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Comic Book Marketplace Memories
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134 posts in this topic

1 hour ago, Scrooge said:

Of course. And right alongside Pat's columns were Michelle Nolan's columns. Lists!! What's not to love for an indexer in a column that talked about obscure subjects in depth with lists and data to back up her assertions. Nothing was more sweet than those columns and they were the first items I looked up in the mag. I discovered CBM right when AE started back up (as the reverse side of CBA). Grabbed all the back issues I could as quickly as I could.

At the time, I had no appreciation for romance books and would barely skim over her column.

Years later, after having my eyes opened by the good Dr. Love and others on these boards, I went back and read and enjoyed all of her columns.

 

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10 hours ago, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

I wasn’t being difficult. I just didn’t want to say it.  He ended up accused of distributing drugs to his friends and family, and other bad things. Here’s a link to a 17 page thread here on the boards

 

 

Very interesting reading ... seems many respected Keith at one time but he experienced some darkness near the end of his life.  His observation in the article Rick posted, that dealers 'DO NOT' drive the market, probably caught a few dealers off guard. And his claims that those with 'the $$' look for the super high grade books, and will pay whatever it is to acquire them, could have (as Rick implied when he posted Keith's article) been written last week here on the Boards or on any one of the web sites that speculate about the rise and fall of the hobby in mid-September of 2019!  Thanks again for posting the 2013 thread about Keith!

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13 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Ever land one? My intro was the cover of the Gerber book. Blew me away. Have never been able to score one but I guess that is what a grail means..,

But look what you have i was just lucky in some respect but your stuff is amazing (thumbsu

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2 hours ago, comicjack said:

thumbnail (19).jpg

I would say this article was a key factor in my hunt for this tough book :headbang:

 

Thanks for sharing this!  

The observation about historical, rarity, and aesthetic collectors is insightful and I hadn't seen it before.  For me its a blend of all three that makes fine art or a comic desirable.  But, I have to admit for comics it is much more the history that matters because I love the stories far more than the covers.  So, in the end, while I don't find the argument for Suspense 3 very compelling (I can think of many Alex S. covers I'd rather have), it is a thought provoking read.

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13 minutes ago, sfcityduck said:

The observation about historical, rarity, and aesthetic collectors is insightful and I hadn't seen it before.  while I don't find the argument for Suspense 3 very compelling (I can think of many Alex S. covers I'd rather have), it is a thought provoking read.

Agreed. Circa 1989, Suspense Comics #3 (Continental) was selling for WAY over guide at the same price point/grade as ASM #1. Let's be honest, how many of us mature collectors would have chosen Suspense #3 over ASM #1 that was:

1. A first issue.

2. A silver age Marvel.

3. Spider-man

4. Cover has a x-over with established Fantastic Four

5. More memorable story by Stan Lee and Ditko, as no one actually reads Suspense #3.

6. There are other scarce, violent or extreme WW II era comics with vibrant red or orange covers that are more affordable the last 20 years than trying to chase the unicorn known as Suspense #3:

cyx2Pbp.jpg

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11 minutes ago, aardvark88 said:

I think I will start faxing all these old geezers that got their letters published in CBM to see if they have any GA funny-books to sell to the younger generation. e.g. Dean of BC, Canada @lou_fine

I believe the only letter I ever got published was the one requesting readers to turn in their Top 5 GA covers of all time.  I believe they got something like 35 responses and I was the lucky winner or name drawn to win some kind of comic art book authored by the late Jerry Weist.  :whee:

If I remember correctly, I was the only fool out of the entire group of submittors to include 'Tec 31 and Punch 12 in my Top 5.  Definitely shows how tastes can change over time as I believe those 2 books were listed right near the top in one of Heritage's surveys they ran a couple of years ago for top GA covers.  Just checked and it looks like 'Tec 31 finished on top and Punch 12 12 finished at #4, with Suspens 3 and Fantastic Comics 3 squeezing in between.  (thumbsu

Makes me wonder where all of the 'Tec 31 and Punch 12 lovers were back in the mid-90's when CBM ran their first survey.  ???

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11 hours ago, sagii said:

The total stand out was an anonymous letter from a reader talking about a book I had NEVER heard of before: Suspense Comics #3 and how he plucked down 18k  for a copy of this book (that  i could discern) which didn't even have a superhero in it :whatthe: .

This kind of reminds me of Magik's story about how he had to plunked down a huge 10X guide for the PhotoJournal copy of Suspense 3 from Ernie Gerber when it was guiding at something like only $195 at top of guide.  lol  :takeit:

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1 hour ago, lou_fine said:

I believe the only letter I ever got published was the one requesting readers to turn in their Top 5 GA covers of all time.   ???

Guess it was another Dean from BC, Canada that had a letter published in CBM #2 that was "aroused" by Centaurs, pre-hero GA and select Timely Comics. Words of wisdom from Dr. Pat Kochanek:

VvZff61.jpg

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3 hours ago, aardvark88 said:

Guess it was another Dean from BC, Canada that had a letter published in CBM #2 that was "aroused" by Centaurs, pre-hero GA and select Timely Comics. Words of wisdom from Dr. Pat Kochanek:

 

musta been dean white.

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5 hours ago, aardvark88 said:
6 hours ago, lou_fine said:

I believe the only letter I ever got published was the one requesting readers to turn in their Top 5 GA covers of all time.   ???

Guess it was another Dean from BC, Canada that had a letter published in CBM #2 that was "aroused" by Centaurs, pre-hero GA and select Timely Comics. Words of wisdom from Dr. Pat Kochanek:

Now that you mention it, that does sound a bit familiar to me, although the timing must be off.  (shrug)

Not sure how I could have gotten a letter into CBM #2 if that's when my subscription started.  Or maybe I sent in this letter with my subscription request and Gary like the letter enough to print it and also send me a complimentary copy of CBM #1 at the same time.  hm  (thumbsu

Those 4-issue Edgar Church Mile High articles written by Dr. Pat was certainly good information for collectors, even though I already knew most of it by then through my many late night conversations with John Snyder by then.  :cloud9:

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7 hours ago, aardvark88 said:

Agreed. Circa 1989, Suspense Comics #3 (Continental) was selling for WAY over guide at the same price point/grade as ASM #1. Let's be honest, how many of us mature collectors would have chosen Suspense #3 over ASM #1 that was:

1. A first issue.

2. A silver age Marvel.

3. Spider-man

4. Cover has a x-over with established Fantastic Four

5. More memorable story by Stan Lee and Ditko, as no one actually reads Suspense #3.

6. There are other scarce, violent or extreme WW II era comics with vibrant red or orange covers that are more affordable the last 20 years than trying to chase the unicorn known as Suspense #3:

cyx2Pbp.jpg

I've always like the Suspense 1 myself, especially when you compare it to the price of the Suspense 3.  

I guess that's just me as I always seem to prefer the underdog, like my preference for Phantom Lady 23 over PL 17 and Blue Beetle 52 over BB 54.  Either that, ot it's my cheapo side showing up again as those are all way way cheaper than the much more highly prized and recognized classic covers of Suspens 3, PL 17, and BB 54.  :bigsmile:

Actually, I've always thought of the Suspense 1 cover image as the precursor and the poor man's version of Suspense 3.  :luhv:   :takeit:

 

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