Heritage Owner Purchases Grant Geissman’s Collection of MAD and EC Comics, Art & Memorabilia

Dallas, Texas: Heritage Comic Auctions (HCA) co-owner James Halperin has just purchased the entire EC and MAD collection of Grant Geissman, renowned MAD/EC expert and author of Collectibly MAD and Tales of Terror!/The EC Companion.

The collection, comprising thousands of items, includes a virtually complete collection of United States and foreign EC and MAD comics, books, magazines, fanzines and paperbacks, many in exceptional condition, with such rarities as M.C.Gaines’s Narrative Illustration (Overstreet says "only two copies known", but probably about five exist) and its previously unknown (until Tales of Terror! came out, that is) and possibly unique sequel entitled Good Triumphs Over Evil.

The artwork part of the collection contains four original MAD covers, among them #28 (1956), the only MAD or EC cover ever done by Wally Wood for MAD or EC that was oil-painted in color, and the classic Kelly Freas "Block of Ice" cover painting to issue #49 (1959). There are also seven MAD paperback covers, several original EC covers (including Crime SuspenStories #2 and Vault of Horror #38), many complete and partial EC and MAD stories, and numerous cover recreations and original oils by Al Feldstein, Graham Ingels and Johnny Craig.

Among the hundreds of memorabilia items are three different Sega MAD slot machines, a nearly complete set of 1950s MAD jewelry missing only the charm bracelet, a 1950s EC charm in the original box along with a pair of 1950s EC cufflinks (both given only to the EC staff - likely the only charm and cufflinks set in collectors’ hands), and the #2 life-size Alfred E. Neuman bust from an edition of six done by Gary Mirabelle for Warner Brothers (this bust was used on the cover of Collectibly MAD).

"I consider it an honor to have been offered this collection," said Halperin. "Like every MAD and EC fan, I’ve long been an admirer of Grant’s work. Collectibly MAD had become my MAD and EC Bible over the past few years, and I still refer to it several times a week. What a thrill to be able to buy Grant’s entire collection! And he was a delight to deal with."

Geissman agrees. "It was a pleasant and surprisingly unstressful transaction. I knew Jim had purchased similarly voluminous collections from Dick Hanchette, Jim McLane and Lou Silverstone, among others, and I was toying with the idea of selling. So I emailed him to ask if he might be interested. He emailed back that he certainly was, so I sent Jim a list with my opinion of the approximate retail values. Jim spent a few days analyzing the items and phoned me quite a few times with detailed questions. Within days, he made me a very fair and acceptable all-cash offer - no fuss, no muss. In fact, there was no back-and-forth at all; negotiation was simply unnecessary."

Geissman decided to sell because his family needed more space in their house, which was starting to resemble a MAD and EC museum: "It was either this," Geissman said, "or start charging admission at the door!" Happily, the comic world has not lost Geissman. He plans to continue to his work with the MAD division of AOL Time Warner both as a consultant and as a compiler of various MAD book projects.

Geissman will also consult for HCA when other important EC and MAD consignments come in. In fact, he is keeping his personal bound set of MADs to refer to, along with other reference materials he has had similarly bound, all of which are duplicates of the items in the collection. He may even resume collecting at some point in the future.

Halperin plans to incorporate many of the items into his personal collection, and will consign the rest to HCA to be sold or auctioned through various venues, including the upcoming Heritage Signature auction November 23-24 at UncommonCon in Dallas.

HCA Director John Petty invites interested parties to call (214-252-4392), write or email (JPetty@HeritageComics.com) him or his Assistant Director, Jeff Smith (JSmith@HeritageComics.com). HCA catalog subscriptions are normally $50 per year, but Petty says that individuals may receive a free one-year subscription by mailing him a photocopy of a receipt from any comic dealer, comic auction house, or original art dealer totaling $500 or more. The addition of a want list will increase the subscription to two years. Mail may be addressed to John Petty or Jeff Smith, Heritage Comic Auctions, 100 Highland Park Village, Second Floor, Dallas, Texas 75205.

Heritage Comic Auctions is actively seeking collections to purchase outright or for consignment to upcoming auctions or private treaty sales. The consignment deadline for the November 23-34 auction is September 15. Using state-of-the-art technology and an expertise gained through 25 years in the collectibles auction field, Heritage Comic Auctions will offer the highest standards in client services and customer satisfaction.

HCA specializes in rare, high-grade comic books, as well as vintage comic and animation art, illustration art and comics-related collectibles, and plans to run auctions using a variety of Internet venues, as well as live auctions at major conventions nationwide. HCA’s interim website, www.HeritageComics.com, allows visitors to submit their want lists, or join a mailing list to receive special offers and advance notice of upcoming auctions and other events. But HCA plans to vastly expand its Internet presence over the coming months, and those wishing a preview need only pay a quick visit to its affiliate’s site, www.HeritageCoin.com.

The Heritage name is recognized by numismatists worldwide for selection, quality, value, expertise, financial strength and technological leadership. Year 2000 sales exceeded $150 million and assets were approximately $30 million as audited by Arthur Andersen & Company. HeritageCoin.com is the Internet's most popular and highly trafficked rare coin site with over 40,000 registered members, 8,000 daily visitors and approximately 90,000 unique users per month. HeritageCoin.com is the only coin site ever chosen by Forbes Best of the Web (1999 and 2001), and also won the most recent Numismatic Literary Guild award for Best Numismatic Internet Site. Heritage Comic Auctions is pleased to bring the same resources to the comic book and original art field.