Pedigree Comics CEO and President Doug Schmell recently received a consignment of over 200 CGC-certified comic books and the entire collection will debut in his company’s upcoming Grand Auction. The auction began on Sunday, November 21, 2021, and lasts for ten days until the night of Wednesday, December 1 as a separate event on the Pedigree Comics website.
There is no buyer’s premium on any of the lots in the auction and every listing will have no reserve. Every book is CGC-graded and the minimum bid is $20 for this auction. Over 200 lots can now be viewed on Pedigree’s website by clicking on the auction banner.
The Tower Lakes Collection comes out of the suburbs of Chicago and contains a group of Dell and Gold Key comics, mostly Movie Classics, Movie Comics, and one-shots. There are just over 100 books in the collection and almost every book is the highest or single highest certified example for that issue and the few that are not highest or single highest graded are second highest. Most of these issues have not been on the market before or in years and 40% are in 9.6 or 9.8 and the rest are in 9.4 (with a few in 8.0 and higher). There are over 30 File Copies in the collection. Many have iconic covers and most have never been opened or read. Almost every one of them is a #1 or first appearance issue from the early 1960s to the early ‘70s. There are also some high grade Marvel issues in the collection, all in 9.4 to 9.8.
As a child, the consignor was a fan of Saturday Morning Cartoons and watching movies with his family. His brother was already collecting comics, so he started borrowing those books and began his own collection, focusing on Gold Key one-shots. In his late 20s, he started buying raw books in Near Mint condition through online sites and auctions, as well as at conventions. Now he is married with kids and enjoys watching Saturday Morning Cartoons and movies with his family the way he did as a kid.
Highlights of the Dell and Gold Key from the Tower Lakes Collection are 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea #1 9.4, Adventures of Robin Hood #1 9.8 File Copy, Annie Oakley and Tagg #1 9.4 File Copy, Around the World Under the Sea #1 9.6 File Copy, Astro Boy #1 9.4, Avengers #16 9.4 and #19 9.4, Barney Google and Snuffy Smith #1 9.6, Battle of the Bulge #1 9.4, Ben Casey Film Stories #1 9.4 File Copy, Bullwhip Griffin #1 9.4 File Copy, Captain Nice #1 9.4 Pacific Coast, Choo-Choo Charlie #1 9.6 File Copy, Countdown #1 9.6 File Copy, Cowboy in Africa #1 9.4, Deputy Dawg #1 9.4, Deputy Dog Presents Dinky Duck and Hashimoto-San #1 9.4, Flash Gordon #1 9.4, Four Color #625 9.4 and #1258 9.4, Fractured Fairy Tales #1 9.6, Frankenstein #1 9.6 File Copy, Freedom Agent #1 9.4, Frogmen #11 9.6 File Copy, George of the Jungle #1 9.6 and #2 9.8, Green Hornet #1 9.2, Hawaiian Eye #1 9.4, Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear #1 9.4 File Copy, Honey West #1 9.4 File Copy, It’s About Time #1 9.8 John G. Fantucchio, Jet Dream #1 9.8, and John Steele Secret Agent #1 9.4 File Copy.
They also include Lady and the Tramp #1 9.6 File Copy, Marge’s Little Lulu Summer Camp #1 9.4 File Copy, Mary Poppins #1 9.4 Bethlehem, Masque of the Red Death #1 9.6 File Copy, Merrill’s Marauders #1 9.6, Milton the Monster and Fearless Fly #1 9.6, Mysterious Isle #1 9.4 File Copy, Nikki, Wild Dog of the North #1 9.6, Old Yeller #1 9.4, One Hundred and One Dalmatians #1 9.6, Operation Crossbow #1 9.8 File Copy, Ring of Bright Water #1 9.6, Rio Conchos #1 9.6, Roy Rogers and Trigger #1 9.4 John G. Fantucchio, Scarecrow of Romney Marsh #1 9.4, #2 9.4, and #3 9.4, Sleeping Beauty #1 9.6 File Copy, Smokey Bear #1 9.6, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs #1 9.6 File Copy, Steve Zodiac and the Fireball XL 5 #1 9.6, Swiss Family Robinson #1 9.6 File Copy, The Avengers #1 9.4 back cover variant, Tiger Girl #1 9.6 File Copy, Toka #1 9.6 File Copy, Treasure Island #1 9.4, Valley of Gwangi #1 9.8 File Copy, War Wagon #1 9.6, Wolfman #1 9.6 File Copy, Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm #1 9.6, X, the Man with the X-Ray Eyes #1 9.4, Zane Grey’s Stories of the West #1 9.4 File Copy, and Zody, the Mod Rob #1 9.6.
Pedigree is seeking high grade CGC or CBCS-certified comic books to sell or consign. Those interested can go to the site and read the following for all consignment information or contact them directly at (561) 422-1120 or (561) 596-9111 or by email at DougSchmell@pedigreecomics.com.
The higher the value of the comics sold in a Grand Auction, the more money the consignor takes home under Pedigree Comics’ Climbing Scale as follows:
10% Commission
for any consigned item that sells up to $10,000 (Consignor’s Proceeds = 90% of the final bid price);
9% Commission
for any consigned item that sells over $10,000 and up to $25,000 (Consignor’s Proceeds = 91% of the final bid price);
8% Commission
for any consigned item that sells over $25,000 and up to $50,000 (Consignor’s Proceeds = 92% of the final bid price);
6% Commission
for any consigned item that sells over $50,000 and up to $100,000 (Consignor’s Proceeds = 94% of the final bid price);
5% Commission
for any consigned item that sells over $100,000 (Consignor’s Proceeds = 95% of the final bid)
The only criteria is that the books must be CGC or CBCS-graded and worth no less than $100. If you have high grade raw books that you want to have certified and sold in the auction or a future Grand Auction, you can utilize Pedigree’s Raw To Riches Consignment Service, in which they will have your books certified under their account and will lay out all the CGC or CBCS-grading fees in advance for you (refer to the website and their Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide advertisement for all the details of the Raw to Riches Consignment Service).
Questions or comments about the consignment process, any of the auction lots or about the auction in general, can be addressed to Schmell at (561) 422-1120 (office) or (561) 596-9111 (cell) or at DougSchmell@pedigreecomics.com. Financial related and consignment payment questions, can be sent to their CFO, Lisa Shapiro, at LisaJoy@pedigreecomics.com and technical related questions or concerns, can be sent to the Web Master at WebDesigner@pedigreecomics.com.
