When we contemplate a memorable old comic book, the first thing that comes to mi
nd is its cover, and that was no accident. Publishers realized fairly quickly th
at if they spent a little extra to hire a good cover artist, they could fill the
insides with mediocrity and still make a sizable profit that all it took was a
striking cover to entice thousands of kids to fork over their dimes. Even today,
covers drive the collectors market. Apart from number-one issues and first appe
arances, the strength of a comic book s cover is the first consideration in dete
rmining its value. Indeed, it is now common practice to entomb the book between
slabs of sealed plastic with only the cover visible as if the interior pages sol
e purpose was to provide a place to secure the staples. In order to locate the b
est possible examples, collectors from around the world have been enlisted to sh
are their rare and valuable comic books.
