Twin Cities Books

The Atom #3 Twin Cities pedigree (DC, 1962) CGC NM 9.4

If you've read any of these you know of my affinity for green covers.

Wonder Woman #178 Twin Cities pedigree (DC, 1968) CGC NM+ 9.6

Green psychedelic covers? Where do those sit on my personal scale? Pretty damn high.

The Avengers #57 Twin Cities pedigree (Marvel, 1968) CGC NM/MT 9.8

I'm cool with this book. It's got a lot going for it. The Vision is a cool character (he's one of "my" Avengers,) the Spectre homage is cool and who doesn't love the Avengers?

Batman #200 Twin Cities pedigree (DC, 1968) CGC NM/MT 9.8

This is a dopey cover AND I LOVE IT.

Batman #227 Twin Cities pedigree (DC, 1970) CGC NM/MT 9.8

This is the complete opposite of a dopey cover. CLEARLY.

Silver Age

Action Comics #252 (DC, 1959) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Cream to off-white pages

A fun book to me.

Adventure Comics #247 (DC, 1958) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white to white pages

I want this to be a hot book. I don't know why.

The Amazing Spider-Man #28 (Marvel, 1965) CGC NM+ 9.6 Off-white pages

What's the value here? We saw $15,000 for Pacific Coast 3-4 years ago. This book boggles my (non-Spider-Man collecting) mind.

The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (Marvel, 1967) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages

Here's a Spider-man book I'd actually want to own although at the price this will get, I'm not sure I'd want to pony up for this one.

Detective Comics #327 (DC, 1964) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages

Look at this thing:

The Flash #105 (DC, 1959) CGC NM 9.4

I don't know why I've never actively collected Flash books. I've always been focusing on something else I guess. Great book.

Showcase #4 The Flash – Bethlehem pedigree (DC, 1956) CGC VF/NM 9.0

There it is, one of my favorite books ever.

Stay tuned, hopefully I'll find time for Part 2 and 3 before this auction goes off.

Showcase #4 CGC 8.0 VF Universal

Sold For:$23,101.00 Seller: silvercomics ( 2697 )

Description:

Showcase #4, 9-10/1956

CGC 8.0 Universal, OFF-WHITE Pages

Certification #0033452001

The Book:

Sensation Comics # 1 – Wonder Woman January DC 1942

Just in time for the Wonder Woman TV show announcement.

Showcase Presents Green Lantern – #22 ~ 1959

A copy reportedly from an original owner collection. Looks like a well-loved collection. I like seeing those almost as much as I like seeing the obsessive condition freaks because I love the idea that people just read these things to death.

Action Comics #252 VF- 7.5 1st Supergirl DC 1959

That's a great book. Not just that copy (which is nice,) but the issue in general.

Captain America #14 CGC 9.2 Timely 1942 OW-W

That's a great cover and a great copy… win-win!

Turner – Ballistic 3 original cover sexy & inked

I remember distinctly, seeing this cover on the stands. It's where I first noticed Turner, even though I didn't actually read his work until Witchblade.

SHOWCASE # 22 (DC/59) ORIGIN/1ST HAL JORDAN CGG 7.0 CGC

First time I've featured a CGG book in… maybe forever.

Sold For: US $10,000.00 Seller: whitesnoize ( 414 )

Description:

SHOWCASE # 22 ORIGIN/1ST APPEARANCE OF HAL JORDAN

HERE IT IS….THE BEST 7.0 EVER GRADED….IN MY OPINION… COMPARED TO OTHER BOOKS LISTED ….I ALMOST WANT TO TAKE THIS OUT OF THE CGG AND SEND IT TO CGC AND TAKE A CHANCE ON A BETTER GRADE

THE SPOTS IN THE PICTURES ARE FROM THE CHRISTMAS TREE REFLECTION AND NOT ON THE SLAB OR BOOK

CGG# 501015918 GRADED 3/04

On Dec-08-10 at 08:15:36 PST, seller added the following information:

THIS BOOK HAS NO STAINS/SMUDGES OR RESTORATION….I WILL TRY AND GET A SCANNED PHOTO ADDED TO GET RID OF REFLECTIONS

On Dec-08-10 at 09:04:00 PST, seller added the following information:

MY BAD…..IT MIGHT BE A STAIN//SMUDGE ABOVE HIS FOOT….I APOLOGIZE IF I SPOKE TO SOON….CAN'T RETRACT MY LAST STATEMENT…

And the book:

Showcase #4 CGC 6.0 1st Silver Age Flash! Key book!

Winning bid: US $9,995.00 Seller: dcreek1 ( 810 )

Description:

Showcase #4 CGC 6.0 – Off-white pages. – 1st Silver Age Flash. Blue label- Universal grade (Unrestored-original). Rare in this grade. Only 23 graded higher! Very tough book to find in investment grade. Get yours now!

Some interesting listings this week. I'm a big fan of the above cover.

Original BATMAN cover by P. Craig Russell

Just a great image. Everything you want from PCR. Would look phenomenal framed.

Showcase 6 CGC 5.5 OW/W Pages

I've never owned this book. Just sayin'

(no, I'm not bidding on it. There are about $50,000 worth of Daredevils I'm trying to sort through bidding on between ComicLink and Pedigree this month, so whatever I target amongst those is going to be my entire comic budget)

Daredevil 1 CGC 9.2 NM- Stan Lee Everett Jack Kirby

There are a lot of Daredevil #1s available right now. Really nice ones. Hopefully Filter will get a good price for his. Clearly people in the market for a 9.6 aren't going to go after a 9.2 so he's probably got a shot.

SANDMAN #1 Page 11 Original Art – NEIL GAIMAN SAM KIETH

Not the best Sandman page…. BUT, it's a page from #1. That's pretty cool.

Seduction of the Innocent, first, with bibliography

A great piece of comic book history.

Comiclink has a Featured Auction ending this week. Not that they've exactly flown under the radar, but we've all been paying just a little bit of extra attention. Time to give CL some love:

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I went through the catalog yesterday. I limited myself to picking twelve lots of interest to share with you guys. It was tough because this is an auction full of some interesting material. The Joe Kubert lots themselves could have produced a decent set of 12 items to ogle.

The Incredible Hulk #1 (Marvel, 1962) CGC NM- 9.2

This is clearly the book of the auction. I don't get excited easily by Silver Age marvels, but this book brings a smile to my face. It's tough to find in high grade and it's the HULK.

Hulk smash!

As of this writing it sits at $45,000. Still plenty of room for a thrill bid, I think.
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Heritage's May auction is live and before I even had time to think about doing an article on it, the Showcase #4 CGC 9.6 is already at $107k and counting.

If there's any justice in this world, this book will set the Silver Age record.

Showcase #4 The Flash (DC, 1956) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages

Incredible book. I fear it won't get the kind of numbers I think it deserves, but it will still be interesting to see what it does sell for when the smoke clears.

Showcase #4 The Flash (DC, 1956) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.

Showcase #4 The Flash (DC, 1956) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages. Surely the best Silver Age comic book Heritage has ever offered at auction, this copy is a serious contender for the most desirable copy of any Silver Age comic. If you leave Marvel aside and consider only DC books, we will commit to saying that there's nothing to top this.

In terms of historical significance, few books can hold a candle to Showcase #4 — it introduced a new superhero at a time when only Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman had their own titles (and not a single superhero was being published at Atlas/Marvel after that firm's failed revival attempt a couple of years previously). As Paul Kupperberg noted, "frankly, anything would have been a welcome relief from the tedium of the day, when Superman was pitted against gangsters in suits and Batman fought aliens in outer space."

Though all of the creators involved (editor Julius Schwartz, writer Robert Kanigher, penciler Carmine Infantino, and inker Joe Kubert) had worked on the Golden Age Flash Comics title in some capacity, it was agreed to create a new Flash character rather than attempting a revival… and the target audience for comics was too young to remember the older series anyway. Even a reference to the old series showing a copy of Flash Comics #13 went over readers' heads — Gary Carter noted that that panel was "the first time I ever saw the Golden Age Flash as a child. At the time though, I had no idea it was a 'real' comic book, so to speak."

The new Flash, Barry Allen, not only had a sleek look unlike any costume seen in the Golden Age, the art style was exciting and new, courtesy of Carmine Infantino. The character was a hit, and three more Showcase appearances and his own series would soon follow.

A beautifully unblemished copy front and back, as are the others in this amazing run.