A beautiful Alex Schomburg cover is featured on this second issue of a very popular title. This is actually #2 of this title. The numbering of the title was corrected by Timely with issue #5.
The 1950s witnessed a 3-D craze and the comic book community was more than willing to appease that appetite! I purchased this issue slabbed so I actually don't know whether the glasses are included (I presume they are inside the book). Five copies grade higher (as of April 22, 2008).
** SLIGHT PROFESSIONAL RESTORATION ** CGC label notes: small amount of color touch on cover, piece re-attached with glue.
The restoration on this book, even if you could find it, is so
insignificant as to essentially be negligible. Moreover, if you are a
L.B. Cole fan, than the classic cover art alone on this book should
outweigh any evidence of restoration.
Overstreet 2005 Guide GD 2.0 value = $292; VG 4.0 value = $584; FN 6.0 value = $876; VF 8.0 value = $1,825.
Forty years ago, from late 1965 to early 1968, a young collector would purchase
multiple copies of each issue of such titles as Amazing Spider-Man,
Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Tales of Suspense and
X-Men. One copy would be read, and the others would be meticulously
placed away for safe-keeping. Ultimately approximately 1,000 books were amassed,
of which nearly 400 have been acquired by EsquireComics.com and Southern California Comics (about half of
those have been CGC certified and the remaining books were retained by the
owner's son for sale on eBay). The majority of the books fall within the 9.2 - 9.6 range, and often have pure white pages.
Although
this collection is designated a "pedigree" on my site, it is just a
"collection". In order to key the collection my website only recognizes
"pedigree" designations. None of the books are marked or come with a
certificate of authenticity, nor has the history of the collection
impacted the prices.
The sale of these books is being handled
by Southern California Comics which mantains physical possession of the
Colllection. If you are interested in purchasing this book or have a
question, please contact:
SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA COMICS 8280 CLAIREMONT MESA BL. #124 SAN DIEGO CA
92111 858-715-8669 WWW.SOCALCOMICS.COM
SPECIAL ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOLLYWOOD HILLS BOOKS
E-mail and phone orders are accepted. Payment may be made by cash, money orders, personal
checks, Visa/Mastercard and PayPal. The PayPal account is: socalcom@aol.com. Foreign orders: Money
Orders or PayPal (in some cases), only! Checks may be held in our bank for up to
10 days to clear before the order will be mailed. All our orders are shipped in
sturdy boxes, packaged to minimize damage during shipping.
Domestic shipping is $7.00 for 1 uninsured CGC book in a Priority container. Insurance
is based upon purchase price and foreign costs are based upon country of
destination. You can calculate and quote these prices yourself at
www.usps.com. Foreign shipping costs are calculated based upon package weight and value. Shipment is commonly via
USPS Air Letter for packages under 4 lbs. This has generally been the fastest,
cheapest and safest way to ship to foreign buyers. Typically those shipments
range from $14.00-$25.00 depending on country of origin. Shipping to Canada is
about $7.00 for Air.
INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS:
Payment plans are available for up to three months. The initial
down payment is nonrefundable and generally 1/3 of the retail cost of the book with the balance to
be paid at the end of three months.
One of the holy grails of the Silver Age, and predominantly responsible
for the revival of Marvel Comics and superheros, this beauty is ranked
third amongst Silver Age titles by Overstreet. Certainly doesn't hurt
that a major motion picture was released last year with sequels to
follow!
Prices vary widely on this book. It is very uncommon, perhaps one
can say scarce, in high grade and it is not often to see one on the
market. During 2004-2005, several issues sold ranging from
$19,000 to $25,000. An identically graded copy currently on Comiclink
is seeking nearly $26,000 (with an existing bid approaching $24,000). A
9.4 copy sold for over $111,000 four years ago (which seemingly makes
my offered #1 appear relatively inexpensive)!!!
But none of the other books, to my knowledge, offer what this copy
does: presumably signed by the FF creator himself, the master Jack
Kirby!!!
Unfortunately, the signing was not done in the presence of CGC so no
verification exists. Of course, there is no guarantee that the
signature is authentic. However, I am aware of the recent history of
this book and spoken with a prior owner who is a well-known comic book
dealer. It was he who had the book certified by CGC. He told me that he
has seen many authentic copies of Kirby's signature and he was of the
opinion this signature is, in fact, authentic. Moreover, I spoke with
CGC and confirmed that had they believed it was not Kirby's signature,
it would not have been noted on the label (which is not the same, of
course, as confirming authenticity).
This copy was actually given away as the Grand prize in a sweepstakes
run by Activision. Luckily the current owner saved the book during the
flooding caused last year by Hurricane Katrina!
This book is going nowhere but up! The next buyer will not be unhappy with this copy!
NETWORK OF DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: This book was previously certified as
a CGC 7.5 and was resubmitted by a prior owner and graded in its
present form of a CGC 8.0. It was not pressed.
Note: This book is on consignment to EsquireComics.com.
Forty years ago, from late 1965 to early 1968, a young collector would purchase
multiple copies of each issue of such titles as Amazing Spider-Man,
Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Tales of Suspense and
X-Men. One copy would be read, and the others would be meticulously
placed away for safe-keeping. Ultimately approximately 1,000 books were amassed,
of which nearly 400 have been acquired by EsquireComics.com and Southern California Comics (about half of
those have been CGC certified and the remaining books were retained by the
owner's son for sale on eBay). The majority of the books fall within the 9.2 - 9.6 range, and often have pure white pages.
Although
this collection is designated a "pedigree" on my site, it is just a
"collection". In order to key the collection my website only recognizes
"pedigree" designations. None of the books are marked or come with a
certificate of authenticity, nor has the history of the collection
impacted the prices.
The sale of these books is being handled
by Southern California Comics which mantains physical possession of the
Colllection. If you are interested in purchasing this book or have a
question, please contact:
SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA COMICS 8280 CLAIREMONT MESA BL. #124 SAN DIEGO CA
92111 858-715-8669 WWW.SOCALCOMICS.COM
SPECIAL ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOLLYWOOD HILLS BOOKS
E-mail and phone orders are accepted. Payment may be made by cash, money orders, personal
checks, Visa/Mastercard and PayPal. The PayPal account is: socalcom@aol.com. Foreign orders: Money
Orders or PayPal (in some cases), only! Checks may be held in our bank for up to
10 days to clear before the order will be mailed. All our orders are shipped in
sturdy boxes, packaged to minimize damage during shipping.
Domestic shipping is $7.00 for 1 uninsured CGC book in a Priority container. Insurance
is based upon purchase price and foreign costs are based upon country of
destination. You can calculate and quote these prices yourself at
www.usps.com. Foreign shipping costs are calculated based upon package weight and value. Shipment is commonly via
USPS Air Letter for packages under 4 lbs. This has generally been the fastest,
cheapest and safest way to ship to foreign buyers. Typically those shipments
range from $14.00-$25.00 depending on country of origin. Shipping to Canada is
about $7.00 for Air.
INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS:
Payment plans are available for up to three months. The initial
down payment is nonrefundable and generally 1/3 of the retail cost of the book with the balance to
be paid at the end of three months.
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