The names read like a recipe for Who’s Who of great comic book artists: Joe Kubert, Will Eisner, Carl Barks, Bill Ward, Wally Wood, and Alex Schomburg. Add in Murphy Anderson, Carmine Infantino, Joe Simon, and Jerry Robinson. Then mix in C.C. Beck, Tony Harris, John K. Snyder III, Alex Ross, along with dashes of Norman Mingo, George Pérez, Mark Sparacio, Jim Lee and Billy Tucci, among others.

And now add Mark Chiarello and Darwyn Cooke.

What does that get you? The legacy of great covers of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, which this year celebrates its 40th edition. Geppi’s Entertainment Museum (GEM) will join in the celebration with “The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide – 40 Years…and Counting!” a new special exhibit the museum will host at its location in Baltimore’s historic Camden Yards sports complex. Dates for the special exhibit will be announced soon.

“It all started 40 years ago with a simple guide to the world of comic book collecting – the individual issues, their historical importance, and their (much smaller) values. Today, that world grew into a vast universe of comics and pop culture, those values doubled and tripled and rose into the stratosphere (Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27 each recently sold for $1 million dollars!), and through it all The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide has been the recognized ‘Bible’ of the industry and the number one source for all historical and pricing information about the medium we all love,” said GEM’s Curator, Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg, a former Editor of the Guide.

“This 40th edition of the Guide is obviously a landmark, and we’re very happy to add this exhibit at GEM to the recognition being given to Bob Overstreet and the Guide to mark the occasion,” said J.C. Vaughn, Associate Publisher of Gemstone Publishing.

The exhibit joins Gemstone’s participation in Free Comic Book Day and Bob Overstreet’s appearance at Comic-Con International: San Diego on the list of special activities, with more to be announced soon.

GEM will present a colorful chronology of the Guide, with a history of the annual book and its creator, as well as a look at The Overstreet Hall of Fame, a growing roll call of comic book luminaries that have shaped the comic book industry.

The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #40 is a Featured Item in the March 2010 Previews from Diamond Comic Distributors. Scheduled for a July 21, 2010 release, the Guide can be found on Page 259 in this issue of Previews. There is also a three-page interview with Bob Overstreet that you can also find online at PreviewsWorld.com.