• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Ask Gator
13 13

7,545 posts in this topic

Gator,

 

How would you assess the SDCC basketball game?

high energy. High skill level. Incredible competition. Maybe the likes of which has never before been seen!!!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All comic "ages" were designated after the fact and represent reasonable attempts to categorize noticeable changes in publishing trends. There will typically be some preliminary examples that occur prior to the start of an age and some examples that occur after the official end date. The debate around ages almost always revolves around which of the early adopters and the stragglers signal the start and end of the age in question.

 

As such it can be helpful to look at the predecessor and successor ages in order to provide a context for the discussion of any particular age.

 

Golden Age represents the golden age of superheroes when they went from being 13% share of a very small market in 1938 to a 54% share of a much larger market in 1941. In June 1941, there are 57 comics, 42 of which are arguably mostly super-hero based.

 

It's not far from the truth to say that the GA was superhero comics for kids. The end of WWII, however, resulted in such a significant reduction in the interest of superheroes that by 1950 supers were down to just a 4% share of of an extremely large comics market.

 

This was what the comics newsstand looked like when Superman was published in 1938.

Action1_newstand.jpg

(The image was created by a Boardie but I do not know who.)

 

 

The Atomic Age was the first time period when the industry published comics in every genre targeting every age group from young kids to adults. Comics became just as diverse a medium for telling stories for all ages as books, movies, plays, music etc.

 

While there were crime (Crime Does Not Pay) and teen (Archie) titles starting during the war, they ramped up considerably after the war. Romance (Young Love 1947), Good Girl Art (Phantom Lady 1947) and horror (Adventures into the Unknown 1948) started after the war. While sci-fi had been around since the early days of the GA, it had died down during the war until a noticeable expansion started in 1951.

 

The Atomic Age was also the time of the greatest number of titles and the greatest number of printed comics. In 1952, for example, there were 643 titles compared to 115 in 1940 or 289 in 1945. Explicit acts of violence, "good girl" art and inclusion of horror story elements were incorporated into many titles/genres that had been relatively tame. These also were the primary thematic elements that were to cause the backlash against comics in general and that were eventually stifled by the comics code.

 

The Silver Age was about the re-introduction of superheros with a science-fiction twist as a way to take advantage of Sputnik/space race era and because of the youthful interests of many of the main creators (Schwartz, Weisinger, Kirby, Lee, Kane etc were all part of the early fandom of sci-fi). This provided a way to innovate out of the restrictions imposed by Comics Code.

 

I personally think the Atomic Age is best described as starting with the dropping of the Atomic Bomb and ending with the advent of the Code. These end points are not only historically significant and easy to remember but also happen to correspond with very dramatic publishing shifts.

 

All stats were sourced from the indispensable Gerber Photojournal.

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I personally think the Atomic Age is best described as starting with the dropping of the Atomic Bomb and ending with the advent of the Code. These end points are not only historically significant and easy to remember but also happen to correspond with very dramatic publishing shifts.

 

All stats were sourced from the indispensable Gerber Photojournal.

.

 

Yes, absolutely right. You only have to look at how quickly the WW2 themes disappeared from comic book covers after August 1945. And the code changed everything in 1954.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All comic "ages" were designated after the fact and represent reasonable attempts to categorize noticeable changes in publishing trends. There will typically be some preliminary examples that occur prior to the start of an age and some examples that occur after the official end date. The debate around ages almost always revolves around which of the early adopters and the stragglers signal the start and end of the age in question.

 

As such it can be helpful to look at the predecessor and successor ages in order to provide a context for the discussion of any particular age.

 

Golden Age represents the golden age of superheroes when they went from being 13% share of a very small market in 1938 to a 54% share of a much larger market in 1941. In June 1941, there are 57 comics, 42 of which are arguably mostly super-hero based.

 

It's not far from the truth to say that the GA was superhero comics for kids. The end of WWII, however, resulted in such a significant reduction in the interest of superheroes that by 1950 supers were down to just a 4% share of of an extremely large comics market.

 

This was what the comics newsstand looked like when Superman was published in 1938.

Action1_newstand.jpg

(The image was created by a Boardie but I do not know who.)

 

 

The Atomic Age was the first time period when the industry published comics in every genre targeting every age group from young kids to adults. Comics became just as diverse a medium for telling stories for all ages as books, movies, plays, music etc.

 

While there were crime (Crime Does Not Pay) and teen (Archie) titles starting during the war, they ramped up considerably after the war. Romance (Young Love 1947), Good Girl Art (Phantom Lady 1947) and horror (Adventures into the Unknown 1948) started after the war. While sci-fi had been around since the early days of the GA, it had died down during the war until a noticeable expansion started in 1951.

 

The Atomic Age was also the time of the greatest number of titles and the greatest number of printed comics. In 1952, for example, there were 643 titles compared to 115 in 1940 or 289 in 1945. Explicit acts of violence, "good girl" art and inclusion of horror story elements were incorporated into many titles/genres that had been relatively tame. These also were the primary thematic elements that were to cause the backlash against comics in general and that were eventually stifled by the comics code.

 

The Silver Age was about the re-introduction of superheros with a science-fiction twist as a way to take advantage of Sputnik/space race era and because of the youthful interests of many of the main creators (Schwartz, Weisinger, Kirby, Lee, Kane etc were all part of the early fandom of sci-fi). This provided a way to innovate out of the restrictions imposed by Comics Code.

 

I personally think the Atomic Age is best described as starting with the dropping of the Atomic Bomb and ending with the advent of the Code. These end points are not only historically significant and easy to remember but also happen to correspond with very dramatic publishing shifts.

 

All stats were sourced from the indispensable Gerber Photojournal.

.

 

 

Well done, my friend. You get the G.A.tor Aid award of the day! :applause:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gator, why was your SDCC comic offerings so pathetic?

 

had a ton of great $5 sdcc exclusive moderns...I would say offering was awesome lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gator,

 

How would you assess the SDCC basketball game?

high energy. High skill level. Incredible competition. Maybe the likes of which has never before been seen!!!

 

:headbang:

Cat was our teams "cat"alyst (thumbs u
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gator,

 

How would you assess the SDCC basketball game?

high energy. High skill level. Incredible competition. Maybe the likes of which has never before been seen!!!

 

:headbang:

Cat was our teams "cat"alyst (thumbs u

 

:facepalm: I've been out-punned by Gator. :cry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a few Q's for you to chomp on.

 

1. How's the back?

2. Do you have an online store or a place we can see and buy books from you besides cons?

3. In the Timely thread you meantioned your top books to have, my question is why would you rather have these? For gain (sell/trade)? As a personal collector? What makes these ranked so high, and are you talking certain grade ranges?

 

Most you listed are well known "classic" covers and are in general tough to part with, but can you explain why Human Torch #13 is so high in the list?

 

What the other Gator high ranked etc. Timelys you mentioned in your list?

 

"In terms of timely importance mmc9 is right up there."

 

" there are way too many timelys in demand for mm9 to crack the top 15 (purely demand) for me these days I'm afraid to say..."

 

"These are books id rather have than mmc9

Cap 1, 3, 46, 28,33 ,37

Marvel 1, mmc 40, 44, 46

All select 1,2

All winners 12

Human torch 12,13

Subby 12

USA 7,8

Etc"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a few Q's for you to chomp on.

 

1. How's the back?

2. Do you have an online store or a place we can see and buy books from you besides cons?

3. In the Timely thread you meantioned your top books to have, my question is why would you rather have these? For gain (sell/trade)? As a personal collector? What makes these ranked so high, and are you talking certain grade ranges?

 

Most you listed are well known "classic" covers and are in general tough to part with, but can you explain why Human Torch #13 is so high in the list?

 

What the other Gator high ranked etc. Timelys you mentioned in your list?

 

"In terms of timely importance mmc9 is right up there."

 

" there are way too many timelys in demand for mm9 to crack the top 15 (purely demand) for me these days I'm afraid to say..."

 

"These are books id rather have than mmc9

Cap 1, 3, 46, 28,33 ,37

Marvel 1, mmc 40, 44, 46

All select 1,2

All winners 12

Human torch 12,13

Subby 12

USA 7,8

Etc"

 

1-going through the dr recommend treatment and stretching and drugs :insane: but I'm moving about!

2-unfortunately no...I am not a "full time" vintage dealer (given I only set up at 6-10 shows I guess I am just a part timer!), so I don't have online store for comics...just at cons or by request, or on a rare occasion I will scan and sell here on the boards

3-MMC 9 is historically important due to the hero battle context....but the book just doesn't excite me to own anymore (it once did, but no longer)...

 

the others on my list are just "wow" covers, or scarce cool books that appeal to me...the MMC trio are great sellers (as is cap 46)...so, while I own a nice copy of each in my personal collection, I do try to buy copies to resell profitably...same with cap 1 and 3...those are incredibly high demand books...

 

the others I just like, but rarely have for sale...I just sought out one nice copy for me

Link to comment
Share on other sites

rick, how do you view pre-hero DC's at the moment, and for the future?

 

How big a factor is the cover artist (Flessel, Sullivan, Guardineer, etc.) for these very tough books?

 

:o Woah Steve!

 

I just caught up to Fleisel Who's this Sullivan guy?

 

 

[Of course Fred is so passé]

Edited by Flex Mentallo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

rick, how do you view pre-hero DC's at the moment, and for the future?

 

How big a factor is the cover artist (Flessel, Sullivan, Guardineer, etc.) for these very tough books?

as we know, the entrance of even 1 or 2 serious collectors for these type books can affect the entire market (positively)...a single exiting collector will typically not affect the market negatively, as there are generally enough seekers to prop up, but if multiple collectors exit, future uncertain ..., at the current moment, the emergence of some new interest, has caused an uptick in demand, and hence prices (I think that was obvious at sdcc this past weeks)

 

without question much of the appeal has to be the artists (covers as well as their corresponding interior work)... I believe that, along with great scarcity, is a premium determinant of demand

Link to comment
Share on other sites

rick, how do you view pre-hero DC's at the moment, and for the future?

 

How big a factor is the cover artist (Flessel, Sullivan, Guardineer, etc.) for these very tough books?

as we know, the entrance of even 1 or 2 serious collectors for these type books can affect the entire market (positively)...a single exiting collector will typically not affect the market negatively, as there are generally enough seekers to prop up, but if multiple collectors exit, future uncertain ..., at the current moment, the emergence of some new interest, has caused an uptick in demand, and hence prices (I think that was obvious at sdcc this past weeks)

 

without question much of the appeal has to be the artists (covers as well as their corresponding interior work)... I believe that, along with great scarcity, is a premium determinant of demand

 

So - and I'm being serious here - prices can surge or stall on a whim? What price Price Guide in this reality?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

rick, how do you view pre-hero DC's at the moment, and for the future?

 

How big a factor is the cover artist (Flessel, Sullivan, Guardineer, etc.) for these very tough books?

as we know, the entrance of even 1 or 2 serious collectors for these type books can affect the entire market (positively)...a single exiting collector will typically not affect the market negatively, as there are generally enough seekers to prop up, but if multiple collectors exit, future uncertain ..., at the current moment, the emergence of some new interest, has caused an uptick in demand, and hence prices (I think that was obvious at sdcc this past weeks)

 

without question much of the appeal has to be the artists (covers as well as their corresponding interior work)... I believe that, along with great scarcity, is a premium determinant of demand

 

So - and I'm being serious here - prices can surge or stall on a whim? What price Price Guide in this reality?

we've seen what even just a single new collector entering a small niche segment, can do to pricing (thumbs u
Link to comment
Share on other sites

rick, how do you view pre-hero DC's at the moment, and for the future?

 

How big a factor is the cover artist (Flessel, Sullivan, Guardineer, etc.) for these very tough books?

as we know, the entrance of even 1 or 2 serious collectors for these type books can affect the entire market (positively)...a single exiting collector will typically not affect the market negatively, as there are generally enough seekers to prop up, but if multiple collectors exit, future uncertain ..., at the current moment, the emergence of some new interest, has caused an uptick in demand, and hence prices (I think that was obvious at sdcc this past weeks)

 

without question much of the appeal has to be the artists (covers as well as their corresponding interior work)... I believe that, along with great scarcity, is a premium determinant of demand

 

So - and I'm being serious here - prices can surge or stall on a whim? What price Price Guide in this reality?

we've seen what even just a single new collector entering a small niche segment, can do to pricing (thumbs u

 

True enough, but how dependable is the Barnum factor? hm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
13 13