sfcityduck

Slight miscut? Are they normally so wavy? Looks like scissors.

GREAT post and thread idea! This would make a great book idea. I like the idea of having these diverse topics covered in distinct "chapters." Reminds me of All in Color for a Dime. Can't wait to read your take on the internment camp scrapbook (which is one of my interests).

Blonde haird Superman is in the top circle on the cover.

Other images for comparison:

A quick Google image search shows a couple of copies that fill in a larger continuum between a all purple background, barely starting to lost ink in the same pattern as left side lighter streak on the purple cover above, uniformly losing ink so the purple is almost entirely washed out, and the white background above.

I know a guy who bought an Archie 1 back around 1972 from a then-prominent dealer. He's had in a safety deposit box since. He tells me he paid $200 for it (a LOT back then), and it is at least an 8.5. This guy owns a lot of GA keys, but I think he's proudest of that Archie 1.

Igor, Get the Greg Sadowski (who posts here) book "Supermen!: The First Wave Of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941" published by Fantagraphics.

Ken Burns' National Parks documentary that was shown on PBS covered the Japanese internment and Obata fairly extensively. It is well worth checking out if the topic interests you.

You touch on this with your story about Morrie, but I think there's one other facet to this tale worth mentioning that is near and dear to my heart: Life in the camps was tedious. Comics, books, and magazines certainly helped to alleviate that tedium, but more important was that the internees organized themselves to make the best of life in the camps. One of the most notable efforts was the organization of a series of art schools in the camps that served to teach the internees art. It is quite likely that Morrie was inspired to become a comic artist because of his experience in a camp art school. [Of course, I'm not asserting that every Japanese-American artist learned art in the camps. Japenese-American artists like Bob Fujitani and Fred Kida, formally trained at NY art schools, were not interred because they lived East of the Mississippi.] The man who was probably most responsible for getting those art schools going was Prof. Chiura Obata of the Art Department of the University of California at Berkeley (whose art I collect). His is a fascinating story which intersects with the history of comic books in the U.S. Chiura Obata had arrived in San Francisco in 1903 at the age of 18 as an impoverished Japanese immigrant with little English in a society that was notably hostile to Asians. Yet his profound artistic talents and strong work ethic catapulted him from work as a domestic serveant, to an early job as a news artist for a Japanese language newspaper, to graphic design work for advertisers and magazines, to set design work for the San Francisco Opera, and finally, in the 1930s to prominence in the fine art community of the Bay Area. One of his friends was Henry Kiyama, who created what is probably the first autobiographical graphic novel in a traditional comic book layout and style in 1931 (sorry Eisner): the Four Immigrants Manga. Obata did a frontspiece for the graphic novel, and was likely the inspiration for one of the characters. (Four Immigrants Manga) Obata's talents earned him great respect and many other friendships, including with Berkeley fine art Professors like Worth Ryder. It was with Ryder that Obata sojourned to Yosemite in a 1927 trip that would inspire his greatest work - paintings and color woodblocks which are now regarded as masterworks of American art. (Woodblock print) As a result of his Yosemite works, U.C. Berkeley extended Obata a professorship in 1932 -- despite his lack of formal academic training or complete proficiency of English. On the eve of WWII, Time Magazine celebrated Obata in a 1938 article stating: >>>The imperfections of Japanese military strategy have made more news lately than the perfections of Japanese art. But one day a fortnight ago a demonstration of brush drawing by a 53-year-old Japanese artist drew the unprecedented number of 1,900 visitors to the old Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, Calif., and his atmospheric, formalized landscapes, on view last week, made critics remember him as one of the most accomplished artists in the West.<<< But, as the Time Magazine article evidences, Chiura Obata's life was lived in the shadow of international events. Four years after Time Magazine celebrated his genius, Prof. Obata and most of his family would be interred, his house seized, his wife's cherished bonzai garden destroyed, and his art preserved only by the intervention of the Chancelor of the U.C. system who took it in for safe keeping. Embrace of both East and West, of creating divides between communities, was a recurring theme in Obata's life. He founded the East-West Art Society in the 1920s. Baseball had been introduced to Japan in 1872 by an American schoolteacher and its popularity boomed. Young boys like Obata learned the sport and carried their passion for the game with them when they immigrated to America. For Obata, founding an Issei baseball team in his first year in America was a way to embrace both the Japanese immigrant community and his new country. He became one of Berkeley's most popular Professors in the 1930s. He tirelessly promoted traditional Japanese Sumi-e brush work to Americans, while consistently incorporating Western techniques and sensibilities into his own artwork. Which is why the events of WWII must have been especially tragic for Obata. For in WWII the sense of community that Obata worked to foster was ruptured. We can only guess at the psychic toll that the gathering war hinted at by the Time article took on Obata from the contrast between Obata's beautiful Yosemite woodblocks a painting he made of his family huddled against a swirling "Landslide" in 1941. (Landslide) The landslide struck with Pearl Harbor and the 1942 internment of the citizens of Japanese origin west of the Mississippi. In Obata's case, internment first at Tanforan Race Track in South San Francisco, and later in Topaz, Utah. But it wasn't just internment, it was the seizure of real and personal property. Obata's family lost their house. His wife's garden destroyed, a tragic loss for a woman who was a master of Ikebana. But, even facing internment, Obata did not lose his sense of community, and his community did not lose its dedication to Obata. Obata's life's work of art was saved through the personal intervention of the Chancellor of the U.C. system, Robert Sproul, who personally sheltered Obata's art in the Chancellor's residence, and who vocally spoke out against the Japanese internment. Life at Tanforan was hard, as Obata's wife Haruko recalled: >>>When we arrived at Tanforan it was raining; it was so sad and depressing. The roadway was all mud, thick mud, and our shoes would get stuck in the mud when you walked outside. They gave us a horse stable the size of our dining room with a divided door where the horse put his head out--that was our sleeping quarters. There were two twin beds made of wood, bunk beds, and another bed on the opposite wall. It was supposed to be a couch but it was made of wood too. There was nothing else, nothing. That one time I cried so much. That was the only time I cried; it was awful.<<< But, Obata did not become bitter. He did not give in or give up or lose his sense of community. Instead, he organized and became director of the "Tanforan Art School." Immediately after arriving at Tanforan, he and his newly recruited staff worked together to open the school as soon as possible. Obata recalled: >>>The storm had started the night before, and on the morning after it was still raging furiously, and I was somewhat discouraged over the terrible gloomy weather....Such scenes gave me fear and anxiety. I wondered if any students would be coming at all. As I passed the old Tavern and came to the narrow path between Mess Hall #7, I looked over toward the art building and saw three tiny girls standing on the doorsteps of our art building. I ran to open the door. I noticed their little rubber boots and raincoats were drenched. In the mess hall art building there is an enormous cooking stove but no heating facility....I ran out and went to a friend who lives in a stall nearby and asked for a couple of towels and wiped their cold heads and hands to warm them up. I asked the youngest girl (six years old), "Do you like to learn to paint?" With smiles and sparkling eyes she responded, "Sure I do!"<<< And in this effort, Obata received support from his freinds outside the camps who donated much needed art supplies. Friends outside the camp also helped Obata place his oldest son Gyo, into university at St. Louis where he would be able to avoid internment and continue his studies (and ultimately found HOK Architecture -- designers of the best baseball parks in America). Obata also correspondenced with many outside the camps, and, executed commissions from Camp guards and workers. In fact, Eleanor Roosevelt commissioned a painting from Obata while he was interred at Topaz, Utah. Obata also used his art to document, in stark terms, with simple beauty and clarity of vision, his internment experience. He kept a journal of his experiences with both text and ink drawings. These drawings, some of which can be seen on the web at www.americanhistory.si.edu are reproduced in bulk, with Obata's journal entries in the book Topaz Moon by Obata's grandaughter Kimi Kodani Hill. A must read. Obata's journal entries reveal much about the hardships he and his family encountered. Where Obata had seen his family menaced by a landslide prior to WWII, he now saw his family menaced by a Dust Storm: >>>The window is sealed with 'gum paper.' Everything from the bed to the desk has been randomly covered with any and all available newspaper. Yet, the smoky dust comes pouring through the cracks of the chimney, floor, and ceiling. Due to this hellish, burning smoke, one in desperation looks for the direction of the wind. When the window is even slightly open, this crazy wind with its ferocity wears out the women to exhaustion. They take pains to sweep the floor, change buckets of water a number of times only to mop again. Finally they are now about to take a moment's rest and gaze upon the floor.<<< Still, Obata's sense of community caused him to remain dedicated to this country, his community, and after the war he resumed his position at Berkeley, becoming even more prominent, and in the 1950s became a good will ambassador between the U.S. and Japan. I do his life and art a disservice by the brevity of my exposition, but I think there are lessons to be learned. And even more lessons to be learned by those who read "Topaz Moon" and "Obata's Yosemite." Too many lessons to list. But, for me, perhaps the most important is that history is made up of people not faceless forces, and perhaps the best lessons are learned from the histories of people not politicians. From Obata, the lessons to be learned are about community, the American dream in its most positive light, a dark time in our history, lack of resentment, and beauty -- both artistically and in terms of his spirit. Sorry for the sermon. I'll edit this post to add pictures later.

How long did it take before you realized that your old comics had value? E.g., did your sons know about comic collecting in the formal sense (the Price Guide, stores, conventions, etc.) or was that a later discovery? I imagine it was pretty neat to discover your childhood comics were valuable.

Marty, Just curious, when did you stop reading comics as a kid (if ever) and when did you discover that there was a culture of folks collecting the comics you read as a kid?

Why does the CGC say there are three versions, when there are at least six different versions (including three different 10 cent versions -- red price in yellow circle, yellow price in red circle, and yellow price in black circle) available on the market right now (and that's not counting the foreign versions like the one for Australia)?

TB, Beautiful cover. How much of the interior are comics? What else do they contain?

An excellent clarification. Eugene is a big comic town. Witness the great art exhibit that UO art museum did on the art of the superhero.

This is an example of a book that is too easy to trim without detection. I would never touch a high grade copy whether it was certified or not. Board member arty already proved how one gentleman in Eugene, Oregon, has been trimming the book and selling it in unrestored PGX holders. Sadly, this is no longer a book I'd ever consider buying and I am warning every Disney collector I know against it. I grew up in Eugene. And I have heard some bad stories about a collector in Eugene and PGX. But, this post bothers me because it has the potential to impugn the reputation of the leading store owner in the area, and I don't think that is who you are referring to as his reputation (and eBay feedback) are perfect as far as I know. If you aren't going to name names, you might not want to name small towns for the fear of harming the innocent.

This thread's too long, but has anyone seen this one before?

Yep. I was talking to a guy who is only now beginning to liquidate his personnal collection as he prepares for retirement. He was telling me about the books he's only now bringing back into the light of day. One book he mentioned he bought was a high grade GA key obtained from Bruce Hamilton back in 1972 for $200 or so that he's held onto since then and is now a six figure book. It has not been CGC graded, but if it grades out as he evaluates it, and he's a good grader I think, than it will be tied for the top of census for that book. I would suspect that just given the demographics of the hobby, there are going to be lots of books like that emerging as the long time dealers/collectors finally started unloading their personal collections. We see it happening now even with some posters on this site.

I think that article misspells his name. I think it is Peter Sidlow of VCA Auctions. Perhaps Mitch would know, as my guess is that Theo knows him since he deals in those old coin-ops.

I wish I could post the picture, but all I can do is link the image of the newspaper article and photo. Click here: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YWQhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DYcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=751,1260704&dq=comic+book&hl=en If you clicked, what you see is a February 9, 1966 article about Leonard Brown bidding less than $5 on a trunk in a storage locker auction that yielded what he estimated to be $10,000 worth of comics. The accompanying photo shows Brown holding Batman 1 and Superman 1. A related LA Times articles quotes Brown as stating that the collection was "mint" and included complete pre-1943 runs of Batman, Superman, Captain Marvel and "Flash Gordon" (?). Brown was planning to sell the run of Batman 1-30 for $1,000. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q2hkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oXwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1097,2422946&dq=comic+book&hl=en The first comic pulled from the trunk was Hi-Spot 1 which Brown pegged as being a $100 comic, on par with the very best of the other issues in the trunk, because it contained an ERB story. Times have changed. But the dream remains the same.

I would bet money that photo is from a mid-late 60s comic convention. The way to confirm that would be to just run a search on the NYT archive.

I love Krigstein. Thanks, yet again, for sharing. There's a reason this thread will soon be hitting the big one five zero zero.

BangZoom is my nominee for the "Poster Who Most Spreads The Joy of Comics and Pulps EVER"!

I'm with you tb, after reading Barks' FCs, the b&w and modern colored Barks' Library editions just didn't cut it. In contrast, Fantragraphics coloring (and paper) really does give the feel of reading the original comics! The Barks "Lost in the Andes" book is undoubtably the best collection of classic comic book material in a long long long time. It will rack up some Eisner awards. And with an initial price point at less than half the cost of Archives and Masterworks ($24.99), yielding Amazon prices as low as $12.49, this is the book that will garner Barks new heights in popularity because it not only getting great reviews, but is affordable for the casual buyer.

Great story! The "Spicer Willits" part I mean. Not that the Barks isn't also a great story!

I think I own the rarest modern comic book. I believe only one copy was ever made. But it is not some insignificant fanzine type comic or manufactured collectible (e.g. a "limited edition" or "variant cover"). It actually has a significant history as it's publication caused the NCAA to ban any college or University from ever doing a similar comic again. The comic book got extensive media coverage. You can read a write up about it in Sports Illustrated here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/andy_staples/06/19/recruiting.main/ And Sports Illustrated actually posted scans of the complete comic here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0806/cfb.oregon.comic.book/content.1.html From SI: "Gilmore enlisted Oregon students Brett Kautter, Heather Terry and Brian Merrell to create a one-of-a-kind recruiting tool that -- while still adhering to NCAA rules -- would make recruits think of Oregon as the nation's coolest program. So when Oregon coaches identified their top 20 prospects for the class of 2005, Gilmore and his staff designed custom comic books starring each recruit as the hero who leads the Ducks to a national title. Because NCAA rules at the time only allowed programs to send letter-sized, black-and-white pages to recruits, Gilmore sent each prospect one page a week. After a few months, the recruit had the full comic book. And when that recruit came to Eugene for an official visit, he would find the bound, full-color book sitting on a table, possibly alongside a fake Sports Illustrated cover -- attached to a real copy of the magazine -- featuring the prospect wearing an Oregon uniform and holding the Heisman Trophy. Recruits loved the books, and they helped the Ducks land several stars. For example, Jonathan Stewart didn't lead the Ducks to a national title the way he did in Snoop: A Hero Is Born, but he did become the school's second-leading rusher in just three seasons. Before they could immortalize the class of 2006 in graphic-novel form, Gilmore and his team received the ultimate backhanded compliment -- the NCAA banned the books." I have the Jonathon Stewart comic, which was printed up solely to show to Jonathon (now with the Carolina Panthers) on his official visit to Oregon, but not to give to him to keep (as that would have violated NCAA rules). It was obtained from the UO athletic department. I'm curious if anyone think it has any value given its interesting history and Jonathon's decent college and NFL career.