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Obadiah Oldbuck vs. Superman

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So to all of you I pose the question:

Why is Action Comics #1 a $200,000 comic book, and Obadiah Oldbuck a $20,000 comic book? What do you think?

 

Action Comics 1938 approx 80-150? copies exist 1st Superman

Obadiah Oldbuck 1842 approx. 8 copies exist 1st US comic book

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The real question is, "why is Obadiah Oldbuck a $20,000 book?"

 

It has little significance now - and before you get worked up, prove a chain of connection between it and today's comic book. Siegel & Shuster had a Superman prototype developed on their own with no help from Oldbuck.

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Superman is part of American culture and mythology, has had his own movies, TV shows and product lines, is recognized all over the world by millions, maybe billions of people, and is possibly the most popular fictional character in American history.

 

Obadiah Oldbuck is.....none of those? confused-smiley-013.gif

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Yes, the $20,000 is a documented, verified sale from 2005....twice over.

There were 2 VG copies that sold for $20,000 each last year. And FYI....there is no Superman without Obadiah Oldbuck...you can't have a comic book superhero without a comic book existing in the 1st place

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Superman is part of American culture and mythology, has had his own movies, TV shows and product lines, is recognized all over the world by millions, maybe billions of people, and is possbily the most popular fictional character in American history.

 

Or more succinctly: Demand!

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WOW, $20, 000 TWICE over..I don't know if TWO Action #1's sold last year, But 25% of the Obadiah's went...thank God the Overstreet agenda is coming to Fruition.....I Think "Old Mother and her Funny Kitten" (listed just below that book in the "Victorian" section), Might have gone for EVEN more money, BUT No recorded sales...Sweet Jesus, somebody sell that book.

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Yes, the $20,000 is a documented, verified sale from 2005....twice over.

There were 2 VG copies that sold for $20,000 each last year. And FYI....there is no Superman without Obadiah Oldbuck...you can't have a comic book superhero without a comic book existing in the 1st place

 

Ok, and you can't have a comic book without movable type. Should we give credit to Gutenburg?

 

Action 1 has a demand that far, far exceeds supply. It's as simple as that. Rarity and age are not the only factors that go into price. Every collector wants an Action 1, most collectors don't even know Obadiah Oldbuck exists, and probably still wouldn't care about it if they did. Sad but true. confused-smiley-013.gif

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you can't have a comic book superhero without a comic book existing in the 1st place

 

That doesn't mean the first comic book is more important than Superman. I'd argue that Superman helped make the concept of the "comic book" into the mainstream medium it became. Obidiah Oldbuck didn't popularize the concept or create any content considered mainstream today. It's like asking whether a wall painting in ancient Greece deserves to sell for more than the Mona Lisa. Absurd, and borderline irrelevant.

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Superman is part of American culture and mythology, has had his own movies, TV shows and product lines, is recognized all over the world by millions, maybe billions of people, and is possbily the most popular fictional character in American history.

 

Or more succinctly: Demand!

 

Yeah. What these guys said.

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Yes, the $20,000 is a documented, verified sale from 2005....twice over.

There were 2 VG copies that sold for $20,000 each last year. And FYI....there is no Superman without Obadiah Oldbuck...you can't have a comic book superhero without a comic book existing in the 1st place

 

Prove it. Siegel & Shuster had independently formulated their Superman idea and had been marketing it to newspapers long before they tried comics. They had also independently marketing fanzine type comics that bore no similarity to the other "comic books" out there. Their inspiration came from fiction novels and pulps.

 

I'll state this in plain english - it's wrong to assume that platinum age comics evolved into golden age comics. They're 2 different animals that came along in a market glutted with paper goods. It's like the falsehood that monkeys evolved into humans. We both came from a common ancestor, but we're more like cousins than direct relatives. Same goes for the Obadiah Oldbuck type books and GA books. Different branches of a common tree.

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Yes, the $20,000 is a documented, verified sale from 2005....twice over.

There were 2 VG copies that sold for $20,000 each last year. And FYI....there is no Superman without Obadiah Oldbuck...you can't have a comic book superhero without a comic book existing in the 1st place

 

Prove it. Siegel & Shuster had independently formulated their Superman idea and had been marketing it to newspapers long before they tried comics. They had also independently marketing fanzine type comics that bore no similarity to the other "comic books" out there. Their inspiration came from fiction novels and pulps.

 

I'll state this in plain english - it's wrong to assume that platinum age comics evolved into golden age comics. They're 2 different animals that came along in a market glutted with paper goods. It's like the falsehood that monkeys evolved into humans. We both came from a common ancestor, but we're more like cousins than direct relatives. Same goes for the Obadiah Oldbuck type books and GA books. Different branches of a common tree.

 

sumo.gif

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you can't have a comic book superhero without a comic book existing in the 1st place

 

That doesn't mean the first comic book is more important than Superman. I'd argue that Superman helped make the concept of the "comic book" into the mainstream medium it became. Obidiah Oldbuck didn't popularize the concept or create any content considered mainstream today. It's like asking whether a wall painting in ancient Greece deserves to sell for more than the Mona Lisa. Absurd, and borderline irrelevant.

 

NONONONONO!!!!! Didn't you read the cartoon in Overstreet this year? We're all ignorant and illogical for not calling these comics. 893naughty-thumb.gif

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How much would original art to the Obadiah Oldbuck issue sell for ???

 

I'm sure there's one person that might want it. It's an interesting footnote. I'll take the reproduction for $10.

 

Let's see $20,000 vs $200,000

 

Ya think there are 10 x the number of people looking for a copy that would pay the big bucks. Or maybe 100 x the number of people. With this comparison, Action 1 is way way undervalued.

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the oldest coins are the most valuable. The oldest stamps are the most valuable. the oldest baseball cards are the most valuable.

 

The time is coming soon when the oldest comic books will also be the most valuable...it is inevitable. All undervalued markets correct themselves at some point. Obadiah Oldbuck will surface as the Declaration of Independance of the US comic marketplace

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Yes, the $20,000 is a documented, verified sale from 2005....twice over.

There were 2 VG copies that sold for $20,000 each last year. And FYI....there is no Superman without Obadiah Oldbuck...you can't have a comic book superhero without a comic book existing in the 1st place

 

Ok, and you can't have a comic book without movable type. Should we give credit to Gutenburg?

 

Action 1 has a demand that far, far exceeds supply. It's as simple as that. Rarity and age are not the only factors that go into price. Every collector wants an Action 1, most collectors don't even know Obadiah Oldbuck exists, and probably still wouldn't care about it if they did. Sad but true. confused-smiley-013.gif

 

Actually October, I have no desire for a Action #1. To be honest I would rather have a #2, #3 or #4 for that matter. Heck, even Detective #1 beats Action #1 out. But if one dropped into my hands, I would suppose I could sell it and get any one of those books.

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