I first heard the name John Verzyl in April of 1982 on a visit to Ron Pussell's Redbeard's Book Den in Newport Beach, California. I had driven out from my home in San Bernardino to see Ron and buy some comics. Ron said Verzyl was a comic dealer with access to Mile High pedigree comic books. Little did I know then only a few months hence I would meet this big mover and shaker in the comic collecting world.
It happened like this. I've always been a Steve Ditko art fan and I wanted to put together a bound volume of Ditko's science fiction / fantasy stories that he did in the early 1960s for Marvel's pre-Marvel monster books that I like so much: Tales Of Suspense, Tales To Astonish, Strange Tales, Journey Into Mystery. So I was driving all over the Los Angeles area scouring all the comic book stores to buy the cheap 1970s reprint issues like Where Monsters Dwell and Where Creatures Roam which featured those types of Ditko stories. I stopped at a store in Alhambra named Comic Heaven and walked in. This store had no real nostalgic ambience. Some comic stores are quite charming with their old art posters, nifty comic toys or expensive comics showcased on their walls. Not Comic Heaven. It was just a routine, nondescript store with the usual long white comic boxes and a few comics taped on the wall. A small wooden display rack was next to the checkout counter in the back of the store. But as the old saying goes, you can't always judge a book by its cover. Beneath that mundane store facade was the pipeline to unbelievable treasures.
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| You want high grade Marvels? See John Verzyl. |
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The owner, an affable friendly guy, ambled over and we struck up a conversation. I asked if he had any Marvel reprint comics with Ditko art to help me with my project. He said he probably did but why did I want reprint comics when I could get the original pre-Marvels themselves? If I wanted the originals, the owner said he could find me some. I could tell right then that John Verzyl and I were destined to make beautiful music together. I don't remember what comics John showed me that day or if I even bought any. But that first day was the start of something big.
I learned quickly that John was indeed very well connected in the comic collecting hobby. He had done business with or was familiar with almost everybody I had been doing business or corresponding with the last several years; Chuck Rozanski, Ron Pussell, Calvin Slobodian, Ernie Gerber. He even knew the biggest wheel of all, Steve Geppi.
I asked John if he could help me get some Mile High pedigree comic books. John appreciated the significance of that collection and he was heavily involved in it himself. He was buying all the Mile High 1940s Timely comics he could get his hands on. He confided in me that a lot of smart money collectors were buying Mile Highs. Also he had allowed Ernie Gerber to photograph his Mile High Timely books for inclusion in Gerber's iconic 2 volume hardcover set The Photo-Journal Guide To Comics. John didn't like big fancy titles on books. He just called it "the Gerber book."
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| Boy's Ranch #1, 1950 & Race To The Moon #3, 1958 |
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| 2 unread Harvey File Copies. |
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In addition to being able to get Mile High books, John was part of the small circle of dealers who had access to the Harvey File Copies from the Harvey warehouse that had been purchased by Steve Geppi. I set John the task of obtaining me for as many of these books with Jack Kirby art as possible and he delivered. He got me several issues of Boy's Ranch, Black Cat Mystery, Race For The Moon and Thrills Of Tomorrow with Stuntman.
Like me, John liked what he called "Atlas horror" comics. I told him I liked pre-Marvel monster books, 2 titles of which Strange Tales and Journey Into Mystery started in the early 1950s and therefore were old enough to be included in the Mile High collection which stopped about 1955. Could he get me some of those Mile High titles? He said he couldn't since he already had them in his own collection. Oh well, he did save me a lot of money that way.
Ron Pussell was sometimes good for selling me pre-Marvel monster books but he was not well stocked in mainstream 1960s Marvel super hero titles that I also liked. John however did specialize in super hero Marvels. He said if I wanted high grade Marvel's "We can fix you up." And he did just that for the next few years. Our routine was simple. John knew what I wanted and gave me a phone call when something came in. In addition to his other sources he sometimes made trips to the East Coast and would bring back a box of comics on the plane with him. He was always finding something. So once every 3 or 4 months I drove out to Alhambra and left John with several pre-dated personal checks stretching over the next several weeks. I got paid every 2 weeks in the military so John knew the checks would be good. Only once was I a little short on money and had to call John and ask him to delay cashing that particular check for awhile.
I keep a database of most of the comics I've bought since the early 1980s but I didn't save the dates for when I bought books from John. So I can't trace a particular book to any given date. But below I've listed some of the better books I got from John in the mid to late 1980s:
The 4 most expensive book were the Mile High copies of Captain Science #1 for $1200.00, Captain Science #4 for $800.00 and Justice Traps The Guilty #1 for $400.00 and Young Love #1 by Simon & Kirby for $300.00. John had several more Justice Traps The Guilty and he wanted to keep some of the run together so he sold them a little cheaper to me, 2.2 times Overstreet Guide versus the usual 2.5 or 3 times Guide. There was a delay on the Young Love #1. I bought it from John at the San Diego Con instead of his store. John said he got it from Ron Pussell who had holding it back until the new Guide came out so he charge more for it.
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| Steve Ditko cover and story. The crown jewel of all the high grade Marvel's John got for me. |
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The best book I got from John in terms of a return on my original investment was probably a high grade Incredible Hulk #6 for $165.00. The expensive Mile Highs I bought haven't gone up near as much in the Guide as the Silver Age Marvels over the last 25 years.
One of my favorite books was the Mile High copy of the Atlas book Two Gun Western #2 for $60.00 or 3 times Guide. It has 1 of only 2 Steve Ditko Western stories that he drew for Atlas / Marvel. I bought several more Mile High Atlas era Westerns. John brought back a box of them from one of his East Coast trips. I still how remember how shiny and bright those ornate Joe Maneely comic book covers looked in Mile High condition.
Another keeper was Strange Tales #114 that looked like it came off the newsstand the day before. Same for an Amazing Spider-Man #19 that was so nice John had a sticker on that said "Keep." I’m glad he didn’t.
John found a run of a Charlton science fiction comic Space Adventures from the early 1960s with Captain Atom art by Steve Ditko. Issues # 35, 36, 37, 38, 42. Old Charlton's weren't saved as much by collectors and were printed on even cheaper paper than Marvel and DC so high grade copies are tough to find, but John did it anyway.
By the late 1980s I was slowing down my comic collecting. I sometime go through cycles where the urge isn't there and then came back strong later. I think the last trip I made to John's store was on November 14, 1987 which I do have noted in my database. My grandmother had passed away and left me some money. I spent most of it a Mile High copy of Hillman's Western Fighters #1 with a Jack Kirby signature for $200.00 and Charlton's The Thing #17 with the Steve Ditko sorcerer cover for $300.00. John was pretty sure it was the Mile High copy but he wasn't sure so he gave me a discount.
After the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles John moved to Big Sandy, Texas. He had been keeping some of his comics in a bank vault in the Los Angeles area and didn't want to keep them at risk to pillaging mobs.
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| Steve Ditko cover. I got a small discount since John couldn't verify it was the Mile High pedigree copy. |
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In 1993 I was stationed on the East Coast and living in Virginia Beach, VA. I attended the big Comicfest comic con in Philadelphia that year and John was set up there. He offered me a high grade Captain America #3 from 1941 for $1800.00 which was a few hundred dollars below the Guide. I wanted to spend my money on Silver Age Marvels and not just 1 Golden Age book so I passed on it. With hindsight I don't regret that. The Cap #3 has appreciated considerably since then but so have the Silver Age Marvels I bought instead. John told me he that since we last done business together back in the late 1980s he was astounded at how high comic book prices had risen. He said he wondered "what the next round of insanity" would bring.
At that show, I did buy a few high grade Amazing Spider-Man comics from Mike Golden of Motor City including a #28 with the black cover. It had incredible cover gloss and I paid Mike an over-Guide price of $500.00. I showed these books to John and he parsed out for me which books I had paid to much for and which ones I had gotten a bargain on. Although he admired the superior gloss on the Spidey #28 he said I paid to much for it and he would get me a similar copy cheaper. So, I took that book back to Mike and asked for a refund and he relented since I spent a lot on the other books I got from him. That was probably a mistake on my part. I never followed up with John to get another #28 and even though I overpaid at the time, I bet today in 2012 a Spidey #28 that looks like the one I got from Mike is worth way more than $500.00.
I didn't see John again for 19 years. At the Baltimore Comic Con in September 2012 I finally saw him again. He wasn't set up as a dealer, just buying inventory. We were able to chat for a few minutes and I took his picture for old time's sake. Of all the comic dealers I've known John Verzyl will always have a special place in my heart. We both like the same kind of comics and he was always fair and honest and fun to talk to. He got books for me that no one else could. There will never be another like him.
