Monster Comics

[horrorhunter]

We seem to be in agreement, Hep.

If you check out the videos on You Tube from the Comic Book Collecting Community you will be deluged with vids that focus on "hauls", "keys", and "slabs". Most of those guys worship at the altar of plastic slabs and numerical grades. They don't focus on the comics themselves, but on the status of owning "key" books with that grade number to crow about. Now understand that there are some substantive comic book videos on You Tube that focus on classic story arcs, artists, writers, characters, memories of buying books as kid, memories of conventions, etc. But, most of the You Tube vids are all about that slab with that number and what's going to be the next "hot" book because of some TV show or movie. I can only assume the YT community is indicative of collecting in general these days. I enjoy watching the videos from the guys who bought comics as kids in the '60s and '70s and actually value the books instead the status of owning high grade keys encased in plastic. I enjoy the vids about monster mags even more but those are much less plentiful.

About 10 years ago I decided to trim my collection to something more manageable so that I could enjoy my favorite books without having to deal with such quantity. I was honestly burned out on most newer books anyway, especially mainstream superhero titles. So, I kept all my monster mags (about 3K) and trimmed my comic collection down to 5K from 13K. I ended up keeping my monster/horror titles, a few subgenres like Sword & Sorcery (Conan), and most of my older Superhero books from the mid '70s and before. I'm going to eventually sell the 8K I decided not to collect anymore. Maybe when I retire I'll open a small business with a combination of an indoor flea market booth and eBay. I've been selling off a few things on eBay so I'm slowly breaking into dealing. I enjoy my actual collection much more now that I don't feel so encumbered by books I lost interest in.

[Hepcat]

If you check out the videos on You Tube from the Comic Book Collecting Community you will be deluged with vids that focus on "hauls", "keys", and "slabs". Most of those guys worship at the altar of plastic slabs and numerical grades. They don't focus on the comics themselves, but on the status of owning "key" books with that grade number to crow about. Now understand that there are some substantive comic book videos on You Tube that focus on classic story arcs, artists, writers, characters, memories of buying books as kid, memories of conventions, etc. But, most of the You Tube vids are all about that slab with that number and what's going to be the next "hot" book because of some TV show or movie. I can only assume the YT community is indicative of collecting in general these days. I enjoy watching the videos from the guys who bought comics as kids in the '60s and '70s and actually value the books instead the status of owning high grade keys encased in plastic.

Like the Youtube videos you mention, the focus of most comic discussion forums is the comic marketplace as opposed to the appreciation of the comics themselves and the joy of collecting. The Marvelmasterworks forum is one devoted to the appreciation of vintage comics. I've posted lots of collecting stories in this thread, particularly in the newer pages:

http://marvelmasterworksfansite.yuku.com/topic/17333/My-comic-collection?page=1#.WIjLT1MrLIU

[Wich2]

If you haven't read it, you haven't appreciated it.

Free it, so someone can!

[horrorhunter]

I picked up issues #16 and #17 of Crypt Of Horror from an eBay seller.





COH is by AC Comics and reprints classic Pre-Code Horror stories from various defunct publishers. They are comic book size but super thick, each of these issues is 140 pages and reprints 21 stories in B&W. I love PCH so I've been wanting to check out COH for awhile but the cover prices are a bit off-putting at 30 bucks. I finally took the plunge when I scored a good deal on a Make Offer with the seller. The books are in high grade and they were around 1/3rd cover price. Lots of good PCH reading there. The cover for #16 is an old Eerie Pubs cover by Bob Powell. #17 has a classic Steve Ditko cover. 

[Hepcat]

Here are scans of five more of my early Challengers of the Unknown comics:

[horrorhunter]

This Frazetta painting was used for the cover of the Tales From The Crypt paperback.

[horrorhunter]

This Frazetta painting was used for the cover of The Autumn People paperback.

[marsattacks666]

This Frazetta painting was used for the cover of the Tales From The Crypt paperback.

Holy, wow!!!

[horrorhunter]

This is Limited Collectors Edition C-23 (DC, 1973).



It features reprints from House Of Mystery as well as a spectacular centerfold by Bernie Wrightson featuring Cain and Gregory. Some of the reprinted stories include work by Wrightson and Neal Adams which are beautiful in the oversized format. I never had one of these when I was a kid but I wanted one. In the '80s I found a coverless copy at a flea market for a quarter and snapped it up. I saved the Wrightson centerfold and have it in a poster frame hanging up with some of my other monster posters. It's well tanned from age but still one of my favorite posters. I scored a FN copy of the comic from an eBay seller a few years ago for around $12. It's great to finally have one in my collection. Those oversized "Treasury Edition" format comics are hard to find in nice condition because the size made them difficult to store properly. It's very hard to find them in high grade.

I have a few Marvel Treasury Editions including #1 (Spider-Man), #2 (Fantastic Four), and the Marvel/DC crossover Superman Vs Spider-Man which I bought new off the stands and is in VF/NM condition. I also bought the Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali DC Limited Collectors Edition new and that one is in VF and has the beautiful Neal Adams art. The premise sounds preposterous but the story is actually pretty good and the Adams art raises it to the status of a classic.

[Wich2]

The Treasury was one of THE best formats ever in the medium - and killed off by silly-*ss thinking from collectors. I have many DCs & Marvels, as well as oddballs from EC, Gold Key (Donald Duck) and Archie (Christmas.)

It never fails to amaze me:

In an era where we went for ever-larger TV screens to see classic movies more faithfully, comix fans accept SMALLER repros of classic Gold and Silver Age classics! (Not to mention, on shiny paper, with day-glo ink!)

Sheesh!

-Craig

[horrorhunter]

Wham-O Giant Comics #1 (April, 1967):



This baby dwarfed even the Treasuries and measured a whopping 21"X13"! It featured work by Wally Wood, Lou Fine, and several others. I never owned it but I remember seeing it at the Hobby Mart & Camera Center in the Village Mall in my home town. 98 cents was a chunk of money for me to throw down on a comic book in 1967 and I never could scrape it up. These things must be quite scarce these days since the incredible size made it vulnerable to damage. High grade ones must be rare (or nonexistent). It lives up to the cover hype "World's Largest Comic Book!".

BTW, Hobby Mart & Camera Center carried lots of cool monster oriented stuff like Castle and Ken Films 8mm monster movies (still have the catalogs), Aurora Monster Models with plastic cement and paints, and some really cool posters. I remember drooling over the Raquel Welch poster from One Million Years B.C. in the late '60s before I even knew I liked girls. Raquel will do that to a guy...even a kid! 

[horrorhunter]

My favorite Uncle by fantastic Frank Frazetta!

[Lazarus]

Supernatural Thrillers #9 Page 1 opening splash.  One of my favorite images in comics.  I love the Marvel monster titles.

[horrorhunter]

Supernatural Thrillers #9 Page 1 opening splash.  One of my favorite images in comics.  I love the Marvel monster titles.

Val Mayerik did some really nice work. Very Wrightsonesque! Maybe a bit of Ploog, too.

Here's a Mayerik splash page featuring Man-Thing:

[Wich2]

Though Marvel's Monster is not really a fave, Mayerik's version of him may be!