ComicConnect’s Amazing Pulp Auction, with almost 2,200 pulp lots at auction, has just over a week of bidding to go. “Collectors are always looking for the next big thing,” ComicConnect COO Vincent Zurzolo said. “I’d like to personally introduce you to pulps – in my opinion, the next big thing.”
Pulps were the precursor to comic books, modern paperbacks, and much of genre TV and movies. They were fiction magazines and collections printed on pulp paper, combining cheap printing techniques with popular authors and artists.
“Pulps were cheaply made with pages that weren’t factory-trimmed and have rough, uneven edges with overhang on their covers and interiors,” Zurzolo said. “Due to these printing techniques, they often degraded quickly, making even a Very Good or Fine copy an attractive and unusual find. This auction has hundreds of high grade examples.”
The era of the pulps officially began with the 1896 volume of Argosy, the first pulp-format publication focused primarily on fiction. The popular magazine debuted in 1903 and introduced color illustrations which made them explode in popularity. ComicConnect’s auction offers over 250 Argosy lots.
Amazing Stories, founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1926, was the first-ever magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Gernsback published, edited, and wrote numerous stories and is considered “The Father of Science Fiction.”
Weird Tales revolutionized fantasy, horror, and weird fiction. Lasting for decades, Weird Tales often featured great writers like Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Seabury Quinn, and Clark Ashton Smith. Many classic fantasy and horror properties debuted in Weird Tales, including Conan the Barbarian, Kull, Solomon Kane, Jules de Grandin, the Necronomicon, Cthulhu and much of Lovecraft’s Old Gods mythos.
“Pulps are the next category in the exploding collectibles market,” Zurzolo said. “I invite every collector to pore through the auction, I know you’ll find something you love, and a wonderful ground floor investment. Don’t kick yourself in a year when the pulp market has gone bananas.”
ComicConnect’s Amazing Pulp Auction runs through August 3-5, 2021.
