Why is GA so awesome? 4 4

[exitmusicblue]

Why is GA so awesome?

Because it was a simpler time?  Classy + classic?  Just something so pure about the era in comics.

[miraclemet]

One of the awesome things about COLLECTING GA comics is that having (virtually) all the money in the world wont necessarily get you a book. 

GA books are harder to find, and once found, harder to pry away from collelctors than any other books. 

I seriously yawn over various high grade SA/BA books cause I see them all the time, in all sorts of great conditions... there's nothing difficult about collecting them (outside of having the money to buy them). 

 

To me that's one of the things that GA has always had over the other eras of collecting...

[Hudson]

30 minutes ago, miraclemet said:

One of the awesome things about COLLECTING GA comics is that having (virtually) all the money in the world wont necessarily get you a book. 

GA books are harder to find, and once found, harder to pry away from collelctors than any other books. 

I seriously yawn over various high grade SA/BA books cause I see them all the time, in all sorts of great conditions... there's nothing difficult about collecting them (outside of having the money to buy them). 

 

To me that's one of the things that GA has always had over the other eras of collecting...

I agree that collecting GA is more difficult and sometimes finding that book you have been searching for is so much more rewarding because of the effort you have put into finding it. 

This was one of the joys of collecting prior to the internet that made the hobby even more "fun" and special.  Waiting on mail order catalogs, placing an order (with alternate selections) and then waiting to see what books came in the mail.  Going to conventions, because that is where the best books could be found.  Interacting with other collectors to try to find that book you were looking for.

Now a person can just sit at home with a computer and if they have enough money, they can probably find and purchase just about anything. 

Although I am thankful for the internet and how much it has helped me with my own collection, I also long for those days when the hunt was a lot more difficult and thus the "finds" so much sweeter.

Am I the only one who feels this way????

[G.A.tor]

I agree. The hunt and satisfaction is every bit as enjoyable to me. 

I made a similar comment a few years ago about sa vs ga. A boardie said to make it challenging , try to put an asm 1-50 run together in hg (9.0). I accepted the challenge and in 2 hours I had accomplished it. Very little satisfaction in that

 

collect fox or centaurs or lev Gleason or even action and detective or timelys etc , and the challenge adds to the enjoyment immensely 

Edited May 15, 2017 by G.A.tor

[Gotham Kid]

1 hour ago, miraclemet said:

One of the awesome things about COLLECTING GA comics is that having (virtually) all the money in the world wont necessarily get you a book. 

GA books are harder to find, and once found, harder to pry away from collelctors than any other books. 

I seriously yawn over various high grade SA/BA books cause I see them all the time, in all sorts of great conditions... there's nothing difficult about collecting them (outside of having the money to buy them). 

 

To me that's one of the things that GA has always had over the other eras of collecting...

In a nutshell ... THIS !

[Gotham Kid]

22 minutes ago, G.A.tor said:

I agree. The hunt and satisfaction is every bit as enjoyable to me. 

 

collect fox or centaurs or lev Gleason or even action and detective or timelys etc , and the challenge adds to the enjoyment immensely 

and this.

[Artboy99]

1 hour ago, miraclemet said:

One of the awesome things about COLLECTING GA comics is that having (virtually) all the money in the world wont necessarily get you a book. 

GA books are harder to find, and once found, harder to pry away from collelctors than any other books. 

I seriously yawn over various high grade SA/BA books cause I see them all the time, in all sorts of great conditions... there's nothing difficult about collecting them (outside of having the money to buy them). 

 

To me that's one of the things that GA has always had over the other eras of collecting...

absolutely agree!

[piper]

Also because they are a mini time capsule (I.e. snapshot to a very different time)....

I love the artwork, the efforts to experiment (anything goes approach), the political incorrectness, the varied art styles...

 

[PopKulture]

1 hour ago, G.A.tor said:

I made a similar comment a few years ago about sa vs ga. A boardie said to make it challenging , try to put an asm 1-50 run together in hg (9.0). I accepted the challenge and in 2 hours I had accomplished it.

I think the above comment sums it up nicely.

And I agree about the "thrill of the hunt" sentiments, especially in the pre-internet days - before databases and even the Photo-Journals. As a kid, I'd find some random copy of True Sport Stories and be like "Wow, I knew about the Street and Smith pulps, but they made comics, too??" Same fondness for titles like Sparkler where I discovered Fritzi Ritz and the old guard from the funny pages. Great times.

[IngelsFan]

I love the thrill of the hunt as well. I started collecting back when most dealers expected a self-addressed stamped envelope if you wanted a response. In those pre-Gerber book days I had a list with every source indexed for pictures of covers so I'd have an idea of what book I'd be getting. Back in those days a letter to Metropolis asking what GA books were available resulted in a one page typed list, lol.

[Ricksneatstuff]

This is a response I had in a thread 6 months ago discussing how the GA forum has the most activity:

The beauty of golden age collecting is the treasure hunt.  It is finding those few elusive books that show up once every few years online or maybe digging through the back boxes and some store and seeing that obscure book you have never seen. It is the pre-code era and all that came with that and then the mid-50's post CCA when they were trying to hint at the things they were doing outright in the early 50's. It is the diversity of collectible interests that were represented so well in golden age comics with different publishers bringing their own flare to the table. It is wild speculation about what must be in the jungle, what they thought was in outer space and what we will be flying or wearing to get there  . It is full of political incorrect language and imagery of the time. It is Barks and Baker, Frazetta and Feldstein, Shores, Simon and Kirby, Kane, Fine, Schomburg, Wood ,Zolnerowich, Eisner and Everett and so many more.

In the early 90's I had virtually every silver and bronze age Marvel (except never an AF 15) and most of the DC books from '61 on but never experienced anything like the magic and mystery of golden age comics.

[Sqeggs]

Actually, GA books are pretty lame.  It's the people who collect them who are awesome! 

[Robot Man]

2 hours ago, Ricksneatstuff said:

This is a response I had in a thread 6 months ago discussing how the GA forum has the most activity:

The beauty of golden age collecting is the treasure hunt.  It is finding those few elusive books that show up once every few years online or maybe digging through the back boxes and some store and seeing that obscure book you have never seen. It is the pre-code era and all that came with that and then the mid-50's post CCA when they were trying to hint at the things they were doing outright in the early 50's. It is the diversity of collectible interests that were represented so well in golden age comics with different publishers bringing their own flare to the table. It is wild speculation about what must be in the jungle, what they thought was in outer space and what we will be flying or wearing to get there  . It is full of political incorrect language and imagery of the time. It is Barks and Baker, Frazetta and Feldstein, Shores, Simon and Kirby, Kane, Fine, Schomburg, Wood ,Zolnerowich, Eisner and Everett and so many more.

In the early 90's I had virtually every silver and bronze age Marvel (except never an AF 15) and most of the DC books from '61 on but never experienced anything like the magic and mystery of golden age comics.

+1 I agree with all the points made above. A challenge to find, so many genres and just a different "look" than most comics today. Plus, I feel like I have collected since the dawn of time and am always finding books I didn't know existed. There are also so many places to find them and while searching them out, I am always bumping into other non-comic book stuff that tempts me.

[atomised]

I like the GA war covers in particular.  It is a pop culture lens into history that helps me see how americans responded to the war through art.  It feels like a real artifact of historical significance.

[rjpb]

The combination of relative scarcity, and their role in both the history of the medium, and as a reflection of history.  

[MrBedrock]

I would love to have a complete run of The Goon in my collection - a title that is more fun than any golden age book. Fantastic Four 20 through 60 is the greatest run of comics ever printed and I would certainly have each and every issue in my collection if I could.

I think collecting Golden Age is great because I'm not competing against the vast majority of my customers who want to buy silver, bronze and other more modern books. If I didn't have a store I probably would have many more comics from the 1960s and onward.

[Yorick]

I think the lead-base ink gets me high.

[path4play]

13 hours ago, atomised said:

I like the GA war covers in particular.  It is a pop culture lens into history that helps me see how americans responded to the war through art.  It feels like a real artifact of historical significance.

It was another form of media, right in there with radio, newspapers, movies etc., that exploded on the scene in a burst of creativity and marketing strategy as editors and owners jockeyed for bigger share of the rapidly growing pie.  I think it's even hard today to understand how big a part of daily life they were or became at the time.  While paper comics lost a lot of that position in consumers hands to TV, internet, smartphones etc., some of the creations started a legacy leading into billion dollar pop-culture hero blockbusters right up to the present day.  That's kind of cool.  

Plus something about the artwork and viewing/holding/reading is a like travel back in time.

And it's kind of fun trying to find stuff. 

Edited May 16, 2017 by path4play

[Primetime]

13 hours ago, G.A.tor said:

I agree. The hunt and satisfaction is every bit as enjoyable to me. 

I made a similar comment a few years ago about sa vs ga. A boardie said to make it challenging , try to put an asm 1-50 run together in hg (9.0). I accepted the challenge and in 2 hours I had accomplished it. Very little satisfaction in that

 

collect fox or centaurs or lev Gleason or even action and detective or timelys etc , and the challenge adds to the enjoyment immensely 

I thought it was ASM 1-100?

[G.A.tor]

7 minutes ago, Primetime said:

I thought it was ASM 1-100?

I think I stopped at 50, but it might have been 100. Can't recall to be honest