EXCLUSIVE: One of the coolest moves we’ve seen in a long time…
Facsimile Editions have become, shall we say, de rigueur.
Marvel and DC have been reprinting key back issues — complete with ads, letter columns, backup features and whatnot — for a while now and fans really seem to dig them.
Other companies have also started getting in on the act like IDW with its full, magazine-size reprint of Marvel’s 1970s adaptation of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Dynamite has been reprinting the earliest issues of Warren’s Vampirella mags.
But now we’re getting something that is an absolute mind-blower for comics fans and historians: The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #1 Facsimile Edition:
Yep, the comics price bible is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2020 and the folks at Gemstone Publishing are kicking off the festivities in April with this complete reprint of Robert M. Overstreet’s first guide.
Dig the solicitation info, which Gemstone — the publishing arm of Diamond — will be releasing officially later this week:
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The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #1 Facsimile Edition
This year, as we celebrate the Guide’s 50th anniversary, we are very pleased to offer a faithful reproduction of the one that started it all. The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #1 Facsimile Edition reproduces the very first volume and includes the original prices, the original articles, and the original ads.
In 1970, the top price the Guide listed for Action Comics #1 was $300. Today, it’s listed for $4.2 million! Likewise, the top price for Detective Comics #27 was $275. Today, it’s listed for $2.8 million!
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #1 was released October/November 1970. There were just 1,000 copies in the first printing (white cover) and 800 in the second printing (blue cover). The Guide has itself become a collectible over the years. A copy of a first printing of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #1 CGC 9.2 has sold for $9,000!
For five decades, the Guide has been The bible of comic book collectors, dealers and historians. A high grade original copy of the 1970 original could cost you thousands of dollars, but now you can have your own faithful replica of that landmark edition!
Also available will be two things the that historic first edition never had: a limited hard cover edition and a signed, limited hard cover edition as well. Set to go on sale April 1, 2020, the Standard Edition will retail for $16.95, the Hardcover edition (limited to 400 copies) will sell for $25, and the Signed, Numbered Hardcover edition (signed by Bob Overstreet and limited to 100 copies) will go for $50.
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A few thoughts:
— This is just the start. We have plenty of other coverage coming in the months ahead — not only of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #1 Facsimile Edition but of what else Gemstone has up its collective sleeve this year. Stay tuned.
— This is exactly the kind of book where I could lose myself for hours — and I’m sure the same holds true for a lot of you. I can only imagine how many times I’ll say to myself, “Gah! I can’t believe it only cost that much back then!”
— Since it’s a Facsimile Edition, it’s an exact reproduction of the original, though the Gemstone folks tell me a couple of typos and minor mistakes have been corrected.
— I’m totally down with that pricing scheme, and not just for the $16.95 standard edition. $25 for a hardcover ? Nice. And only $50 if you want one signed by Overstreet himself? Very cool.
— The editions will be available in comics shops, naturally, but you can already pre-order each edition directly through Gemstone: Standard (click here), Hardcover (click here), Signed/Numbered Hardcover (click here.)
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MORE
— OVERSTREET’S BATMAN GUIDE: What It Is and How It Came to Be. Click here.
— OVERSTREET: 13 Magnificent Holy Grail BATMAN COLLECTIBLES. Click here.
January 19, 2020
I would be just a maybe on this but that is probably because I have nothing of value except to me. I have never seen comic books as an investment which the price guide sort of “encourages.” I have one or two from the early days that came to me as gifts. It comics are a big tent. Have at it.
January 20, 2020
It’s just fun to see where the prices were back in the day. I still have #3, 1973 edition which I would pour over checking out all the cover reproductions. That’s all you had (and Steranko’s History) to see selected back issue covers of various comics.
January 20, 2020
“Other companies have also started getting in on the act like IDW with its full, magazine-size reprint of Marvel’s 1970 [sic] adaptation of Star Trek: The Motion Picture”
I flipped through IDW’s edition in the store and noticed an ad for current IDW publications, so their reprint is not a true facsimile.