Throughout its 52-year history The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide has provided invaluable information on comic book values, market insight from industry pros, and more. Known as the bible of comic book collectors, the Guide has been a crucial tool in comic book collecting, and along the way, has become a collectible itself.

In the Guide’s 52 years, there have been multiple covers, printings, cover material, and other variations that make some editions quite valuable. Comic collector David Stone has studied those variations from the larger differences down to the minute. Stone, who works for Heritage Auctions, has written a series of articles on the Guide’s variations for the Heritage Comics Newsletter that provide context on printing factors, rare editions, and how to spot small differences based on ads and other details.

Stone recently talked with Scoop about his journey as a collector, what inspired him to study the Guide through the lens of collecting, which editions/variations are rarest, and his thoughts on the future of Guide collecting.

Scoop: When did you become a fan of comics?
David Stone (DS): I was buying comics off the rack as soon as I learned to read, in the early 1960s (born 1954). I loved all the early Marvel Silver Age books, but I only had 25¢ per week allowance, so my budget was pretty limited.

Scoop: What was your first experience with The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide?
DS: The first Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide I bought was #6, in 1976. Bob Overstreet published and distributed the first five editions himself, so distribution was limited. Number 6 was the first one that was distributed nationally, by Harmony Books, a subsidiary of Crown Publishers. That #6 was the first one I encountered, in a book store in Tempe, Arizona.

Scoop: How long was it between the time you got your first Guide and when you considered yourself a Guide collector?
DS: I thought the Guide was a wonderful tool for collecting comics and a terrific source of comic book knowledge from the first edition I purchased, but I only began to think about it as a collectible much later. My early copies were well-used, to say the least. I think very few people thought of the Guide as a collectible until the mid-1980s. Some of the rare early issues started appearing in Wooley’s auctions at least as early as 1984 and Bob Overstreet started publishing the special leather-bound editions for collectors that year.

I was a little slow becoming a real collector, myself. I started collecting the Guide seriously in 1991, after I read Gary Carter’s article about collecting it in issue number 2 of the Comic Book Marketplace. I quickly assembled a set of the first 21 softcover editions. I was proud of the set, but some of those copies were pretty ragged. There was only one cover variant of each issue back then, except for the white and blue cover #1s, so the number of books involved was pretty small, but locating them was a lot more difficult in those days, before the internet.

Scoop: What initially sparked your interest in studying the Guide for its differences?
DS: The articles Gary Carter and Jack Mallette wrote in the early issues of the Comic Book Marketplace first alerted me to the existence of some of the rare editions, like the Canadian versions of editions 3, 4, and 5. I have kept an eye out for them ever since. They are easy to distinguish by the blank back cover and absence of advertisements in the copy. Incidentally, Mike Wilbur, Director of Operations at Gemstone Publishing, recently found a crate of Canadian #4s that had languished unopened in the warehouse since the date of publication (1974). They are much rarer than the regular editions and Gemstone is offering them on their website for a very reasonable price, if anyone is interested.

In the early days, before the internet, there was no way for collectors to contrast and compare any large number of Overstreet Comic Book Price Guides. You just went to your local comic book store or book store and bought whichever version they were carrying that year and very little attention was paid to varieties. With the advent of sites like eBay, it became possible to view many different copies of the same edition. I started noticing different color schemes on the front covers and different content on the back covers of many editions, beginning with #17. Many of these variations were not pictured in the “Overstreet Price Guide Back Issues” segment of the Guide that is published every year. Mike Wilbur and I later discovered that the editions pictured in the “Back Issue” segment were direct market versions of the Guide, sold in comic book shops, while the mysterious different versions on eBay were mass market copies, sold in book stores and newsstands. The mass market editions are not rare, but their different appearance has puzzled many collectors over the years, so it was good to understand their true nature.

Studying different copies of the early editions this way, I have since discovered at least four different varieties of softcover #2, two varieties (possibly three) of hardcover #2, two varieties of softcover #3, and two varieties of Canadian #5. It is always fascinating to find the new varieties and try to find a backstory for them.

Scoop: How do the differences affect collectability?
DS: Few people are aware of the varieties at this time, so there is little price difference between them. The different varieties are typically offered at generic prices and no mention of the rarity of the issue is included in the description, because the seller is usually not aware of it. In fact, the study of varieties is still in its infancy, and the relative rarity of many varieties hasn’t been firmly established. For example, which of the four varieties of softcover #2 is the rarest has not been determined.

Scoop: Which editions, and possibly variations, do you consider the rarest?
DS: Among regular editions, the hardcover #2 is probably the rarest. Bob Overstreet’s records indicate only 75 copies were printed. There were at least two printings, with different wording on the front covers. The first printing has a binding stamp on the endpaper that reads “SOUTHERN BOUND/May 1972” while the second printing has a binding stamp that reads “SOUTHERN BOUND/JUN 1972.” I have personally seen only three copies of the first printing and 10 copies of the second, though it is certainly possible that more exist.

The deluxe leatherbound editions always had small print runs. The 27th edition had two different cover designs and only 25 leatherbound copies of each cover version were produced. They are undoubtedly rare, even if all the copies are still in existence.

There are also some extremely rare volumes that were not intended for regular publication. Crown Publishers gave Bob Overstreet a unique leatherbound presentation copy of the sixth edition for a Christmas present in 1976, and another leatherbound presentation copy of the eighth edition in 1978. These handsome volumes are undoubtedly among the most valuable issues of the series, but they are both still in Bob Overstreet’s collection.

There are also several unique prototype editions that have appeared on the market infrequently. The most famous of these is the prototype that was prepared for the deluxe leatherbound editions in 1983. That prototype is identified as the 13th edition on the cover and has the contents of the 13th edition bound in, without the gilt edges (the deluxe leatherbound series actually started with #14 and copies had gilt edges).

Of course, the white cover #1 is the most famous rarity of the series, with a print run of 1,000 copies. I have seen 60 examples that I believe all represent different copies, and there are certainly more out there, but this issue is extremely rare and sought-after in Near Mint condition. I have only seen six copies in undamaged Near Mint condition, though some more may be extant. One of those copies sold for $45,600 in a Heritage auction in 2021.

Scoop: What do you expect to see for the future of Guide collecting?
DS: Hopefully, knowledge of the rich and varied history of the Guide will continue to spread, thanks to articles like this one, and publications like Overstreet @ 50: Five Decades of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, a book-length study which Gemstone published in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Guide. I also published a series of 10 articles on the Guide in the Heritage Comics Newsletter, which seemed to stir some interest (the last article appeared in the February 17, 2021 edition of the Newsletter, which is available on the Heritage Auctions website, with links to the earlier articles).

The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide was one of the most important factors in the growth of the direct market system of comic book distribution. Its important role in the history of comic book fandom cannot be overstated. It deserves to be studied and collected extensively in the future.

Many collectibles, like rare coins or Golden Age and Silver Age comics, have become the exclusive domain of elite collectors. Those lucky enthusiasts either started at an early date, before rising prices made collecting those items impossible for the average collector, or have extraordinary financial resources to pursue their hobbies. Fortunately, a collector on an average budget can still hope to complete a collection of Overstreet Comic Book Price Guides. At this time, even the great rarities of the series can be purchased by an average collector if he is willing to stretch for a mid-grade copy on the infrequent occasions when those copies become available. Those rare editions are just as difficult to locate as the celebrated rarities of the Golden Age and Silver Age, but they are not nearly as expensive. Of course, there was a time (1970, according to Overstreet) when Action Comics #1 could be purchased for $300, and no one would believe copies would sell for millions of dollars in the future. Let’s hope Overstreet Guide collectors will look back on a similar collecting history someday.

Scoop: How would you advise someone who is interested in starting a collection of older Guide editions?
DS: Like most collectibles, it is best to acquire the rare editions first. Prices on the rarities of the series will rise at a much greater rate than common issues, so try to get them as soon as possible, before they go out of sight. Also, educate yourself on the series. At this time, many rarities go unrecognized in venues like eBay, and it is often possible to acquire rare editions for generic prices.

Scoop: What’s your favorite Guide cover to date?
DS: That’s a tough choice. I guess I like the Batman Over the Castle cover variant of the 31st edition, that was modelled after the cover of Detective Comics #31. The great Murphy Anderson recreated the cover for the Guide, and he captured all the brooding intensity of the original. I love the occasional homage to comic history you find in the covers throughout the series.

Scoop: What other niches do you collect?
DS: Currently, I am collecting comic book related items, like early fanzines and comic book convention programs. Xero, Comic Art, Rocket’s Blast, Alter Ego, and Comic Book Marketplace are some favorites.

Scoop: What do you do at Heritage?
DS: My main job is writing lot descriptions for Heritage auction catalogs, but I work in the U.S. coins department, not in comic books. Those guys are much smarter than me. Nicer, too!

Scoop: How does working for an auction house impact your perspective on collecting?
DS: Working for Heritage constantly renews my interest and enthusiasm for collecting. There is always something coming in that I have never seen before and need to investigate. Few places have the resources to thoroughly research these rare items or the willingness to search out those resources, wherever they might be. Last year I cataloged a 1787 Brasher doubloon that sold for $9.3 million. Heritage let me hire a local researcher to photocopy the correspondence of pioneer collector Matthew Stickney, which is located in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. In an obscure 1848-dated letter between Stickney and a New York bullion broker, I was able to find out how Stickney first acquired the coin. Discoveries like that are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for a collector/researcher and they make other jobs seem dull and uninteresting by comparison. By working for Heritage, I get to study and “own” these rare items that I could never afford to buy for at least a short time.