The debate is finally open. We all know that the S-Tier, God-tier crown belongs definitively to the Mile High / Edgar Church pedigree—but what is the absolute second-best collection in comic book history?
Welcome to the milestone 20th episode of Edgar Church’s Basement. I have been teasing this deep dive for nearly two years, and today we are laying down the analytical groundwork for a massive, upcoming 61-pedigree definitive tier list.
Rather than just pulling opinions out of thin air, we are looking at this through a strict, weighted data framework built on four critical criteria: Breadth & Depth, Quality/Average Grade, Density of Major Keys, and Historical Importance to the Hobby.
In this extemporaneous sandbox episode, we audit 12 elite heavyweight contenders to see whose paper trails hold the ultimate crown outside of the Mile High vault.
0:00 Introduction: Ranking the S-Tier Collections
2:16 My 4 Rules for Grading a Pedigree
5:12 Contender 1: White Mountain (The Silver Age Titan)
11:46 Contender 2: Allentown (Small but Mighty)
14:15 Contender 3: San Francisco / Tom Riley (The S-Tier Ghosts)
15:47 Contenders 4 & 5: Pacific Coast & Curator (Pure Royalty)
20:08 Contender 6: Kansas City (Hyper-Concentrated Keys)
21:22 Contender 7: Lamont Larson (The Historic 1930s Benchmark)
23:03 Contender 8: Bethlehem (Massive 20,000-Book Archive)
25:31 Contender 9: Davis Crippen (The Stolen Stash Mystery)
26:21 Contender 10: Denver (153 Pure Number Ones)
27:24 Contender 11: Promise Collection (Flawless Golden Age Quality)
29:23 Contender 12: Gaines File & Windy City (EC Copies & Heavyweights)
31:33 Final Challenge: What Did I Miss?