DC Collection Is Complete!

With the recent acquisition of New Adventures 26, UK collector Ian Levine has completed his quest to collect every DC comic ever published. To keep the title, Ian continues to buy every DC comic published every week.

Congrats to Ian on a notable achievement! Here are some pics...

Death of the Monthly Pamphlet?

Will the monthly comic book go the way of the Dodo? Are the publishers pushing us in that direction with the availability of inexpensive and comprehensive trade paperback reprints? Is it all part of a master plan to phase out monthlies?

Here is an interesting thread on this subject on the STL Comics message board.

Would Spider-Man Have Been Popular in 1938?

Recently on the CGC Message Boards, someone asked, "What if Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, had come out in 1938?" (At the same time Action Comics #1 was published -- the first appearance of Superman.)

An interesting topic... and here is what I wrote:

A significant part of the great appeal of Spider-Man is that he shared with teens from that era (the 1960s) many of the same problems -- insecurity, dating problems, bullying, not-belonging, etc. Peter Parker had a body supercharged with special powers, but his mind was still that of an everyteen underdog who was wracked with misplaced guilt and a devotion to an elderly aunt.

Would the culture of the late 30s have identified and cared about Peter's problemed psyche? Just a guess, but probably not.

The teens of the late 30s had recently emerged from the Great Depression and the storm clouds of world war were amassing on the horizon. They were not so introspective as to be able to easily identify with Peter Parker. Their problems were much more serious than getting marble-mouthed around Betty Brant; they had problems like worrying about how much food was going to be on the table, and were the relatives back in the "old country" okay.

And for every reason why Spider-Man -- a precursor to the "me" generation -- would have failed in 1938, Superman succeeded. They wanted a hero that was a "super" MAN, not a confused boy. Superman didn't have problems of his own, he solved other people's problems. He was the ultimate symbol of hope for better times -- an infallible champion of truth and justice.

It's no coincidence that when Spider-Man gained massive popularity, the times were very different and it coincided with the nadir of Superman's popularity.

These are 2 characters imbued with very different appeals, each custom fit to the era in which they were created.

Superman vs. Nazis

The book I've been waiting for finally arrived! After completing my Fantastic Four run earlier in the year, my next focus will be on some Golden Age Superman books, and I'm kicking it off with this one...

Action Comics #53, October 1942

I'm going to concentrate on WWII covers. Typically these books are pricey, but still affordable in midgrades. So, I will look for books in the 4.0 - 7.0 range with nice eye appeal and decent paper quality.

I'm pleased with this book -- even though two small color flecks came off (above the DC logo and behind the soldier's knee on the right edge) as I was carefully examining it. The paper isn't brittle or weak, so this surprised me a bit.

Structurally the book is very sound and it has no creases. It suffers only from minor edgewear, corner wear and light dust shadows on the front and back cover.

I bought this as a Fine (6.0), and I think it's close. What do you think?

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

I arrived home yesterday to find a FedEx "we were here" thingy hanging off my front door. The waiting is driving me crazy. Hopefully my present to myself will be there when I get home today.

To pass the time, here's a hint of things to come...

I bought this in the early 90s from Vincent's Collectibles (now Vincent Zurzolo of Metropolis.) I always enjoyed chatting with Vincent in those early days when he did small local shows on Long Island. He was usually the best dealer in the room. He got a fair share of my collecting dollars back then.

I had a yen for a Golden Age Action/Superman on that day back in 1992 or 1993. Now, I wish I had pursued GA more vigorously at the time when prices were so much less.

This book is structurally in great shape with almost white pages. Other than the minor staple tears and the rodent chew on the lower right corner, it presents very well.

What is it with rat chews on books from the 40s? Were there that many more rats back then? You almost never see this type of damage on books from the mid-50s on. Storage conditions in the 50s and 60s couldn't have been that much better than the 40s... it's not like they were bagging and boarding them in 1958, yet you rarely see rodent damage from that era.

Odd.

Still Waiting...

I'm still waiting for the item I mentioned in the previous post. What is the saying? Something about a watched pot never boiling...

Anyway, this is a signed photo that I recently completed when I received it back from Al White. I was working on this for quite a while... I call it the X-15 signature sheet. It contains all of the living X-15 Pilots except Neil Armstrong, plus drops pilots. Sadly, William "Pete" Knight has passed since signing this page.

Off The Dole...

Well, I have finally accepted a job offer and will begin my new job as a Marketing Director for a small business association tomorrow.

After getting "reduced in force" along with 5,499 other colleagues of Marsh & McLennan last November, the past 7 months have been a very stressful and humbling learning experience.

But, I stuck to my guns, wouldn't let the experience break me, wouldn't give in and settle for a lot less than I'm worth, and I have finally found what appears to be a challenging position in a company that believes in attracting and paying talent well. (I've learned that all companies want talent, but few are willing to pay for it.)

So, I rewarded myself with my first notable comic purchase in 7 months. When it arrives, I will share.

That Old Comic May Be Worth $100!!!

An ad from a DC comic, October 1975.

I suspect that these binders were similar to the binders that are still used to hold magazines today... the book is probably secured under a metal rod that is placed in the centerspread. It would keep the spine straight, but probably not do much to protect it from dust and oxidation.

Even 30 years ago there was a "value" mentality regarding collecting comic books.

Curt Swan's Superman

Here is a page of original comic art that I picked up recently. In my view, Curt Swan is the quintessential Superman artist of the Silver and Bronze Ages. I've wanted a Curt Swan Superman page for a while now, and I fell for this action-packed piece. The Last Son of Krypton is using his powers in every panel.

From Superman 348, page 16

It Had To Happen

As a visitor astutely noted, here is a Mark Felt (Deepthroat) forgery on eBay.

Predictably, it has all the red flags typically associated with fakes and scams of all kinds:

• Private bidder auction
• Hokey "From my grandfather's collection" story
• A slow, plodding signature with no "flow" is almost certainly a trace job. The seller explains it away as the "pen skipped," but it's pretty obvious the signature was slowly traced and probably even stopped mid-signature a few times.
• Sold "as-is." The seller gives the buyer one week to return item, but how many authentication services can turnaround an authentication within a week? And what are the chances the seller is EVER going to part with the cash once they get it in their hands? Answer: ZERO.

eBay truly is a hive of scum and villainy.

Ultimate Waste of Dead Trees

As I've written previously, I dumped Ultimate Spider-Man from my reading list well over a year ago. I had enough of the all style, no substance, hyper-extended storylines. A typical USM issue contained:

• 40% Peter and Mary Jane making silent goo-goo eyes at each other
• 20% Peter and Mary Jane engaged in "clumsy" romantic dialog that never goes anywhere
• 20% Needless establishing shots of neighborhoods and skylines
• 10% Aunt May worrying about Peter
• 10% Actual action or dialog that moves the plot forward

By trade I have been a professional copywriter, and I have written a number of motion picture scripts on spec. In all honesty, I think I could write a typical USM script on my lunch hour. No kidding, the dialog and narrative are THAT thin.

By my estimation, a typical 4 issue USM "story arc" could be easily captured -- with all the relevant story elements -- in ONE issue by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, etc.

Now, I am considering dumping Ultimate FF, which really bothers me because I am such a devoted FF fan. The latest N Zone storyline by alleged wunderkind Warren Ellis almost pushed me over the brink.

I read Ultimate FF 18 in less than 3 minutes. There was a FOUR page sequence showing a space shuttle crash landing on the Las Vegas strip. Are we as readers supposed to be enthralled with the visuals of a shuttle landing on the strip FOR FOUR PAGES?!? To add insult to injury, there was not one word of dialog or narrative in this sequence.

Some of these writers are very talented guys, too bad however that they are not using their skills on these books.

The irony is that guys like Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman and their contemporaries carefully crafted thoughtful stories with a beginning, middle and an end month after month for pennies relatively speaking.

Today's hotshot writers are "mailing it in" for big bucks, and the Ultimate lines are the most egregious example of this unwelcome trend.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog entry contains more text than the next issue of USM.)

They Hit DEEP THROAT Powerball: W. Mark Felt Signed Book

As of this writing, this signed book is over $6,000 with 3 days to go!

Amazing.

10 days ago you couldn't have given this signed book away for the price of postage.