Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: golden age, Matt Baker, St. John Publications

Matt Baker's Iconic and Rare Giant Comics Editions #12, at Auction

When you think of comic book romance, you think of this. Giant Comics Editions #12 Diary Secrets features one of the most iconic and infamous covers in comics history.  The Overstreet Price Guide has had it at the top of their list of top ten most valuable romance comic books for a long time.  And really, one can think of a list of perhaps hundreds of important and valuable vintage comic book keys that are both far less iconic and far less rare than this one.  Heritage Auctions has never sold a higher graded copy than this one, and you would be very hard pressed to find a better copy of this important Matt Baker comic book than Giant Comics Edition #12 Diary Secrets (St. John, 1950) CGC VG/FN 5.0 Off-white pages up for auction as well as an impossible group of Baker Giant Comics Editions covers in the 2022 August 11 The Matt Baker Showcase Auction #40190 at Heritage Auctions.

Giant Comics Editions was the formal title for a series of 18 rebound remaindered St. John comic books that was published 1948-1950.  Issues in this series generally included 100 to 132 pages and were priced at 25 cents.  They included a variety of material that had been published by St. John, from romance to newspaper strip reprints to Terry-Toons.  Nine of the 18 covers of the series were based on newspaper strip material or Mighty Mouse.  Two of them were photo covers.  It's a tribute to Matt Baker's star power as a cover artist, not to mention St. John's awareness of that star power, that six of the remaining seven covers featured Matt Baker artwork.  Five of those featured new, original artwork, while the sixth was a montage of previously-run interior panel art mostly by Baker.

All of these Giant Comics Editions are tough to get, and like most squarebound comics, are particularly difficult to come by in anything resembling high grade.  The copy at auction here is graded CGC 5.0, and it appears that only a single copy higher-graded copy has ever traded hands at public auction.  Incredibly, five of the six Baker Giant Comics Editions covers are available in this auction.

They're all impressive, but that iconic issue #12 cover is simply the best.  If you're serious about any aspect of vintage comics, this one should be on your radar. There's a very rare chance to get a Giant Comics Edition #12 Diary Secrets (St. John, 1950) CGC VG/FN 5.0 Off-white pages up for auction in the 2022 August 11 The Matt Baker Showcase Auction #40190 at Heritage Auctions. New to collecting Matt Baker or want to learn more?  Bleeding Cool is doing an ongoing deep dive into the history behind Matt Baker's comic book artwork in the run-up to this auction. If you've never bid at Heritage Auctions before, you can get further information, you can check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.

Giant Comics Edition #12 Diary Secrets (St. John, 1950) CGC VG/FN 5.0 Off-white pages. Currently the #1 book on Overstreet's list of Top Ten Romance Comics, mostly due to the Matt Baker prostitute cover and interior art. The issue contains four St. John romance comics rebound. This is just the fourth copy that we've ever offered, and this one carries the highest grade of them all, with higher-graded copies seldomly changing hands! Overstreet 2022 VG 4.0 value = $3,000; FN 6.0 value = $4,500. CGC census 8/22: 1 in 5.0, 3 higher.

View the certification for CGC Certification ID 3764789001 and purchase grader's notes if available.

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