Theagenes

This also came back from Matt with the BR. This book had such a terrible spine roll it would barely fit in a mylar. In fact I originally posted it in the Beater Grail thread it was so fugly. But now with the spine roll pressed out it doesn't look half bad.

Just got my Buck Rogers #1 back from Matt Nelson today and it looks great! I posted it in this thread a few months back when I first got it - it had a good bit of tape and some color touch along the spine. Well, I send it to Matt to have the tape removed and it turns out that the color touch was on the surface of the tape, not the paper underneath, so when the tape came off so did the ct!

Action Comics #13 in Fine condition $15 This has to be the best thread ever! Or for 2x that you could have Tip Top #13!

Awesome!

OMG!!! (As some of you know, I'm a little bit of a John Carter fan )

Well, I've been away from the boards for most of the last couple of weeks and this is the first thread I had to start catching up on. I love the group shot of the Feature Books! I've always thought it would be a lot of fun to put together a Feature Book/Large Feature/Single Series run -- tough to do, but a lot of fun. With all those covers with bright primary colors it would make for quite the group shot I would think.

Healthy baby girl, born Tuesday night! I haven't been on the boards much lately, for obvious reasons, and I have some catching up to do. I did read the Victory comics though.

So you have the Central Valley Single Series 20! That copy is just amazing! The colors are so vibrant and fading is so often a problem with this book. Some of us were oohing and ahing over this very book a few months ago: Pre-GA Thread

Work has been a bear. I will bump the nominating thread soon and give a little more time for nomination before we start the actual voting. Thanks every one for their patience. That's cool - just wondering. I think it would be great to allow some more time for nominations, since we seem to have gotten a couple of new posters in the last week or so.

Man i love that 29 cover. That was one of my nominees in the cover contest. Hey, speaking of which, shouldn't we be voting soon?

Great books and welcome to the boards! That More Fun is gorgeous!

I've gotten a little behind on my reviews, but my wife and I are expecting a baby any day now ( )and things have been a little hectic - I believe the term is "nesting." But, let me try and throw out a few quick thoughts on the Blue Ribbon. First off, great cover! Probably the best thing about this issue. Rang-a-tang: Obviously a Rin-Tin-Tin knock-off; pretty weak story. The writers need to realize that there is a difference between foreshadowing and outright spoilers. I suppose I should be used to the racial stereotyping in so many of these early books, but I still cringe when I see things like the depictions of the Indians (and other non-white individuals in the other stories). "How!" - please. Hercules: I guess the idea of a mythological figure returning to modern times and becoming a superhero has been around for awhile. I suppose the premise is supposed to be that Herc has adventures here that parallel his 12 Labors, but here the attempted comparison with the Stymphalian Birds and the Erymanthian Boar is weak and forced. The best part of he story was the Bundanians - obviously they're meant to represent the Nazis, who we weren't at war with yet, but what's funny is that the name "Bundanian" is a dig at the German-American Bund, the rather vocal pro-Nazi organization in the US (I'm sure the joke would have been obvious to readers in 1940). Gypsy Johnson - Again with the racial stereotyping - "Me killum whitey!" huh? Weak. The Fox was not bad. He's a New Deal, champion of the little guy taking on slum lords and such. I dig it. Corporal Collins - As you can probably guess, this was one of my favorites. I see Scrooge has done a great write-up on the background of Dunkirk, so no need to go into that. I take it Collins is supposed to be an American volunteer fighting for the French. This was fascinating seeing how a fictional work with a very real contemporary setting has to deal with the events on the ground. You have the complete routing of the French and British forces, but you still need to make your character win in the story. You spin it the best way you can, with your hero covering the retreat and preventing what could have been a much worse disaster (which is pretty much how the Allies tried to spin it as well). I enjoyed this one! Alright, I'll have to get to the rest of it later - I did have a few things to say about Doc Strong and Loop Logan.

OMG! Look at those Caps!

Best thread EVA!

Can't remember if these have been posted yet, but they came in the mail today. 204 247

Great stuff Scrooge! I forgot to mention the inside FC, but that jumped out at me as well with the discussion of fanzines. Fickling I wasn't familiar with, but I was familiar with Giunta of course (see my Crom the Barbarian thread from a few weeks ago). I thought that was very cool to see him mentioned a s a young man creating a fanzine!

You know, it seems to me that YOU have some amazing books of your own that you could do a better job of displaying for board members on a more frequent basis. How about filling some of the slack time between Bangzoom's posts with some of your own stuff?

Great book! I sold my copy about a year ago and I miss it. I really need to pick up another one sometime. I have to say though I don't see what all the fuss is about - that cover is well within the bounds of good taste... well, for a horror comic... that is, er... I mean... it's not like you can see the stump of her neck dripping blood with little dangling bits of flesh hanging off! Right?

Comici gratia comicorum "Comics for the sake of comics" (for you non-Latin speaking guys) A sentiment I think many people here share. Yes i should have used the plural (for you folks i made the word up, but it should be with an "i" like alumnus and alumni) but do you think the accusative form is better than the possessive? I now think the Boards have been brought to a whole new level as we discuss Latin grammar. jb Comicorum is possessive (genitive) plural - looks like accusative because of the "um." For "gratia" to mean "for the sake of" it has to take the genitive. And actually "comicus" is a real Latin adjective meaning funny or comical. I suppose technically a "comic book" would be a "liber comicus." Okay, okay! Less Latin grammer - more scans of gorgeous libri comici!

Comici gratia comicorum "Comics for the sake of comics" (for you non-Latin speaking guys) A sentiment I think many people here share.

I don't know what I can add or say that hasn't been said already. I'm just blown away by this whole thread. I will say that I very much agree with Scott/FFB, that it is important to document the history and provenience of the collection. It is not often that we have such great information about an original owner of a stunning collection like this. That's such a great story about how you found his house and the store where he bought many of them. It would be shame if the books were split up someday and their provenience was lost. I know you don't have any immediate plans to sell them, but what if you got hit by a bus or something.

Now I know why nothing happened! It's nice to know someone besides Scrooge, Black Hand, and me are still reading this thread. Don't forget the Motor City. I love this thread. I just wish I wasn't so dang lazy. My bad! And Detroit Mike too, of course! Mike, that's a gorgeous copy!

Now I know why nothing happened! It's nice to know someone besides Scrooge, Black Hand, and me are still reading this thread.

I very much looked forward to reading a book put together by the creators who would form Funnies, Inc. a months after this issue and I wasn't disappointed. It was very cool to see some of Everett's and Burgos' work pre-Subby and Torch. Other than those two, the artwork was pretty ho-hum, but the writing on several of the stories was very interesting and original. I love the Fantom of the Fair because it is so rooted in it's context. In New York, in the spring and summer of 1939 everything revolved around the World's Fair and there is somehow an intimate link between the Fair of 1939-40 and the concept of the "comicbook superhero" itself. Both were creations of the psyche of an America that had pulled itself out of the doldrums of Depression was now ready to embrace a future that celebrated the greatness of human potential. It would not be long before world events would make that optimism of the late 30's look hopelessly naive (by the Fair's second season in 1940 actually), but for a time it must have seemed as though the world would have a future in which we were all "Supermen" and "Superwomen" living in a utopian metropolis of Trylons and Perispheres, airships and art deco light fixtures. National/DC of course, jumped right in to whole World's Fair spectacle with it's two giveaway comics and even by having a Superman Day at the Fair. In the Fantom story, however, we see a different take on the Fair, perhaps unconsciously. The story has nothing to do with the lofty concepts that Fair represents, but rather the very real mundane world of ruthless, corrupt contractors fighting it out over the lucrative job of working on the Fair. The Fantom is less a product of Gernsback's scientifiction utopianism like Superman, than he is a product of gothic horror, poling his way along underground rivers like Lon Chaney. He is a product of the Shadow pulps, not Amazing Stories. This issue would have come out just as the Fair was opening in late spring of 1939, and we already have a bit of New York cynicism showing itself. The story and Fantom concept itself has potential; I like the fact that they left us hanging a bit as far as his origin - keep him mysterious for a while as it adds to the appeal. What's in the Icelandic book? Makes me want to shell out another dime and pick up next month's issue to find out - and I suppose that's the point, right? "Inner Circle" also looked to have potential, despite the artwork being rather weak, but then it flopped at the end. The concept of a team of specialists ala The Dirty Dozen is always a winner - it's an archetype at least as old as Jason and the Argonauts. Unfortunately the story fizzled out especially with the weak, anti-climatic ending. In fairness, pacing can tough when you only have a few pages to work with. BTW, did you catch the reference to the Chinese civil war again? The Air Sub story by Burgos was a real treat - I had never even heard of it before and I'd really like to read more. This was my second favorite piece in this issue (of course I'm a sci-fi guy so I may be biased) after the Everett story. I was impressed with the whole "scram-jet" concept of barely leaving the atmosphere, orbiting the earth and then re-entering the atmosphere in order to quickly get any where on the planet. This is of course exactly what is being planned for commercial aviation in our own near future (and possible already exists in military aviation). I think the B&W format actually enhances Burgos' linework and helps him create the feeling of constant dynamic movement that gives the story it's faster pace and makes it more exciting. I love this panel showing the aerial battle: The "C-20 Mystery" by Everett was my favorite story easily - well written and well-drawn, with the same chiaroscuro technique that I loved in Flessel's work in the Tec we read last week. This dark, gritty, violent story with drug references really makes you wonder what age readers they were targeting. This panel is great! BTW, the writer (Everett?) has confused "benzine" with "benzene" - both are petroleum derivatives and have similar uses as cleaners and solvents, but are not the same chemical. "Benzine" has always been a popular drug to inhale and has mild psychotropic effects, but it is "benzene" that is fatal when inhaled in large doses, especially in confined spaces. Grizzly Dunn was pretty weak. I get the joke and all but... . Jack Strand - now this was interesting story! Started out like it was a typical mystery or mad scientist plot, then quickly went down the rabbit hole and turned all surreal. Freudian ideas were still somewhat new in the popular consciousness (slight pun - sorry) and this story obviously wanted to explore them a bit with the evil "Psyk" ruling a subconscious dreamworld. Very interesting and original - I'd definately like to read more. Sadly, the artwork was stiff and uninspired, which was unfortunate given the material. Imagine how visually interesting this could have been with Burgos drawing it! "The Pardon" was different - I thought star-crossed lover stories were always supposed to end in tragic double suicides like Romeo and Juliet and Pyramus and Thisbe. What's with the lame happy ending? And I'm sorry, but I just can't take any story seriously when all the characters are running around in lederhosen.

Steve, just saw the other thread! Congrats on finding such a rare grail! What a great feeling it must be!