Sight Unseen: Palookaville No. 21 With an Original Drawing by Seth

A copy of Palookaville No. 21 offered by Hourglass Books caught my eye on line. Priced at $50 with AbeBooks, it offered the promise of an original drawing by Seth, albeit of a hat and a lit cigarette. I like Seth's graphic work almost as much as I dislike cigarettes. On hats, I'm personally indifferent, but I admire those men who can project a personal sense of style to the world. The hat and cigarette, I readily surmised, were a stand-in for Seth himself. There was no image of the drawing, alas, but I took the plunge and bought it anyway—sight unseen.

As much as I like Seth's graphic novels, I can't say I've ever read Palookaville. It is, give or take, an annual forum presenting the artist's work in progress. This one was published in October 2013. From the two gentlemen on the cover, this book evidently contains some material from Clyde Fans. The bookseller confirms this.

Seth
AbeBooks listing

Seth
AbeBooks listing ended June 15, 2026

https://www.abebooks.com/signed/Palookaville-%2321-Seth-Drawn-Quarterly-Montreal/14768924842/bd

Seth
AbeBooks item description

So, you may well ask, how did it go? Well, the bookseller searched high and low for this one, he wrote me, but he was unable to locate it. Perhaps he sold it previously and lost track of it. He was as nice as could be, refunding my money for this book as well as for another book by Seth, George Sprott (1894-1975), that I ordered and that he did indeed have on hand, although perhaps in imperceptibly lesser condition than advertised. So, no complaints on my end, except that I can't show you the drawing in Palookaville No. 21 as I proudly add the book to my library. When I started this post, I didn't intend for it to end so anticlimactically, but that is sometimes the nature of these Sight Unseen musings. Perhaps I'll have something better to show off when that copy of George Sprott arrives . . . any day now.  

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Allison's Copy of Clyde Fans: Part One by Seth

Clyde Fans: Part One (2000), collects issues 10 through 12 of Seth's comic book Palookaville in which the story was serialized. Seth was to continue to work on the tale in installments through 2017. The completed opus of five books was published in 2019.

One Allison's copy of the book was personalized for her by the artist in 2001. In it Seth made a drawing of the fan salesman Abe Matchcard smoking his cigar and walking.

Seth
eBay listing accessed September 14, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/376548470964?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m164380.l178264&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=c2ffcfc4f52843cc9f5034eb88853c19&bu=43186000575&ut=RU&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20250914013633&segname=11021&recoId=376548470964&recoPos=1

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Seth: Another Copy of Wimbledon Green Signed in 2005 With a Sketch

A few years ago I was occcasionally delighted to find an inexpensive signed copy of one of Seth's evocative picture novellas—as he sometimes calls them—particularly whenever he was good enough to have added a drawing of one of the book's distinctive characters. I bought a few of these collectible volumes, but here on the blog I noted that prices were steadily rising. Seth also seemed to be attending fewer and fewer signings. Prices climbed well over $100 for some of these books, although I'm not sure demand followed; some books have been languishing on eBay for years.

A copy of Wimbledon Green: The Greatest Comic Book Collector in the World (2005) signed in the year of publication is not personalized and has a small, quick sketch of the title character. It is selling for about five times the price of a similar copy I documented here just four years ago.

Seth
eBay listing accessed August 24, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/257025858168?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m164380.l178264&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=70c60678cede44068c9ef0271c6fa341&bu=43186000575&ut=RU&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20250721013628&segname=11021&recoId=257025858168&recoPos=1

Seth
eBay item description

Again, back in 2021, I posted images of another 2005-signed copy very similar to this one. Four years ago, it sold for a best offer of $26.89 plus $15.83 shipping from Canada: 

It's all in the archives here.

There is a still more expensive copy currently on eBay with a considerably more elaborate drawing.

Was I the one who drove up the price of books signed by Seth? I really hope not.

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Best Copy: Seth's Palookaville #22

In Palookaville, the comic artist Seth (born Gregory Gallant) publishes his graphic works in progress, and some of them are later collected in complete form. Palookaville #22 was published in April of 2015. It includes the longer form Clyde Fans Book Four (of an eventual Five), Crown Barber, and the autobiographical Nothing Lasts Part Two. A copy signed by Seth in 2015 with an original self-portrait was offered for sale on eBay last week. Bidding would have started at $29.99, but the book was purchased at the Buy It Now price of $39.99.

Seth
eBay listing accessed August 18, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166284182080?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=3bcdb378f5e042b7a1a38e94f40a2f92&bu=43186000575&ut=RU&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20230818013633&segname=11021

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Tony's Copy of Wimbledon Green by Seth

It seems pretty clear that the MSU Comics Forum in Lansing, Michigan held on February 22 and 23, 2019 was a great venue for obtaining signed books from Seth with original sketches. Seth was the first of two keynote speakers at the event. Now Tony, of Tony's Comic Art and Collectibles located about an hour southwest of Lansing, has just sold what is probably the best copy of Wimbledon Green (2005) we yet have seen. The book, obtained on Saturday at the event, is signed with a gorgeous black and orange profile sketch of "the greatest comic book collector in the world." Not coincidentally, it is also the most expensive copy of the book we've encountered to date; its $250 asking price is more than three times higher than that of any previous Wimbledon Green copy documented on this blog. The book was listed on eBay on or about November 1, 2022 with two others from the same signing and it ended up selling two months ago on eBay for an undisclosed best offer. The other two books still remain available on the site.

 

Seth
eBay listing ended April 12, 203

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115586727132?hash=item1ae9817cdc%3Ag%3AA44AAOSwzUtjPAy7&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8Gx1j48uLv%2BjGMCYdqZf%2Bj8ACQwY2y6yot%2Fb5mWOEHyPjJJftCXWkEgA5tFAsI6758%2BHZYhH79GSJ%2FYWcfP1WLsmrLG%2Fg12bmvYFxDUG1zziL%2Fj4hohfV1Cn8vVfWNTakcrOybY5pSbUWi6ng7PlYwKLsLxmA9qwcOb2%2BS9%2

F6QaHr2QyVChCIAmPlJt64P0JpDBoIRSiR1Sx4GtTTk4q7pC0vu32%2BOzuWw6t1EhAebHVeoVrwBnYQ3yCbBB6zjd6LKxQr4YdpDqWq9ozDX+h1agO12CDXdWcQf6vewJ0Jv9w8LcZmyChBHwVntXDzs4FA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7Lgg_CYYg&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Seth
eBay item description

Two more of Tony's books with original sketches by Seth from the MSU signing are still available on eBay.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2282885328599204/2282885335265870/?active_tab=discussion

Note:  Surely there must be other Seth books out there in private collections with original sketches of this caliber. Please send images my way if you'd like the book to appear on this blog.

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Sight Unseen: Karen's Copy of Seth's George Sprott (1894-1975)

Recently I wrote here about the listing on eBay of two exceptional but, I thought, overpriced copies of George Sprott 1894-1975 (2009) which include original drawings of the title character by Seth.

I decided, as an exercise, to see whether I could still find other, less expensive copies that were similarly signed and sketched upon. This led me to AbeBooks, where a copy signed and inscribed to one Karen, with a drawing, was available for $50. I thought this price was fairly reasonable, although it was still more than I had paid previously for similar books. To complicate matters, though, there was no photograph of the drawing, just a stock image of the book.

Seth
AbeBooks listing accessed September 2, 2022

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30441908064&searchurl=kn%3DSeth%2BSprott%26sgnd%3Don%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1

One always wonders what prompts sellers to omit photos of that one personalized page that makes a book unique. Is it a question of cost or of workload? Is it because the drawing doesn't quite measure up to the written description of it? Personally, I was pretty sure Seth would have done right by Karen.

As readers may know, the way I get to the bottom of these mysteries is not to ask the seller for more information but to order the book myself, sight unseen, and then to publicly post the results. My instincts have proven pretty good and usually the outcome is more than satisfactory for me, but there is sometimes a caveat or two. So, you might ask, how did I do?

Qualitatively, I don't see enough difference between these books to justify an eight- to ten-fold price differential. Still, Seth is good to his fans, and I wouldn't be surprised if demand for such books ticked up in the future. Will collectors be willing to pay $400 to $500 for Seth's books with original drawings? I will not, but then I don't speak for everyone.

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Tony's Copy of George Sprott 1894-1975 by Seth

Last year, I noted a very expensive copy of Seth's George Sprott 1894-1975 which was graced with an original drawing dated 2009, the year of publication. I pointed out that its $500 asking price meant it was some ten to twenty times pricier than the other similarly signed and embellished copies I had previously documented here.

This year, the book can still be found on eBay, $10 more expensive but otherwise none the worse for wear. It now boasts a PSA DNA letter of authenticity although there was never any question it was the real McCoy. Has the book been priced so high there is no one to buy it? Or is the seller just waiting for the market to come to terms with a new paradigm?

To be sure, signed copies of the oversized 2009 book have become less readily available. As a few copies trickle into the market, should we expect them to be in the $50 range as they were before, or in the $500 range, as this one is?

Well, both, actually. On AbeBooks there recently was listed a copy dedicated to one Karen selling for $50, and on eBay a copy made out to a Tony in 2019 priced at $429. The thinking of the eBay seller of Tony's book must be to try to profit from the higher pricing scheme while still undercutting the other eBay seller. It could very well work.

Seth
eBay listing accessed 8/31/2022

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115341737240?hash=item1adae73d18:g:sb4AAOSwKNliVNI1&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoGQqEzRUxFD%2BA6Xv1OXec039Qm%2F8QiJpkY8JXTSUN63RTPvPwIVz74s3ekhG8AdAQxNINASGLcNIdhUiDgOa1hzkLBPEyFRwOqlAFB7nadZQSTXvCZSH%2BXacNVSEBqg42VsA9Ku5XZ7OsoJhRy2ba5vmjkFVflMbNc8tl2IiQKDmLRCVzuZEBvEPLd4zmrBk9m01KUy97RvQkxezvl8MUCM%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5y6ipTeYA

Seth
eBay item description
"Signed by George Sprott..."

Note:  Just yesterday I purchased that $50 copy of Seth's George Sprott 1894-1975 that once belonged to Karen. There was no photograph of the drawing, alas, so I will report on it soon in one of those Sight Unseen posts I love to do.

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