Fool’s Gold

Be careful what you read today. On second thought, be careful what you read every day. A couple of days ago I read of the passing of Daniel Kahneman, the behavioral psychologist that dispelled the age-old notion that people always act rationally an in their own best interest when making economic decisions. I’m thinking his works should be required reading for all back issue comic book market collectors and investors.

From the “going to eBay auction” pile I’ve picked Green Lantern #76 as the Cover of the Week but not for the obvious reason. I think the cover has an iconic status that overshadows its actual “cover appeal”. I’m a Neal Adams fan but I don’t think this is one of his best covers. I think the heavy greens make this an easily identifiable cover and the fact that the issue is celebrated as an important event in the annals of comics adds to the power of the cover, anyway I hope the book does well at auction!

Our Splash Page of the Week comes from the “they don’t write them like they used to” pile (same pile as the eBay auction pile). I’m pretty sure penciller Jose Delbo had no idea we’d be reacting to this scene the way we are. Had the Brady Bunch title lasted a few more years he could have redrawn this scene with the boys begging the girls to come up into the fort. Ah the good old days…

Here’s a Harvey in house ad from the back cover of True 3D #1 from 1953. Of course, when I see ads like this my mind races through collectability and values, not much here I’m afraid. Note to self, if I ever stumble upon an old publisher warehouse from the 1950s, please don’t let it be Harvey, let it be Atlas, let it be Charlton, heck I’ll even take DC but please don’t let it be Harvey.

The True 3D #1 had the two pair of glasses firmly in place and I liked the little tutorial they gave the readers on how to use the glasses to get the best experience. I remember trying to read one of these old comics with the 3D glasses, I had to take two extra strength Advil after. I wonder what the most valuable 3D comic is? Anybody venture a guess?

The latest icecollectibles weekly eBay auction finished up last night with some bangers. That Phantom Stranger #26 we had up was a beauty, it closed at $305, well above the May 2021 sale of $101. This is a classic case of pend up demand, quality copies of this fan favorite cover don’t come up very often and when they do, strong results happen. Nice Book!

Walter Durajlija
Walter Durajlija

Walter Durajlija is an Overstreet Advisor and Shuster Award winner. He owns Big B Comics in Hamilton Ontario.

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Spider
Spider
6 months ago

It’s the power of a good inking fade! I think inking appreciation is one of the most difficult aspects to appreciate along a person’s journey into comics…or perhaps I’m confused and it’s just a great monochromatic colour palette that people like? But the green fade of #76 and the red fade on ASM#50 are what pleases the eye to me…I also like a good multi colour fade, Giant Size X-Men#2 & ASM#5 come to mind.

Good luck with your sale Walt.

Gerald Eddy
Gerald Eddy
6 months ago

I had several of those Phantom Stranger books including that Kaluta covered one and eventually had to sell them as part of Bronze Age lots. Of course yours was graded and that feeds into Meli’s obsession with ‘boxed’ editions! So did the Brady Bunch sell? I know when I was young I would have given that book the cold shoulder as I never liked the show either!
You asked me to mention what comics I did keep and have been so his week I will mention the E.C.’s I kept. I have the full run of Valor in vg- fn. Didn’t want to sell the as they are nice have incredible artwork and I wouldn’t have gotten beans for them because everyone wants the scary stuff. Interestingly I got the set from a paper seller in Italy for about $40 bucks. Had a great conversation with him too. He was looking for a pristine issue of Impact #1 for the cover story. I also kept a Crime Suspenstories with Frazetta/ Williamson art (17?) and the Shock Suspenstories with the Monkey on his Back cover (classic)! Weird Fantasy with the racial story, and Moongirll #1 as well as Happy Hooligans, and Gunfighter all with Moongirl!
I sold 80k worth of comics but kept some great ones!

davidpop11
davidpop11
5 months ago

I also have a beautiful near mint copy of that True 3D #1 (glasses attached). I got it at a comic con about forty years ago and was amazed to pick it up for about five dollars. By the end of the con I realized that he had a full warehouse box of that comic – all unread, which is why it is currently worth much less than it normally would be for a comic of that grade and vintage which would normally be quite rare. I still like the book, though!