Saturday, January 14, 2017

Adventures in Comics: Flea Marketing Fun




Redartz:  Welcome to the second installment of "Adventures in Comics", where we pull up a seat and tell a few stories (hopefully interesting ones; if not, you get a nap- win/win situation!). Today, we will share some experiences dealing with those wacky arenas of 'anything goes, and probably does'- Flea Markets! 


Young Redartz selling some books at a flea market, c. 1981
I have a distinct fondness for these sales. You truly never know what you may find at one. Often you'll see an abundance of kitschy merchandise, knock-off clothing, expiring food, and just plain junk. Just as often, you'll see homemade art and craft, baked goods, antiques and collectibles, and all manner of things that make you exclaim " Hey, I  had one of those! Havent seen one in  years". Over the years I've done both sides of the table: selling and buying (much more of the latter). In particular, I've found them to be rich sources for comics. 

It literally becomes a treasure hunt, as you scrounge through boxes of old papers on the chance you may find buried four color gold. You rifle through the longboxes full of dollar books, notice the occasional loose comic on a table of unrelated 'stuff'. And sometimes there are actual comics dealers, with loads of back issues . Seldom do I visit a flea market and find absolutely nothing of interest. And now, a few examples:


1. Several years ago, I hit an outdoor flea market one morning (I try to get there as early as possible, but it's getting harder to get out of bed that early unless I have to).  Outdoor markets are the best; exercise, fresh air and comic hunting all in one trip! 
Wandering down the rows of booths, you could see the usual array of merchandise and miscellany. A few comics here and there, but nothing of note. Then I stopped at one booth which had several boxes on a table. Most had newspapers and old magazines, but one box had a dusty-looking pile of comic books. I took a casual look over several of the top books; not the best of condition but I noticed several Silver age books. Asked the dealer what he'd take for the box, liked his price of 60 dollars,  walked back to the car with an armful of comic box. The accompanying photo shows what that box contained. I was quite pleased; although the conditions ranged widely (including many with loose covers, tears, even coverless). I added a pile of fun books to my collection that morning! That was my first experience buying a box lot, and it got me hooked .

 


2. Early last year, my wife and I checked out the big Louisville flea market at the fairgrounds. Not many comics were there on that occasion, but one dealer had this gem on his table. I'd had one years before, bought at the local dime store as a youngster. My model, though , had disappeared over the years. Here was one still boxed, unassembled, with the comic instructions intact! The dealer, a kind gentleman, had a very reasonable price (he did raise it a few bucks upon learning the comic was still inside, but I was glad to pay the extra). The finished model now occupies an honored place on the shelf. It just goes to show; even if you're not finding what you're specifically hunting, you may well score an unanticipated goodie.








3. Just recently, while scouring a local New Year's Day flea market, I scored another box lot. This was a bit riskier; most of the comics were coverless. But the dealer wanted to get rid of the stack for ten dollars, so I figured "why not, it's only 10 bucks". Besides, one little trick I've started has been to scan some of those rough books, load them on my tablet, and I can still download a cover image to go with it. Then I've got more comics to read (digitally, at any rate). 
Anyway, upon going through the stack back home, I found a few with covers, including an old Justice League issue and several Archies. More interesting, there was a coverless copy of "Ghost Comics" 11 from 1954, with Eisner-esque art by Jerry Grandenetti. Interesting, I say, because I'm currently reading "Will Eisner-A Spirited Life", and that story was actually referenced in the book! 
Additionally, there were a couple of old promotional comics, which are another fondness of mine. So it turned out to be ten dollars well spent.

Of course, many are the flea markets I've visited where there has been little of interest. But that's part of the fun, you just never know. Someone out there right now is cleaning out their attic and will be putting the remains up for sale at the flea market soon. What will we find next time? I look forward to finding out. Now how about you; do you have any tales to tell from booth browsing? If not, give one a try. You might just be glad you did...

 


 



9 comments:

david_b said...

Fun topic today. As Doug's familiar with, I've attended the Kane County Antique Toy Auction in Illinois since the early '90s. I've seldom ever 'not been surprised' at just what folks were selling there, comics-toys-whatnot alike.

No specific comic stories to share, but I've gotten some great deals on either SIlver/Bronze comics, vintage toys like GI Joe stuff and other items I didn't know I needed (LOL). In most cases nowadays, I simply look through as much as I can, then check eBay for even better deals but sometimes you can avoid the occasionally-silly shipping costs and really clean up.

Two years ago, I was looking for some GI Joe Adventure Team boxes with the beautiful color art on the outside, just to matte/frame the exterior art in my den. I got a near-pristine boxed action set for only a hundred, then about 20min later someone overheard me telling my niece that I just wanted the gorgeous outside box with the art, not the contents. The guy had cash and bought the contents for over half of what I originally spent on the entire set.

You can't do THAT online....., Win-Win.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Hey Dudes, So I was at a Flea Market in Gary, Indiana and this family sold me a box of Bugs Bunny / Looney Tunes, around 50, for $3.00. They were from late 40s through early 50s. Most were very good to very fine. BUT... they all smelled of oldy / moldy odor though not damaged in any way. So, a few years later, around '78 I'm looking at the Buyers Guide for Comic Fandom and some guy wants to trade Porky Pigs (me) for Action and Adventure Comics (him) from the late 50s. Well, we traded a few since I did not know the guy. When I got the books, I noticed the Action one seemed weird to me but I could not figure out why. Then I see that the upper right corner with the "Comic Code Seal of Approval" had been torn off and this guy had, by hand, drawn an exact replica of the tear and affixed it. I mean... talk about a masterful forger! I still laugh when I imagine the time this dude invested in recreating that b/c in '78 that comic had to be worth all of $.25. Of course, he probably was carping that he needed to put "odor eaters" around the comics I sent him, LOL.

Martinex1 said...

Those are great stories David_b and Charlie Horse.

Red, I'm curious about a couple of things...have you ever sold anything at a flea market that you thought later that you maybe didn't make a good deal? And what kind of hatchback are you sitting in back in the day? I don't recognize that car.

ColinBray said...

My only real find was a few years ago at what us Brits call a 'car boot sale.'

I picked up a complete run of Near Mint FF comics #220 thru #350 in a short box for £30. I asked the woman making the sale if these were her comics, and she said no, they belonged to her husband. She said this in such a way that I heard a hint that he may not know his comic collection was bring sold off cheap - perhaps it was a revenge sale following an argument, or was she unilaterally 'cleaning out the house' without his knowledge?

I will never know...but occasionally feel a twinge of guilt at my accomplice role.

Mike Wilson said...

I haven't been to a flea market in years. When I was a kid, we used to have a sort of "mini flea market" (or White Elephant Sale, as we called it) every year at school, and I remember buying some comics there. Can't recall too many specifics, but I know I got a coverless copy of Avengers #177 (where Korvac wastes everyone, then revives them) pretty cheap.

Redartz said...

David_b- nice going with the G.I.Joe box! You're right, there are some things you can do in person that are impossible online. Not to discount ebay, I've bought and sold much there. But a physical flea market is irreplaceable.

Charlie- great tale! That forged CCA symbol is crazy. And some of those Looney Toons books are a lot of fun. Although musty mold isnt...

Marti- I haven't any flea market sale regrets. Actually, I feel better about those than the sales I made to dealers when I parted with most of my collection years ago. A couple of eBay auctions fell short, but overall I have done ok. And the car was a Chevy Monza.It was perfect for flea marketing. You could load your stuff in back, then sleep in the hatch overnight by your space ( which is just what I did in the photo above).

Colin- nice books! Perhaps it was all on the up-and-up, and someone didn't miss them. That brings up another future topic- books you've lost, and how...

Mike W.- Swap meets at school? That would have been terrific! Wish I'd gone to your school...

Doug said...

Fun topic! Two stories to share, maybe both of which have been told before...

As a youngster, family of ours were regular "flea marketers". They dealt in antiques, Depression-era glass, etc. Every Sunday after church we would go to the flea market to visit and to take a lap around the building. One time I came across a vendor who had a longbox of 1950s-60s DCs -- Green Lantern, Flash, Brave & the Bold, Wonder Woman, and DCs various "other" titles, like Dial H for Hero, Mystery in Space, etc. I was a Marvel snob in those innocent times, but the sight of that many old comics in one place could have rapidly converted me. I asked my parents about it, and my dad had a brief conversation with the dealer. I have no idea what words were exchanged, but my dad turned to me and said that maybe they'd still be around next month. Not willing to let that go, you can bet that after four weeks had passed, and we were out for our visit, I made a beeline to the part of the room where that fellow's table had been. I stood in the aisle scanning his wares. Talking to another customer, the man soon spied me. He interrupted his conversation and said to me, "I think you're the young man I've disappointed about some comics. I sold them earlier this morning!" I have no idea how much the box went for, or how full it might still have been.

However, on the "victory" side... The same family members lived in a neighborhood that had a huge annual yard sale. How's this: Thor #147-148, #162, DD #102 (coverless), X-Men #58 (coverless), and Silver Surfer #4 (perhaps only 70% complete, and coverless). I didn't care. Think about that era of books. Those all sold in the Great Purge a few years ago, but to the day they left my house I treasured them, in spite of their beat up condition.

You can see the cover of Thor #147 here, with #148 linked at the bottom of the post: http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2012/07/dougs-favorites-thor-147.html

Doug

Unknown said...

Anyone see the episode of Storage Wars where Darryl talked about buying a locker full of primo high-grade early Marvels? All the keys were in there, in multiples too, as I recall.

He bought them for a song, I forget how much. That find was in the early 90s, I believe. They showed photos of some of the books and it was incredible.

The comics would be worth well over a million today, but he sold them off long ago for a lot less.

Begs the question though, what happened to the original owner? Poor guy must have passed away.

Unknown said...

Back in the late '70s I found a bunch of Neal Adams Avengers, Buscema Silver Surfers and Barry Smith Conans. This was at a second-hand book store, not a fleamarket.
Even back then, those comics were already valuable and sought after.

Only drawback -- they each had a large '10 cents' symbol written on the covers in black marker.

I got 'em anyway, but talk about bittersweet!

You Might Also Like --

Here are some related posts: