK STARR]

Good stuff,guys. Very imaginative.

 

[29dukedog]

2 hours ago, Doohickamabob said:

 

That is a really cool idea. I did a little more adjusting for fun:

I really like this version.  No reason it wouldn't have worked just as well as the actual cover.

[Dr. Love]

Diary Secrets #30 3.0 closed at a strong $410 on CC.  I suspect the usual suspects.  Who do we congrat on this one?

[comicnoir]

10 years ago a 2.5 copy (I was the under bidder) sold on Ha.com for $27.00.

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/diary-secrets-30-st-john-1955-cgc-gd-25-cream-to-off-white-pages/a/17041-16112.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515

My how times have changed.

 

[sacentaur]

7 hours ago, Dr. Love said:

Diary Secrets #30 3.0 closed at a strong $410 on CC. 

There also a recent private sale of a 3.5 for $500, just fyi.

[Dr. Love]

7 hours ago, sacentaur said:

There also a recent private sale of a 3.5 for $500, just fyi.

And worth every penny imho. 

[Ricksneatstuff]

Really love this one. Pat and Chuck make a contentious couple. Glad to pick this one up on the boards here last week 

 

[Sqeggs]

1 hour ago, Ricksneatstuff said:

Really love this one. Pat and Chuck make a contentious couple. Glad to pick this one up on the boards here last week 

 

Great book! I hope you had your negotiating hat on! 

[comicnoir]

This just arrived.