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My nominees for the coolest single copies in the hobby
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Started by sfcityduck,

101 posts in this topic

Bronty

Bronty

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On 2/17/2021 at 2:11 PM, sfcityduck said:

In a pathetic attempt to spur some conversation, here's a very close second when it comes to bound volumes.  

  • Carl Barks' bound volume of Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #1 and 2, and Walt Disney's Vacation Parade #1 - Given by Barks to Malcolm Willits in June 1960 with the inscription: "It was nice to meet a fan after all the years of drawing and writing these comics." Willits was the first person to learn Barks' name and address in 1957 (and he then went into the Army I think). The Spicer brothers learned Barks' name and address in 1960 and were the first to write Barks on April 11, 1960.  Willits had written Barks' publisher in 1957, but got no reply.  But, Willits was the first fan to visit Carl Barks in person in June 1960.  That volume is an incredibly significant bit of comic history documenting, in Barks' own hand, the moment when the "good duck artist" first met the nascent comic fandom then coalescing, and, most importantly, how much it meant to him!  That volume, my friends, is a foundational historical document regarding the birth of comic fandom and the ground zero for the then anonymous Carl Barks' becoming one of Disney's biggest legends.   Barks subsequently met John Spicer a few months later.  Barks appreciated his fans.  Barks chose to acknowledge his newfound fans with the June 1961 issue of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories in a story titled Stranger Than Fiction. "I had already informed him of my abiding interest in science fiction, and of how my parents refused to allow it in the house when I was young, and how much I wished he’d do more stories with this theme [of science fiction],” Willits recalled.  “In this story, Donald is enraged to find his nephews reading a science fiction book and proceeds to throw it in the trash. The book in question is Ten Seconds to Mars by Spicer Willits. Naturally, the kids have the last laugh as what Donald considers to be science fiction turns out to be fact. As with many of Carl’s stories, a moral is involved, but even if it wasn’t, John and I were delighted in being immortalized, however briefly, in one of his works,” Willits said with a smile.  A cool bound volume?  Yet it is!  Cool enough to make a top 10 list, probably! 

I am envious of whoever bought the Barks volume (maybe Yellow Kid?).  Heritage had it on a $450 estimate and didn't promote it very well (I didn't read the description or I would have bid), but it went $4K+  (which I think was cheap).

Wow, Malcolm's name always comes up in these early stories with Barks.   Sounds like he was the first to connect with Barks.    That must not have been easy, to meet an uncredited artist, in 1960.. with literally nothing to go on in terms of what the artist's name might be.

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sfcityduck

sfcityduck

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1 hour ago, Bronty said:

Wow, Malcolm's name always comes up in these early stories with Barks.   Sounds like he was the first to connect with Barks.    That must not have been easy, to meet an uncredited artist, in 1960.. with literally nothing to go on in terms of what the artist's name might be.

Willits found out Barks' name in 1957 by asking Western.  But when Willits tried to write Barks, the letter didn't get through.  In April 1960, John Spicer and his brother wrote a letter that got through to Barks.  Willits knew Spicer and must have learned that.  Willits decided to call up Barks and make an appointment for a visit.  That happened in June 1960.  Willits was the first fan to meet Barks, and Barks obviously was touched enough to give him a bound volume of his stories.  Must have blown Barks away that a fan wanted to meet him.  Barks did not know then that comic fans, which most folks didn't know existed, would make him so famous that Disney would eventually make him a "Disney Legend."  

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Bronty

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On 2/19/2021 at 5:27 PM, sfcityduck said:

Willits found out Barks' name in 1957 by asking Western.  

I imagine that wasn't easy in 1957 either!   You want to know what?   The artist that does Donald Duck?    Sorry sir, I don't have Walt Disney's address but you could try Disneyland.

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sfcityduck

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9 hours ago, pemart1966 said:

Anyone know the story as to how all of these court copies made it into public circulation?

I think I might have read they were brought to market by Sparklecity.  Also that at an SDCC the A1 was offered for $10K and the rest of Actions for $10K.

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pemart1966

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5 hours ago, sfcityduck said:

I think I might have read they were brought to market by Sparklecity.  Also that at an SDCC the A1 was offered for $10K and the rest of Actions for $10K.

I guess what I meant was how they got from the court room as "exhibits" out into public hands.  

I would have thought that these exhibits might have remained in possession of DC pending an appeal.  After that, how did they enter into public circulation?

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sfcityduck

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44 minutes ago, pemart1966 said:

I guess what I meant was how they got from the court room as "exhibits" out into public hands.  

I would have thought that these exhibits might have remained in possession of DC pending an appeal.  After that, how did they enter into public circulation?

At a trial, you generally have at least three copies of exhibits (1 for the record, 1 for the plaintiff's counsel and 1 for the defendants), but there can also be copies for the judge.  The copies for the counsel are "conformed" and have file stamps.  So they would have come from a trial participant, most likely old lawyer files.  Less likely that they came from old court files.

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sfcityduck

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5 hours ago, bluechip said:

I do not own this because I failed to bid on it, but some years back Heritage sold Jack Kirby's bound copies of Cap 1-10 with cap and red skull artwork on the binding papers. 

Now that would be a trophy!

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jimbo_7071

jimbo_7071

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On 2/17/2021 at 1:07 PM, sfcityduck said:

Just killing some time, and got to thinking about this topic:  What are the coolest single GA copies in the hobby? 

To be clear, I mean actual single books (like the MH Action 1), not issues (like Action 1).  And by "coolest," I mean a confluence of comic history, collecting history, importance, significance, rarity, storytelling value, etc.,  but NOT necessarily grade.  I do NOT assume the "best" or most valuable copy of a comic is the "coolest" copy.  

Having said that, here are books that make my Top 10 (in no particular order):

  • Mile High / Edgar Church Action 1 - C'mon, its the most important comic, from the most important OO collection, with the most important impact on comic pricing, and it is shrouded in mystery.  Even if it turns out NOT to be the highest graded Action 1, it will still be the MH copy I think is "coolest."  
  • Pay Copy Marvel Comics 1 - Not the best copy, but the history! We've all  talked a lot about this book. Hard to top.
  • Gaines file copy of Vault of Horror 12 -The very first "New Trend" EC Comic.  The only "Gaines file copy" of it.  Is that cool or what?  Talk about boasting rights!  All the other guys chasing Gaines file copies will envy you forever.
  • Gardner Fox's bound volumes of All-Star Comics - I hate bound copies and maybe they don't belong on a list of "single copies" because they are two volumes.  But, Gardner Fox, the man and legend who wrote the JSA stories, had bound copies of the All-Star run.  He sold them to Jerry Bails, the legendary fan and promoter of comic collecting, for $75 in 1959!  The coolest bound volumes ever.  They belong on the list.
  • Double Action 1 (ashcan) - Another book shrouded in mystery.  The Bigfoot of comics, but it turned out it exists!  And its got a great cover.  Double Action 2 is also a cool book, but the rarity makes DA 1 even cooler.  The fact that someone got both DA 1 and the best DA 2 for only $80K tells you that even on the deep end of the pool, the highest price does not equal the coolest books!  What a great pairing to own.
  • Fawcett Flash Comics 1 / Thrill Comics 1 - Speaking of ashcans, here's the only ashcan to feature the actual first appearance of a major character - Captain Thunder!  ... er Marvel.  Super cool.  If you want to own one ashcan, this has to be the one that will give you the best story to tell.  For this one title, I think all the copies are equally cool (I know, it's an exception to the rule above).
  • Pay Copy MPFW 1 - BUT, there is a cooler first appearance of a major character that may actually have made it to the public!  First appearance of the first major Marvel character.  And super rare.  And shrouded in mystery and discussion points.  That sounds cool to me.  AND there is a PAY COPY - which hits my list of the coolest copies in the hobby.
  • Allentown Captain America 1 - CA 1 is a cool book.  While grade is not a weighty criteria for me, I'll make an exception here as this CA 1 is the only really major GA key that exists in CGC 9.8.  And it was owned by a storied dealer for many many years, and was one of a handful of books that shaped the high end collecting economy.  
  • Dong Kingman's personal copy of The Nightingale - Also on the pre-Code theme, Frederick Wertham said there was only one "good" comic book ever made: The Nightingale.  Super rare, limited distribution in NYC and Westchester county - only two copies are known to exist in private collections.  One of those copies was purchased directly from the artist, the famed fine artist Dong Kingman.  Artist's personal copy and you can't complete a collection of all comics mentioned in SOTI without it (SOTIcollector has the other copy and the only complete SOTI collection), and it is historically important and a great story to tell.  Makes my list!
  • Review Copy of Wonder Woman 1(?) - Someone's got to help me with this one.  I recall seeing an auction for a review copy of either Sensation 1 or Wonder Woman 1 (I think the latter) with a letter either written by or to the editor of a respected women's magazine.  It included a photo of the woman supposedly holding a copy of the book, but the cover of the comic was a preview version.  It was a super cool group of items.  Unique, historical, and great storytelling value!  Really impressed me, but I can't find any info on line.  Help!

I'm sure folks have their own thoughts on this one.  Light discussion for a slow day.

Hmmm,,,,

My thoughts on the Allentown Cap 1 are that it is only a 9.8 because of the absurd way CGC ignores page quality. A book with Off-white pages should never be given a 9.8 grade. A 9.8 book should have white pages—period. There are several copies of Cap 1 out there that I would consider more desirable.

I also hate bound copies and have never understood why there's even a market for them. They consist of comic books that have been ruined.

Most of the books you listed are very cool copies, though. (I do wish MPFW #1 had a better cover!)

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