Son of My 50 Year Junk Obsession 16 16

[Mmehdy]

1 minute ago, PopKulture said:

So cool, and so painful at the same time! I can only imagine what sort of goodies are in those boxes! Man, those were great years to be collecting comics. 

there is a saying..those were the days back then....especially prior to the restoration of books.....I would say 1972-4...was amazing 

[PopKulture]

15 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Had very little time to shop since I was totally on my own yesterday. I hit a few great dealers that have fun books and also price them right. Planet 10 and Catman 23 were standouts. Grabbed some PCH that was priced very cheap just because. Hard to find any more like this. Got a great deal on this Boy Commandos classic as an upgrade. It was a giveaway price because “nobody wants them anymore” as the seller stated. I was happy to take it off his hands. And there was the for mentioned Baker book... There are always deals at any show if you look hard enough.

This assortment proves what you're saying - that there are always deals to be found if you look.  There's not a book here that won't be fun to plop down in a chair and savor over. 

[woowoo]

10 minutes ago, PopKulture said:

31 minutes ago, woowoo said:

So cool, and so painful at the same time! I can only imagine what sort of goodies are in those boxes! Man, those were great years to be collecting comics. 

The money on the piles would be way up  Just look at the Whiz and to think if you had 500 you could by the pile

[woowoo]

20 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Do you know who the person to the right of Terry is ?

[Robot Man]

Final comments...

Was a very sad and shocking morning in LA. Had to stop and reflect for a few minutes but the show had to go on.

Terry knocked it out of the park again. Was just a wonderful day of buying, selling and geeking out with many long time and new friends. Yesterday made it even more important to appreciate it and those of us that are still around.

I had reservations about the new venue but I guess it was time to move it. With a little more space and a little more classy venue it still was packed and “electric”. Terry added a few more dealers but it still had the same intimate and classic old time vibe as we all want it to be. 

The market is VERY strong in all genres. I always say, if you have the right stuff you will do well. I guess I did it well. I appeal to collectors and readers. I don’t have a lot of time to deal with the flippers and folks that want to get something for nothing. I actually turned down many of those guys. It was easy because there were guys just standing there waiting to pay my prices for the stuff the other guys put down. Contrary to common belief, there are plenty of run collectors and even a lot of buyers for “dead” genres like funny animals, western ect. You just have to bring it to them. Big stacks of low price books add up quickly and help to clean out my garage. I heard several dealers grumbling about poor sales until I looked at their stuff. Either to many super high end or low end stuff priced was to aggressively. They don’t get it I guess. 

I say it every year, this is one of the best shows in the country. And the fact it is one day is even more astounding. With the “comic swap” and artist meet and greet the day before really makes it a special event. That combined with all there is to do in SO CA and the great weather makes it something many people have discovered. 

Thanks to all who showed up, bought my junk and more importantly just visited and socialized with me, it was a pleasure. See you next year!

Time to unload the van, clean up, count the talley and maybe if I’m not too tired, enjoy some more new funny books I picked up...

[KirbyJack]

37 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Got a great deal on this Boy Commandos classic as an upgrade. It was a giveaway price because “nobody wants them anymore” as the seller stated. I was happy to take it off his hands.

I’m slowly assembling a Boy Commandos run this way. It’s nice not to have to rush. The later issues can be had for a song in my beloved low grades.

  I don’t have that one yet, tho...you upgraded, you say?

[Robot Man]

29 minutes ago, Mmehdy said:

I will second that, and great report rob...thank you

You bet Mitch. Really too bad you didn’t show. You really missed out. You would have loved it. Would have brought back a lot of fun memories. 

[Mmehdy]

1 minute ago, Robot Man said:

You bet Mitch. Really too bad you didn’t show. You really missed out. You would have loved it. Would have brought back a lot of fun memories. 

I agree..see you at wonder con 

[Robot Man]

17 minutes ago, woowoo said:

Do you know who the person to the right of Terry is ?

Maybe David Scroggy? 

[Robot Man]

2 minutes ago, Mmehdy said:

I agree..see you at wonder con 

You would have had more fun here...

[PopKulture]

1 hour ago, Robot Man said:

The market is VERY strong in all genres. I always say, if you have the right stuff you will do well. I guess I did it well. I appeal to collectors and readers. I don’t have a lot of time to deal with the flippers and folks that want to get something for nothing. I actually turned down many of those guys. It was easy because there were guys just standing there waiting to pay my prices for the stuff the other guys put down. Contrary to common belief, there are plenty of run collectors and even a lot of buyers for “dead” genres like funny animals, western ect. You just have to bring it to them. Big stacks of low price books add up quickly and help to clean out my garage. I heard several dealers grumbling about poor sales until I looked at their stuff. Either to many super high end or low end stuff priced was to aggressively. They don’t get it I guess. 

Love it. This is spot on, as are all your observations.

Run collecting isn't done, and it never will be for me, and I'd wager many others. I still get a thrill of filing away something like a 10 or 12c Tomahawk which fills in a run of eight to ten unbroken issues, or maybe even thirty issues. Then it's on to that missing issue of Strange Adventures, or as you saw, Mystery In Space - or a Superboy, Blackhawk, Jimmy Olsen, or perhaps a missing Adventure featuring the Legion...  

The non-key covers present a similarly pleasurable assault on your visual cortex every time you pull one out of the box, especially a dinosaur or gorilla cover. Or maybe even a Gold Key painted cover. Comics are perfect little time capsules which fuel memory bubbles. 

Edited January 27, 2020 by PopKulture

[porcupine48]

28 minutes ago, PopKulture said:

.  

The non-key covers present a similarly pleasurable assault on your visual cortex every time you pull one out of the box, especially a dinosaur or gorilla cover. Or maybe even a Gold Key painted cover. Comics are perfect little time capsules which fuel memory bubbles. 

A painted Gold Key cover,especially in a bargain box,will make my heart sing every time 

[woowoo]

1 hour ago, Robot Man said:

Maybe David Scroggy? 

Bud Plant

[Robot Man]

Yep, that’s Bud. He looks so young and still had hair! Great to see these two gentlemen still around and active in the hobby!

Anybody know who the guy on the left is?

Edited January 28, 2020 by Robot Man

[adamstrange]

3 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Anybody know who the guy on the left is?

Is that a very young Richard Swan?

[Robot Man]

Terry Stroud at Terry’s show last year. He looks a little older but hasn’t changed a bit...

[sacentaur]

re: CalComicCon

Good observations, Bob - always a pleasure to see you (and other boardies, too).

One seller had a nice incomplete run of Catman Comics, including dupes, and they mostly sold. Pretty amazing to see all those books in one place.

Driving to the Con, it was uncanny how thick the fog was. At some points along the freeway, I could not see the side of the road as the fog was so thick it was uncanny. Listening to the radio coming home Sun, it was all Kobe (RIP).

[n2wdw]

On 1/27/2020 at 12:34 PM, Robot Man said:

Had a nice conversation with legendary board member and good friend Ricksneatstuff. 

He is holding a book I picked up loose and unbagged in a booth for five bucks. I’d never seen it and Rick also said he has never had one!

Deal of the day.

 

Bob, thanks for your report.  I wasn't able to go this year, but went the last 2 years, so I was really interested to read about how the con went.  Sounds like the new venue worked out great.  I'd be interested to hear about how they handled the line this year, and if the new venue provided any improvements.  You probably wouldn't know this since you're a dealer inside, but the line seemed to go slower than it needed to.  I think because it took time to give everyone their raffle tickets.  And the way the other place was laid out, they couldn't take more than a couple people at a time.

Your pic of Rick with the TAR illustrates a collecting truism, which is rarity is often subjective.  What I mean by that is, I actually have TWO copies of that comic.  As a coincidence (before reading about the con on your thread), I was thinking about putting my undercopy on sale here on the boards, and I was going to blow it out as I didn't think it had much value.  One of the issues is CGC's label does not credit Baker with the cover -- they credit his interior art, but not the cover.  But as far as I can tell, he did the cover too.  Anyway, when you have 2 copies of something, you tend to think it's common, and when you don't have a copy, you think it's rare.

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by n2wdw

[Ryan.]

I do note that, as of this typing, there are four copies of TAR 27 on ebay so it would not appear to be that rare of a book.

[Robot Man]

4 hours ago, n2wdw said:

 

Bob, thanks for your report.  I wasn't able to go this year, but went the last 2 years, so I was really interested to read about how the con went.  Sounds like the new venue worked out great.  I'd be interested to hear about how they handled the line this year, and if the new venue provided any improvements.  You probably wouldn't know this since you're a dealer inside, but the line seemed to go slower than it needed to.  I think because it took time to give everyone their raffle tickets.  And the way the other place was laid out, they couldn't take more than a couple people at a time.

Your pic of Rick with the TAR illustrates a collecting truism, which is rarity is often subjective.  What I mean by that is, I actually have TWO copies of that comic.  As a coincidence (before reading about the con on your thread), I was thinking about putting my undercopy on sale here on the boards, and I was going to blow it out as I didn't think it had much value.  One of the issues is CGC's label does not credit Baker with the cover -- they credit his interior art, but not the cover.  But as far as I can tell, he did the cover too.  Anyway, when you have 2 copies of something, you tend to think it's common, and when you don't have a copy, you think it's rare.

 

Thanks Mike. Missed you and your smiling face. The show was just like you remembered. Only, everybody was in one room. Thankfully, Terry only added just a few more dealers. He wants to keep it “old school” and intimate. I didn’t get to walk around much but an incredible array of books. If you can’t find something in there you are not a collector. 

I don’t know about the line but I know he pre registered and offered a half an hour early entrance for those who did. 

The lines for CGC and the artists were huge. Especially Streanko. I heard a couple hours for him. 

Even with a larger venue, the placed was literally PACKED all day. It was elbow to elbow in my booth all day except for the last hour. 

The TAR 27 was just a lucky find. I can’t believe that any dealer wouldn’t know who Baker is and what his stuff is bringing. Wasn’t even bagged when I bought it. I don’t actively seek out a lot of his books and had never noticed this one. When Rick came by, I showed it to him and was a little surprised when he said he has never had one. Not one of my favorites cover wise but the interior is very nice. And easily the cheapest Baker book I have EVER bought.