RANK THE TOP 5 MOST IMPORTANT PERSONS IN COMIC BOOK COLLECTING OF ALL TIME 2 2

[jimjum12]

2 hours ago, MusterMark said:

I think Overstreet and Gerber probably have to be in there

Probably #1 and #2 on my list......GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Mmehdy]

6 hours ago, jimjum12 said:

Probably #1 and #2 on my list......GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

When the Gerber books came out they really impacted the comic book market for a number of years, besides Overstreets color cover sections of the guide...it was  second source to learn that was other cool stuff besides Bat, Super, and Cap...and still today we feel the effects as there was no internet to put up the cover of a comic book.....how he got the funding for the book etc was as I recall an interesting story and the end results were interesting, I also think the printing quality added to its market effects.

 

 The trend setters were Russ and Bruce...the barks book, graphic gallery, and as I recall, an portfolio called I believe the "king portfolio " which was a very early publication of sunday comic strips in large format...it gave comic the term "comic art". If anybody has a picture of that...I would like to see it, I bought my copy from Russ in the Dallas comic book convention 1975 I think...

Edited April 30, 2017 by Mmehdy

[jimjum12]

Another notable from the old days, despite his fall from grace, was Jay Maybruck ....... he kind of created the business model still used today..... vacuum out the room of the best stuff before the show opens and then jack the price up..... that model is still in vogue today. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Silver Surfer]

On 23/04/2017 at 1:24 PM, Junkdrawer said:

Edgar Church is a shoe in. 

Apparently not.

[Silver Surfer]

Stan Lee should be number 1.

[jimbo_7071]

2 hours ago, Silver Surfer said:

Stan Lee should be number 1.

No argument. Without Stan's genius for marketing and his overall success with Marvel's silver age, the superhero genre may well have died out decades ago, and collecting comic books might have died with it. Bob Overstreet and Jerry Bails would come next, but it's hard to pick just two to round out the list. Bill Gaines, Jerry Weist, Steve Geppi, Shel Dorf, and Chuck Rozanski all deserve mention.

[sfcityduck]

I've scanned the pages, but I'm not sure I saw anyone mention:

Lupoff for giving comic collecting a big early boost from the more established platform of science fiction fandom with Xero and All in Color for a Dime.

Jules Feiffer for the 1965 book "The Great Comic Book Heroes" which was many people's first exposure to Golden Age superheroes.

For me, because the topic is comic book COLLECTING, I have to start my list with the guys who really got collecting going back even into the 1950s, and another name I haven't seen was pretty instrumental to that is Gardner Fox.

Probably my list begins with folks like Jerry Bails, Roy Thomas, Don and Maggie Thompson, Lupoff, Biljo White, etc., because i think chronologically, but I can't possibly narrow my list down to just 5 most significant overall, because while the guys who started fandom are important, there's no doubt that folks who came later like Bob Overstreet played a huge role and there are plenty of people who were instrumental as early dealers, starters of comic cons, prominent early collectors, fanzine editors, etc. who all played a "top five" role depending upon what aspect of the journey of fandom is that you think most significant.  

Great topic to get people talking and thinking about the past.  Lousy topic to actually try to get a literal top 5 list.

[sfcityduck]

21 minutes ago, jimbo_7071 said:

No argument. Without Stan's genius for marketing and his overall success with Marvel's silver age, the superhero genre may well have died out decades ago, and collecting comic books might have died with it.

The superhero revival began well before FF 1 with an EXPANSION of the DC line of superheroes.  At DC, unlike Marvel, superheroes never died and without DC's expansion and the subsequent creation of the Justice League, Goodman would never have tasked Lee with reviving the superheroes for Marvel.  But, no doubt that Marvel's stories are the main force behind superhero movies.  Comic fandom, though, I think originally was created more in response to DC and EC, then Marvel.  Marvel followed the trend and capitalized well on it.

[bronze johnny]

The most significant contributors to comic book history in no particular order:

Stan Lee- No one person has had the impact that Lee has during the last 60 of the past approximate 84 years of comic book history. It was correctly mentioned in an earlier post about Marvel capitalising on the already existing fandom created by EC and DC Comics. Only Marvel took fandom to an unprecedented level never seen in the history of the medium. The Marvel Universe exponentially expanded once it surpassed DC Comics as the major comic book publisher during the early 1970s and into the X-Men Mutant Age that dominated comic books into the 21st Century. Even today we see Stan Lee making his mark in third party signed comic books. The genius of Stan Lee never ceases and we are still talking about him. The closest thing the comic book has to Walt Disney (ironic that the company Disney created owns the company Lee "recreated"). 

Bob Overstreet- Where would comics be without the Guide? 47 years later and we continue to see all the major auction houses, grading companies, dealers, and collectors buy pages and pages of advertising in the industry's bible. 

Jack Kirby- The comic book is about art and no artist can lay claim to having made the the degree of contributions that Kirby gave to the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Ages. Could we say that about Schomburg? Everett? Beck? Raboy? Wood? Barks? Adams? Fine? Eisner? Kubert? Infantino? Toth? (Forgive me for leaving others out). They were all legends and the greatest output (or apex of their careers) each of them had was exclusive to their respective ages. (Everett did make his mark in the Golden Age and Precode Horror-Sci-Fi) From Captain America through the Fantastic Four and giving us the first ever public sighting of the Silver Age's greatest creation to the incredible Bronze Age Fourth World vision, Kirby transcended the ages like no other comic book artist. There can only be one King when it comes to comic book art.  Kirby also fought for the rights artists have in their artwork- a fight his family continues.

I'm still considering the next two...

John

Edited May 1, 2017 by bronze johnny

[sfcityduck]

"comic book history" seems like a different topic than comic book collecting.  Frankly, I don't see Jack Kirby as any more important to the development of comic collecting than many other artists and less than some.

[bronze johnny]

5 hours ago, sfcityduck said:

"comic book history" seems like a different topic than comic book collecting.  Frankly, I don't see Jack Kirby as any more important to the development of comic collecting than many other artists and less than some.

Jack Kirby is the exception. Kirby evolved into more through the great comic book ages. The legend of Jack Kirby has only grown as newer generations discover his artwork and what he did for the medium. And legends never die as the old saying goes. The Kirby Collector is just one example of what legions of Kirby fans read- no artist has ever had a bigger fan base in the history of the hobby. Kirby's fan base is what distinguishes him from any other artist and it is the unprecedented passion they have for the man and his art that gives him a special place in the history of comic book collecting and fandom. 

Edited May 1, 2017 by bronze johnny

[lpsunburst]

I have had 2 periods of being a collector in my life, the first was in the 60's and 70's with a long gap to where I am now and this list is based on what impacted me most out of the 2 periods.

1. Overstreet- For all the reasons Mitch outlined and more, if you were not around in the early 70's as a collector you don't know how huge the Guide was, it not only validated the hobby but it also gave you a checklist as to where the origin issues where and first appearances were. It was always a must have as soon as each edition was released.

2. Russ Cochran- Through Russ and the EC reprints and portfolios I was introduced to "art" side of the hobby, I got hooked the ERB artists, St. John, Hogarth and also the classic illustrators such as Alex Raymond and Hal Foster. He always had the most amazing original art for sale, the first time I had ever considered that someone could actually own a Frazetta painting or Peanuts Sunday page. His influence on my collection cannot be understated.

3. Jim Steranko- History of the Comics was my bible, the gateway to the golden age and also how the pulps influenced the early heroes. Through him I went on a binge of reading every Shadow story and then the Spider and Doc Savage. I was able to pick up copies of volume 1 &2 at the Baltimore Con last year and it was funny that as I was walking around with them so many of the dealers commented on how important those 2 volumes were to them.

4. CGC- Probably the biggest factor in my jumping back into the hobby, my day job has taught me a great deal about analysis and market trends etc. in that light CGC once again validated and reassured me that I could spend large amounts of money on a hobby I love much as I would make any other investment. I know that doesn't ring true for many who may read this but when you buy a tangible asset you hope that you can at least get out what you put in. I ended up doing a ton of research before diving back into the hobby and I started with Silver Age since that was what I previously collected. The first "big" purchase was an AF 15, I spent a lot of money on it but that was years ago, it has turned out ok. And of course the forum that it supports, the knowledge I have gained from just reading is amazing, I would not be in the hobby today without it.

Heritage- Almost a tie with CGC for me, accessibility to so many amazing books that I used to never be able to find. I probably would not be a golden age collector without the exposure they gave me to so many rare and high quality books. Even though I have since found all the other places to find the gold, this is the one that got me going again. It would also seem that Halperin and I have very similar tastes in art.

[telerites]

Seems like lots of different interpretations of fandom which was posited to begin the thread.  Some consider it synonymous with history, collecting, creator contributions, pedigree collections, etc.  The definition of fandom is "The state or condition of being a fan of someone or something; and/or The fans of a particular person, team, fictional series, etc. regarded collectively as a community or subculture."

Not saying any postings or names are wrong or shouldn't be considered, just perhaps, some may fit more appropriately in a different category of the hobby/industry.  Still nice to see the thoughts and names being mentioned - they all have contributed to bring this hobby to where it is.

 

[BB-Gun]

On ‎4‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 11:13 PM, sagii said:

Michelle Nolan is one that comes to mind.

Stephen Fishler (Vincent Zurzolo too)

Gary Carter

 

I just noticed this group.  I think there were a lot of people who contributed to the data information side of comic book collecting.  Michelle Nolan, Raymond Miller and Howard Keltner come to mind but Gary Carter made a glossy four color contribution that still impresses old fans who cherish the faded blue ditto copies of fanzines published in the sixties.

[jimjum12]

All of the right names have been mentioned in the thread...... but narrowing it down to 5 is almost a disservice ....... for example, let's look at this from a slightly different perspective...... what would Fandom have been like WITHOUT people like Phil Seuling, Howard Rogofsky, Robert Bell, Burt Blum and the other California entrepreneurs, Lupoff, the Creation Con people( ...they brought the circus to SO many towns...), Alan Light ? ...... as a serious collector throughout the 70's, I'd be unable to forget the impact that all of those folks had on the hobby..... in fact, they basically MADE the hobby..... and put in a lot of hard work and took a lot of gambles to make it happen. People in the internet age will have a hard time understanding how isolated we were back then..... and out of all the creators who made these funny books, I would definitely have to tip the hat to Stan and Julius..... both of whom participated in creating the atmosphere that made Fandom possible. Stan made it seem cool to be a geek. Stan's Soapbox was INTEGRAL to early Fandom. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

.....and yes, those double page sales lists in every issue from Charming Chuck's Mile High Madness , to me anyway, had a profound impact on the legitimacy of the hobby.

Josh Nathanson was also very important at a key juncture....

Over and out.....

Edited May 1, 2017 by jimjum12

[sfcityduck]

1 hour ago, jimjum12 said:

.....and yes, those double page sales lists in every issue from Charming Chuck's Mile High Madness , to me anyway, had a profound impact on the legitimacy of the hobby.

If the list that was being made was of the most important dealers, it would be hard for me to put anyone other than Chuck in the No. 1 spot.  And mainly for the reason you identify, because I was buying from him when just a wee tyke and my Local Comic Store didn't have the books I needed.  It was only after discovering Mile High that I discovered CBG. 

Obviously, that whole Edgar Church thing and basically inventing pedigree pricing doesn't hurt his legacy either. 

But, obviously, lots of other guys would make that list as well. 

Frankly, it seems to me that the lists that there are a bunch of worthwhile lists, including:

* The folks who created comic fandom;

* The folks who were the key educators of comic fandom;

* The folks who created and grew the comic market; and

* The pros who spurred and aided the growth of comic fandom.

[jimjum12]

12 minutes ago, sfcityduck said:

If the list that was being made was of the most important dealers, it would be hard for me to put anyone other than Chuck in the No. 1 spot.  And mainly for the reason you identify, because I was buying from him when just a wee tyke and my Local Comic Store didn't have the books I needed.  It was only after discovering Mile High that I discovered CBG. 

Obviously, that whole Edgar Church thing and basically inventing pedigree pricing doesn't hurt his legacy either. 

But, obviously, lots of other guys would make that list as well. 

Frankly, it seems to me that the lists that there are a bunch of worthwhile lists, including:

* The folks who created comic fandom;

* The folks who were the key educators of comic fandom;

* The folks who created and grew the comic market; and

* The pros who spurred and aided the growth of comic fandom.

Excellent compartmentalization ..... which does help us to decide exactly what it is that we're talking about..... which isn't always as simple as one would think. I've always felt that Fandom was a complicated symbiosis of all four of those elements you mentioned..... hence my comment about disservice. back in the 70's, when I began to participate in earnest, the evolution wasn't as linear as logic might require..... it kind of just spilled over and happened. Friedrich's StarReach, for example, really made strides in making the medium more interactive and accessible in many ways.... opening doors that led away from the confinement of the mainstream. Just so much richness and diversity in our little hobby. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[N e r V]

I've always seen comics fans in these basic groups.

1) readers only- where the majority of sales were in the past in publishing 

2) limited collectors/readers- the fans that actually kept their comics for a few years while reading them. Outgrew them as they got older. Reasons usually being discovering the opposite sex.

3) longer term collectors- fans that kept at it for some time but finally lost interest and sold them off. 

4) lifelong collectors- those few that will go to their graves as collectors. May have stepped out for a time with collecting but their hearts never really left.

 

Pretty much everyone I've met in comics reading or collecting falls into one of those four groups. Reasons vary.

 

The many people of comics history impacted those four groups in different ways. More so today than ever before are there fans of characters like Batman or Spiderman that have nothing to do with the collecting or even reading aspects of the field. 

Its a brave new world with comics and their characters.