Ask Redbeard Tales of a veteran comic book dealer 5 5

[Robot Man]

We have an ask G.A.-Tor thread. Rick represents a more modern and current era of comic book dealing. Since we are lucky enough to have Redbeard finally join the CGC boards, thought it might be a good place to share stories about the beginnings of comic book dealing.

Ron was here for the discovery of the Mile High, San Francisco and Cosmic Aeroplane collections and others. There have been a lot of discussions of these collections but we have always been missing critical details about them. He has known just about everyone in this hobby for over 40 years or so. I'm sure he has some great stories. We gotta preserve this part of the hobby we all love so much.

First question, Ron. How did you get involved in collecting and dealing comics? What is your "Origin"?

[buttock]

I think we all would like to hear his input on the San Francisco collection.  So many "knowns" from what we have been told don't add up.  

[Robot Man]

I believe it was Ron who actually named the collection when it first came to market. Long before we started calling them "pedigrees". 

[buttock]

14 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

I believe it was Ron who actually named the collection when it first came to market. Long before we started calling them "pedigrees". 

Ooh.  Beerbohm must hate him then ?

[MrBedrock]

Redbeard is on the boards?!?!

Hello Ron!

[N e r V]

30 minutes ago, MrBedrock said:

Redbeard is on the boards?!?!

Hello Ron!

So much for Texans being quick on the draw...

 

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/438057-ga-warehouse-finds-of-the-past/

[sacentaur]

Redbeard was THE dealer for me back in the day when I first started collecting, he'd allow a friend (Bart Dancy) and I to visit his vault (metal cabinets filled to the brim with prime material) and would give us 20% off if we spent a certain amount of money.

Through Ron is how I was first exposed to pedigree books (sometimes the only copy of a certain issue we could find!), he was the best collecting mentor I could ever ask for. 

Welcome to the Boards, Ron! 

Steve

[Redbeard]

1 hour ago, MrBedrock said:

Redbeard is on the boards?!?!

Hello Ron!

Hi Rick

[batman_fan]

I still have the Batman 100 I bought from him back when Wonder-con was in Oakland.  

[Primetime]

I’d like to hear the story when he found a coverless Marvel 1 at a flea market for 25 cents. Please confirm if that much was true! unless that was all GA folk tales? 

[Redbeard]

2 hours ago, Robot Man said:

We have an ask G.A.-Tor thread. Rick represents a more modern and current era of comic book dealing. Since we are lucky enough to have Redbeard finally join the CGC boards, thought it might be a good place to share stories about the beginnings of comic book dealing.

Ron was here for the discovery of the Mile High, San Francisco and Cosmic Aeroplane collections and others. There have been a lot of discussions of these collections but we have always been missing critical details about them. He has known just about everyone in this hobby for over 40 years or so. I'm sure he has some great stories. We gotta preserve this part of the hobby we all love so much.

First question, Ron. How did you get involved in collecting and dealing comics? What is your "Origin"?

My love for comics started as a kid like most of us. Loved them. I started reading them in the early 1950s. I remember reading US 1 and DD Trick or Treat off the stands. I also recall an EC that my folks took away because I had nightmares they said. It was a TFTC that had a vampire story. My favorite all time comic book is US 7. I remember that I had two large stacks of comic books. My mom hated them in her house, she was always saying they bring silverfish. Well she got her chance when my father became Cub Scout Master for our neighborhood in Beverly Hills. He organized a comic book drive for the kids at County General Hospital, and there went my original collection.

While attending USC, I would burn out at times reading my college textbooks and need a break. I would go to a newsstand at the corner of Pico and Robertson in LA and buy a stack of comic books. I thought of these as brain candy after trying to plow through hours of textbooks. I recall reading the origin of the FF, but not FF1, so it must have been FF Ann 1. I loved the FF, but my favorite was Ditko Dr Strange in Strange Tales. Those surreal pages of Dr Strange battling Dormammu. Every so often I would take these back to my parents house and throw them in the back of my closet. As the stack grew in height, my mom once again tell me to get them out of her house. There went that stack. This repeated itself a few times. 

Around the time of the 4th Price Guide with the All Star cover, I discovered there were others like me. I went to my parents house and found that I still had Conan 3 in the stack in my closet. Everything earlier than that was gone. I took several positions in the accounting field and worked my way up to controller at a company, but I hated the job. During those years I bought and sold older SA comics, ECs and Disney comic books. While working as an assistant controller at a large women's shoe importer, I once again discovered comic collecting. I found the Book Sail owned by John McLaughlin and run by Dave Smith. I went to my first Casual Con and started buying Timelys. It was at this show that I first met Chuck Rozanski. But, I didn't buy a single book from him. Guide and a half for books back then was unheard of. I was hooked when I started buying those Timelys. It wasn't too long after that I gave up the accounting profession and became a small dealer. From there it just grew and grew.

I met John Knight at my 2nd San Diego Con. John and I hit it off and we remain best friends today. He was best man at my wedding, and I was best man at his wedding. We even ran a combined Overstreet ad together for a few years. John, headquartered in Maryland and me in California. Now, we live a few blocks away from each other. We were looking for similar books. It was the end of the GA superhero boom and we were some of the earliest dealers in pursuit of Fox GGA, Avons, PCH and SF titles. Everyone was looking for a copy of Reform School Girl, Teen-age Dope Slaves, etc. I remember getting a call from a longtime friend Dr David Anderson is VA. He called me to ask if I wanted to buy a copy of Reform School Girl he just purchased. He said he din't like the book, it was just a romance book. Naturally, I bought it from him. That's enough for today on this. I'll try and answer some of the pedigree questions you have been asking next. 

[Redbeard]

1 hour ago, Primetime said:

I’d like to hear the story when he found a coverless Marvel 1 at a flea market for 25 cents. Please confirm if that much was true! unless that was all GA folk tales? 

Close,  but not quite accurate. What happened is someone came to my place in Tahoe selling their collection of books they had found. I paid good prices for the collection, but he also had a stack of coverless comics that he wanted to sell and we added those in at 50¢ each. Many days later I was going through the coverless copies checking them out. Many were missing more than just the cover. One these I picked up and started to thumb through because it had a Human Torch story. The book was missing the cover and the 1st two wraps. It was easily determined it was a Marvel Mystery, not a Human Torch issue. So, now my task was to try and determine the approximate issue number. Well, I could tell it was a fairly early issue, so I looked to see if it had a Vision story. Nope, no Vision story. I then noted it was not a Torch vs Sub-Mariner issue. Next, I noted that there was a Jungle Terror story. When I checked the Guide, it noted this story only appeared in Marvel Comics 1. Now I was saying to myself, wait a minute, wait a minute. With great excitement, I turned to the centerfold and started reading the Sub-Mariner story. Yep, it was the origin of the Sub-Mariner and I realized I held a copy of Marvel Comics 1. I bought this book ignorant of what it was with no malice intended. It was just blind luck.

[Robot Man]

Ok, another question...

Do have any old photos of the old days? People are good but I can speak for all the fan boys here how we would love to see some stacks of SF and Mile High buys you made.

I'm just a simple bottom feeding robot so I wouldn't have any of those...  I do have a shot of a dapper "disco" Redbeard and Dave Smith at SDCC many years ago in 1980.

[Robot Man]

I have very few left but here is an old picture of John Knight and the Robot Man with a "funny cigarette" in my mouth. Taken at SDCC in the late '70's. Oh, we were so cool back then. At least I had good taste in funny books even back then. What was that a $20. book?

Show this to Johnny and tell him to sign up here too. He would love it.

[RareHighGrade]

49 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Ok, another question...

Do have any old photos of the old days? People are good but I can speak for all the fan boys here how we would love to see some stacks of SF and Mile High buys you made.

I'm just a simple bottom feeding robot so I wouldn't have any of those...  I do have a shot of a dapper "disco" Redbeard and Dave Smith at SDCC many years ago in 1980.

Actually, that article came out in 1986, but a great read nonetheless.

[MrBedrock]

1 hour ago, Robot Man said:

I have very few left but here is an old picture of John Knight and the Robot Man with a "funny cigarette" in my mouth. Taken at SDCC in the late '70's. Oh, we were so cool back then. At least I had good taste in funny books even back then. What was that a $20. book?

Show this to Johnny and tell him to sign up here too. He would love it.

The first year I went to San Diego was '78. Went each year through '81. I hung out at Ron's table and I remember meeting John there. That photo is exactly how I remember him...so maybe I met you out there too, Bob. I really remember selling stuff to you in the late '80s and early '90s when I opened Bedrock City.

[sagii]

@Redbeard Before reading a post you made in your other Thread i was thinking "He must be saying to himself what have i gotten myself into?!?  "

Well like @Robot Man said, take your time and answer each inquiry at your leisure, but please hang in there and stick around. There's been more action on your posts than what's become the norm lately, and it's very encouraging. Oh and no hurry, but please choose an Avatar ,  (It's like a calling card and makes the posts stand out more imho).  

Anyway, on to my question. RM (that's my shorthand for Robot man) says you were present at the San Francisco find. I purchased this book from R.B. (you know the initials ) as a San Francisco copy. Because it has no distinguishable markings and isn't high grade i have nothing to go on but his word. PQ is nice though. Does the copy look familiar to you? Is there any other ways that i can determine if it is indeed a SF copy i'd greatly appreciate the point in the right direction. Answer when it bets suits your schedule sir, and thanks for joining! 

[Darth Corgi]

This is gonna be great! 

Keep the collecting stories coming. 

Welcome to the boards Redbeard! Comics are forever! 

[Robot Man]

5 minutes ago, MrBedrock said:

The first year I went to San Diego was '78. Went each year through '81. I hung out at Ron's table and I remember meeting John there. That photo is exactly how I remember him...so maybe I met you out there too, Bob. I really remember selling stuff to you in the late '80s and early '90s when I opened Bedrock City.

Johnny is still around and lives close to Redbeard in Tahoe. I consider one of my best friends in this hobby. We go way back. Last time I saw him was a couple years ago at WonderCon. I correspond with him via email now and then. Would love it if Redbeard could get him to sign up here. Oh, maybe not, he'd probably tell some stories about me I'd rather not have published..

I'm pretty sure I met you through Redbeard in the 1980's. Bought a lot of stuff from you at cons when I saw you there.

[Crowzilla]

2 hours ago, Robot Man said:

I have very few left but here is an old picture of John Knight and the Robot Man with a "funny cigarette" in my mouth. Taken at SDCC in the late '70's. Oh, we were so cool back then. At least I had good taste in funny books even back then. What was that a $20. book?

That photo is also at least 1982 since that is when Marvel Fanfare came out. (but at this point is there a difference between 79 and 82?)