Posted in: Comics, san diego comic con | Tagged: comic con, Comics, entertainment, mark waid, Overstreet Price Guide, san diego, san diego comic con, sdcc, sdcc2016

When Mark Waid Was Inducted Into The Overstreet Hall Of Fame At SDCC '15

By Jason Strangis

Mark Waid has long been considered major league comics writer with an incredible amount of knowledge on superheroes.

But now, Waid is officially a member of the Robert Overstreet Hall of Fame class for 2015. Waid, 53, was presented with his award during a panel about the history of the famous Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.

Waid was both surprised and delighted to get the award. As usual, he was humble and appreciative of receiving the honor. Waid talked about what the Overstreet price guide has meant to him over the years.

"Part of the joy was diving through all that data and part of it were all those advertisements of comic book stores," Waid reflected.

The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is celebrating its 45^th year as the definitive book for collectors and Waid was part of a special panel to talk about its influence. Panel members talked about their all-time favorite covers. Waid's top choice was the JSA cover (#3). Other favorite covers included artist Alex Ross' recreation of golden age Green Lantern #1, Captain America, Tarzan, and Bill Ward's memorable "Torchy."

As far as the impact of the Overstreet Price Guide over the past 45 years, Waid stated: "The impact was enormous regarding collecting and sales."

Added Steve Borock, the founder of Comic Book Certification Services: "It kind of came up with a consensus of what a comic book is worth. I think that was a huge thing for the hobby."

Maggie Thompson, one of the leading members of early fandom and a legend in the comic book field, was also at the panel and talked about Overstreet's influence.

"Bob wanted kids to be able to keep comics and not have them be thrown out by parents," she said. "That's one of his legacies."

Another expert pointed out that Overstreet was the first person to grade comic books by condition, coming up with Near Mint, Very Good, Fine, etc.

Panel members all had high praise for Overstreet and his legacy.

Jason Strangis is a freelance writer who enjoys superheroes, sci-fi, and attending comic book conventions. He can be reached at jwstrangis@gmail.com

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