5 comments about It's a Man's World: Men's Adventure Magazines, The Postwar Pulps.

1. It makes me want to go out and create a parody of one of these magazines. And these things were so over the top sometimes that this wouldn't be very hard...
   
   An excellent treatment of this genre.



2. Wow what a great book. The artwork of these old pulps is exquisite. I loved paging through this volume and soaking in all the great images. I do wish they had included more excerpts from the text portion of the pulps, but the outrageous cover art was entertaining in itself. I highly recommend this book.



3. Well-printed, hardbound, handsome collection of eye-popping cover art and illustrations from men's adventure mags of the 50s through the early 70s. Every kind of trashy, sleazy, paranoid Whitebread-American fantasy is presented here. Hunky guys in torn shirts being attacked by everything the editors could think of: giant ants, rabid weasels, Nazis, Japs, native savages, Leopard Women of the Congo, Commie dominatrixes, you name it. Then there are semi-nude damsels popping out of their tops while being threatened by a similar list of aggressors. Possibly the best one in terms of ridiculousness shows a chuckling Fidel Castro about to burn a tied-up blonde with his cigar. These pictures are so outrageous they go beyond offensive into a strange realm of ironic hilariousness. The only thing more amazing than the subject matter is the fine execution of these paintings. Every page took my breath away as I marveled at the masterful compositions, the deft use of color and lighting, the absolute mastery of anatomy and proportion. I doubt there are any illustrators working today who would be capable of producing work of this calibre, regardless of subject matter.
   My one complaint is that the editor, Adam Parfrey, in his introductions to each section, seems to be defending these covers as a sociological document to be examined from a contemporary Politically-Correct feminist cosmopolitan perspective. (One reviewer here called it "Looney-Left commentary," and I feel that needs clarification.) Sorry Mr. Parfrey, but there is no defense for this material. It is what it is, it's horribly Bad and Offensive and Wrong, but it's _SO_ bad it can't be taken seriously. It's so bad it has become good and can only be enjoyed in the way one enjoys B-movies - by laughing at them, because Now We Know Better.
   Most of the introductory material in the front of the book was interesting and informative: a few interviews and reminescences of what it was like to work on the magazines in their heyday. But Parfrey's article was mostly the kind of art critic / social critic mumbo-jumbo which hides a lack of ideas behind a fog of contemporary academic jargon. As I read it, I suspected I was actually reading nothing ... and in the final paragraph, when he used "traction" as a verb, my suspicions were confirmed. Mr. Parfrey has nothing of value to say, but he did put together a really great collection of jaw-dropping cover art, and I thank him for that. This book is worth getting.



4. These magazines were considered the absolute bottom of the barrel when they were published. To be truthful, they're still offensive today. But now they can be examined in terms of sociology and popular culture. If you don't pass judgemnt on their content, you can marvel at the sheer audacity of these publishers! Nothing was too outrageous to be published in these mags - they define the term "raw." Included is the magazine from which Frank Zappa cribbed his famous "weasels ripped my flesh" line.

   This book has extemely high production values and fascinating commentary, whether you agree with it or not. Wholesome entertainment? No. Fascinating? Yes!




5. The covers were great...what was not needed is the looney left commentary.

5 comments about TV Guide The Official Collectors Guide: Celebrating An Icon.

1. Enhanced with more than 3,700 full color covers from America's most popular, iconic, and widespread weekly magazine, "TV Guide: The Official Collectors Guide" compiled by Stephen F. Hofer (Curator of the Philo T. Farnsworth Television History Center, Auburn, Indiana, and who himself is the owner of one of the largest collections of TV Guide magazines and memorabilia in the United States) covers all the national and regional digest size covers from April 10, 1953 to October 9, 2005. Included are TV Guide foldout covers, holographic covers, and multiple covers. For the antique dealer and hobbyist collector, each issue has the current secondary market prices listed. Featuring memorable quotes from TV Guide and from television shows, "TV Guide: The Official Collectors Guide" is more than a price guide compendium, (and a superb history of the magazine itself), it is also a very highly recommended tour of American television programming through more than fifty years of popular culture.



2. This book has several major flaws. For a start, there is no index. The only way to locate covers with your favorite stars or shows is to browse the pages year-by-year.
   
   The price guide only gives values for "mint condition" issues, with no guidelines for how to adjust value for copies in less than mint condition. (Most collectors' guides give a range of prices based on condition.)
   
   It would have been nice if they had included some lists, such as: the most valuable issues; issues with multiple covers; people who have appeared on the most covers; etc. All of these things are mentioned in the text, but there is no way to look them up except by browsing every listing.
   
   Despite these flaws, this is still an invaluable book for collectors, because of it's comprehensive checklist.



3. I was so happy to receive the TV Guide Official Collector's Guide, it is a great publication!! It has a lot more information than I expected - comments by stars over the years and much more!! It is very colorful and I will enjoy reading it for years to come. My 45 year old son has a collection of TV Guides and I know he will be interested in seeing the publication to see if the ones he has are valuable! Thank you



4. The episode of Seinfeld where Frank Costanza was noted to be a collector of TV Guide pretty much cemented that publication's place in the lore of pop culture. Now, from Bangzoom publishers comes "TV Guide" the official Collector's Guide. A lot of collector's books claim to be the only book you'd ever need to own but this one truly fits the bill. With over 3700 pictures, and every national and regional TV Guide cover pictured from 4/10/1953 through 10/19/2005 this is truly the ultimate resource for not only collectors, but fans of the magazine as well.
   
   With a foreward by senior TV Guide editor Michael Davis, the book provides info geared towards the collector on where to buy, grading, and preserving your TV Guide collection. The cover subjects are what drives the price of back issues with the very first issue featuring the baby Desi Arnaz Jr. being the most valuable. While I've never collected TV Guide I was a long-time Comic Book collector and basically TV Guides should be kept and stored the same way...in protective bags and ideally in acid free storage boxes.
   
   The guide provides a 19 page history of the magazine as well as a look at TV shows and trends by decade from the 40's through the 2000's; everything from Milton Berle and Howdy Doody to Lost and American Idol. I was born in the 1960's and love many of the shows from that era even though I didn't watch many in their initial runs. It wasn't until syndicated re-runs in the 1970's that I came to adore shows such Bewitched, Gomer Pyle, and Green Acres. As noted in the book, The Brady Bunch was never a top-rated show, but you'd hardly know that since it has gone on to become one of the most syndicated shows in history and a true TV legend.
   
   Next up is 213 pages which show each of those covers from 1953 through 2005 in full color and it's like a trip on a wonderful time machine to page through the decades to see many of the actors and shows that you remember so fondly, and many you may have forgotten such as The Governor and J.J. One TV Guide trend that seems to have ended some time in the early 80's was featuring Santa Claus on the cover of a December issue. The book concludes with a 68 page index and value guide for each issue and doubles as a handy checklist for collectors.
   
   Whether you are storing issues away chronologically like Frank Costanza, or just have a life long love of TV, you are certain to find something to enjoy in this fabulous book.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson



5. A mind-bending, if not surreal, parade of TV trivia presented week by week, year by year, era by era. Every single TV Guide cover is shown in true color, from April '53 to the first mag-size issue from autumn of last year. They're arranged as text would be on each page, left-to-right, top-to-bottom and IN ORDER on each page, dated and readily viewable. They even include full displays of all fold-out covers, as well as every version of each multiple cover, such as the one which had to be updated at Michael Landon's death, different regional sport-season previews, and the 25-cover tribute to all the Star Trek cast.
   
   The book is in 3 main sections:
   1) A 26-page section of blurb overseeing the history of TV Guide and background trivia of many of the covers
   2) The section displaying the covers themselves, and
   3) A listing of all covers (with dates and captions) and their collectible worth in mint condition.
   
   It is bound in durable yet manageable paperback binding.
   
   Anyone can invent their own TV trivia diversions just by scanning through this book (i.e. what are the earliest covers featuring people who are still alive? or Who has appeared the most times? or How did TV Guide handle documentarial times and issues [JFK's assassination, 9-11, the advent of cable & PBS etc.], or When did one televion era end, and another begin? and the like). The price list section also serves as an easier-to-count ready-reference of all the cover headings.
   
   Mad Magazine presented a similar, also top-rate, timeline of all their covers a few years ago upon the advent of their 400th issue. The first such resource to incorporate all the TV Guide digest covers certainly doesn't disappoint.

3 comments about Goldmine's Price Guide to Collectible Record Albums (Goldmine Record Album Price Guide).

1. I found this book to be extremely informative, even though it may be missing many artists and albums in its price guide. The information pertaining to what to look for and what *not* to look for helped me immensely when I decided that I wanted to become a collector of vinyl.



2. I am very surprised about this issue missin many imprtant singers and has alot of wrong information the 4th addition is much much better than this issue.



3. Umphred is pretty sharp and his book is too. There are loads of good pictures and a host of informative essays in the front. The one about the Beatles and about the Dylan rarities are notable, as well as his list of the 100 most valuable albums. My collection is not that big, but I love this book and bought it even though a friend had already lent it to me. Enjoy

3 comments about Antique Trader Vintage Magazines Price Guide.

1. I've been interested in old magazines for a few years now, and have been looking for a helpful price guide. I just bought this, and I highly recommend it. There's a lot of information, not just about the magazines most of us are familiar with, but also about many lesser knonwn older magazines that have great value due to authors who published their early work in them--e.g. Edgar Allen Poe. It's not just helpful information as a price guide, it's very interesting reading! Lots of great color photos also. I looked through another magazine price guide in a bookstore, and this one is much, much better.



2. I picked up this book to learn more about vintage ads and magazines I was interested in. I was pleasantly surprised that not only was the book a complete guide to magazines but had great analgoies and stories the "editors" wrote within.
   Great information on a subject that seems to be little explored.



3. When we moved into our 1920's home,we found boxes left in the attic filled with old fashion magazines. My husband was ready to trash the lot, but being of the pack rat variety I found a home for them in my office.
   
   With the help of The Antique Trader Vintage Magazines Price Guide the door was opened for me to the world of old magazines. The beautiful color photos helped me to easily identify my boxes of "trash" and give them a value.
   
   Most important, the love affair the authors have for magazines comes across in their historical entries. The unique way they organize collectible magazine people into Sleepers like OZ artist W.W. Denslow or Stars like F.Scott Fitzgerald makes me want to haunt local yard sales. My major problem with the book was that I became so fascinated that I wanted more. The book could easily have been double in size and information and kept my interest as both a reader and for use as a desk reference. With what I've learned, our next home will hopefully be an 1890's Victorian with a basement full of Godey's Lady's Book magazines.

No comments about COLLECTIBLE MAGAZINES: Identification and Price Guide, 2e (Collectible Magazines).

3 comments about Old Magazines: Identification & Value Guide (Old Magazines).

1. Nothing against this publication, but it was not what I was looking for. I thought it would give the value of individual issues of specific magazines which it did for what I would consider antique magazines. However, there was very little information provided on old issues of contemporary magazines.



2. Old Magazines Identification and Price Guide is written by Richard Clear and advised by David T. Alexander, two long time dealers with decades of experience in the field of collecting magazines and pulps. The first thing that stands out about this book is its attractive look. It's magazine-sized, printed in full color on thick, glossy stock. Three vintage magazine covers are printed per page and at 288 pages (NOT 224 as Amazon states In the listing) you get almost 900 color cover reproductions. To me that alone is worth the price of the book. So many very rare magazine covers are included...from popular things like Life, The Shadow, and Mad, to obscure titles like Camera Craft, Electrical Review, Gun Molls, Jolly Joker, and Peep Show.
   
   Clear uses multiple sources to arrive at prices in the guide including surveys of dealers, computer listing, online auctions, and his own thirty plus years of experience. Pricing for long running magazines is done by span of years. For example Life Magazines from 1950 - 1959 are listed at $5 - $10 each while those from 1960- 1972 are listed at $2.50 to $5.00 each. Even with thousands of magazines listed, evidently no guide can be complete and exhaustive. As a collector of monster magazines I was a bit disappointed to see so many omitted from the pages of the book. While a few such as Famous Monsters of Filmland and Monster World are included, many others are not. Fangoria, Scarlet Street, Midnight Marquee, FilmFax, and Cult Movies are all missing. Perhaps these are just too new, but that doesn't explain why older publications like Monster Parade, Castle of Frankenstein, Shriek, and Horror Monsters are also not included. Likewise, Clear includes some of Marvel Comics 1970's horror magazines such as Legion of the Monsters and Vampire Tales, but omits Dracula Lives and Tomb of Dracula.
   
   I found the prices to be a bit inconsistent from my own experiences. Warren titles like Creepy and Eerie are way too low, particularly on the early issues which feature Frazetta covers. On the other hand, prices on Famous Monsters and Vampirella seem right on the nose so go figure...
   
   Clear does make special notations for magazines which featured the work of notable writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs and Norman Rockwell and prices the magazines accordingly. Unfortunately one thing sacrificed to print all these wonderful covered was more detail about writers and artists. For example, Weird Tales which feature stories by Robert E. Howard or H.P. Lovecraft go for significantly more than others of the same period, yet Clear does not note this, nor does he mention Weird Tales covers by Margaret Brundage. Oddly though, Clear does make mention of the stories written by Robert E. Howard for Fight Magazine. These inconsistencies do make for a somewhat perplexing guide.
   
   Still based upon the sheer number of quality covers printed and the number of titles it does include, the book does prove to be a valuable, if not complete resource for magazine collectors.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson



3. I bought this book because it has nine hundred covers, printed on glossy paper, three to a page (mostly two and a half inches deep) and best of all, in color. The listing is alphabetical with the magazine title, publisher and prices relating to the life of the title. This arrangement makes for some odd visual surprises Jungle Stories (1954) is facing Kimball's Dairy Farmer (1917) or Everbody's Poultry Magazine (1916) facing Exciting Detective (1940).
   
   The color covers are a bit of an extra for a book that is really a listing but you get a chance to see how publishers presented their newsstand wares over the last hundred years or so. All type covers from the nineteenth century change into illustrations in the first half of the twentieth century and finally into photographic covers that we see today.
   
   How accurate the prices are I can't say but apart from first issues most titles seem to be very reasonable. So if you are going magazine hunting in shops or car-boot sales it would be useful to take this paperback as a guide before you haggle.
   
   If you like looking at magazine covers check out these two titles, ' Front Page: Covers of the Twentieth Century' by Stephanie Duperray and Raphaele Vidaling, or the sumptuous 'Great Magazine Covers of the World' by Partica Kery, both books have hundreds of colored covers arranged in meaningful chapters and finally 'Cover Story' by Steven Heller and Loise Fili, a beautifully designed paperback showing two hundred American magazine covers from 1900 thru 1950.

5 comments about The Golden Age of Walt Disney Records 1933-1988: Murray's Collectors' Price Guide and Discography : Lps/45 Rpm/78 Rpm/Eps.

1. This book is for hard core collectors of Walt Disney records on vinyl and in that respect it is indespensible. There is plenty of material for the Disney amateur historians too. The real treat for all the rest of us is 250 plus color photos of album covers and recordings. It's enough to give anyone the collecting bug. A very complete guide hat lists all of the Walt Disney record even on other labels. Lists picture discs, Little Golden Books, soundtracks to movies and TV shows, storybooks, and material from Disneyland. Includes EP's, 33 1/3 LPs, 45's, and 78's including alll records from 1933 to 1988. Functional table of contents and index help to locate items in the book. Very useful material on accurate grading the condition of records. A short history on the history of Disney records is in the book, an animated film filmography, and the music composers for all of Disney on film is very useful. Softbound covers, no dust jacket, 256 pages in length.
   
   If you are also interested in the process, the how and why of the music of Disney, you also need to read the wonderful book, "The Musical World of Walt Disney" by David Tietyen.



2. I enjoy this book alot - it's complete and chock-full of useful information concerning the collection of Disney Records. Of course the prices are something to behold too (I figure I have about $50,000 (hyperbole) in my collection). The guide is very well organized and the individual entries usually consist of a picture, record number, brief description (at least enough to identify a particular cover version) and price. The guide even goes so far as to identify non-Disney labels issuing Disney material.
   
   I wish the guide went into deeper discussions of the various Disney labels and the inner sleeves. I have several examples of, say, a Buena Vista label, and between the two BV labels, they are different! Which one to collect? Sometimes the guide falls a little short, but not often enough to prevent me from recommending this book for the serious collector or even the curious weekender.
   
   Overall, to me, it's a valuable reference and fun to ponder. Now it's always a thrill to find a Disney record and read about some of the history behind it.
   
   Happy hunting...



3. This softbound 256 page book is a handy 6 x 9" making it convenient to take with you as you antique. It contains more than 250 full color, sharp photos of album covers and recordings. This is the first comprehensive price guide and discography covering the complete output of Disney recorded music on both Disney and other labels. It covers the years 1933 to 1988 and is very complete. There is a useful table of contents and index making it easy to locate items. A history and condition guide is provided. Topics range from LPs, 45's, 78's to Little Golden Records. You can't collect items of this topic without this guide. Add it to your library.



4. This is an invaluable resource for Disney record collectors. Beautiful pictures and detailed discriptions of every record the Disney company ever released. The prices listed might seem high, unless you remember that they are only for records in near perfect condition. I have already bought 2 copies.



5. The book is a really good reference on Disney records. The color pictures are a really nice addition.

1 comments about Old Magazines with Year 2003 Price Guide.

1. Sorry to say this but this booklet is very superficial and incomplete and not always correct.
   
   Its 'all-encompassing' title is misleading, as it only lists a snippet of the thousands of old magazine titles that were published.
   
   The titles mentioned have no description, like what publishers published each magazine, what the content is focusing on, for what market/customer the magazine was meant, what happened with the magazine (sold/discontinued). No frequency nor numbers of copies issued are mentioned.
   
   The only information that is mentioned for each title is:
   - title (not always what changes of title)
   - years (but incomplete)
   - price ranges (but usually too modest, on the low side, so inaccurate).
   
   What do I mean by the problem with the mentioned prices? An example illustrates it best:
   Harper's Weekly journals from 1866-1899 have been known to fetch much higher prices than the stated $6-12 (well over $50), sometimes because of engravings by Frederic Remington or of Winslow Homer being in them, sometimes just because of important historical events first being mentioned in those issues.
   
   There is no mention on where and when these prices where realized, nor for what condition of magazine the price was paid (all this influences the price enormously).
   
   Some cover images have been added, but only in b/w and randomly, so without method.
   
   Conclusion: One can do much better just by browsing on the Internet.

5 comments about The Classic Era of American Pulp Magazines.

1. A somewhat personal account at times of the editor's interest in pulp magazines.
   
   He mentiones when he first saw them in Woolies in the 50s - saying they were used as ballast in ships, then sold cheaply. That is whacky, but good for him, after scoring a Weird Tales.
   
   He goes through various different types, spicy, detective, fantasy, shudder, hot, etc.
   
   Also, being a pom he talks briefly about the magazines there, especially when the yank imports where banned, and some of the artists.
   
   That is where a heavy focus of this book is, the artwork.
   
   He does detail some of the publishers, who put them out, the strategies they used, etc., but also talks a lot about the artwork and styles used as far as what they could and could not get away with as American became more and more puritanical moving into the 50s.
   
   He deliberately ignores the superheroes, or the major variety, mentioning a couple in passing like the Black Bat and the Crimson Mask. Nothing much on the Lone Ranger or various Westerns either, or major science fiction magazines.
   
   So partly interest, partly what has been covered already drove his editorial decisions, presumably.
   
   People who like those covers will like it, hardcore pulp historians maybe wouldn't be so thrilled, but would still be interested somewhat.
   
   
   3.5 out of 5



2. Note: There are a couple Mormons who are angry over my negative reviews of books written in defense of the Book of Mormon, and they have been slamming my reviews. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks.
   
   As a non-artist, it's hard to write a review of an art book, but I know what I like. So here's a non-expert's opinion.
   
   This book is well worth the price. It is full of color covers of pulp magazines from the 1930s through the 1950s. I've owned it for many years, and I still love browsing through it. I've copied a couple of them and hung them on my wall.
   
   Also, if you don't already know about Bud Plant, then also check out his site. You'll go broke ordering from it. What a wonderful collection classic illustrations!
   
   Check out my download pictures.



3. The colorfully covered, cheaply printed pulp magazine of the 1920s and 30s great out of the 19th-century dime novel and served as the forerunner of the comic books and paperback novels of today. In its heyday, pulp magazines were a staple of popular culture that offered every genre of readership the thrills, adventures, and entertainments they craved -- often to the dismay of parents, teachers, and clergy! Virtually creating the now popular literary genres as science fiction and the hard-boiled private eye mystery, these magazines were the incubators of such American literary talents as Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Dashiell Hammett, and a legion of others. An outstanding recommendation for personal, academic, and community library collections, The Classic Era Of American Pulp Magazines tells the complete story of these colorful pulps and those that wrote and published them, with a wealth of colorful cover art giving today's readers an accurate sense and taste of what the glory years of pulp magazines had to offer their enthusiastic readers.



4. Peter Haining has published a huge number of volumes on a variety of topics, which tend to be both well illustrated and very carelessly researched. This latest addition to the stack unfortunately follows that pattern.

   First the good stuff: the book offers a large number of well-reproduced covers from a wide variety of pulps. The images are photographs (two are out of focus slightly), and so do not have the problems seen in several similar recent books which had electronically-scanned covers displaying a color palette nothing whatsoever like the actual covers.

   Now for the bad part. The text is mainly just a description of particular magazines which happen to be in the author's personal collection. Where the text departs from what is really just a catalog of the collection, to provide background on publishers, specific titles and authors, the material is so riddled with errors as to be of very limited use and reliability. So much of the text is clueless, every reader will have his favorite (and different) gaffe. Mine is the reference (p. 203) to "famous American space artist Chester Bonestall." He's apparently not as famous as I thought!

   To summarize the contents: Chapter 1 provides a confused account of the origins and types of pulp magazines. Chapter 2 is devoted to the very-soft-porn pulps usually sold from under the tobacco shop counter. Chapter 3 deals with detective, crime and gangster pulps. Chapter 4 covers the "spicy" pulps and their imitators. Chapter 5 introduces the weird fantasy pulps, of which the best and best known were WEIRD and UNKNOWN. Chapter 6 surveys the "shudder" pulps which featured heavy doses of sadism and torture. Chapter 7 fairly casually dips into the huge sea of science-fiction pulps. Finally, chapter 8 shows us a little bit of the little-known world of British pulps and pulp publishing. (About half the space actually is devoted to paperbacks rather than pulps.) Notable complete omissions from the book are the most popular pulp genre, westerns (perhaps half of all pulp titles at peak), and the justice-figure pulps such as THE SHADOW, DOC SAVAGE and the SPIDER, which are the best remembered pulps today. Also largely ignored are the general fiction titles, such as BLUE BOOK, ARGOSY and ADVENTURE. With such omissions, the present book cannot be considered very valuable even as a pictoral survey of the pulp era.

   Buy it for the cover reproductions and you won't be too disappointed. But if you try to read the text, you're in for dismay and frustration.




5. Obviously the politically incorrect covers are the first attraction. You can't ignore the cultural significance of the covers and thus, if you are a teacher of semiotics or visual interpretation, I can't think of a richer source. Congrats to the publishers for printing such a glorious book. For those more interested in what's between the covers, Haining gives insightful critical analysis of the different genres. A great gift for anyone; a wonderful coffee table book for yourself. It's worth every penny.

5 comments about Photo-Journal Guide To Comics Volume 2 K-Z (Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books).

1. What a [great] set of volumes. I am a huge comic collector, owning every issue of Spider-Man ever printed, but I am also a great fan and collector of various other comics, and a comic-history buff. These books are a joy to just flip through, learning about Golden and Silver Age comics. The pictures are gorgeous, all in color on glossy paper. And there's 10's of thousands of them! Well worth the money and worth their weight in gold if you're a true comic fan and collector! Might be a bit much for just the casual comic enthusiast. These 2 books and the two volume Marvel set are the standard by which all other collecting resources should be held to!



2. I've always bought comic books for the cover art. But with tens-of-thousands of comics out there, it was almost impossible to know which ones to search for. Of course, if I remembered a comic from when I was a kid that was a start, but what of the thousands I'd never seen? I was a blind collector. Gerber's books cover almost every comic book published till about 1965! 20,000+ photographs...fantastic! Even if I couldn't buy them all, I could at least see what was out there. The only weakness is that some later issues of the longer running titles are omitted. I would liked to have seen them all, but can understand the desire to wrap things up. For the price of one good 1950's era comic you can view just about ever cover published...a very good deal.



3. What a [great] set of volumes. I am a huge comic collector, owning every issue of Spider-Man ever printed, but I am also a great fan and collector of various other comics, and a comic-history buff. These books are a joy to just flip through, learning about Golden and Silver Age comics. The pictures are gorgeous, all in color on glossy paper. And there's 10's of thousands of them! Well worth the money and worth their weight in gold if you're a true comic fan and collector! Might be a bit much for just the casual comic enthusiast. These 2 books and the two volume Marvel set are the standard by which all other collecting resources should be held to!



4. What can you say about two books that have 21700 comic book covers beautifully printed on gloss paper? WOW! for a start. No one is going to better Ernst and Mary Gerber's five-year labor of love to complete this project. If you collect comics from 1935 thru 1965 you need these. I don't collect them but as a publication designer I have an interest in the visual aspects of popular culture so I got a set...despite the price!
   
   Open either book anywhere and start looking and it soon becomes apparent that this is a very comprehensive collection, I kept coming across comics that ran for a few issues, sometimes only one issue. Each cover has up to twenty-five pieces of information, essential for collectors. Many show a cover of the only copy known to exist. The first sixteen pages of each book has text about collecting comics and their values. I liked the page in book two that is devoted to ads that appeared on the back covers, strangely some collectors only go for these, if you do, go for a copy of 'Hey Skinny!' by Mike Beller and Jerry Leibowitz, surely the only book about the subject.
   
   Author Gerber says on the jacket flap...''if you spend one minute examining each picture, eight hours per day, five days a week, it would require an astounding NINE weeks to complete the job.'' Nine weeks later have a rest and then go and buy the two volume 'Photo-Journal Guide to Marvel Comics' and start to look at a further 7700 covers!
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



5. I was amazed at the scope of this book, every cover from 1935-1965, and the labor that must have gone into compiling and producing it. Its extremely well photographed, carefully indexed, and the quality of paper and binding is excellent. For serious comic book collectors, it's worth every penny. A lifetime book.