The Planet Run is complete! Zolnerowich would be pleased! 2 2

[Zolnerowich]

Just a couple 2018's for tonight. We're nearing the finish line...

PLANET #60

Not high grade, but for many Planet Comics junkies, color trumps grade, and I liked the purples and reds on this one, and the greens, and the yellows.

[Zolnerowich]

PLANET #32

As I was getting closer to the end of the run, I couldn't find a copy of #30 anywhere. Nothing, nowhere. And then I missed out on a cool double-cover copy on the boards, which the wise @SuperGrover snatched up. As time went on (to be honest, it was probably only 2-3 months I'd been looking for a copy, though it felt like years), in my mind the #30 had become THE MOST RARE PLANET ISSUE OF ALL TIME. 

Then one day, I was looking at the Planet #30 data on GPA, and the site indicated there was copy for sale on MyComicShop. (Maybe from a fellow boardie??)

I snapped up the book as fast as you could say "Gale Allen". The best kind of 3.0, with vibrant cover colors.

[Zolnerowich]

Tune in for the last five books tomorrow!

But as a nighttime bonus, here's a book whose cover is said to have been originally slated for Planet Comics #1...

[1950's war comics]

#53 first appearance of the "Dwarflings"   that doesn't sound too menacing  

i will be sad when this great thread ends .....

[1950's war comics]

On 11/25/2018 at 12:18 AM, Zolnerowich said:

PLANET #48

Robot! And Other Thrilling Stories of the World of Tomorrow!

Looks like an early prototype of "Stilt Man "  

[1950's war comics]

On 11/25/2018 at 11:24 AM, Sqeggs said:

Wonderful thread!  This thread is the board at its best.  

agree , one of the best things about the boards !! when someone displays their complete run with commentary ... and draws it out over time like a good book 

[1950's war comics]

On 11/25/2018 at 2:15 PM, Zolnerowich said:

Third, my year started off with a biggie:

PLANET #1

A GADZILLION LIKES 

[sagii]

Wouldn't mind seeing a group shot of your Top 10 favorites after you post every book to close out the Thread and serve as a lead in to CC' s auction closing next week. 

Edited December 5, 2018 by sagii

[Zolnerowich]

4 hours ago, 1950's war comics said:

A GADZILLION LIKES 

Is a gadzillion more than a squintillion?

[Zolnerowich]

3 hours ago, sagii said:

Wouldn't mind seeing a group shot of your Top 10 favorites after you post every book to close out the Thread and serve as a lead in to CC' s auction closing next week. 

I like the way you're thinking! 

[Zolnerowich]

16 hours ago, 1950's war comics said:

#53 first appearance of the "Dwarflings"   that doesn't sound too menacing  

i will be sad when this great thread ends .....

Well, the thread ain't over just yet! Only one book tonight...

PLANET #66

In my increasing desperation to fill in the last few gaps in my run, I found a low-grade copy of #66 on a dealer's site. It wasn't half bad. And I might have kept it, had I not seen a nicer copy come along about 6 weeks later. Moral of the story: nicer copies do come along, sooner or later.

Pictured here is the upgrade. For all my grumbling about those "reprint' issues, I am rather in awe of this cover and those purples. Another one of those classic 50's sci-fi covers that must have inspired countless B-movie directors and set designers.  

 

[Spyder!]

10 hours ago, Zolnerowich said:

Well, the thread ain't over just yet! Only one book tonight...

PLANET #66

In my increasing desperation to fill in the last few gaps in my run, I found a low-grade copy of #66 on a dealer's site. It wasn't half bad. And I might have kept it, had I not seen a nicer copy come along about 6 weeks later. Moral of the story: nicer copies do come along, sooner or later.

Pictured here is the upgrade. For all my grumbling about those "reprint' issues, I am rather in awe of this cover and those purples. Another one of those classic 50's sci-fi covers that must have inspired countless B-movie directors and set designers.  

 

As much as I love the rivet issues, especially the Zolnerowich covers, and some of the early Doolin covers after that, this is still probably my favorite cover in the run. 

[Sqeggs]

On 11/30/2018 at 9:34 PM, Zolnerowich said:

PLANET #29

Bit of a miscut cover, but nice vivid colors. Girl in a blue dress. Dragon with a spear through the back of his head...

Is the spear going through the back of the dragon's head or is it a weapon being carried on the back of the dragon rider? 

[Sqeggs]

On 12/1/2018 at 5:39 PM, Zolnerowich said:

Now the year is 2018. It's been 10+ years, on and off, in pursuit of Planet Comics. At the beginning of this year, I'm still in need of fifteen issues.

A bit of pseudo-philosophy here, which I'm sure has been said before:

When a collector decides to complete a run, there comes a point when it becomes a VERY difficult job. Imagine, when you first decide to collect Planet Comics, you own none of them, so any issue you come across is an issue you need for the collection. You can cruise along like this for a good long while; after all, there's a heckuva lot of issues you need to find, and as long as a given book fits within your price range and grade range, it's all good. But then the time comes when you're close to completing the run, and that's when it becomes a huge challenge. It's all about the statistics: the chance of finding a Planet book is very high, but the chance of finding a specific Planet book is much lower, especially when there's only a handful of specific Planet books you need to complete the run. Sort of like, the chance of someone winning the lottery is high (since after all, someone will win), but the chance of a specific person winning the lottery (let's say, Sqeggs for example), would be extremely low.

This can lead to one of three outcomes, some involving more questionable judgment than others:

1. Abandon the quest to complete
2. Exercise extreme patience (knowing this might take another few years)
3. Make rash and costly purchases to complete the run whatever it takes

Well, I went with option #3, mostly.

I'll make note of some of those books that -- if I hadn't felt so compelled to complete these Weird Adventures on Other Worlds -- I might have made different choices, mostly in terms of grade/quality.

 

But first up, a very tough book, and my last Rivet:

PLANET #17

 

Why didn't you tell me this before I spent all that dough on lottery tickets? 

[Sqeggs]

On 12/2/2018 at 5:18 PM, Zolnerowich said:

PLANET #71

This one's got it all: spectacular space babe taking care of business, a floating upside-down city, and down below in the flying saucer, little egg-brained creatures doing the evil bidding of their harsh mistress.

Easily my favorite cover of the run. I love the expression on her face, "You know, I had some pretty interesting stuff planned for this afternoon, but if I have to waste my time killing you all and rescuing Mr. Barechest, I guess I will.  But I ain't likin' it!" 

[1950's war comics]

Great "swamp thing" prototype cover !!

Edited December 5, 2018 by 1950's war comics

[1950's war comics]

On 11/26/2018 at 9:48 PM, Zolnerowich said:

PLANET #58

Part of the great run of mid-50's issue Doolin covers and Baker interiors.

What in the world is she holding?

looks like an idol that the lost world people probably worshipped and sacrificed their first born to...

kinda small for an idol though ......

[Artboy99]

51 minutes ago, Sqeggs said:

Is the spear going through the back of the dragon's head or is it a weapon being carried on the back of the dragon rider? 

Or is it not a weapon at all and perhaps the dragon's hair braided and made into some sort of "steering wheel"

( it does seem that there is a strap that looks to connect to the spear that goes over the Rider's shoulder ).

Edited December 5, 2018 by Artboy99

[Zolnerowich]

Ever closer to the finish line...

PLANET #36

This was another book that suddenly became hard to find, at least in my myopic OCD frame of mind. eBay had been carrying a few copies of this issue, and then it just dried up. This copy came from Ricksneatstuff, and while I'd been holding out for a stronger color strike, this copy satisfied my criteria to Get The Run Done. As those with an eye for naked people, it turns out that the tiny people in the glass sphere that the jolly green giant is holding, are actually naked.  How dare they! 

Incredible Hulk underpants prototype?

 

 

[Zolnerowich]

OK. In position three of the last 3 books:

PLANET #63

Also courtesy of Ricksneatstuff. The penultimate issue prior to the reprint run of #65-70. Some strong artists in this issue, including George Evans, George Roussous, and Enrico Bagnoli. Another rehash of Freudian Earth borers.

Editor: "The cover looks good. But I think it needs a dinosaur, Yes, put in a dinosaur."