Set Description:
A collection of Astonishing Tales issues 1 to 10, although primarily the issues drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith are interesting to me. Thus I do not plan to collect beyond the first 10 issues.
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 on 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 important parts of history.
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 1 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0183208007
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Owner Comments
Census November 2017: 4 in 9.8 and none better, and I'm very happy to have found a book with pure white pages.
More info about the book:
Cover pencils by Marie Severin, inks by Bill Everett.
The Power of Ka-Zar!, script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Sam Grainger; in the story Kraven the Hunter sets his sights on capturing Zabu, knocking out Ka-Zar in the process and then returning to New York with Zabu as his captive; continued from X-MEN #63.
Advertisement for the Marvelmania membership kit using a small version of the Poster and Decals that came with the membership.
Unto You Is Born... The Doomsman!, script by Roy Thomas, art by Wally Wood; in the story Prince Rudolfo tries to regain the throne of Latveria but Dr. Doom crushes his rebellion.
Advertisement reproducing covers for Thor #178 and Captain America #128.
Stan Lee's Soapbox.
32 pgs. $0.15. Cover price $0.15.
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 2 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 2 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0915544014
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Owner Comments
An awesome book with 9.8 grade, pure white pages, perfect centering and pedigreed (Twin Cities). In November 2017 there were just 5 books in 9.8 and none better, and I'd be surprised if one of the remaining 4 books look nicer.
More info about the book:
Cover pencils by John Buscema.
Frenzy On the Fortieth Floor!, script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Sam Grainger; in the story Ka-Zar tracks down Kraven in New York and frees Zabu.
Advertisement for posters of Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, Captain America and the Hulk, with a subscription to Marvelmania also included.
Revolution!, script by Roy Thomas, art by Wally Wood; in the story Prince Rudolfo escape's Doom's dungeons and leads another attack on the castle with the help of The Faceless One and the Doomsman.
Advertisement reproducing covers for Fantastic Four King-Size #8 and Ka-Zar #2.
32 pgs. $0.15. Cover price $0.15.
More info about the Twin Cities pedigree:
"Twin Cities Pedigree, assembled by the late Gary Dahlberg of Minneapolis, MN.
“It’s definitely the best Silver Age Marvel collection we’ve sold,” said Ed Jaster, Senior Vice President at Heritage, “and there’s no Marvel collection out there with better page quality.”
“When I saw the Twin Cities books I was astonished by how nice they were,” said Paul Litch, Vice-President of the comic certification service CGC. “The collection runs the scope of Silver Age Marvels and DCs and goes all the way to some stunning Copper Age books – beautiful books, beautiful preservation. Once collectors see them, they’ll understand why we decided to give them a pedigree designation on the CGC label.”
While the collection encompasses more than 6,000 comics, the standout runs from the collection include Amazing Spider-Man #1 and up, Avengers #1 and up, Daredevil #1 and up, Fantastic Four # 1 and up, Journey Into Mystery #83 and up, Strange Tales # 101 and up, Tales of Suspense #39 and up, and X-Men #1 and up. While most attention will likely focus on the Marvels, the collection does have strong runs of every DC superhero title as well. Gold Keys and Charltons from the 1960s are also part of this pedigree collection.
“The CGC grades for the first few books we’ve submitted have been very strong,” said Lon Allen, Managing Director of Heritage’s Comics division, “but just as important as the technical grades will be that these are very pretty copies. The books just ‘pop’ when you look at them. When collectors see the 9.6 Spider-Man #2 or the 9.6 Spider-Man #4, they’ll know what I’m talking about.”
Dahlberg, who passed away in July 2010, was a meticulous collector who also had the advantage of working at a bookstore as a high school student in the early 1960s, with the opportunity to buy new comics from the store owner before they were put out on the stands."
Source: https://www.ha.com/heritage-auctions-press-releases-and-news/new-cgc-recognized-twin-cities-pedigree-highlights-1-000-000-gary-dahlberg-collection-at-heritage-auctions.s?releaseId=1984
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 3 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 3 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1277712009
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Owner Comments
This book has near-perfect cover orientation, and with pure White Pages, it is a great-looking Astonishing Tales #3 book. Furthermore this book marks the entry of Barry White to the series, thus for collectors of Barry Smith books this book is a key issue (together with the origin of Garokk). According to Wikipedia:
"Garokk, also known as the Petrified Man, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Astonishing Tales vol. 1 #2 (November 1970) and was created by Roy Thomas and Jack Kirby".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garokk
Thus the first appearance of Garokk was in Astonishing Tales #2, although his origin was first explained in this book.
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 4 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 4 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0749500014
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Owner Comments
Normally I would not buy a book with off-white to white page (OW-W) quality, but currently beggars cannot be choosers. In Marts 2012 according to the CGC Census there were 6 books at 9.6 and none higher. During an investigation I found out that the remaining five 9.6 books had serials 0607539010, 1039416004, 0915544016 (Twin Cities Pedigree), 1002643012 and 0700133001, and quite surprisingly they all had OW-W page quality.
In short, there is currently no evidence that Astonishing Tales #4 exists in a better quality than 9.6 OW-W.
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 5 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 5 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0970627011
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Owner Comments
This is my first book in the Astonishing Tales series, but the early Barry (Windsor-)Smith issues are not easy to find in "ultra high grade". This book was actually part of the first Ka-Zar story published in Denmark in 1979 including Astonishing Tales 3-5, 8 and 10 (the cover was based upon a drawing from Astonishing Tales 5).
In May 2011 there were 5 books registered at 9.8 and none higher, and at least 2 of these 5 books did not have pure white pages, currently placing this book at least among the top three registered "Astonishing Tales #5" books.
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 6 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 6 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1039654003
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Owner Comments
A real treasure of a book - and my deepest sorrow regarding books in the year of 2011, when I too late saw that this book had been sold on Heritage Auction Galleries (HA). Currently there are only two books at 9.8 and none better - and this book has near-perfect cover centering and orientation together with pure white pages. Also it is a very beautiful 9.8 book with no visible signs of damage - unlike this book, I have a few 9.8 books showing signs of damage that is very easy to see.
I saw this book one week after it was sold at HA - at that time I had not set up any automatic search programs at HA, but I sure learned my lesson in 2011.
I guess it was pure luck the seller decided to sell the book on EBay 6 months later. So a great sorrow was changed into great joy, when this beauty joined my collection.
Furthermore this book contains the first appearance of the character Mockingbird, and was the last Ka-Zar story to be drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith. So this book concludes my small collection of Astonishing Tales.
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 7 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 7 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0706095008
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Owner Comments
An extremely beautiful book with great centering and pure white pages.
Census Nov 2017, 3 books in 9.8 and none better.
Last 15-cent cover price.
Cover art by Herb Trimpe.
Main story: Deluge!, script by Roy Thomas, art by Herb Trimpe; The battle with Damon ends when Lelania takes over Tatia's body and takes Damon away.
Advertisement for unpublished art portfolios featuring Spider-Man and Daredevil, including a reprint of Spider-Man #1 and Daredevil #1 with information about both characters and checklists, with a subscription to Marvelmania also included.
Second story: ...And If I Be Called Traitor--!, script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Frank Giacoia and Mike Esposito; Black Panther escapes from Dr. Doom and stops his plans to steal Vibranium from Wakanda.
Stan Lee's Soapbox.
Letter from Bob Rozakis.
32 pgs. Cover price $0.15.
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 8 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 8 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0163500030
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Owner Comments
Great centering and simply an awesome book! Features 52 big pages plus the last Doctor Doom appearance in the series. Also features a Barbara Morse sighting in Doctor Doom story. A sharp 9.8 with bold colors.
More details:
Cover pencils by Marie Severin, inks by Frank Giacoia.
Main story: The Battle of New Britannia!, script by Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Tom Sutton; While flying to see Ka-Zar in the Savage Land Barbara Morris and Paul Allen crash, with Paul being saved by Ka-Zar and Barbara being rescued by the British of New Britannia. Ka-Zar and Paul don't know that Barbara has been saved so they venture into the Lost Lake to save her.
Advertisement reproducing covers for Fantastic Four King-Size Special #9 and Spider-Man King-Size Special #8.
Second story: Though Some Call It Magic! starring Doctor Doom, script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Tom Palmer.
Third story: This Badge Bedeviled!, script by Len Wein and Mike Friedrich (plot), pencils by George Tuska, inks by Mike Esposito; While Damian Link is trying to stop a robbery he and his twin brother Joshua Link are somehow linked together by experimental rays.
Advertisement reproducing covers for Thor King-Size Special #4 and Marvel Feature #1.
52 pgs.
Cover price $0.25.
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 9 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 9 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1277712014
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| Slot: |
Astonishing Tales 10 |
| Item: |
Astonishing Tales 10 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
4328764010
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