This is the latest in a series of articles by Art Cloos in which Scoop looks at comic collecting from the viewpoint of the dealer. Whether they are part-time dealers at shows or the biggest of the top players in the world of back issues, comic book dealers have been an integral part of comic fandom and its history, and this is an area we believe is in need of further exploration.

Greg White
Interviewed by Art Cloos

Greg White, is a retired, lifelong comic book collector. Born in the mid-1950s in New England, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1977. He has resided in Florida for many years with his wife, Lisa, and runs Greg White Comic Books and Collectibles. He can be reached by mail at P.O. Box 450003, Kissimmee, FL 34745, by e mail at WED55@aol.com, or by phone at (407) 870-0400.

Scoop: Let’s start at the beginning. When did you discover your first comic book?
Greg White (GW): It was in 1959.

Scoop: That was around the time I can remember holding my first comic, too. What was it, do you remember?
GW: Yeah I saw a dinosaur cover (Turok) on the rack and my mom bought it for me.

Scoop: What were your favorites at that time?
GW: My mom would only buy me non-superhero in the early years, thus I started with Turok, Archie, Disney and Dennis the Menace. I loved those but wished that she would buy me a few superhero titles. She would not.

Scoop: So you were one of the lucky ones whose family was ok with your reading comics?
GW: Yeah, my folks always promoted reading. They were fine with comics as long as I also read other material (school books, Life magazine, National Geographic, etc.). Soon they could see my love for the comics

Scoop: Comic shows would begin in the mid-1960s. Were you there for any of the early ones?
GW:  My dad was a pilot and we flew to NYC for the 1968 July 4th weekend show. That was a very exciting time for me!

Scoop: Really? That show had so many of the pioneers of the hobby attending. It must have been amazing. How did you react to walking into that dealer room for the first time?
GW: It started before we entered the dealer room. As soon as we stepped off the elevator (18th floor, at the Statler on 7th and 33rd) there was a guy set up with all Golden Age comics on the floor. Early Batman, Detective, Action - books I had never seen before. I totally flipped! Turns out it was well known dealer Howard Rogofsky. He was too cheap to purchase a dealer table inside. He was kicked out soon after.

Scoop: Wow, what about the room itself? Was it packed?
GW: It was a large dealers room. Yeah, it was packed. It was a Saturday. There was table after table of old comics, toys, posters. All very neat stuff.

Scoop: I am curious, how did you find out about the show? There wasn't the publicity for comic shows then that we have today…
GW: An older collector whose family rented one of our houses gave me a promo pamphlet that he had gotten through the mail. He was not able to go, but I begged my father to take me.

Scoop: As your teen years approached, did you stay with comics or as with so many of the people we have talked to here was there a time when you moved on to other things?
GW: I never moved on, I never grew up! Comics were such a huge part of my life that it was just natural that they were going to remain with me every day no matter where life took me.

Scoop: Sounds like you were and still are very hard core?
GW: Yes. Since 1963 I have seriously collected and read thousands of comic books. In retirement I have a ball re-reading old runs of books. I am currently re-reading the Barks Uncle Scrooge and Al Wiseman Dennis the Menace. I have full runs of most of the titles that I have loved over the years thus I just start at number one and read the run. It never gets old! I also am always reading old copies of Rocket’s Blast – Comic Collector (RBCC), Comic Buyers Guide, Alter Ego and other reference material.

Scoop: You still collect comics today then?
GW: Very much so! This is my 50th year collecting! My collection is very alive and active. I am still completing runs of books and read the old issues almost on a daily basis. Since I finished the DC runs first, I have gone on to complete groups from many other companies. I just started last year to obtain Planet Comics from Fiction House. It will take me a few years to get all 72 issues. I am now only 32 comics away from completing the EC line!

Scoop: Many dealers seem to lose the desire to read or collect comics as their business developed. They tend to turn their collections into their stock, but you have never done this?
GW: No. I realized early on that I had to keep my collection separate from my dealer stock. I am all about completing favorite runs of comics and selling my own books would defeat that notion. I know very few dealers who maintain and add to a large collection as I do. Unfortunately, the money has taken over for so many in our hobby.

Scoop: Did you have a group of friends who also were into comics or were you more of a loner when it came to them?
GW: I had one friend, Alan, who was two years older than I. We collected together (even though we both had our own books) and Alan was a big help in my early years. It was not until I started to receive RBCC that I realized there were many other collectors out there.

Scoop: How important was the RBCC to early comic fandom? It comes up again and again in the stories about the hobby from the 1960s.
GW: Yeah, GB Love did a wonderful job with that mag. It was the first time that it was clear to me that there was a collecting community. I am still trying to complete the RBCC run.

Scoop: One of these days soon I am going to finally go back to the stacks of fanzines I have and finally sort and check list them out.
GW: Yes, I have learned so much from the 1960s fanzines. I have hundreds of them but still find many that I was not aware of.

Scoop: Did you go to college?
GW: Yes, I graduated U-Mass in 1977.

Scoop: When did you enter the world of comic book dealing?
GW: It started in 1968 with small ads in RBCC. I started setting up at shows in 1971. I had bought so many collections in high school that I had to find an outlet for duplicate issues.

Scoop: Were you a full time dealer or did you have a "real world" job?
GW: At first I was still in school. After university I worked for my family company. When I moved to Florida 27 years ago, I made my way into property management. Florida has been very good to my family. I was always able to work around my jobs so that I could set up at any comic shows that I choose to do.

Scoop: It sounds like you have quite the perspective on the hobby then?  How have things changed from those late 1960s shows till today?
GW:  Wow, they were much more fun in the early days. Speculation and greed had not yet set in. All of us dealers were also collectors who were trying to fill out our favorite runs. There was much more camaraderie and a greater sense of helping one another. I still do the shows because I am still having fun, but it is very different, so many are now focused on profit. Not so many are true collectors.

Scoop: Was it hard learning how to sell comics or was it more that you were one of the guys who helped create the ways it is done today?
GW: Yeah, I was in the original group that set up at the same shows each year, built a large selling stock and also did business through the mail. I think of my peers who helped shape the fandom scene - Phil Seuling, Buddy Saunders, Malcolm Willietts, Terry Stroud and many more. We were all in tune with growing a hobby we all loved to ensure there would be a market for both collectors and dealers for many years down the road.

Scoop: Those are legendary names in U.S. comic fandom. Can we talk a bit more about those early shows?  Were those shows more about competition or did you guys feel you were working together to create a model for how comic shows were going to be?
GW: The early shows (1969-1975) were much more fun as we all worked together. The majority of the dealers were guys like me, lifelong collectors who were setting up to sell doubles and add new items to our collections. The almighty dollar was not nearly as prominent as it is today.

Scoop: So after 1975 things began to change?
GW: Yeah. Most comic buyers began to speculate as they picked up multiples of whatever they thought would be in demand. Also by that time the conditions of the comics became increasing more important. Buyers really began to better protect their comics as a wider selection of comic supplies became available.

Scoop: Was it more that you guys got older, that new dealers came in, or both? Or was it the market changed?
GW: Many new dealers came in, not all good. What started out as serious collectors setting up to make a few bucks to support their collecting became a business for most of the new guys. They did not have the feel or warmth for the hobby as their prime motivation was profit. The swing began in the mid 1970s and really took hold in the 1980s. In the early days we all hung out together, were more than willing to help each other out, had dinner together most nights and often slept six to eight in a hotel room.

Scoop: Are you still in touch with those old timers today?  Not too many are still active in the hobby.
GW: Many have passed on or left the hobby. I see a few of the fellows at San Diego or New York. Most no longer have the massive collections that they had in the hey-day. I am sorry to report that, best to my knowledge, I am the only guy from the late ‘60s early ‘70s who still covers the country setting up at comic conventions. There are a couple guys that pre-date me still active in the hobby, however these two only do a few local shows each year. This is my 42nd year on the road doing comic shows.

Scoop: I just did a Brad Savage interview, he brought up the name Tanner Miles, I had not heard that name in a long time. Did you know him?
GW: Yeah, Tanner was from the mid-west. We would see him in NYC and San Diego and most shows in Texas, Oklahoma and that area. He was also a regular advertiser in the RBCC and early Comics Buyers Guide. Ask Brad about the Marvel Comics #1 he purchased in the mid 1970s that I had found in a local trash can! Good story!

Scoop: We would love to hear it.
GW: A new family had moved in next to us when I lived south of Boston. I was raking leaves one morning when I noticed what looked like a pile of old comics on the top of a very full trash can that our new neighbors had put out front for collection. I was amazed to find over 40 Golden Age comics in the pile. The new folks had been cleaning out their new house for a couple of weeks at that time. They had brought much trash out to the sidewalk. I asked them if I could have the comics since I collected and they were throwing them out.  They were fine with my taking the comics. Don Phelps, a Boston dealer, sold the Marvel #1 for me to Brad Savage. Last time I saw Brad in NYC he still had the comic

Scoop: That is an amazing story.
GW: Yeah, memories like that are cherished!

Scoop: Do you remember the condition of the books?
GW: Mostly, yes. The Marvel #1 was in fine/very fine shape. Brad paid $4500 for it in 1976! A high price by the standards of the day. The comics were in the vg/fine range for the most part. DC, Fawcett, MLJ and a few Timelys.

Scoop: What a score that was!
GW: It was good fun. I still have the Marvel Mystery Comics #2 in my own collection, along with a handful of the early Superman books.

Scoop: Are you married?
GW: Yeah, Lisa and I have been together 27 years. It took me into my 30s until I found a girl who tried to understand my love for comics.

Scoop: How do you see the hobby today?
GW: On the surface, very much dominated by record prices and profits. That is what gets the news. Thankfully under the radar there are still many collectors like me that just wish to fill out runs and read the old comics. As long as there are guys like that I will continue to set up at the shows. After all these years I am still having much fun!

Scoop: Do you have any advice for someone trying to break into the business today?
GW: As a collector the advice is simple: purchase what your like to read, support characters and creators that appeal to you. As a dealer, try to promote comics as a hobby and as reading enjoyment. There is nothing that CGC can offer that has anything to do with enjoying the hobby from a reading standpoint. Comics have always been printed for reading enjoyment!

Scoop: Where do you see the hobby 10 years from now?
GW: It will still be strong from the aspect of vintage material selling. It is out at the 20-25 year point that I fear a serious reckoning will rear its head. As guys in my age bracket hit their mid- 70s to 80s, most will sell out their collections. The market at that time will not be sufficient to support the material at current price levels

Scoop: Greg, we thank you for taking the time in your busy schedule to do this interview with us.
GW: Always good to chat with you, Art. See you in NYC soon!