AJD

OK, here's a bit of esoteric fun. I have long owned this book: I was surprised to find an Australian variant of the cover of this book, given the American war stamp on it. Well, turns out there was one, with the stamp and voice balloon suitably repurposed: Like most Australian comics before the 1960s (other than Disneys), it's undated, but the GCD tells me that it was part of the 1947 series by Cleland publishers.* The series appeared in a number of formats (regular sized, pocket sized, portrait and landscape). This one measures 16 cm x 21 cm (or a little over 6" x 8" for our metrically challenged readers). I was a bit surprised by that, because if it's a "pocket comic" you'd need very big pockets. A curious carryover from the American comic of July 1944 was the "Magazine Editorial Advisory Board Approved Reading" logo. Inside we find that the members of that august body are Eleanor P. Roosevelt (no, not that Eleanor Roosevelt, this one was "past President, Girl Scouts Council of Greater New York"), polar explorer Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Allan Roy Dafoe M.D. "the famous quintuplet doctor". I very much doubt that the board was running an eye over Australian publications, but it can't hurt to look "respectable" on the cover, right? Here's a fun interior page. The -script page is hard to read! In the "who gives a rat's" category, but noted here for completeness, Aus Reprints points out that early issues (#1-10) were printed by Cleland for Vee publishing, but the publisher name was changes to Cleland from #11 on.

L. B. Cole Gorilla to ... L. B. Cole gorilla in (dun dun dun!) PICTURESCOPETM

Car crash to car splash

Kid to goat

Wertham would be so proud of the additions a previous owner made to that Camilla page!

Angel to three little angels

Drum to drum

Voodini to voodoo

Lash Lightning to Lockheed Lightning

Well now I know who won that one I bid on! Glad to see it go to a good home.

Bob Hope to no hope

Nice! What are the contents of that book?

Startling to Startling

79 to 80

Interesting read - thanks @BitterOldMan!

Snow show to a no show snow snow

I own some Planet Comics issues because my wife overruled my inclination to pass on them and told me to bid more. Can't see her pushing me towards a Hulk 181 though. I'm OK with both of those.

Saturn to Saturn

Series E war bond to series E war bond

Man with a shovel to duck with a hammer

Still fishing

Corpses that wouldn't stay dead to one that did.