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A little Sunday night reading...
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14 posts in this topic

52 minutes ago, MatterEaterLad said:

I do remember that the most valuable comic at the time was If the Devil Would Talk, that anti-communist book. It was priced just a bit higher than Marvel Comics #1 if I recall.

What was on the cover of your first Overstreet? Was it the Bark's Porky Pig cover or the Bill Ward GGA cover?

I recall those Catechetical Guild books always being listed as rare, but I never thought they were anywhere near Marvel Comics 1. However, doubting my memory as I sometimes do nowadays, you inspired me to dig out my old Overstreets.

The 1977-1978 Guide (Porky Pig cover) has "If The Devil Would Talk" at $3 in mint compared to Marvel 1 at $7,500. The 1978-1979 Guide has ITDWT at $12 in mint and Marvel 1 at $10,000.

It's noteworthy that "Blood is the Harvest" made the color section in 78-79 edition, which to me always indicated it was a grail-esque level book.

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9 minutes ago, PopKulture said:

What was on the cover of your first Overstreet? Was it the Bark's Porky Pig cover or the Bill Ward GGA cover?

I recall those Catechetical Guild books always being listed as rare, but I never thought they were anywhere near Marvel Comics 1. However, doubting my memory as I sometimes do nowadays, you inspired me to dig out my old Overstreets.

The 1977-1978 Guide (Porky Pig cover) has "If The Devil Would Talk" at $3 in mint compared to Marvel 1 at $7,500. The 1978-1979 Guide has ITDWT at $12 in mint and Marvel 1 at $10,000.

It's noteworthy that "Blood is the Harvest" made the color section in 78-79 edition, which to me always indicated it was a grail-esque level book.

Yep, it was the Porky cover.

Weird about The Devil. I'm misremembering, perhaps was in a listing of something else.

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12 hours ago, MatterEaterLad said:

Yep, it was the Porky cover.

Weird about The Devil. I'm misremembering, perhaps was in a listing of something else.

Those books were definitely the subject of a lot of buzz back then, as well as Motion Picture Funnies Weekly. The Top 50 Comics list had a lot of Donald Duck giveaways on it that have faded immensely, but most of the usual suspects (superhero) were there on the Top 50 with the only other real "where are they now?" category book being the rare Kirby Boy Explorer's 2. 

It's always fun to look back at those guides!! :cloud9:

Edited by PopKulture
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Mine was the edition with the LB Cole cover and an article about him.

Edited by Ken Aldred
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I remember when those Anti communist books got hot. I wrote to the publisher asking if they still had any in their files for sale. Several weeks later I got an envelope with several copies of about 4 titles in it at no charge. I traded them all off for other books. I got a beater FF 4 #1 for one and a low grade Planet #2 for another. Same thing with the Trapped anti drug giveaway. They were HOT then!

My first Overstreet was #2. The red cover with the 4 GA comic covers on it. I wrote notes all through it and still have it.

Edited by Robot Man
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31 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

I remember when those Anti communist books got hot. I wrote to the publisher asking if they still had any in their files for sale. Several weeks later I got an envelope with several copies of about 4 titles in it at no charge. I traded them all off for other books. I got a beater FF 4 #1 for one and a low grade Planet #2 for another. Same thing with the Trapped anti drug giveaway. They were HOT then!

My first Overstreet was #2. The red cover with the 4 GA comic covers on it. I wrote notes all through it and still have it.

Pretty savvy of a young Robot! Going straight to the source like that...  (thumbsu

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Update: I didn’t have a good nights sleep. I’m still thinking about how I just spent $350 on an Iron Man Sub-Mariner #1 that was valued at couple dollars back in 1985 :roflmao:Literally I think it was valued like $2-$4 !!!

Edited by Xenosmilus
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9 hours ago, Xenosmilus said:

Update: I didn’t have a good nights sleep. I’m still thinking about how I just spent $350 on an Iron Man Sub-Mariner #1 that was valued at couple dollars back in 1985 :roflmao:Literally I think it was valued like $2-$4 !!!

Are you suggesting it brings you anxiety to spend that much on a book like that? Then don't!!  :foryou:

I know I don't. I'm still cheap, and it brings peace of mind. I shoulda/coulda bought all those same books at prices reflected in even earlier guides, but in the end I'm happy with what I DID get. Sure, I'll never own a ton of books that have exploded in price, but there are thrills aplenty to be had in the $5 to $20 range still. Is Haunted Thrills a killer title? Darn straight it is. Would I hate myself in the morning if I paid $500 to a $1,000 or more per issue? Absolutely.

At some level, it stops being fun. At least for me it does. When you were a kid, you could save up your allowance (if you got one!) or your grass-cutting or birthday money and score a mini-grail if you sacrificed long enough. Now what are we supposed to do? Forego buying a new car for a decade or so?  (shrug)

I don't know how the Geffens and the Cohens of the world sleep at night: do they ever stop and say "holy cr@p, I just spent a fifty million on a painting?"

Edited by PopKulture
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I’ll second that Pop. I have a respectable collection I think. I’m happy with it. Do I have everything I want? No, and at this point in my life I’m OK with it. I am lucky enough to be old enough to have bought  stuff back when it was dirt cheap by today’s standards. 

I had patience and was very diligent. I also worked very hard at it. The “thrill of the hunt” was always and still is the best part of the hobby. I have never lost sleep over a purchase except for some of the ones that got away. 

It’s a hobby and fun for me. If it ever becomes something I am mentally tortured by, I’m done. 

I have, and still do occasionally spend what I consider a lot of money on something but few and far in between. 

Enjoy the hunt, the friendships you make along the way and the beautiful stuff stuff you accumulate no matter how little it is worth to some one else. You will never be sorry!

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My first Overstreet was #5.  Overstreet really was the bible of comic collecting and really was my first connection to collecting and my only real source of pricing information.  It's amazing how the hobby has changed.  Wish I could have seen into the future and poured my allowance into keys and classic books rather than buy ice cream.

 

overstreet5.jpg

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4 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

Wish I could have seen into the future and poured my allowance into keys and classic books rather than buy ice cream.

That's what I'm talking about! I was joking when I said I it brought a tear to my eye and losing sleep over this :).

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