Collecting on a Shoestring (cont')

The Magnamund Companion

In the US, the Magnamund Companion is the Holy Grail of Lone Wolf books at used bookstores. We certainly have a disadvantage in that we can’t find any LW #22’s at second hand shops. After visiting more than a hundred stores, I’ve found only one Magnamund Companion.

To make things more difficult, this folio is likely to be located with other larger print manuals and can be hidden between them because it is so slim. When searching for this one, be certain to use Sixth Sense and search carefully.

Freeway Warrior Series

I saw the Freeway Warrior series when it first came out at the local K-Mart convenience store. Back in the 80's, convenience stores carried many different brands of gamebooks. There was such a wide distribution that it was easy to pick up a Joe Dever book. The Freeway Warrior series was written toward the end of that time period, as was the Lone Wolf Grandmaster series.

Around the release of FW #2, the distribution was reduced for all gamebooks, and it became more difficult to find the series--even at the Waldenbooks retail chain that previously carried full sets of Joe Dever's writing. The early Freeway Warrior books are already hard to come by, but I believe the reduced distribution is why the later books in the Freeway Warrior series are so rare. Until recently, I had thought FW #3, The Omega Zone was impossible to find at second hand shops. It is difficult to find copies of this series. Pick up copies if you see them.

Combat Heroes Series

I never knew that the Combat Heroes series existed until I read about it on a web page. I’ve found several copies through my searches. The distribution of these books appears to be spotty. At several used bookstores, there will be perhaps one copy. At another bookshop, several copies might exist.

That pretty much summarizes my knowledge of the availability of Joe Dever's writings at used bookstores. By trading my excess copies, I’ve been enriched by improving the quality of my collection and the people I’ve traded with. The ratings I’ve assigned may not be exactly correct because of regional differences but serve to give general tendencies. There is always the chance of a statistical anomaly that one bookstore has five copies of the Magnamund Companion.

I’d love to hear some of your unusual experiences at used bookstores. Speaking of which, have I ever told you about the time when I was at a second hand shop and found a Lone Wolf book with two maps? . . .