A Blue Bolt #105 Discussion deserving of it's own Thread 3 3

[entalmighty1]

5 minutes ago, october said:

A lot of these were pretty affordable until recently. My BB 105 cost me about $450 on eBay and that was less than 10 years ago. Ditto on my VF range 115.

Which kind of begs the question about why the price spikes are so sudden and so high.  Blue Bolt 114 is another example.

I bought my raw VG'ish copy for maybe $200 around a year ago on ebay.  There's no doubt in my mind somebody would pay me $1,200 for it now.  A six-fold increase in 12 months without movie hype backing it?  Come on, how is that normal?

[comicjack]

14 minutes ago, entalmighty1 said:

Which kind of begs the question about why the price spikes are so sudden and so high.  Blue Bolt 114 is another example.

I bought my raw VG'ish copy for maybe $200 around a year ago on ebay.  There's no doubt in my mind somebody would pay me $1,200 for it now.  A six-fold increase in 12 months without movie hype backing it?  Come on, how is that normal?

New blood in the market going after anything classic and rare, look what has happen to Underworld Crime 7 in fact all the Centaurs,Cheslers to name a few.

[adamstrange]

19 minutes ago, entalmighty1 said:

Which kind of begs the question about why the price spikes are so sudden and so high.  Blue Bolt 114 is another example.

I bought my raw VG'ish copy for maybe $200 around a year ago on ebay.  There's no doubt in my mind somebody would pay me $1,200 for it now.  A six-fold increase in 12 months without movie hype backing it?  Come on, how is that normal?

 

[october]

The Dutch East India Company, tulip bulbs and Blue Bolt 105 baby!

[lou_fine]

3 minutes ago, october said:

The Dutch East India Company, tulip bulbs and Blue Bolt 105 baby!

Don't forget about the tech stock bubble of the late 90's/early 2000 or the crypto and marijuna stock bubble of 2018.      

Edited August 30, 2018 by lou_fine

[bounty_coder]

3 hours ago, adamstrange said:

There's a Church copy.  There are probably others as well.

 

I would love to see this book. 

What I really wonder is if there was a Spokane copy?... 

[bounty_coder]

2 hours ago, adamstrange said:

 

 

 the only thing is there is no delusion in the fact that Blue BB105 is simply "The man" when it comes to LB Cole books.

[bounty_coder]

11 minutes ago, october said:

The Dutch East India Company, tulip bulbs and Blue Bolt 105 baby!

 

8 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

Don't forget about the tech stock bubble of the late 90's/early 2000 or the crypto and marijuna stock bubble of 2018.      

 

I think all of those are in a completely different Atmosphere than BB105.  One is tangible and scarce relative to strong desire. 

Edited August 30, 2018 by bounty_coder

[thewritestuff]

Not sure if I can shed some light on the subject, but here's my long-winded attempt: I am a comic book fan/collector from way back. I was exclusively into Marvel and DC as a kid, leaning heavily toward the Avengers and X-Men. My friends and I used to collect soda cans and cash them in to buy comics off the rack at a local convenience store. We'd read them, trade them, and draw our own comics based on what we'd read. Ah, those were simple times

Later, I got caught up in the Image hype of the 1990s and snagged all the gimmicky variant covers, etc. I used to go around to comic book stores and buy all the variants, then sell them for five times the price at a local flea market. The money went right back into my own collection. Sadly, at the time, I ignored all the "old stuff" because I could not relate to it, but also because it was waaay out of my price range. The vibrant, shiny covers of Spawn, Gen-13, Lady Death and the like were my focus at the time; they were inexpensive to buy and easy to flip for a fast buck. Other independent titles such as Bone and The Crow are the only titles that still appeal to me from the "modern" era. After a lot of the local shops closed their doors, I went off to college, went to work, and my collecting days were few and far between...

Flash forward fifteen or so years later, after I finished college, began a career, and bought a house, I had a little bit of extra cash and started to gravitate back to the world of comics, only to discover that my tastes had changed. I found a lot of the modern stuff poorly drawn and somewhat silly. I found a lot of the Bronze stuff somewhat goofy, but at least nostalgic. Eventually I discovered my tastes shifting to the Silver Age, then the Golden Age. 

Eventually I stumbled upon some old Golden Age comics at a yard sale--including copies of Spook 27 and Shocking Mystery Cases 56--and began to learn about pre-code crime and horror. The more I learned, the more I began to love and appreciate these two genres. I was already in the middle of writing a new novel, and I had already intended comic books to play a role in the plot. My interest in Silver and Golden Age comics began to filter into the story.

I became hooked on the works of L.B. Cole. I can't explain it, really. His art just struck a chord with me, and the rest, as they say, is history. I'm not a completist. There are some issues that just don't appeal to me in the same way (I'll admit it, I felt that way about "the skull with the mullet", aka BB 115, until I actually purchased one and held it in my hands; I still feel that way about some of his other covers). There are plenty of horror comics out there that just don't appeal to me (for example, I don't care for Black Cat 50, it's just too "ugly" for me). Instead, I just see an issue I love, and have to have it. Why? The answer is simple. It's the same reason a lot of you horde copies of your favorite issues:  1) because comics are a form of nostalgia, and they remind us of a time gone by, and 2) because we are at the age where we can afford to do so.

With the internet, social media, comic cons, etc.,  titles and artists that were only known to hardcore fans are gaining more and more exposure, and likewise more appreciation.. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that L.B. Cole and other artists have been featured in various books and price guides.

I could be wrong, but I think that with the movies and television shows out there, comics have never been "cooler" than now, and I'd expect the young people of today to be the collectors of tomorrow... and eventually they'll shake off the variant craze and expand their horizons, much like I did.

 

Edited August 30, 2018 by AuthorJamesMichaelRice

[adamstrange]

3 hours ago, bounty_coder said:

What I really wonder is if there was a Spokane copy?... 

There was not.

[szav]

4 hours ago, bounty_coder said:

 

 the only thing is there is no delusion in the fact that Blue BB105 is simply "The man" when it comes to LB Cole books.

No disrespect to this book, and I’ll admit I’m not a huge Cole collector but I’d say Suspense 8 is his coolest most classic cover.     

Haven’t really taken the time to read through the whole LB Cole thread.  Would be curious to know the general opinion on this.

Is Suspense 8 the Cole  book with the highest OPG value?

[bounty_coder]

2 hours ago, AuthorJamesMichaelRice said:

 became hooked on the works of L.B. Cole. I can't explain it, really. His art just struck a chord with me, and the rest, as they say, is history. I'm not a completist. There are some issues that just don't appeal to me in the same way (I'll admit it, I felt that way about "the skull with the mullet", aka BB 115, until I actually purchased one and held it in my hands; I still feel that way about some of his other covers). There are plenty of horror comics out there that just don't appeal to me (for example, I don't care for Black Cat 50, it's just too "ugly" for me). Instead, I just see an issue I love, and have to have it. Why? The answer is simple. It's the same reason a lot of you horde copies of your favorite issues:  1) because comics are a form of nostalgia, and they remind us of a time gone by, and 2) because we are at the age where we can afford to do so.

What I've found when putting in some introspective time on Cole's work is this...

His work is efficient.  It's simple yet detailed.  And the balance he strikes between the two; places your brain hemisphere into a euphoria. That's the best way for me to personally explain how I feel about it.

[drbanner]

15 minutes ago, szavisca said:

No disrespect to this book, and I’ll admit I’m not a huge Cole collector but I’d say Suspense 8 is his coolest most classic cover. 

I agree with Suspense 8, don't think there's ever been a poll to rank Cole's covers?

I love BB 105, but the vertical title/text bar on the spine mucks it up, esp compared to the clean layout of Suspense 8. Maybe more like this?

[szav]

4 minutes ago, drbanner said:

I agree with Suspense 8, don't think there's ever been a poll to rank Cole's covers?

I love BB 105, but the vertical title/text bar on the spine mucks it up, esp compared to the clean layout of Suspense 8. Maybe more like this?

 

Might be one of those pointless Lebron vs Jordan kinda arguments.  Both books have their own strengths, but come from different periods in Cole's evolution.  Certainly I think they'd be in most peoples top 5s or top 10s for Cole covers.  Was just curious if it had been debated much before.  

[Black Bat]

Man I love the crude weird cole horror and crime covers the most.  The more lurid and insane the art and color the better.  Its like 105 is almost "too "good" or even tame for my taste. Obviously your 9.8 is total once in a lifetime gem, hell I was on the verge of transferring money from an "untouchable" account to bid big on.  

But I was super stoked to get the 9.0 #112- I just can't imagine being a kid- or an adult- and actually seeing that thing on the newsstand back in 1952.  The105 might disappear into the other sci-fi books of the time, but the 112?  It's like an exploding bad/good acid trip.  Anyway, no disrespect to your purchase, I'd love to own it, but not what I consider Coles most appealing work.

And maybe with Coles going at such high prices, owners may feel now's the time to sell, and we'll see more of these fantastic books.

Edited August 31, 2018 by Frank Grow

[adamstrange]

LB Cole approached comic covers the way an artist would design a poster so that his image would have an big immediate impact, achieved through the combination of design, thematic elements, choice of scene and color.  His covers have a different look than others produced at the same time because he regularly visited the news stands to see what others were doing and made sure that what produced would be noticed.

Color design is a very much underappreciated aspect of his continued popularity.  Most of the time the cover artist's job was done when the inks were finished and they had no opportunity to direct or influence the subsequent color design.  Many comic artists were not particularly skilled with color or were limited due to color blindness which affects 8% or so of the male population. 

LB Cole was art director for Continental and part owner of Star Comics.  His estate contained numerous annotated cover proofs from his time with those companies.  When he designed his covers he was able, therefore, to consider the combination of elements that would produce the effect he wanted and he could know that's what would be printed. 

tl dr:  LB Cole is awesome.  COLOR!

[adamstrange]

[bounty_coder]

4 hours ago, drbanner said:

I agree with Suspense 8, don't think there's ever been a poll to rank Cole's covers?

I love BB 105, but the vertical title/text bar on the spine mucks it up, esp compared to the clean layout of Suspense 8. Maybe more like this?

I love the edit to the cover. That would have been absolutely divine to have the art fully engulfing the page space like that 

Everyone has their tastes for sure that’s why this hobby is so great. I though do not find Suspense 8 to be one of Coles best. To me there is too much juxtaposition on that cover. Lines crossing lines crossing lines. I much prefer Suspense 10 between the 2. That is a clean cover. Deep Red cover, Creepy guy with the medallion and all of the hands praising reaching towards it. Love the composition as well. 

Edited August 31, 2018 by bounty_coder

[thewritestuff]

5 hours ago, Frank Grow said:

Man I love the crude weird cole horror and crime covers the most.  The more lurid and insane the art and color the better.  Its like 105 is almost "too "good" or even tame for my taste. Obviously your 9.8 is total once in a lifetime gem, hell I was on the verge of transferring money from an "untouchable" account to bid big on.  

But I was super stoked to get the 9.0 #112- I just can't imagine being a kid- or an adult- and actually seeing that thing on the newsstand back in 1952.  The105 might disappear into the other sci-fi books of the time, but the 112?  It's like an exploding bad/good acid trip.  Anyway, no disrespect to your purchase, I'd love to own it, but not what I consider Coles most appealing work.

And maybe with Coles going at such high prices, owners may feel now's the time to sell, and we'll see more of these fantastic books.

Congrats on the 112. I consider it the cousin of #119, another favorite. I almost made a run at it, but I have a nice looking raw copy to look at for now. 

 

I hope you’re right in supposing tight-fisted collectors will take advantage of the market, because I still feel like Cole’s reputation (and prices) will only grow, and I think people are realizing the beauty and scarcity of once-ignored books and have become obsessed with “the hunt” instead of following the overwhelming majority of superhero appearances, second appearances, costume changes, and so on, of which there are hundreds of thousands of copies for anyone to own.

[thewritestuff]

5 hours ago, adamstrange said:

Let me know when you want to sell this one, Adam