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A New Way (for me) of Collecting
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Started by Math Teacher,

46 posts in this topic

Math Teacher

Math Teacher

Posted
Posted (edited)

I want to increase the number of GA comics in my collection. Originally, I thought about trying to buy every comic that was released in December, 1956, which was when I was born. As I looked into this, I had no idea of how many comics were released in a single month at that time. FYI - there were 154 comics released in that month. I'm sure that some of those books are valuable, and many others would be difficult, if not impossible, to find. After this research, I decided that was more than I wanted to take on or spend.

So, I am moving on to another project. I have decided that I want to own one comic for each year from 1938 to 2000. I am quite sure that I have the years 1960 - 2000 covered, and I probably have several years in the 1950s. I am a dedicated super-hero fan, but I also realize that buying all super-hero books would be expensive. So, I am willing to venture out into other genres. I would like to have at least one Superman issue and one Batman issue in this group, and I would also like to get at least one Timely issue. However, I have been collecting Marvel and DC for most of my adult life, so I would like to branch out into other companies. I am willing to look at romance, funny animal, PC horror, crime, war, science fiction, and any other genres that I can't think of right now.

So, my question is, what are some other companies that I should look into? I know of Fawcett and MLJ, but after that, my knowledge is quite limited.

I am sure I can find a Superman issue and a Batman issue on my own. But can you suggest a Timely book that I could purchase that wouldn't require me to take out a 2nd mortgage? I would like to get a Planet Comics from Fiction House, as I see how popular they are when I am in this forum. But I'm not sure that I could name another GA company, let alone know what books they published.

So, I would welcome any suggestions you might have regarding purchases I should consider. I am not looking to spend an arm and a leg, and I would actually prefer them to be raw, so I can read them. I would also like to get some of the more famous artists, such as Alex Schomburg, Charles Biro, Jack Binder, Matt Baker, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Lou Fine, Mort Meskin, Sprang, and many others of which I am not aware. I really want to branch out from super-heroes. I could read super-hero comics from my collection from now until the cows come home. If I need to buy two comics from each year to get some of these artists, so be it.

I am now ready to be dazzled by your learned advice.

Edited by Math Teacher
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Scrooge

Scrooge

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Posted

If you had asked this question 15 years ago, I'd said you should buy the Gerber Photo Journals and go wild and start making a list.

Today, my recommendation would be to go to Mike's Newsstand and knock yourself out and look at all comics for each of these years you know less about. It WILL overwhelm you at first but in short order, you will start to recognize companies logos and art style / house style. The challenge will then boil down to solve problem of covering all artist / genre / company / year with just one (or two) representative issues. Thankfully, you will quickly realize that some companies are more associated with certain genres than others and that will quickly attached an artist for the book of your choice. By that I mean, it should quickly be clear that you might want an Atlas / Russ Heath / War Cover or a St. John / Matt Baker / Romance. Plus, the peak Heath would be ~ 1954 while the peak Baker might be ~ 1953. We don't know your tastes so you need to look at a lot of covers before you can hope to make sense of it. But, ... we are here to help :)

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lou_fine

lou_fine

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15 minutes ago, fifties said:

http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/newsstand.php?publisher=all&type=calendar&month=12&year=1956&sort=alpha

Wow, never knew about this website and that's the best thing about these boards here is that you can learn a lot of new stuff from other boardies here on a pretty regular basis.  :applause:

Not sure how complete it is, but it porvides not only the cover image for each book, but also the key Library of Congress details for each book.  (thumbsu

Looks like there were only 3 books released in 1933 and I have the first 2 of them, followed by 1934 with a total of 8 books released in 1934 and I have 5 of them.  Kind of sad that these very early comic books that gave birth to this hobby of ours is pretty much not in demand anymore as reflected in their valuations, as most collectors nowadays are focused only on the men in tights who wear their underwear on the outside.  :(

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Albert Thurgood

Albert Thurgood

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3 hours ago, Math Teacher said:

I want to increase the number of GA comics in my collection. Originally, I thought about trying to buy every comic that was released in December, 1956, which was when I was born. As I looked into this, I had no idea of how many comics were released in a single month at that time. FYI - there were 154 comics released in that month. I'm sure that some of those books are valuable, and many others would be difficult, if not impossible, to find. After this research, I decided that was more than I wanted to take on or spend.

So, I am moving on to another project. I have decided that I want to own one comic for each year from 1938 to 2000. I am quite sure that I have the years 1960 - 2000 covered, and I probably have several years in the 1950s. I am a dedicated super-hero fan, but I also realize that buying all super-hero books would be expensive. So, I am willing to venture out into other genres. I would like to have at least one Superman issue and one Batman issue in this group, and I would also like to get at least one Timely issue. However, I have been collecting Marvel and DC for most of my adult life, so I would like to branch out into other companies. I am willing to look at romance, funny animal, PC horror, crime, war, science fiction, and any other genres that I can't think of right now.

So, my question is, what are some other companies that I should look into? I know of Fawcett and MLJ, but after that, my knowledge is quite limited.

I am sure I can find a Superman issue and a Batman issue on my own. But can you suggest a Timely book that I could purchase that wouldn't require me to take out a 2nd mortgage? I would like to get a Planet Comics from Fiction House, as I see how popular they are when I am in this forum. But I'm not sure that I could name another GA company, let alone know what books they published.

So, I would welcome any suggestions you might have regarding purchases I should consider. I am not looking to spend an arm and a leg, and I would actually prefer them to be raw, so I can read them. I would also like to get some of the more famous artists, such as Alex Schomburg, Charles Biro, Jack Binder, Matt Baker, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Lou Fine, Mort Meskin, Sprang, and many others of which I am not aware. I really want to branch out from super-heroes. I could read super-hero comics from my collection from now until the cows come home. If I need to buy two comics from each year to get some of these artists, so be it.

I am now ready to be dazzled by your learned advice.

I can't help for the '40s and earlier, but ECs have a great reputation and are relatively cheap for wonderful artists and stories. Go for the SF titles as they are a bit closer to the superhero genre than the more expensive crime and horror titles.

You mentioned funny animals. Carl Barks is the best funny animal artist IMHO and his books are also fairly inexpensive. (I shouldn't have told you that because I haven't got any yet and was planning to get some. So don't bid against me, OK? :)). 

 

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Math Teacher

Math Teacher

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Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, Scrooge said:

If you had asked this question 15 years ago, I'd said you should buy the Gerber Photo Journals and go wild and start making a list.

Today, my recommendation would be to go to Mike's Newsstand and knock yourself out and look at all comics for each of these years you know less about. It WILL overwhelm you at first but in short order, you will start to recognize companies logos and art style / house style. The challenge will then boil down to solve problem of covering all artist / genre / company / year with just one (or two) representative issues. Thankfully, you will quickly realize that some companies are more associated with certain genres than others and that will quickly attached an artist for the book of your choice. By that I mean, it should quickly be clear that you might want an Atlas / Russ Heath / War Cover or a St. John / Matt Baker / Romance. Plus, the peak Heath would be ~ 1954 while the peak Baker might be ~ 1953. We don't know your tastes so you need to look at a lot of covers before you can hope to make sense of it. But, ... we are here to help :)

I guess what I am looking for is advice as to where to look for these artists and also advice about reasonably priced books. For example, I really would like to get a Timely super-hero title; when I have looked at Ebay, for example, those Timely books are expensive. Is there a Timely series that might be less expensive than a Captain America book? And what would be a representative book for the artists I listed above?

Alex Schomburg - I associate him with Timely. Did he work for other companies?
Charles Biro - I associate him with Crime Does Not Pay.
Jack Binder - I associate him with GA Daredevil.
Matt Baker - I associate him with GGA.
Jack Cole - I associate him with Plastic Man.
Reed Crandall - I associate him with Blackhawk.
Lou Fine - I associate him with The Black Condor, Doll Man, The Ray, and Uncle Sam.
Mort Meskin - I associate him with the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
Sprang - I associate him with Batman.

I came up with this list off the top of my head. Surely, there must be other famous artists that I didn't list.

Edited by Math Teacher
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adamstrange

adamstrange

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Math Teacher said:

As I looked into this, I had no idea of how many comics were released in a single month at that time. FYI - there were 154 comics released in that month.

Be thankful you weren't born in March '52!

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entalmighty1

entalmighty1

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Math Teacher said:

I guess what I am looking for is advice as to where to look for these artists and also advice about reasonably priced books. For example, I really would like to get a Timely super-hero title; when I have looked at Ebay, for example, those Timely books are expensive. Is there a Timely series that might be less expensive than a Captain America book? And what would be a representative book for the artists I listed above?

Alex Schomburg - I associate him with Timely. Did he work for other companies?
Charles Biro - I associate him with Crime Does Not Pay.
Jack Binder - I associate him with GA Daredevil.
Matt Baker - I associate him with GGA.
Jack Cole - I associate him with Plastic Man.
Reed Crandall - I associate him with Blackhawk.
Lou Fine - I associate him with The Black Condor, Doll Man, The Ray, and Uncle Sam.
Mort Meskin - I associate him with the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
Sprang - I associate him with Batman.

I came up with this list off the top of my head. Surely, there must be other famous artists that I didn't list.

Expensive is relative.  I'd honestly just pick an artist at random, and search for their work.  Once you find something you like, your budget will adjust as to how much you want the book. ;)

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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Posted
1 hour ago, Math Teacher said:

Alex Schomburg - I associate him with Timely. Did he work for other companies?  Nedor -- superheros and airbrush jungle covers
Charles Biro - I associate him with Crime Does Not Pay. also Boy Comics  "Crimebuster" and later Daredevil
Jack Binder - I associate him with GA Daredevil. -- Mary Marvel for Fawcett
Matt Baker - I associate him with GGA.  and Romance with St John (also other genres with St John)
Jack Cole - I associate him with Plastic Man. -- early Daredevil, Smash "Midnight", Web of Evil (horror)
Reed Crandall - I associate him with Blackhawk.
Lou Fine - I associate him with The Black Condor, Doll Man, The Ray, and Uncle Sam.  early work in Fox Comics Wonderworld "Flame", Mystery Men covers
Mort Meskin - I associate him with the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
Sprang - I associate him with Batman.

Some comments added

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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Posted
1 hour ago, Math Teacher said:

Surely, there must be other famous artists that I didn't list.

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Comic-Book-Artists/dp/0312345577/ref=sr_1_54?dchild=1&keywords=ron+goulart&qid=1619265536&sr=8-54

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Robot Man

Robot Man

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Posted

This would amazingly easy and impossible as well. Easy because it would be comprised of only 62 books. Impossible for me to only pick one book per year. I am an “all in” collector. I love GA. All genres, titles, publishers, artists. Sorry to be of no help...

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N e r V

N e r V

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Posted

There’s fewer comics when you begin in 1938 until say 1942. I’d stick with series like Famous Funnies, Tip Top, Ace, King comics, etc. to start. Then I’d move on to maybe series like Daredevil or Jungle or Disney books by 1943. That will get you by some of the early expensive books. After you get out of the war years by doing the above you can pick away at adding the well known superhero books as you see fit. You don’t need a Batman or Superman or Captain America book in 1945 when one in 1965 could be added. I’d aim for these cheaper books first and if a opportunity arises with something else then take it. What you want to do is pretty easy actually with some patience.

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