DOING THE PICKER DANCE

One of the groups I'm a member of on Facebook is one devoted to the great comic books published by Dell and Gold Key. I love these comics and the fine folks that are members of this group are all extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Their love for these comics clearly comes through in every image and comment that is posted. It's a great place to hang out after a long hard day of work and just relax. There's always something of interest, some comic book I had when I was a kid, comics I currently have in my collection or comics that I really, really want.

Like the one pictured above. It's AVENGERS #1 (and only), published by Gold Key comics in November 1968. It's based on the classic British television series starring Patrick McNee and the oh-so-lovely Diana Rigg as John Steed and Emma Peel, respectively.

 As you can see, the character's names get top billing here because of the fact that Marvel Comics was already publishing a comic book called THE AVENGERS (you may have heard of it) at the time. The show is one of my all time favorites and this comic book, an obscure one-shot, has been one of my comic book holy grails for many years. I assumed I would never own a copy because one, they're hard to find and two, they're usually very expensive, especially in high grade.

Not long ago, someone posted a photo of this comic in the Dell/Gold Key Facebook group. I commented that I wished I had a copy but that I would probably never be so lucky as price was definitely a barrier. Next thing you know, I get a message from Dino Leto saying he had a copy for sale if I was interested.

I was certainly interested. He was offering the book at $30.00, shipping included, which was a fair price. I asked to see scans of the front and back covers and he complied. The front cover looked good but the back cover was a little worn. I countered with an offer of $25.00. Dino came back with "let's meet in the middle at $27.50" I agreed and commented that this was just like an episode of AMERICAN PICKERS. How many times have Judy and I watched Frank and Mike "do the dance" this same way over some treasure? With an agreed upon price, I mailed Dino a check and waited.

I received the book the other day and it's a beauty. At last, this long sought comic is mine! Thanks to Dino for reaching out to make this sale. I'll definitely do business with him again in the future. And thanks to all of the great folks in the Dell/Gold Key Facebook group for sharing their memories, knowledge and passion for these wonderful, vintage comic books.