50th annual Overstreet - What does he get right? What does he get wrong? 3 3

[adamstrange]

8 hours ago, sfcityduck said:

But, they don't seem to believe the actual sales price info for books that rarely appear on the marketplace.  

They are reluctant to take in this information if it isn't from public sales, especially auction houses.  They would be concerned that people providing the information do so from the standpoint of manipulating the Guide for their own profit.

[bpc3qh]

21 minutes ago, adamstrange said:

They are reluctant to take in this information if it isn't from public sales, especially auction houses.  They would be concerned that people providing the information do so from the standpoint of manipulating the Guide for their own profit.

I don't necessarily object to that, honestly. It can be frustrating, but on principle I prefer it.

[adamstrange]

I personally think the Guide is an outdated relic of dead-tree media that should have been re-imagined years ago.

Edited September 4, 2020 by adamstrange

[lou_fine]

22 hours ago, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

Here’s another thing surprised me. AA 16 slipped ahead of Batman 1 in the Top 100 Golden Age comics. AA 16 is now #4, and Bat 1 dropped back to #5. 

 

16 hours ago, pemart1966 said:

17 hours ago, Chicago Boy said:

Bob has a lot of love for AA 16 ( as do I ) but it certainly doesn’t reflect the market. Requests or pricing.  The mystique of its rarity has also gone out the window in recent years.  Still a great And  very important book 

But no where near as important as Batman #1 IMO.  Agree with you about the rarity mystique being gone.  1st Golden Age GL - meh...

I hope all of you guys realize that was only a 1-year blip last year in 2019 since Overstreet 49 was the only edition where Bat 1 was ahead of AA 16 in his Top 100 chart. 

With this year's edition of the guide, the Top 5 GA books have now simply returned back to their normal historical rankings.     

Edited September 4, 2020 by lou_fine

[lhcomics]

Posted this pic in comics general thread about Overstreet 50th. 

This is the light blue 2nd print.

Then and now.

 

[Chicago Boy]

What percentage of posters in this thread are younger than the Price Guide ? 

[pemart1966]

6 hours ago, lou_fine said:

 

I hope all of you guys realize that was only a 1-year blip last year in 2019 since Overstreet 49 was the only edition where Bat 1 was ahead of AA 16 in his Top 100 chart. 

With this year's edition of the guide, the Top 5 GA books have now simply returned back to their normal historical rankings.     

Shows you how long it's been since I last bought an OPG  

Edited September 4, 2020 by pemart1966

[Robot Man]

11 hours ago, adamstrange said:

I personally think the Guide is an outdated relic of dead-tree media that should have been re-imagined years ago.

What are ‘y’all going to do when terrorists take down the internet? We will at least have a price guide and cash to pay for our funny books. 

Good or worthless, it has been a 50 year tradition for me. Accurate price wise? No, but a good starting point and the best source for comic book history and information. 

Keep it!

[Robot Man]

1 hour ago, Chicago Boy said:

What percentage of posters in this thread are younger than the Price Guide ? 

Probably the vast majority. You youngsters cannot imagine what an impact it made when it came out. As did the Gerber books. 

Laugh all you want but I remember 8 track tapes in my car. One day, you only have a radio and the next day you could play any album you wanted while driving. 

Some things are just game changers. 

I’m not an old geezer that only lives in the past. I welcome new technology and new ways, but I also appreciate what came before it. 

Edited September 4, 2020 by Robot Man

[pemart1966]

13 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Probably the vast majority. You youngsters cannot imagine what an impact it made when it came out. As did the Gerber books. 

Laugh all you want but I remember 8 track tapes in my car. One day, you only have a radio and the next day you could play any album you wanted while driving. 

Some things are just game changers. 

I’m not an old geezer that only lives in the past. I welcome new technology and new ways, but I also appreciate what came before it. 

I'm an old geezer that lives in the present but oft times wishes that he still lived in the past.  I DON'T often welcome new technology because it makes my current technology, which is working just fine thank you very much, obsolete ("Sorry, we no longer support that platform."  "Sorry, we don't seem to have that part".)  

Yes I too appreciate what came before and what I currently have but if it's working fine then don't  with it for the sake of  with it!!        

[adamstrange]

25 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

What are ‘y’all going to do when terrorists take down the internet?

Were that to happen, I suspect I'll be worried about more than access to pricing and creator data for comic books.

 

26 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

the best source for comic book history and information. 

Grand Comics Database and Atlas Tales satisfy that more comprehensively than Overstreet.

I attended one of the Overstreet confabs back 98/99 at a time when Geppi owned Overstreet, Gerber Guide and was the only comic distributor.  I suggested he combin all that and more to make a very useful and powerful comic book website.  Instead, Overstreet simply continued humming along as if computers and the internet didn't exist.

[sfcityduck]

11 hours ago, adamstrange said:

an outdated relic of dead-tree media 

That pretty much describes comic books.

[Robot Man]

7 minutes ago, pemart1966 said:

I'm an old geezer that lives in the present but oft times wishes that he still lived in the past.  I DON'T often welcome new technology because it makes my current technology, which is working just fine thank you very much, obsolete ("Sorry, we no longer support that platform."  "Sorry, we don't seem to have that part".)  

Yes I too appreciate what came before and what I currently have but if it's working fine then don't  with it for the sake of  with it!!        

Oh, I’m right there with you on that. I use a lot of complex design software. Things like Photoshop, Illustrator, Creative Suite. Nothing like a new “update” that messes you up for nothing. It is really done merely to keep people employed I think. 

I love the past. Nothing like carburetors on my vintage mortorycles and a side hand shift. Really makes you feel like you are driving and I can actually work on them myself. 

I also play my guitar through a vintage tube amp. There is no modern technology that provides that warm, ringing, pure sound. 

And don’t get me started on vinyl records...

[Robot Man]

16 minutes ago, adamstrange said:

Were that to happen, I suspect I'll be worried about more than access to pricing and creator data for comic books.

 

Grand Comics Database and Atlas Tales satisfy that more comprehensively than Overstreet.

I attended one of the Overstreet confabs back 98/99 at a time when Geppi owned Overstreet, Gerber Guide and was the only comic distributor.  I suggested he combin all that and more to make a very useful and powerful comic book website.  Instead, Overstreet simply continued humming along as if computers and the internet didn't exist.

I see an Overstreet guide “on line” as another monthly expense that I would not appreciate having to pay for. Much like other value sources that charge a monthly fee. I don’t use them. 

If the internet went down or my cell phone didn’t work, it would be a tremendous problem for a short time. But I’m a geezer and remember before they were not around and would adapt back a lot quicker than most of you. 

Sad part is, it would be a lot harder to converse with you fine folks here. 

Edited September 4, 2020 by Robot Man

[adamstrange]

2 minutes ago, sfcityduck said:

That pretty much describes comic books.

The same could be said about paintings, but both comics and paintings are a medium of artistic expression.  Both can be approximated using a digital platform, but they don't precisely recreate the same experience.  The more the special capabilities of a digital platform are used for a painting or a comic book, the more they become something different than a painting or a comic.

OTOH, Overstreet's objectives are to provide a listing, pricing and historical background about comics.  Given the enormous volume and dynamic nature of the underlying data, this need is much better met with an digital solution rather than the comprised method he has actually used.

[adamstrange]

8 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Sad part is, it would be a lot harder to converse with you fine folks here. 

[adamstrange]

59 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Probably the vast majority. You youngsters cannot imagine what an impact it made when it came out. As did the Gerber books. 

If you were to create a short list of important events for the hobby, the regular appearance of the Overstreet Guide would be at or near the top.

23 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Nothing like a new “update” that messes you up for nothing. It is really done merely to keep people employed I think. 

It's there to fix the bugs we put in as part of the prior release and to introduce the bugs that we'll fix in the next.

Edited September 4, 2020 by adamstrange

[sfcityduck]

7 minutes ago, adamstrange said:

 

OTOH, Overstreet's objectives are to provide a listing, pricing and historical background about comics.  Given the enormous volume and dynamic nature of the underlying data, this need is much better met with an digital solution rather than the comprised method he has actually used.

I think Overstreet's objective vis a vis pricing was to (1) provide a GUIDE, used mainly by dealers in purchasing, not an up to the minute recitation of current amounts being paid because (2) he also saw himself as a market regulator and stabilizer.  And he was.  

[adamstrange]

1 minute ago, sfcityduck said:

I think Overstreet's objective vis a vis pricing was to (1) provide a GUIDE, used mainly by dealers in purchasing, not an up to the minute recitation of current amounts being paid because (2) he also saw himself as a market regulator and stabilizer.  And he was.  

I don't think Overstreet targeted dealers as they were a very small audience for his book compared to the number of collectors.  Even if the intent is to provide a "Guide", you can still accomplish that objective on a digital platform far better than the print version with it's tiny fonts printed on tissue paper.

[szav]

In a pinch during these trying times the current and past OPGs can serve as a substitute for a particular staple of modern life that has at times been in short supply of late.

I mean, that valuation  basically reflects the quality of the product as a tool for tracking pricing.