Set Description
Synopsis: We currently own 47 of the 60 books in this set. Highlights of the set are nine single highest graded examples as of June 2021.
Background: I always liked Metal Men as a kid, yes I know I am dating myself with that comment, and have long owned a #1 9.6. I just recently decided to start picking up a few Metal Men, as our Flash and GL sets are completed and it is getting to a point where upgrades have become increasingly hard to find. Obviously, this is just a starter set now, but if you have an issue we lack in 9.6 or higher for the solo run or 9.0 or higher for the Showcases, we would love the opportunity to see if a deal can be done, so drop us a note if interested.
2020 Update: Of all the books we collect, Metal Men has turned out to be the most difficult to find in high grade. Most of our books were bought when two other collectors sold their sets. While we have now climbed to the top of the registry, the set still has numerous holes. And unlike many sets where we have just been outbid, we have never seen the books we covet here.
It is pretty easy to see what has happened here, people quit collecting these books because they just cannot find them. I have a feeling that there are a few people who own the Showcases as part of Showcase collections and those books never come on the market. At any rate we are still plugging away, but I have little optimism that we will ever finish this one.
2021 Update: We keep looking, but again, where are the books? With many sets, there are upgrades readily available, it’s just a question of cost. But with MM, the books are relatively affordable, they are just nowhere to be found. Admittedly, we could buy a Showcase #37, they are the easiest-and most expensive, mind you-book in the set to find, but have never seen one where we like the looks of the book. I have often found myself looking back on the time I tried to buy the sole 9.4 copy of that issue. The ask at the time on E-Bay was steep, but I did make an offer, which was not accepted. I have since somewhat modified my outlook with respect to books like that Showcase #37. I now feel that, if you pay a large premium for a single highest graded copy of a non-key book, that book will most likely lose much of its value as, more likely than not, the census will change and that premium will disappear. If, however, the book is a key, even a somewhat minor key like Showcase #37, it’s probably more immune to changes in the census. I guess that’s a long way of saying, I wish I had bought that book.
Of course, my biggest regret in my collecting history was not mortgaging everything I owned and buying more books out of the 2012 Captain Tripp’s auction on Heritage. Many of those books have disappeared never to be seen again. And the prices now look very cheap on all but the keys, it was just too much on the market at one time. Of course, that regret has absolutely nothing to do with Metal Men, so I am not sure why I wrote it here LOL. Most of my narratives are really stream of consciousness, which I sincerely doubt anyone but myself ever reads. It’s basically just a diary of my collecting activities, which I try to revisit annually.
We did make a little progress on our Metal Men set over the past year and now have 47 books, including nine single highest graded examples. Still, we have a long ways to go to catch up with the top two collections, which boast 100% of the books in this set.
I will say, FWIW, to me having a complete collection of high-grade books should be more valued than having a few high-grade big point books. A high grade Amazing Fantasy #15 is worth more points than any of my complete sets, and yet buying one does not require years of searching, just the money to complete one transaction. I think most of us do this for the joy of collecting and preserving books we grew up with; if one is simply investing in comics, they may as well be stock certificates. Now there’s nothing wrong with that, but to me the registry should reward completeness more than it does. And while my MM set is much more than a couple of books, it should not be considered better than the two complete sets, which are ranked below it.
