Flash collectors thread 23 23

[southern cross]

Picked this copy up about 5 years ago read it then submitted it for a universal slab

[bocabill]

[flashlites]

12 minutes ago, bocabill said:

I love that diorama Bill! And for those that don't know ... I believe it was you, wasn't it, that started a dedicated 123 thread earlier this year, something that had not been done yet but was needed. Will you give us the thread title again please so the new comers can go check it out.

[jaja-mon12]

28 minutes ago, bocabill said:

Show off‼️😄😉 That's an awesome statuette, is it a limited edition piece⁉️🤔

[jaja-mon12]

Here is my contribution brohams‼️😎 It took me a few years to find my copy for the right price. It was a definite must have and integral to the Flash run I'm putting together 4sho‼️😉

 

[Bomber-Bob]

[jaja-mon12]

1 hour ago, Bomber-Bob said:

This should've been my copy years ago‼️😏😉

[bocabill]

Hi,

 

I cannot remember the thread title as it was a while ago.

[Terry E. Gibbs]

On 7/13/2019 at 2:54 PM, southern cross said:

Here is a quick flash comic group shot I own

That is a really good collection. 156 is one of my all time favourites. Also with 139, 153, 155, 140, 105 and assorted Rogues. Two others highly recommended are 174 (actually 174 closes out part out the story from 156)  similar to 155 but slightly more Marvel art style and maybe one of the 60s best ever covers and 147 with again a classic cover and one of my favourite stories. 174 is not too hard to pick up but 147 a little steeper (but for a guy with 139 and 105 should be fine). but very nice collection none the less.

 

[Dave2739]

I've posted this before, but here's my humble copy.

[comicjack]

58 minutes ago, Dave2739 said:

I've posted this before, but here's my humble copy.

Just a great story in those pages and read which is the way it should be 

[Jaylam]

One of the few times in the history of comics where a promotional cover blub turned out to be correct...

[flashlites]

I remember seeing 123 for the first time in a North Hollywood comic shop. (early 90's maybe?) I was just starting my 2nd attempt at completing the run. It had been several years since I sold my last collection (I had sold everything even the GA stuff I sold it all). I was finally in a position where I could try again. The owner knew he really had a live one in me. I'd been shopping there for a few months buying every SA Flash he had. One day I walked in and he said do you have a 123? I had never seen one! He said this book is about to go way up in next years guide. I believe I paid $60 or $80 for it. It was in amazing shape! I graded it as in VF condition maybe a 7.0 - 8.0 today. A few months later I came across another one in G or VG probably 3.0-4.0 today and bought that one as well for about $20 or $30 (I had to have a reading copy ). Sure enough the next year the value jumped and I guess its been jumping ever since. It may seem strange now days for a collector of Flash comics to have never seen a 123 but in those days you'd go hunting for books you did not have, when you found one often times it was the first time you'd ever seen the cover! Any old timers out there remember those days?

[bronze johnny]

5 hours ago, flashlites said:

I remember seeing 123 for the first time in a North Hollywood comic shop. (early 90's maybe?) I was just starting my 2nd attempt at completing the run. It had been several years since I sold my last collection (I had sold everything even the GA stuff I sold it all). I was finally in a position where I could try again. The owner knew he really had a live one in me. I'd been shopping there for a few months buying every SA Flash he had. One day I walked in and he said do you have a 123? I had never seen one! He said this book is about to go way up in next years guide. I believe I paid $60 or $80 for it. It was in amazing shape! I graded it as in VF condition maybe a 7.0 - 8.0 today. A few months later I came across another one in G or VG probably 3.0-4.0 today and bought that one as well for about $20 or $30 (I had to have a reading copy ). Sure enough the next year the value jumped and I guess its been jumping ever since. It may seem strange now days for a collector of Flash comics to have never seen a 123 but in those days you'd go hunting for books you did not have, when you found one often times it was the first time you'd ever seen the cover! Any old timers out there remember those days?

I never did see a Flash 123 in any comic book shop during my quests but I t was a great adventure to go out looking for books before the internet age. I had the CBG, yellow pages, and Buylines to rely on and will never forget finding a sought after book in a comic book shop. CBG could take time since you had to communicate with the seller through mail where no phone number was provided in the advertisement. The Buylines had my friend and me going to people's homes to see the books- always an interesting experience! Seeing the cover of a sought after book for the first time was awesome and I remember looking at a first edition (second printing) of the Overstreet Price Guide back around '93 in a comic book shop on Northern Blvd. in Queens. First time I had ever seen one and didn't have the money to buy it. While I have a copy in my collection of the first OSPG, I will never forget the first time I saw a copy in person. 

We had to work hard and spend time finding the books we wanted back then. Younger collectors who have only collected during the internet age have no idea what the challenges were like. 

[flashlites]

5 hours ago, bronze johnny said:

I never did see a Flash 123 in any comic book shop during my quests but I t was a great adventure to go out looking for books before the internet age. I had the CBG, yellow pages, and Buylines to rely on and will never forget finding a sought after book in a comic book shop. CBG could take time since you had to communicate with the seller through mail where no phone number was provided in the advertisement. The Buylines had my friend and me going to people's homes to see the books- always an interesting experience! Seeing the cover of a sought after book for the first time was awesome and I remember looking at a first edition (second printing) of the Overstreet Price Guide back around '93 in a comic book shop on Northern Blvd. in Queens. First time I had ever seen one and didn't have the money to buy it. While I have a copy in my collection of the first OSPG, I will never forget the first time I saw a copy in person. 

We had to work hard and spend time finding the books we wanted back then. Younger collectors who have only collected during the internet age have no idea what the challenges were like. 

We had mail order, which was iffy back then, used book stores, flea markets, garage sales and if you were lucky your town had a comic book shop. Whenever I was visiting some place new I would always check the yellow pages for the book stores. It was truly a quest in those days! Every year you'd get 3 or 6 of those little b/w photos that ran across the top of the page in the price guide. Sometimes you'd see one there, get out your magnifying glass and get an idea of what that issue looked like. LoL! My price guides were always cracked and would fall open to the Flash section ... 'CBG' was that the Comic Buyers Guide?

[bronze johnny]

9 hours ago, flashlites said:

We had mail order, which was iffy back then, used book stores, flea markets, garage sales and if you were lucky your town had a comic book shop. Whenever I was visiting some place new I would always check the yellow pages for the book stores. It was truly a quest in those days! Every year you'd get 3 or 6 of those little b/w photos that ran across the top of the page in the price guide. Sometimes you'd see one there, get out your magnifying glass and get an idea of what that issue looked like. LoL! My price guides were always cracked and would fall open to the Flash section ... 'CBG' was that the Comic Buyers Guide?

Yes, Comic Buyers Guide.

[flashlites]

Just checked 4 more off my list 134,151,152&155! After double checking I am now just 69 issues away from completing the entire run 105-350! This is by far the closest I've ever been! I am looking for a 168, 170 and 172 next to fill in some little gaps. I will wait on posting the scans though, I want to leave more room on this page for 123's and discussion of this classic book. Come on Flash fans if you got a 123 this is the time to show it off!

[SLR5]

On 7/18/2019 at 11:26 PM, flashlites said:

I remember seeing 123 for the first time in a North Hollywood comic shop. (early 90's maybe?) I was just starting my 2nd attempt at completing the run. It had been several years since I sold my last collection (I had sold everything even the GA stuff I sold it all). I was finally in a position where I could try again. The owner knew he really had a live one in me. I'd been shopping there for a few months buying every SA Flash he had. One day I walked in and he said do you have a 123? I had never seen one! He said this book is about to go way up in next years guide. I believe I paid $60 or $80 for it. It was in amazing shape! I graded it as in VF condition maybe a 7.0 - 8.0 today. A few months later I came across another one in G or VG probably 3.0-4.0 today and bought that one as well for about $20 or $30 (I had to have a reading copy ). Sure enough the next year the value jumped and I guess its been jumping ever since. It may seem strange now days for a collector of Flash comics to have never seen a 123 but in those days you'd go hunting for books you did not have, when you found one often times it was the first time you'd ever seen the cover! Any old timers out there remember those days?

Was that Passport Comics in North Hollywood?  Whatever happened to the the owners Dee and Earl Bowman?  Are they still around?  I picked up a Flash 123 there in the late 1970s.  It was in nice shape.  Still have it but never have gotten it graded.  Too expensive to have comics graded.

[flashlites]

9 hours ago, SLR5 said:

Was that Passport Comics in North Hollywood?  Whatever happened to the the owners Dee and Earl Bowman?  Are they still around?  I picked up a Flash 123 there in the late 1970s.  It was in nice shape.  Still have it but never have gotten it graded.  Too expensive to have comics graded.

It may have been. If I remember right it was on Lankershim I believe?

[Brenmark]

Here's a #123 I bought off the stands in Lima, Peru when it came out in the early 60s. It was published by a company in Mexico although I bought it in Lima when my father was stationed there to work with the Peruvian Navy to foster good relations with the U.S Navy. Imported American comics cost about 16 cents then, but this was probably around 12 cents (3 soles) as it was in Spanish. Over the years I've never given up my Flash comics, especially #123.