Comic Book Collecting

[Rex fury]

I'm with you Horrorhunter! I miss the old days of collecting, no slabs, people who read and traded books, " trimmed" hadn't become some unforgivable sin, and best of all people collected because they liked comics not because they were hoping to get rich. I'm on my way to the Scottsdale ( ie Old Man Con) this morning. Here's hoping there's still some like minded folks hanging out in Arizona.

[horrorhunter]

I'm on my way to the Scottsdale ( ie Old Man Con) this morning. Here's hoping there's still some like minded folks hanging out in Arizona.

What did you buy?

[Rex fury]

Just finished up at the Scottsdale Con. It was worth the trip to Arizona just to experience a true comic con. While I have nothing against cosplayers, and media promotions, I prefer the old fashioned shows where guys ( and gals) talk buy and trade old comics.
I picked up a House of Secrets 92 for 700, which was a fair price for the non-slabbed book in its condition. I don't buy slabbed comics and the copy I got presents nicely. It was one of two copies available at the show. Being an old western guy, I picked up a nice Tom Mix 7 and an Outlaw Kid 6 along with a nice run of Silver ( Lone Ranger's horse, not the metal). I rounded out my purchases with a Don Winslow 36. It had a cool underwater cover!
One of the reasons I ventured down here was to talk to Harley Yee about a Captain America Comics 26 which I'm on the hunt for. He said he was on it, but it might have to be a slabbed copy. Oh well I guess I can always shoot the slab off.. just kidding.
All in all it was a good show and there was definitely Monster Kid stuff available too. I'd recommend it to folks looking for decent, old time show.
RF

[Mike Scott]

I picked up a House of Secrets 92 for 700

I hope that was $7.00 and not $700. 

[darkmonkeygod]

I hope that was $7.00 and not $700. 

$7 wouldn't buy you a coverless example of that comic if the seller was aware of what they have.

[Mike Scott]

$7 wouldn't buy you a coverless example of that comic if the seller was aware of what they have.

I have no idea what "House of Secrets" comics go for. 

[Rex fury]

Hey all, HOS 92 (for those new to this sort of thing) is the first appearance of Swampthing. Prices on this book fluctuate over time, but tend to run higher in this age of slabbed speculation ( "my books' nicer then your book, na Na na", etc.)
Any collectible is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. I'm probably foolish in that I still like to read and experience a comic rather then look at it through a piece of plastic . It's more valuable to me if I know a little of its history, who owned it before and what, if any, connection they might have had with the comics industry. So was 700 bucks worth it? My answer was yes; yours might be different.
As I've posted on this site before, my grandmother bought me my first copy of Amazing Spider-Man 1. She paid nine dollars for the comic and thought she'd lost her mind spending such an amount on an old comic book!
In diving, we often say plan your dive and dive your plan. That goes for collecting too: buy what you like and enjoy what you buy!
Ps- I had the best time discussing variant covers with a young woman who was probably my daughter's age. She was looking at a series I wasn't familiar with, pondering a variant cover she'd never seen. She wondered out loud about how many varients there might be and I shared the current count of variants for the new Creature comic. We both got quite a laugh out of the endless possibilities!
RF

[Mike Scott]

I'm probably foolish in that I still like to read and experience a comic rather then look at it through a piece of plastic .

If you just wanted to read it, you could do it for free, here.

https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/House-of-Secrets-1956/Issue-92?id=66168#1

[Rex fury]

Thanks Mike. I read new material on RCO just to keep up on the industry and,  occasionally, older books that I'm interested in. I find Comic Book  Plus has less pop up ads and offers a nice variety of Golden Age books as well. However CBP does not have any Marvel or DC content.
In collecting it's not just reading the material,  it's the tactical experience that's important. That probably sounds weird, but there's something about holding, even smelling the old pulp paper that transports one to a different era.  It's not something everyone enjoys in comics, but it motivates me. While here in Arizona, I sought out Mattie Earp's grave in Pinal (the actual grave, not the memorial erected by True West, etc.) and left her a small bottle of whiskey. I very much doubt she's in mint condition, but I enjoy experiencing her story like I enjoy the experience of old comics.

RF

[Mike Scott]

In collecting it's not just reading the material

I know. I'm just sayin'.

[horrorhunter]

I hope that was $7.00 and not $700. 

House of Secrets #92 is a big book, even in the current soft back-issue market. I bought my FN range copy back in 1977 for $6.00 shortly after I first started collecting. It was expensive even back then since Wrightson Swamp Thing was so popular. $6 was a big price for it back then. It's probably worth over a grand now, even though the market is down. I love that issue because it probably symbolizes Wrightson more than any other comic since Weezy Jones (later Louise Simonson) modeled for the girl on the cover, and she and then husband Jeff Jones were friends with Bernie and Mike Kaluta and Bruce Jones back in Wrightson's glory days. Bernie (then "Berni") Wrightson is my favorite artist.

Btw, it's fairly easy to find old comics to read through reprints and online sources, but that doesn't replace owning an original. The feel of the book and smell of the newsprint is magic for people who collect this stuff. Also, reading the original editorials, letters pages, and ads, are a big part of the experience.

[Hepcat]

I thought I'd go through the exercise of listing the titles in which I have the most ten cent comics. I drew the line at five:

Archie

Adventures of the Fly: 14

DC

House of Secrets: 12
Tales of the Unexpected: 12
Detective Comics: 11
Batman: 10
Brave and the Bold: 10
Flash: 10
Wonder Woman: 10
World's Finest: 10
Showcase: 9
Challengers of the Unknown: 8
Superman: 8
Green Lantern: 7
Action Comics: 6
Mystery in Space: 6
Justice League of America: 5

Dell

Lone Ranger: 19
Tom and Jerry: 17
Daffy Duck: 12
(White Eagle) Indian Chief: 9
Spike and Tyke: 8
Walter Lantz New Funnies: 7
Goofy: 6
Howdy Doody: 5
MGM's Mouse Musketeers: 5

Harvey

Felix the Cat: 35
Playful Little Audrey: 27
Black Cat (Mystery): 26
Spooky: 12
Warfront: 9
Inky and Dinky: 5
Wendy: 5

Dell comics were ten cents prior to those that hit newsstands in December 1960 while DC and most other publishers kept the ten cent price up until the start of October 1961.

 

[Hepcat]

I almost had disaster this morning involving my double wide comic boxes. Several weeks ago I had taken the two boxes of "To Be Upgraded" and "Doubles for Trade" down from the top left of the filing cabinet on the left in which I keep my really good comics:



It  was awkward but quite simply I needed to re-familiarize myself with the precise contents of those two boxes. But I realized that the two boxes on the floor constituted a safety hazard since when they're on the floor I have no room to step back and I could be thrown off balance backward when I pull out one of the top drawers. So I heaved the boxes back up into their upper left corner. But I'd forgotten that I'd left the key on top of the filing cabinet right above the lock. With horror I realized that sliding the box toward the wall I might have pushed the key back behind the cabinet! That would have been a disaster since those cabinets are really heavy even without the comic.

Fortunately I had not. When I lifted the box again the key was underneath it. What a relief!

 

[Rex fury]

Whew! I'm glad you didn't lose your key! As I've gotten older I've found it more difficult to move long boxes around, especially from higher locations. Lately I've concentrated on buying short boxes and storing runs that will fit into them in that manner.

So what great comics do you have in those two boxes?
RF

[Hepcat]

Archie stories were great from the 1950's and 1970's! They were often incredibly suggestive:

Oh.... That they could be...

Here are a few more really good Archie panels: