Set Description
Synopsis: This is a complete set with a minimum grade of 9.4. Overall, 38 books are 9.8s, with 21 9.6s and just two 9.4s.
Background: These are some of our favorite books, so I am not sure why we never drafted a set description. After all, even as a kid I figured early on when I fantasized about being a superhero or villain, that only two were really possible, Iron Man and Batman.
This set has long been complete and we have topped the registry for several years. But we are still constantly looking for upgrades, they are just hard to find. The highlights of our set are two single highest graded issues, #68 and #99, along with highest graded copies of #40 (Western Penn 1/3), #41 (Pacific Coast 1/2), #42 (formerly single highest graded, now 1/2), #43 (1/2) and #44 (1/2). We also have highest graded examples of #46 (1/2), #48 (Don & Maggie 1/3), and #50 (Pacific Coast 1/2). In total, 44 out of 61 issues are highest graded and all but one issue is at least second highest graded. The biggest weaknesses of this set are #39 (9.4 restored), #52 (9.4) and #57 (9.6), which are probably three of the five most expensive books in this set.
It is hard to set goals for this set as many issues are exceedingly rare and difficult to find. It would not be difficult for someone to top the census by buying a very high grade #39, if one has a spare half million or so sitting around for one book. But compiling a 9.6/9.8 set of these books is damn near impossible. That being said, the effort goes on and, if you have a better copy of any book registered here and would like a quick sale at a very good price, please drop us a line.
2021 Update: During the past year we upgraded two issues, #60 and #72, grabbing WP 9.8s of both, which are each 1/2 highest graded. Both books came from the Federal Hill Collection. We also added 4 pedigree copies of books we already owned, again from the same collection. Hopefully, we will find a reasonably priced high grade #39 at some point in the future, which would really top off this set.
