Set Description:
A collection of Conan the Barbarian issues 1 to 24 plus Annual 1.
As a personal note I find it regrettable that a few collectors have obscured their collections. Some of these books in high grade are so rare that quoting Mr. Indiana Jones seems to be in order:
"This should be in a museum!"
And what better way is there to display rare books than using scans at Collectors Society - without exposing the books to light, oxygen or changes to humidity or temperature?
So I do feel some responsibility to share such rare books with others - this is not just a hobby, but small projects trying to preserve comic book history.
Furthermore, there were a few guidelines I tried to implement in the construction of this set.
Inclusion criteria:
1. Grade should be 9.8 (or as high as possible).
2. Page quality must be pure white, unless the book has other significant merits (pedigree status or extreme scarcity).
3. Cover centering and/or cover orientation must be near-perfect (especially orientation, straight miswraps are acceptable).
Exclusion criteria:
1. Date stamps.
2. Angled miswraps* (pedigree status may override this condition).
3. Miscuts.
4. Damaged or distorted staples (off-centered staples are acceptable, if both staples are equally off-centered).
5. "Dog ears". (Fantastic name :-)
6. Handwriting on the book.
Of course no book is perfect, but these guidelines should keep the quality to high levels (but is subject to my preferences). So a perfect book would be at the highest known grade (typically 9.8 or better), have pure white pages, have perfect cover centering (no miswrap), have perfect cover orientation (making horizontal lines or text appear correctly, not going up or down across the cover), have perfectly centered and undamaged staples, no date stamp and be part of a pedigree collection – and be the only book in its grade.
As part of this nice "Conan the Barbarian #1 to #24"-obsessive-compulsive disorder ;-) I have a library containing photos and scans of most of the current Conan the Barbarian #1 to #24 9.8 and 9.9 books. You can see them all here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/
*An "angled miswrap" is typically explained by an off-centered cover lacking correct horizontal orientation - see this example:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/30072013-1.jpg
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| The gallery tab shows only items with images. Click the thumbnails to enlarge. |
| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 1 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 1 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0052481001
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Owner Comments
A fantastic book with near-perfect cover centering and orientation, and pure white pages.
This book was once the crown of the legendary Conan set collected by Bill Hughes, see the picture. More information about Bill (William) Hughes can be found here:
http://www.vintagecollectables.net/about.php?page_id=2
14 books ended up in CarlD's current top ranking set, while #1, #12 and Annual #1 are part of my set. My #21 9.8 was also from Bill Hughes, but was not part of his set, because he also owned #21 CGC 9.9.
So this Conan #1 9.8 book has quite a history and I am truly delighted to add another book from Bill's amazing collection to my primary Conan the Barbarian set.
Well, maybe Conan the Barbarian should have a short introduction:
"Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian, from the name of the character's homeland, Cimmeria) is a fictional character. He is a hero, a well known and iconic figure in American fantasy, and the most famous barbarian in fiction.
Conan is often associated with the fantasy subgenre of sword and sorcery and heroic fantasy. He was created by Texan writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy stories sold to Weird Tales magazine. The character has since appeared in licensed books, comics, films, television programs, video games, roleplaying games, and even a board game, all of which contribute to the hero's long-standing popularity.
Conan the Barbarian is also the title of a Gnome Press collection of stories published in 1954, a comic published by Marvel Comics beginning in 1970, and a film and its novelization in 1982".
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian
And many will remember this great text introducing the Age of Conan:
"Know, O prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west." (Howard, RE. The Phoenix on the Sword. Weird Tales 20 6, Dec 1932).
The first 24 issues, except issues 17 and 18, were drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith and became especially popular due to his very elaborate drawings:
"Barry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith (born 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States. His international acclaim came as the original artist for Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian from 1970 to 1973, where he rapidly evolved a sophisticated and intricate style, introducing elements from diverse artistic influences to graphic storytelling".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Windsor-Smith
This book is the comic book origin of Conan the Barbarian, which marked the beginning of "the most obsessively detailed monthly comic book the market had ever seen", according to Barry Windsor-Smith (excerpt from his book Opus 2).
Conan the Barbarian issues 1 to 24 received the following awards:
1. 1971 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the "Best Continuing Feature: Conan the Barbarian".
2. 1971 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the "Best Writer (Dramatic): Roy Thomas".
3. 1973 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the "Best Individual Story (Dramatic): Song of Red Sonja".
More info can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian_(comics)
I have uploaded more high-res book pictures here (paste the URL into your browser to see the images):
FRONT:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0052481001F.JPG
BACK:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0052481001B.JPG
Current status of 39/48 unrestored Conan the Barbarian #1 CGC 9.8 books (July 2017):
All WP:
0167081001, Signature Series
0008394004, Boston pedigree
0001375001
0015782005
0052481001
0171309004
0171309005
0198392001
0743036001
0916861015
0962629014
0976378001
0993719006
0995117005
0997419024
1015783006
1027177006
1028067002
1032373004
1039372005
1043193004
1055543001
1057668001
1057674007
1108403001
1198866002
1201292001
1203978001
1206084002
1213370007
1231168015
1269068001
1305615012
1338632001
1347005002
1347052002
1463965002
All OW-W:
1110596002
0119067001
1226847002
(WP = White Pages and OW-W = Off-White to White Pages.)
Book 0997419024 has the best cover centering and orientation of the 39 Conan #1 9.8 books I have seen. You can see the 39 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue01
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 2 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 2 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0015782007
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Owner Comments
This is a extremely beautiful book with very vivid cover colors, near-perfect centering and orientation, and pure white pages.
This book contains the story "Lair of the Beast Men" which was nominated by the Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards in 1970 for the Best Individual Story.
The book was bought by the brothers Carlo and Paul (=CarlD) in August 2004 and stayed in their collection, until Carlo and I, after negotiating for little more than a year ;-), made a transaction securing me this magnificent book. So this book is indeed dedicated to Paul and Carlo, and I shall do my best to keep all pages white as snow for many years to come (is this not the greatest thing about such books? - You know you have them, but you cannot read them (due to the encapsulation), you cannot see them (the horror of UV light!) and you end up getting quite worried, should there be significant temperature or humidity fluctuations - well, I guess this is just the joy of being a parent for a book :-)
In the spring of 2012 Collectors' Society changed how pictures were shown and uploaded, which reduced the quality of book pictures significantly - compared to the quality I usually could provide within the old 200kb limit. So I have uploaded more high-res pictures on a different server (paste the URL into your browser to see the images):
FRONT:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0015782007F.JPG
BACK:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0015782007B.JPG
Current status of 13 Conan the Barbarian #2 CGC 9.8 and 9.9 books (out of 17 books in July 2017, only 1 book in 9.9):
9.9
0047871003, WP
9.8
1013922001, WP, Rocky Mountain pedigree
0015782007, WP
0016841001, WP
0050748011, WP
0749572002, WP
0220051023, WP
1041669001, WP
1198478009, WP
1203070002, WP
1338632002, WP
0112133002, OW-W
1421043002, OW-W
(WP = White Pages and OW-W = Off-White to White Pages.)
So nearly all have WP, one is 9.9 and one has pedigree status. I do miss pictures of 4 of the 17 Conan #2 9.8 books, but of the 13 9.8 and 9.9 books I have seen, 0015782007 probably has the best combination of near-perfect cover centering and orientation. You can see the 13 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue02
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 3 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 3 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1051188007
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Owner Comments
This book was a great opportunity to represent the Northland Pedigree Collection in my primary collection of Barry Windsor-Smith's Conan the Barbarian books. I appreciate diversity and this is the third pedigree I have included, other books being from the Rocky Mountain and Suscha News pedigrees. Apart from a Conan the Barbarian #23 (where CGC forgot to print page quality on the label), I am not aware of any other Northland Conan books (#1 to #24) graded at 9.8 (several books have been graded 9.6 though).
I have done a fair amount of research regarding the Northland Pedigree Collection, and it seems that many of these books have OW or OW-W page qualities (see for example Northland books at http://www.comicbookpedigrees.com/gallery.php?showold=yes&page=1&pedigree_menu=35&sort=title ). So OW or OW-W page quality may be considered a special feature, probably caused by the way the original owner kept these books. The Northland Pedigree Collection has been described in these words:
"The Northland Collection consists of a near complete set of Marvel and DC Comics from 1961-1971. Motor City Comics began purchasing the collection from the original owner in June 1996. The collection was purchased off of the newsstand, read once, and then carefully stored for the past 35 years. According to the original owner; each comic selected was the best condition available at that time. Even the few comics that do not grade near mint are usually because of printing defects, such as Marvel Chipping.
All of the comics in this collection show exceptional cover gloss and have near white to white page quality. Over 95% of the Marvels from the Northland Collection grade near mint or above; with many 'newsstand mint' examples. The DCs grade at near mint or better on over 50% of the books [...] An exact record of issues, grades and certificate numbers is on file with Motor City Comics".
Rumor has it that Conan the Barbarian #3 books should be very rare or be in "supposed low distribution", but there is little evidence to support that idea in the CGC census. For example Conan the Barbarian issues 6, 11, 12 and 18 are at least just as rare, so Conan the Barbarian #3 books do not seem to be in a more limited supply or more scarce than several other Conan the Barbarian books.
Furthermore this is not really Conan the Barbarian #3, but actually #5 (corresponding to how Barry Smith and Roy Thomas chronologically made these stories). In 2010 Roy Thomas wrote the following explanation:
"I realized it worked better from a chronological point of view to make 'Grim Grey God" #3, then to utilize "Tower of the Elephant," and to save "Zukala's Daughter" for #5. So that's what I did, and the publishing order of Conan #3 and #5 was thus reversed. And it shows, with the latter being a bit cruder than #3 and #4, more in line with what Barry had drawn in #2."
Excerpt from "The Barry Windsor-Smith Conan Archives Volume 1" 2010 (the foreword by Roy Thomas).
So enthusiasts wanting to collect Barry's first three Conan stories need to collect issues 1, 2 and 5 instead of 1, 2 and 3!
The unique feature of this book is that it contains the first published adapted Conan story from Robert Ervin Howard*, and had Marvel not acquired these rights, my guess is that Conan the Barbarian would never had reached similar popularity. As Roy Thomas explained in the extra material on the 2011 Conan Blu-Ray 3D movie, when Marvel Conan comic books were selling at their best, Conan earnings were twice as high as Marvel's earnings on The Amazing Spider-man and The Fantastic Four combined.
It is possible to register only one "Conan the Barbarian #3" book in this set, but I would like to share this registration with another book, namely the most perfect Conan the Barbarian #3 book I have seen, if you insist on perfect cover centering and orientation, high CGC grade, awesome cover gloss and pure white pages:
http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/ComicDetail.aspx?PeopleComicID=301417&PeopleSetID=10171
*See my description regarding Conan the Barbarian #4 for further details, when Marvel acquired the rights to use R. E. Howard's original Conan stories.
Current status of the 15 (out of 16) 9.8 books (July 2017):
1051566012, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1051566013, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1051188007, O-W, Northland pedigree
0037766024, WP
1108420002, WP
1198216006, WP
1264317006, WP
1341464014, WP
0906902007, OW-W
0906998010, OW-W
1042667006, OW-W
1129553005, OW-W
1133150008, OW-W
1197426005, OW-W
1224894007, OW-W
(WP = White Pages, OW-W = Off-White to White Pages and O-W = Off-White pages.)
I have seen 14 of these 16 books, regarding perfect cover centering (none had perfect cover orientation), 0037766024 and 1108420002 are the most beautiful of all. You can see the 14 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue03
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 4 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 4 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1010462007
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Owner Comments
This book is the crown of my collection (well, at least one of them since this is my second Conan the Barbarian #4 CGC 9.8 book with pure white pages). In my opinion the story "The Tower of the Elephant" in ths book was the first of many great Conan tales by Barry Windsor-Smith. Sure, Windsor-Smith also drew issues 1 to 3 (actually #5 is the correct #3, since these stories were swapped), but the stories in #1 to #3 are of a weak and poor quality compared to the imaginative power of "The Tower of the Elephant" in #4. To me, Conan the Barbarian number 4 is the true beginning for all great Barry Windsor-Smith Conan tales.
In 1971 the story "Tower of the Elephant" by Roy Thomas & Barry Smith was nominated by the Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the Best Individual Story.
In an interview May 1998 Barry Windsor-Smith mentioned that Conan 4 was quite special to him:
"Roy had sent me all of the Lancer paperbacks some months prior to our beginning the first issue, so my prior affinity was merely months old but, as it happens, that made my perceptions energetic and fresh because I was utterly hooked by Howard's writing style. "The Tower of the Elephant," in particular, was a real head trip, to use the vernacular of the time". (Excerpt from "Comic Book Artist" #2.)
In 2010 Roy Thomas confirmed that Conan #4 also was quite special to him:
"For #4 I decided to do something different. From the beginning I had wanted to adapt Robert E. Howard‘s storles as well as make up so my own, but our contract with the REH estate gave us rights only to use Conan, not any particular stories. Now I got permission from Glenn Lord in a letter to adapt the story in which the Cimmerian is chronologically youngest—"Tower of the Elephant," which had quickly become my favorite Conan tale of all-as an issue of Conan. Either Marvel or I-I suspect Marvel-paid a little extra for the rlght to adapt the story, but at thls point I‘ve totally forgotten how I swung that or how much it cost. Working with Howard's actual prose, not just my couple of pages of accompanying notes, apparently turned Barry on, and he did a wonderful job. From the time Barry drew "Tower of the Elephant," there was no looking back for either of us."
Excerpt from "The Barry Windsor-Smith Conan Archives Volume 1" 2010 (the foreword by Roy Thomas).
Furthermore this books is part of the Rocky Mountain pedigree, so named based on its Colorado roots, containing over 5,000 comic books in high grade runs of Marvel and DC titles from the 1960s and up. CGC has described the Rocky Mountain pedigree, to which this book belongs, in these words:
"The comic books were stored meticulously for decades in a cool, dry basement, and have bold, newsstand-fresh colors and white or off-white to white pages. There are many Rocky Mountain examples that are the highest certified for their issue [...] Mark Haspel, CGC President and Primary Grader comments, “One of the unique things about the Rocky Mountain pedigree is that there are photographs of it in its original state, making it one of the most thoroughly documented pedigrees. It has long runs of Marvel and DC, and because of their high grades and their market acceptance, this collection certainly has special merit.”
And according to the sellers:
"The original owner collection that is now established as the Rocky Mountain Pedigree collection is comprised of over 5,000 books and it is by far the most impressive Silver, Bronze and Copper Age collection ever consigned to ComicLink since the business was founded in 1996. Across the board, whether they grade out 9.0, 9.4 or 9.8, these issues are newsstand fresh and glossy, with rich colors and either white or off-white to white page preservation. You cannot truly measure the look of them by the grades they were given. They were an incredible sight to behold prior to CGC slabbing and we are, quite frankly, as blown away now as we were when we first laid eyes on them".
Read more here: http://www.cgccomics.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=1148
Current status of the 11 Conan the Barbarian #4 CGC 9.8 books, and I have seen them all (July 2017):
0034604003, WP, Oakland pedigree
1010462007, WP, Rocky Mountain pedigree
1027530004, WP, Suscha News pedigree
0091113003, WP
0096990016, WP
0096990017, WP
1341464010, WP
1341464012, WP
0175147008, OW-W
1465784016, OW-W
1338632002, OW
(WP = White Pages and OW-W = Off-White to White Pages.)
1338632002 has (near-)perfect cover orientation, but has the worst page quality (pff-white). All the WP books seem misaligned, but of these 0091113003, 1010462007 and 1027530004 have the most perfect cover centering, the winner is probably 1027530004. You can see the 11 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue04
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 5 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 5 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0975863007
|
Owner Comments
This pristine CGC 9.8 NM/MT is the highest graded example ever certified by CGC. Also the centering on this book is close to perfection. I consider this book to be one of my most beautiful CGC 9.8 books, it must be extremely close to 9.84999999! :-)
The original owner described the book in these terms: "The book is extremely well centered and does not contain any writing or date-stamps on the covers. It has an extremely clean bright white back cover with awesome cover gloss all around. The front cover image displays a very bright & crisp color strike. The CGC casing is undamaged and in a new-style housing. It was recently graded by CGC [...] This particular copy originated from a one-owner collection."
Furthermore the secret of this book is that this is not Conan the Barbarian #5, but this is actually the true Conan the Barbarian #3! In 2010 Roy Thomas made the following explanation:
"For issue #5 I made up a tale that used a Robert E. Howard name from a poem—Zukala-for a wizard—villain. It was a fair—to—middling story, and Barry drew it well, even if tigers weren’t his strong point and though Zukala wound up looking a bit like a refugee from a Steve Ditko Dr. Strange. I did have Barry redraw some things near the end of the story. He had a winged, flying demon suddenly become "tired"—at least that was the explanation he gave me—and fall to his death when pushed out a lower window. Possible, perhaps, but not satisfying. Also, we decided that Zukala‘s changeling daughter shouldn't die at the end. As it turned out, though. "Zukala‘s Daughter became Conan #5, not #3 [...] I realized it worked better from a chronological point of view to make 'Grim Grey God" #3, then to utilize "Tower of the Elephant," and to save "Zukala's Daughter" for #5. So that's what I did, and the publishing order of Conan #3 and #5 was thus reversed. And it shows, with the latter being a bit cruder than #3 and #4, more in line with what Barry had drawn in #2."
Excerpt from "The Barry Windsor-Smith Conan Archives Volume 1" 2010 (the foreword by Roy Thomas).
Current status of 12 Conan the Barbarian #5 CGC 9.8 books out of 13 books (July 2017):
1051555021, WP, Suscha News pedigree.
0065013003, WP.
0975863007, WP.
1039654006, WP.
1108987003, WP.
1171309012, WP.
1172748003, WP.
1197554003, WP.
1477486005. WP.
0096990019, OW-W.
0165589016, OW-W.
0990134001, OW-W.
(WP = White Pages and OW-W = Off-White to White Pages.)
Of the 11 books I have seen, 1108987003 had the most perfect cover centering and cover orientation, although 1051555021 was close to win in this category. You can see the 11 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue05
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 6 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 6 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1051556001
|
Owner Comments
A great-looking copy of Conan the Barbarian #6, especially the cover orientation is perfect and the colors are vivid and saturated.
In 1971 the story in this book "Devil Wings over Shadizar" by Roy Thomas & Barry Smith was nominated by the Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards for the Best Individual Story.
I have added a photo of the last story page in this book - maybe I am the only one, but somehow it reminds me of a trip to Las Vegas... Or it may just simply catch the finer essence of many relationships ;-)
This story page also illustrated how much Barry Smith had changed his initial Kirby-style in drawing (see Conan the Barbarian #1), and that he now had found his own style. Especially the face of Conan and his wit was very clearly depicted on this page, and shows my frame of reference regarding how to draw Conan the Barbarian.
This book has previously only been owned by the collector behind the Suscha News pedigree collection and he described the collection in these words:
"I didn’t start out as a “comic collector.” Born in 1949 and growing up in Sheboygan, Wis., in the 1950s and ’60s, I was the kind of fastidious child who always used the kickstand on his bike and dusted off his model cars and planes every Thursday afternoon without fail. Because I treated my few possessions well – and had no brothers or sisters to help destroy them – I tended to accumulate things, including comic books.
[…]
By 1970, I was married and in my own place, although the comics remained in my parents’ house, relocated to the basement. After a few close calls with relatives rifling through the collection for poolside reading and even a threat to burn it all, I bought dozens of boxes and moved everything to a duplex I was renting.
Although comic books were only 15 to 25 cents each at the time, buying more than a hundred a month represented a big chunk of my tiny, $3-per-hour paycheck. The books were mainly purchased at newsstands and drug stores.
[…]
In 1978, I moved to Tucson, Arizona, and two years later was in a new home with a special feature – a large, fireproof, walk-in vault big enough to accommodate the comic book collection, which by now took up a 6-foot-wide by 5-foot-long by 6-foot-high stack. Property crimes, particularly home burglaries, are a major problem in southern Arizona, and the vault seemed a necessity to protect my comics, guns, cameras and other valuables. The arid conditions of Arizona were a godsend for storing comics.
It was now the early ‘80s. My wife at the time often tried to pressure me to sell the collection. In those days before blockbuster movie franchises based on comic books and the Internet, the books were worth a tiny fraction of what they bring today. Had I caved in and sold then, I literally would have realized just enough money to buy a used pickup truck, which would have gone to the scrap yard years ago.
Over the years, I kept track of the collection with a big piece of graph paper, about five feet long by three feet wide. This pencil-and-paper record somehow disappeared over the years, so in 1998 I cataloged everything in an Excel spreadsheet and repackaged each comic book in a poly bag with a backing board. I put the bagged and backed comics back into the 1976 boxes.
Two years later, we moved to the woods of North Idaho, far from the desert of southern Arizona. The climate here is relatively dry and crime is very low, but I missed my big secure vault. The comics were kept on industrial shelving in a large room in the lower level of the house, where I kept humidity in the mid-40 percent range with a dehumidifier. The collection was “hidden in plain sight” by turning the contents labels of each box toward the wall, and placing fake “Professor Owl Remedial Reading Workbook – Grade 5” labels on the visible side. I figured no burglar would be interested in stealing a half-ton of identical teaching aids.
When I reached 60 years old, I seriously began to consider selling the collection. I didn’t want to end up the guy with the most comic books in the graveyard".
Read the full story here: http://www.cgccomics.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=1809&Suscha-News-Collection?
Further high-res book pictures:
FRONT:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/1051556001F.JPG
BACK:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/1051556001B.JPG
Currently (July 2017) there are 12 Conan the Barbarian #6 CGC 9.8 books, I have seen 10:
1051556001, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1204674001, WP, Suscha News pedigree
0607515003, WP (damaged holder?)
1074794014, WP
1094056022, WP
1203070009, WP
1213996020, WP
0069493011, OW-W
1162355008, OW-W
1213996019, OW-W (Double cover)
(WP = White Pages and OW-W = Off-White to White Pages.)
1074794014 and 0069493011 seem to have the most perfect cover centering and orientation. You can see the 10 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue06
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 7 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 7 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0051819003
|
Owner Comments
This book contains one of my favorite Conan stories, and the story (based upon "The God in the Bowl" by Robert Ervin Howard) is close to the quality of the stories in Conan the Barbarian 4, 10 and 13. As shown on the photo of the book, the cover orientation is within the margin of perfection and the book has pure white pages.
Another scan of the book can be found here, showing the book's simply perfect cover orientation:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0051819003F.JPG
Currently (July 2017) there are 1 CGC 9.9 and 27 CGC 9.8 books of Conan the Barbarian #7. I know of 25 books, but I cannot see the serial number on one book:
9.9, 0119259017, OW-W
9.8, 1027525006, WP, Suscha News pedigree
9.8, 1051556002, WP, Suscha News pedigree
9.8, 1051554015, OW-W, Suscha News pedigree
9.8, 1264317001, OW-W, Northland pedigree
9.8, 0051819003, WP
9.8, 0051847009, WP
9.8, 0056851018, WP
9.8, 0089534005, WP
9.8, 0607193020, WP
9.8, 0192195003, WP
9.8, 0931023009, WP
9.8, 0990134006, WP
9.8, 1074908004, WP
9.8, 1107021006, WP
9.8, 1108731024, WP
9.8, 1216162030, WP
9.8, 0006450013, OW-W
9.8, 0267886020, OW-W
9.8, 0913801001, OW-W
9.8, 1129553006, OW-W
9.8, 0220050014, OW-W
9.8, 0272222002, OW-W
9.8, 1055231002, O-W
(WP = White Pages, OW-W = Off-White to White Pages and O-W = Off-White.)
1107021006 has the most perfect centering and orientation of the 23 covers I have seen. You can see the 23 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue07
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 8 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 8 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0051852006
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Owner Comments
This book contains the first Conan story that to my knowledge was published in Denmark, so this book has special value to me.
Furthermore the book contains a humorous remark by Windsor-Smith, when drawing a large number of coins he wrote "I must be mad to sit here drawing all these coins" (page 14). Since the back of this book is quite boring, I took the liberty to upload a photo of the drawing with this remark, marked with a red rectangle. Actually the photo was taken from an original and unread Conan the Barbarian #8 book from 1971. As you can see the message was hard to read due to the cheap paper and blurry printing, so only few ever noticed the message - therefore the message is often referred to as a "secret panel message". This classic remark makes Conan #8 quite special - and at 9.8 in pure white pages it currently does not get any better!
I have uploaded high res photos of the front and back of the book here (paste the URL into your browser to see the images):
FRONT
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0051852006F.JPG
BACK
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0051852006B.JPG
This book is a good example of Roy Thomas' and Barry Windsor-Smith's approach to the genre. Barry Windsor-Smith wrote in his book Opus 2:
"Although they were not unknown to us, Roy Thomas and I tried to avoid the excesses and clichés of the sword and sorcery/adventure genre. We mostly avoided monsters; instead I'd draw actual animals on a grand scale, like a giant dog or a reptile".
And this book excactly introduces a giant reptile illustrating the more restricted fantasy approach (one dare not write "realistic approach", so I will not do that :-) which I believe was indeed a wise choice (the giant bat in #6, the large snake in #7, the Bull God in #10 and the giant spider in #13 are other examples of this approach).
Currently (July 2017) there are 27 unrestored CGC 9.8 books of Conan the Barbarian #8. I know of these 23 books:
1010192009, WP, Rocky Mountain pedigree
1013922007, WP, Rocky Mountain pedigree
1027525009, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1027530007, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1027530008, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1051554017, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1051554016, OW-W, Suscha News pedigree
1051554018, OW-W, Suscha News pedigree
1041670005, WP
0051819005, WP
0051852006, WP
0066060013, WP
1474499015, WP
0014017002, OW-W
1009698008, OW-W
0919987002, 0W-W
0986029009, OW-W
1074148003, OW-W
1200035013, OW-W
1221416004, OW-W
0006450015, O-W
0032581007, O-W
1203769004, OW-W, Qualified
(WP = White Pages, OW-W = Off-White to White Pages and O-W = Off-White.)
I have photos/scans of 22 books, only 0006450015 O-W has (near-)perfect cover centering and orientation. Of the books with WP, 0051819005 clearly had the most perfectly centered cover (quite rare, since most Conan #8 books seem to have off-centered covers). You can see the 22 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue08
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 9 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 9 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0702579005
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Owner Comments
Well, maybe I should not have bought this book. I already have one copy of this book at CGC 9.6 WP with the most perfect centering and cover orientation, but suddenly I saw this beauty with perfect orientation and near-perfect centering and being the weak man I am I could not resist buying the book (I guess the saying "the more the merrier" is so true in this regard ;-). Actually I have only seen one other Conan #9 9.8 WP book match the beauty of this book, since most Conan #9 books at 9.8 are badly centered and/or have non-horizontal cover orientation - so it is very hard to find a Conan #9 book 1) at 9.8, 2) with pure white pages, 3) with perfect cover orientation and 4) with perfect cover centering.
Currently (July 2017) there are 30 CGC 9.8 books of Conan the Barbarian #9. I know of these 24 books:
0919393009, WP, Don/Maggie Thompson Collection
1010462014, WP, Rocky Mountain pedigree
1027525010, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1027530009, WP, Suscha News pedigree
0051819010, WP
0051824006, WP
0051852007, WP
0051864006, WP
0089536008, WP
0163724011, WP
0193305009, WP
0702579005, WP
0743086007, WP
0975863008, WP
1041671001, WP
1097584008, WP
1107011009, WP
1171309014, WP
1216916018, WP
1332675002, WP
0096990024, OW-W
0793043006, OW-W
0919987003, OW-W
0032581008, O-W
(WP = White Pages, OW-W = Off-White to White Pages and O-W = Off-White.)
I have photos/scans of 22 books, of these I would consider 0975863008 and 1171309014 to be the absolute reference regarding perfect cover centering and orientation. Although I have not seen 8 of the 30 books, I am guessing that chances are really really slim to find more beautiful books than 0975863008 or 1171309014. You can see the 22 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue09
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 10 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 10 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0162719001
|
Owner Comments
An utterly amazing book with near-perfect centering and pure white pages. This is a double issue containing one of the best Conan stories ever, namely the story about the Bull God. In my opinion Barry Smith delivered his best work in Conan 4, 10 and 13. Thus, regarding my comic books, Conan 10 at 9.8 is indeed close to being "my precious" (as Sméagol/Gollum described the Ring :-)
The book was purchased for US$ 5 at a flea market in Castro Valley, CA in 1980. For the next 30 years the owner kept the book stored at his parents house in the attic - until it was found and sent to the CGC.
Currently (July 2017) there are 14 CGC 9.8 books of Conan the Barbarian #10. I know of these 12 books:
0919393010, WP, Don/Maggie Thompson Collection
0037766029, WP
0051864003, WP
0162719001, WP
0272222005, WP
0749938011, WP
0935975001, WP
0973877001, WP
1055458012, WP
1162355010, WP
1211735015, WP
1211735016, WP
(WP = White Pages.)
I have photos/scans of 12 books, of these I would consider 0162719001, 0973877001 and 1055458012 to be great examples of (near-)perfect cover centering and orientation. You can see the 12 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue10
|
| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 11 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 11 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0051847011
|
Owner Comments
This book is a truly beautiful book - especially due to a nearly perfect cover centering and orientation. Like Conan #10 it is a double issue, which makes this book very special (Conan 10 and 11 were the only double issues by Barry Smith).
Currently (July 2017) there is just 1 CGC 9.8 book of Conan the Barbarian #11. It has the following characteristics:
1027525012, WP, Suscha News pedigree
(WP = White Pages.)
I have no photo or scan of this book, but CarlD has promised to send me one sometime, so I may update this section later - but for now, no matter how it looks, it will be the CGC 9.8 #11 with the best cover centering and orientation ;-)
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 12 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 12 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0039006012
|
Owner Comments
A very beautiful book with near-perfect cover orientation, which can be observed by the horizontal black bar at the top (across the cover). Many Conan the Barbarian #12 books have severely tilted covers (to the left or right), and although this book is not perfect regarding cover centering, it is one of the best looking high-graded Conan #12 CGC books I have seen. Well, to get perfect cover centering, it seems that the cover should be tilted slightly downward to the right, but that would ruin the cover orientation - so I am guessing that for Conan #12 it will be very hard to find both perfect cover orientation and centering...
Conan the Barbarian #12 has been one of the hardest books for me to find in high grade. Furthermore the book contains the first Conan the Barbarian cover by the famous artist Gil Kane, who already had played a significant role in getting Marvel interested in the Conan stories (see my text to Conan the Barbarian #17 for further information about Gil Kane and early Marvel Conan books).
This book contains the story "The Dweller in the Dark", which also is one of my favorite Conan stories.
This book was originally part of Bill Hughes amazing collection, which still can be seen here:
http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/awards/WinningSetDetail.aspx?AwardSetID=42
I am guessing that the brothers Carlo and Paul (=CarlD) in 2006 or 2007 bought much of Bill Hughes collection and the Conan #12 book stayed in their collection, until Carlo and I, after negotiating for little more than a year ;-), made a transaction securing me this great book.
This book is dedicated to Paul and Carlo, and I shall indeed do my best to keep this book in it's current condition for many years to come.
In the spring of 2012 Collectors' Society changed how pictures were shown and uploaded, which reduced the quality of book pictures significantly - compared to the quality I usually could provide within the old 200kb limit. So I have uploaded more high-res pictures on a different server (paste the URL into your browser to see the images):
FRONT:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0039006012F.JPG
BACK:
http://www.hardwaretidende.dk/hard/artikelimages/0039006012B.JPG
Currently (July 2017) there are 4 CGC 9.8 books of Conan the Barbarian #12. I know of these 3 books:
1027530010, WP, Suscha News pedigree
0039006012, OW-W
1473010005, OW-W
(WP = White Pages and OW-W = Off-White to White Pages.)
I have photos/scans of 2 books, you can find them here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue12
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 13 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 13 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1028386003
|
Owner Comments
This book is extremely beautiful and contains one of my favorite Conan stories featuring a giant spider. The story was reprinted in black and white in Savage Sword of Conan Annual #1.
Besides this book’s pure white pages it has great cover centering, very vivid and fresh colors making this book truly stand out.
Currently (July 2017) there are 28 CGC 9.8 Conan the Barbarian #13 books. I know of these 23 books:
1027530012, OW-W, Suscha News pedigree
1027530013, OW-W, Suscha News pedigree
0051847008, WP
0051864001, WP
0089536007, WP
0093194004, WP
0192195004, WP
0220092001, WP
1028386003, WP
1097633006, WP
1098640014, WP
1129518002, WP
1221416005, WP
1461307006, WP
0198752013, OW-W
0990134018, OW-W
0990134018, OW-W
0990134019, OW-W
1035474005, OW-W
1041272007, OW-W
1129553008, OW-W
1162355011, OW-W
1097729015, O-W (Double cover)
(WP = White Pages, OW-W = Off-White to White Pages and O-W = Off-White Pages.)
12 of these 23 books had pure WP (50%). I have photos/scans of 21 books. Of these 21 books and limiting it further to the books with pure WP, I would consider 0089536007 to be the best regarding near-perfect cover centering and orientation, although 0093194004 and a few other books are pretty close... You can see the 21 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue13
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 14 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 14 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1003497004
|
Owner Comments
This book has pure white pages and is part of a pedigree collection, thus far very few Conan the Barbarian #14 CGC 9.8 books had pure white pages making this book quite special.
Furthermore this is really the first time I felt that the ink was dripping from the cover, the blood red color simply seems incredibly well-preserved and hopefully the photo caught just a glimpse of this magic.
Like my #18 9.8, this book is dedicated to Doctor Joe, without his kind help and understanding (of my treatment-resistant Conan addiction, *cough!*), this book would not be part of my collection.
This book is a key issue, since this book contains the first comic appearance of Elric of Melniboné. According to Wikipedia:
"Elric of Melniboné[1] is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, and the antihero of a series of sword and sorcery stories centering in an alternate Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Later novels by Moorcock mark Elric as a facet of the Eternal Champion [...] Elric first appeared in comics in 1972, in Conan the Barbarian issues 14–15, an adventure in two parts entitled "A Sword Called Stormbringer!" and “The Green Empress of Melniboné”. The comic was written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith, based on a story plotted by Michael Moorcock and James Cawthorn".
I am probably the third owner of this book, previous owners being the collector behind the Suscha News pedigree collection and Doctor Joe.
Here is an excerpt from the story behind the Suscha News pedigree collection:
"I didn’t start out as a “comic collector.” Born in 1949 and growing up in Sheboygan, Wis., in the 1950s and ’60s, I was the kind of fastidious child who always used the kickstand on his bike and dusted off his model cars and planes every Thursday afternoon without fail. Because I treated my few possessions well – and had no brothers or sisters to help destroy them – I tended to accumulate things, including comic books.
[…]
In 1978, I moved to Tucson, Arizona, and two years later was in a new home with a special feature – a large, fireproof, walk-in vault big enough to accommodate the comic book collection, which by now took up a 6-foot-wide by 5-foot-long by 6-foot-high stack. Property crimes, particularly home burglaries, are a major problem in southern Arizona, and the vault seemed a necessity to protect my comics, guns, cameras and other valuables. The arid conditions of Arizona were a godsend for storing comics.
It was now the early ‘80s. My wife at the time often tried to pressure me to sell the collection. In those days before blockbuster movie franchises based on comic books and the Internet, the books were worth a tiny fraction of what they bring today. Had I caved in and sold then, I literally would have realized just enough money to buy a used pickup truck, which would have gone to the scrap yard years ago.
[...]
Two years later, we moved to the woods of North Idaho, far from the desert of southern Arizona. The climate here is relatively dry and crime is very low, but I missed my big secure vault. The comics were kept on industrial shelving in a large room in the lower level of the house, where I kept humidity in the mid-40 percent range with a dehumidifier. The collection was “hidden in plain sight” by turning the contents labels of each box toward the wall, and placing fake “Professor Owl Remedial Reading Workbook – Grade 5” labels on the visible side. I figured no burglar would be interested in stealing a half-ton of identical teaching aids.
When I reached 60 years old, I seriously began to consider selling the collection. I didn’t want to end up the guy with the most comic books in the graveyard".
Read the full story here: http://www.cgccomics.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=1809&Suscha-News-Collection?
Currently (July 2017) there are 7 CGC 9.8 books of Conan the Barbarian #14. I know of these 6 books:
1003497004, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1027531001, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1027530015, OW-W, Suscha News pedigree
1041965012, WP
1210447014, WP
0181420008, OW-W
(WP = White Pages and OW-W = Off-White to White Pages.)
I have photos/scans of all 6 books, of these 1041965012 is clearly the best regarding near-perfect cover centering and orientation, although it's orientation is far from perfect. 0181420008 has great centering too, but it's orientation is even worse. You can see the 6 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue14
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| Slot: |
Conan the Barbarian 15 |
| Item: |
Conan the Barbarian 15 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1129553009
|
Owner Comments
This book is a great copy of the key issue Conan the Barbarian #15 with perfect cover orientation, which is extremely rare. Currently I have photos of 13 out of the 14 current Conan the Barbarian #15 9.8 books, and only 5 books had pure white pages. Of these 5 books none had perfect centering, although the Suscha News book 1027531005 and Carlo's 0046230004 did come close, and this current book (1129553009) was the only one to show perfect cover orientation. So although there is one book I have never seen, chances are that currently (July 2017) there are no Conan the Barbarian #15 CGC 9.8 books with 1) pure white pages, 2) perfect cover centering and 3) perfect cover orientation.
This book is considered a key issue being the second comic book to contain a story of Elric of Melniboné:
"Elric of Melniboné[1] is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, and the antihero of a series of sword and sorcery stories centering in an alternate Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Later novels by Moorcock mark Elric as a facet of the Eternal Champion [...] Elric first appeared in comics in 1972, in Conan the Barbarian issues 14–15, an adventure in two parts entitled "A Sword Called Stormbringer!" and “The Green Empress of Melniboné”. The comic was written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith, based on a story plotted by Michael Moorcock and James Cawthorn".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elric_(comics)
Currently (July 2017) there are 14 CGC 9.8 books of Conan the Barbarian #15. I know of these 13 books:
1013922017, WP, Rocky Mountain pedigree
1027531004, WP, Suscha News pedigree
1027531005, WP, Suscha News pedigree
0046230004, WP
1129553009, WP
0066293041, OW-W
0069493016, OW-W
0159837010, OW-W
0960816005, OW-W
1171309016, OW-W
1198101018, OW-W
0165589013, O-W
0165589014, O-W
(WP = White Pages, OW-W = Off-White to White Pages and O-W = Off-White Pages.)
Only 5 books (38%) of these 13 books had pure WP. I have photos/scans of all 13 books, and although 0046230004 may be considered the best looking book, not one has near-perfect cover centering and orientation. The best I have ever seen is 1011146008 WP Signature Series (signed by Roy Thomas), but it is a 9.6 book. You can see the 13 9.8 books here:
http://s1270.photobucket.com/user/runesr2/library/Issue15
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