August closed with a bang in the Heritage Sunday Pulp Select Auction. Included were early Zorro appearances and a first issue with links to a famous comic book character. Let’s take a look at this burgeoning segment of the collecting hobby to see what’s moving in the market.
“The Curse of Capistrano” Continues to Move
The big seller in the August 31 Sunday Pulp Select Auction from Heritage Auctions was the second part of “The Curse of Capistrano,” the five-part story that introduced Zorro to pulp audiences in 1919. A 5.5 graded copy of All-Story Weekly #396 (v100 #3) with cream to off-white pages sold for $2,880. Johnston McCulley’s popular creation is proving to be a solid seller in the pulp market. There are three graded copies in the CGC census. This is only the second sale of a graded copy, with the first occurring in a June 19 Heritage auction when a 3.5 restored copy sold for $804.
The third part of the story in All-Story Weekly #397 (v100 #4) also sold in the August 31 auction. The final price of $456 for the 2.5 graded copy with cream to off-white page was disappointing, however, as that was the same price paid for a 1.5 restored copy in the June 19 auction.
Robot vs. Lion
Another popular draw for pulp collectors is Amazing Stories #31 (v3 #7) with its famous robot versus lion cover drawn by Frank R. Paul. A 7.0 Roy G. Krenkel Pedigree copy of this October 1928 issue with cream to off-white pages sold in the August 31 auction for $660. The record holder is the sole top-of-census 8.5 that sold in the June 19 Heritage auction for $3,600. There are currently 26 graded copies in the CGC census, a number that is quickly growing.
Only Buck Rogers Pulp Cover
Amazing Stories #36 (v3 #12), published in March 1929, featured the second and final pulp appearance of Buck Rogers and his only cover appearance, making it an important issue for pulp collectors. A 4.5 graded copy with cream to off-white pages sold in the August 31 auction for $408. The top sale for this issue came in the June 19 Heritage auction when a 7.0 sold for $960. The current CGC census count stands at 31 graded copies.
First Whisperer
The Whisperer, one of Street & Smith’s b-tier of heroes, first appeared in The Whisperer #1 (v1 #1). A 4.0 graded copy sold in the August 31 auction for $360 and was the fifth sale of a graded copy this year. So, what’s the draw of this character? His alter ego is none other than Police Commissioner James Gordon. A character of the same name would make his first appearance alongside Batman in Detective Comics #27 – three years after this 1936 pulp was published. Two previous sales in the June 19 Heritage auction offer a lesson on the increasing importance of page quality to pulp collectors. A 6.0 sold in the auction for $1,020 while a 7.0 sold for just $600. The difference? The 6.0 had white pages while the 7.0 had cream to off-white pages.
