Comic Book Collecting

[Hepcat]

Blondie by Chic Young was another comic strip that was present from my first memories of the Saturday London Free Press' comic section:







Harvey published a whopping 148 issues of Blondie between 1950 and 1965, another whopping 140 issues of Dagwood between the same years, plus four Blondie & Dagwood Family Giants between 1963 and 1965:





Sadly I have exactly none of those issues in my collection currently even though they're not that pricey compared to superhero and many other kinds of comics. Someday, somehow I'd like to rectify that deficiency in my collection by getting a bunch in an auction lot.

[Hepcat]

Another newspaper strip that influenced my taste in comics for life was the Li'l Abner strip which was not within my memory even carried in the London Free Press. Nonetheless I was aware of Li'l Abner somehow perhaps through either the Detroit Free Press or the Detroit News since we visited my uncle's family in Detroit once or twice per year when I was a kid. In any event I was certainly aware of his existence by the time the 1959 Li'l Abner movie came to London:

Li'l Abner Trailer

I knew I was missing out on something really good not getting the strip in the London Free Press. 

Harvey published nine issues of Li'l Abner cover dated from December 1947 to February 1949. Here are scans of the two I have in my collection:

[geezer butler]

I have some questions for the comic book collectors out there. I wanna see what others think.

Who can afford some of the prices out there for premium issues? I'm getting close to completing my Marvel 70s horror collection. I only need Werewolf by Night 32 and Tomb of Dracula 10.  All us monster/comic book nerds know the significance of those books.  Look up the prices on those books. If you can find a shoddy copy, you're still paying $300-$400.

So first of all, what's so significant about the first appearances of Blade and Moon Knight, respectively? I mean, as a monster nerd, I totally dig those characters, but let's me honest---we're not talking about first appearances of Captain American or Wolverine.

Second, again I ask who can afford to drop $700-$2500 on a single comic book? To be honest, I probably could afford that, but it wouldn't be responsible with our budget. And it's just the point. I understand supply and demand, and these are rare issues blah blah blah. I still think it's gouging.

Thanks for allowing me to rant. 

[Rex fury]

Thoughts on buying expensive comics will most likely generate a different answer from every collector who broaches the subject. In the past year I picked up a WBN 32 and a golden age Cap. for  roughly the prices you mention.
First, in the case of WBN 32, the comic will never be truly rare. Anybody who makes that argument should probably glance at the number of copies available on EBay at any given time. Nostalgia influenced my decision to purchase a copy, not the number of 9.8 graded books in any given census. Sometimes scarcity is used to justify pricing. Again, that argument falls flat for any comic produced after roughly 1965. Is Conan 3 or Howard the Duck 1 truly scarce? To answer that question one has to have a little knowledge of how returnable comics were dealt with in the late 60's and early 70's.  Comic dealers from that time period had the ability to buy huge amounts of comics which had been returned by news dealers. The whole operation was somewhat shady, but the bottom line is that books like Conan 3 were not as available in those bulk lots, hence dealers ( who couldn't purchase it for pennies ) began listing it as scarce.
For a much more concise account of this practice may I recommend "Comic Book Wars" or other related histories. The bottom line on WBN 32 for me was that I wanted the book. I don't think it's " significance" influenced my purchase.

On the other hand, in the case of Captain America Comics 26, I justified spending the money because the comic is scarce. I've watched for copies of this book to come up for sale over the years and it's not like hunting for a copy of WBN. In the last few years, I've seen very few copies come up for sale with only one being listed well below 3000.00 dollars. Several years ago I was one of the minions who helped produce "The Photo Journal Guide To Comic Books" . At the time best efforts were made to determine the availability of most all golden age comics. Some issues just don't exist in the numbers that make them readily available for purchase. Being a diver, a Schomburg collector, and very much comic book nerd, Cap 26 was a book I really wanted to add to my collection. The house is paid for, the kids both have college funds and I'm able to pay my bills every month, so I don't feel irresponsible in making the purchase.
As with any collectible, it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I'd encourage fellow collector s to buy what they truly desire and can reasonably afford regardless of the  significance or hype surrounding the item.
RF

[John Pertwee]

The only way you get those Tomb of Dracula or Werewolf by Night issues cheap is if someone posts a bunch of issues as a lot and you catch someone napping with a Buy it Now. I understand why Blade might be a little more to buy, but Moon Knight? That is the main reason I don't even try to get a complete run of that series. I was lucky enough to pick up a complete run of Tomb of Dracula back in the 80s. I paid $8 for #1 and $6 for #10 back then. years later when I was bagging and boarding them I laughed when I looked at the prices paid.

[Hepcat]

I understand supply and demand, and these are rare issues blah blah blah.

I agree with Rex though. Those two issues aren't "rare". The reason the asking prices for those two issues are so high is because of the insanely high demand component of the supply-and-demand equation. And part of the demand is "speculative" demand meaning demand not motivated by aesthetics but arising from the belief that purchasing now will enable the purchaser to flip the comic for a higher price at some future date. Dealers/sellers encourage this kind of thinking of course.

But it's a bubble which will burst at some point. Not only are those issues not "rare" by Overstreet's traditional definition of 50-100 copies in existence (scarce defined as 100-1000 copies in existence), but they're not rare in any sense of the word. As Rex says, no comic published after 1965 can be termed "rare". In particular Bronze Age superhero and horror comics are common as spit. "Collectible" comics by the late sixties were being hoarded by the tens of thousands and can be found all over the place (albeit not necessarily at reasonable asking prices). In fact, I'm willing to say that anybody telling you that any post-1965 comic is "rare" is simply a shyster trying to justify his ridiculous asking price. If you don't believe me, just check Ebay to see how many of any such comic are listed for sale at any given time.

Even highly prized (high-priced) issues of Marvel superhero comics, e.g. Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, from earlier in the sixties can very easily be found. Even if your local comic shop doesn't have a decent one for sale, rest assured that if you're willing to pay the price he knows where he can get you one with a quick phone call by next morning if not later the same day.

Interesting that just eighteen months ago or so a fellow on a comic forum posted pics of what he termed his "rarest" ten Marvel comics which all turned out to be superhero comics from the Silver Age. I replied that none of those comics was rare and that they were simply high-priced. I added that I would have been more impressed had he owned nice copies for example of Marvels such as Homer the Happy Ghost 4 or Millie the Model 54. He was offended.

As far as my own collecting is concerned, I'm willing to pay up for scarcity but I'm very reluctant to pay up for high demand. As a result I'm now beginning to wonder whether I'll ever be able and willing to add a Brave and the Bold 28, Showcase 22 or a Flash 123 to my collection all of which of course are far pricier than surrounding issues. And when it comes to sports cards, I've now resigned myself to not completing sets because I'm not willing to pay for high priced rookie or super star cards. I'd rather have 100 "commons".

[Hepcat]

For a much more concise account of this practice may I recommend "Comic Book Wars" or other related histories.

To which exact publication are you referring?

[Rex fury]

Hep, I meant Howard Beerbohm's "Comic Book Store Wars"; sorry for the inaccurate title in my earlier post. I've read several accounts of the practice of buying lots of returned comics by early comic dealers. Chuck Rozanski was involved and maybe Howard Rogofsky. Sorry I can't recall all the sources, but I think "...Store Wars" was one of those.
RF

[geezer butler]

Great replies guys. I appreciate your insight. Excellent points about "rare" issues. I'm embarrassed that didn't occur to me. Sellers say "rare," but it's just advertising ploy.  You guys are totally right. That fact that you can buy up to 20 copies of Werewolf by Night 32 at any one time, shows you it's not that "rare."

Seems ebay and other online sellers are driving these prices. Maybe it will create a bubble. Back in the day, there's no way your local comic book shop would ask for these kinds of prices. They would know your average tom, dick, and harry ain't gonna walk in off the street and drop that kind of cash. 

I think some of these sellers are happy to overprice these issues, and if no one bites, that's ok. They're happy to sit on it and wait for it to go up even more. Also, I realize everyone's threshold for how they're willing to spend is different. In terms of higher end spending, I try to keep things in the $100-$300 range. Like i said, I can afford to go higher, but I just don't think it's financially responsible (just speaking for myself). We do all right here and have some savings. But I don't think we'd be doing well for long if I started dropping $500-$5,000 on every comic book I desire. 

Anyhow, thanks again. Great comments.

[John Pertwee]

The bubble will burst at some point. As those of us that care about issues of Famous Monsters and Moon Knight pass away, demand will dwindle to a more realistic rate. Baseball Cards are about to that point, IMHO, and comics are about 20 years out from that.

Why do I say that? Price. Kids can't pay the prices to keep up with comics these days, and more and more kids don't care about comics. Why buy comics when there are three movies a year?

The kids of yesteryear are the main consumers today, buying what they couldn't get then. Paying obscene prices to do it. Without new fans to take their place, new issues will sell less and less and demand for back issues will fall.

Great replies guys. I appreciate your insight. Excellent points about "rare" issues. I'm embarrassed that didn't occur to me. Sellers say "rare," but it's just advertising ploy.  You guys are totally right. That fact that you can buy up to 20 copies of Werewolf by Night 32 at any one time, shows you it's not that "rare."

Seems ebay and other online sellers are driving these prices. Maybe it will create a bubble. Back in the day, there's no way your local comic book shop would ask for these kinds of prices. They would know your average tom, dick, and harry ain't gonna walk in off the street and drop that kind of cash. 

I think some of these sellers are happy to overprice these issues, and if no one bites, that's ok. They're happy to sit on it and wait for it to go up even more. Also, I realize everyone's threshold for how they're willing to spend is different. In terms of higher end spending, I try to keep things in the $100-$300 range. Like i said, I can afford to go higher, but I just don't think it's financially responsible (just speaking for myself). We do all right here and have some savings. But I don't think we'd be doing well for long if I started dropping $500-$5,000 on every comic book I desire. 

Anyhow, thanks again. Great comments.

[Hepcat]

Why do I say that? Price. Kids can't pay the prices to keep up with comics these days, and more and more kids don't care about comics. Why buy comics when there are three movies a year?

The kids of yesteryear are the main consumers today, buying what they couldn't get then.

Moreover unlike the kids from say 1940-1980, present day kids don't seem to have the collecting/hoarding gene. Rarely can the words "Free inside!" be seen on cereal boxes or chip bags these days. Comic mags, baseball and other cards target the older collector. Neither comics nor cards are widely sold at corner stores these days and where they are sold the prices are not kid friendly.

[Rex fury]

Fantagraphics just released a new book called "Comics Ad Men". It follows the rise of comic illustration as a means to sell products. Many golden age artists are featured as well as contemporary studios. Should anyone here have an interest in the work these artists did outside of comic books I recommend taking a look.
RF

[Hepcat]

Another newspaper strip that influenced my present day taste interest in comics was Milt Caniff's Terry and the Pirates strip. It was not within my memory carried in the London Free Press or any of the Toronto newspapers since I moved to Toronto in 1977. At some point about 25 years ago however I realized that the strip was very cool:





Harvey published 23 issues of a Terry and the Pirates title beginning with #3 from early 1947 to early 1951. Here are scans of the three I have:







Incidentally, the first comic shop I ever patronized was Dragon Lady on Queen Street West in Toronto. I didn't learn until about fifteen years ago that the shop was named after a character from Terry and the Pirates:







Too cool!

[Rex fury]

The series starts with number 3 because the first two issues were titled The Boy Explorers. Simon and Kirby did one issue which was released to the newsstands and a second issue that was a b&w comic mailed only to subscribers. Terry and the Pirates 3 has a back up S&K Boy Explorers story and also features  the origin of Dragon Lady😀
RF

[Hepcat]

I believe that the The Lone Ranger strip was also being carried in the Saturday London Free Press when I first started delving into the comic section in 1958(?).

The strip that in 1961 or so replaced The Lone Ranger in the Saturday London Free Press was Tarzan. John Celardo who drew the strip from 1954-67 was the artist at the time:



Russ Manning took over in 1967 and did a fabulous job on the strip until 1979:



The publishing history of Tarzan comics includes these runs:

Dell 1-131 (February 1948 - August 1962)
Gold Key 132-206 (November 1962 - February 1972)
DC 207-258 (April 1972 - February 1977)

Issues #207-249 and 253 feature covers by Joe Kubert while issues #207-225 and 227-235 also have interior artwork by Joe Kubert.





Taking on the task of collecting all the Tarzan issues is far too daunting a task for me to consider. I've therefore limited myself to picking up the issues featuring Joe Kubert art. Here are scans of two of these: