BOOT

Thank you, sir, for your fine comment. Like you, I love 'em all! When you add the qualifier "modern" comic book, you limit the scope of consideration. You'll get no argument from me, that under those terms, Funnies on Parade was the first "modern" comic book. I just wonder about the value of such limitation... By the way, I wouldn't be so certain that Gaines never beheld Obadiah. Gaines had an article published in the Summer, 1942 issue of PRINT Magazine called "Narrative Illustration - The Story of the Comics". It is a fantastic overview of the history of how words and pictures have been used to tell stories. Gaines shows himself to be incredibly well versed in comic history. On page 30, he specifically mentions "Les Amours de M. Vieux-Bois, by Rodolphe Toepffer, 1860" also known as the Histoire de M. Vieux Bois, published in English as... The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck. I'll repeat that... M.C. Gaines himself, one of the creators of the modern comic book, in an article for the Summer, 1942 issue of PRINT - The Quarterly Journal of the Graphic Arts, cites the original version of The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck as an influence on modern comic books. That issue of PRINT is a real joy to behold. In addition to Gaines' article, there are two full color inserts - one of an E.C. giveaway comic to promote War Bonds, and another of a "Picture Stories From The Bible" story. Gaines concludes his article talking about a new book "devoted entirely to the hitherto unpublished episodes in the career of a daring, death-defying heroine named Wonder Woman", along with a preview of the cover of Wonder Woman #1. If I get some time, I'll scan and post the whole article in a separate thread.

[font:Times New Roman]Bob, that's interesting, but not ground-breaking, IMO. That could just as easily be a label on a mid-19th century tuna can. To get any context the entire book needs to be seen and evaluated.[/font] It ain't no can of tuna. This was reprinted in an edition of 390 copies in 1950. This full-color facsimile edition is not too pricey and not too hard to find. Joseph Henry Jackson, literary editor of the San Francisco Chronicle from 1930 to 1955, wrote an introduction to the reprint. From his introduction: Of the American comic books on the subject of the gold rush, the best known, although it is relatively scarce, is this Journey to the Gold Diggins, undertaken by one Jeremiah Saddlebags, reported in pictures by the brothers James A. and Donald F. Read, and published in both New York and Cincinnati in 1849. (He describes the careers of the Reads...) Of their work, however, there remains this history of the energetic little Jeremiah Saddlebags, the prototype–at least in the mind of the comic illustrator of the time in America– of the Argonaut who risked the hard journey to the gold fields, found that is was all a good deal more difficult than he had thought, avoided death by a hair's-breadth time and again, and came home poorer than he went. It is the best of the American comic books on this theme. It, and the others like it, established a fashion which was reflected in the dozens of Almanacs that stemmed from the original Davy Crockett affair and spread even into California... Jeremiah and his adventures reflect so precisely the rough-and-tumble humor of their time, and interpret so beautifully the attitude toward the gold rush which was to crystallize and become a firm part of the Great American Saga, that the Reads and their creation well deserve to be rescued–as they are here for the first time–from the shadowy realm of collectors' and libraries' shelves. Journey to the Gold Diggins is featured in an exhibit on the Gold Rush by the California State Library. (See link V. Gold Mania Satirized). If someone wants to argue that this is not a comic book, or that it has no historical imporance, well... Some sample pages below...

That is great! One interesting thing about the discussion of the importance of early comic books is the way people define the issue differently. Sometimes people talk at cross-purposes. To me, the issue is about the art - the process of telling stories with sequential pictures (and also usually words.) In that respect, of course the earlier comics are important. It's surprising how many people are fixated on the physical format. If an early comic is not the exact size/page count/binding/color process of what they knew, they are ready to dismiss it. The size, shape, and binding of a comic book aren't as important as what's on the pages. The market value of a comic book is also only incidental to its historical value. Some seem hesitant to acknowledge the importance of the early comics because they don't think they could possibly be as valuable as Golden Age comics. The potential collector market for an early comic shouldn't really help determine its place in history, either. That there is not currently as large a market for early comics as there is for early superhero comics should have no bearing on whether we acknowledge their place in history. For years an ancient settlement near Clovis, New Mexico had been considered the earliest human settlement in North America. New discoveries of possible earlier settlements have been challenged by some archaeologists who continued to say "Clovis is the oldest!" They have been described as acting as "defenders of the faith". Perhaps the fact that some people seem threatened by expanding the horizons of comic book history is a phenomenon like the "Clovis Barrier" in archaeology. Keep an open mind! Some of the early comics are great reads and things of beauty!

Love this cover! Those are all outrageous! Great scanning job, too!

I don't think you can lay the blame at Bob's feet for what that former boardie did. He was a one-man market drag as he overhyped his purchases so much. He didn't do a great job of defending his position, alienating many comic collectors in the process. And then he sold too soon after he acquired them. Had he bought an Action 1 and behaved the way he did, he might have taken a loss on that, too! Is this about the guy who did the "Superman vs. Obadiah" thread way back when? Yep, that was before my time on the boards. It was quite a spectacle!

Bob, it is great to see you posting again. Glad your hips are swinging again, and best wishes for your daughter's recovery. While your desire to refute every criticism in understandable, please feel free to ignore the petty stuff. I'd rather see you post more about comics! BTW, here is another great contribution Bob made to comics knowledge, right here on these boards: Atomic and Nuclear Comics Genre Index bob, do NOT listen to this advice. your refutations make this board a better place. He brings out the best in you!

I don't think you can lay the blame at Bob's feet for what that former boardie did. He was a one-man market drag as he overhyped his purchases so much. He didn't do a great job of defending his position, alienating many comic collectors in the process. And then he sold too soon after he acquired them. Had he bought an Action 1 and behaved the way he did, he might have taken a loss on that, too!

Bob, it is great to see you posting again. Glad your hips are swinging again, and best wishes for your daughter's recovery. While your desire to refute every criticism in understandable, please feel free to ignore the petty stuff. I'd rather see you post more about comics! BTW, here is another great contribution Bob made to comics knowledge, right here on these boards: Atomic and Nuclear Comics Genre Index

That is really fascinating - thanks for posting! This comes from such a distant time and place - are you able to "read" this and follow the narrative?

The Kirby Lockjaw stories in Punch and Judy are real fun. He also did "Earl The Rich Rabbit" in several issues.

I like Tick Tock, and Ding Dong, too.

OUTSTANDING COMICS! Some fantastic Atlas books! Thanks for sharing!

BB! I have just managed to pick myself up off the floor! WOW! What a beaut'! Congrats on acquiring a real piece of history!

These are amazingly cool. Thanks for posting them. How I wish there was a comic publisher today with the imagination, taste, and quality of DELL!

Sartre, you have an amazing collection of great pre-code books. You showed really great judgment going after high-grade examples of these. Some of the best copies I've ever seen of some issues! How long have you been focusing on these types of comics?

A-Mazing!

Good grief! Those are amazing comics!

Do you happen to have the rest of this story? I'd love to see the ending of this tale! I'm a big RQ Sale fan, too. Thanks, Pat!

Interesting article on a strife-torn period of history. Looking back, it is sometimes easy to lose perspective... On Dec. 7, 1941, with no formal warning, 353 Japanese planes attacked the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This surprise attack, on a country which had not entered the war, killed 2,402 Americans and wounded 1,282 more. The Japanese damaged all eight U.S. Navy battleships, sinking four of them. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. The Japanese destroyed 188 U.S. aircraft. Part of the intelligence for the Japanese attack was gained through spies from the Japanese Navy. One of these, Takeo Yoshikawa, was escorted around Pearl Harbor by Richard Kotoshirodo, a Japanese-American clerk for the Japanese consul. Kotoshirodo later observed and reported ship movements to Japanese spies. On December 7, 1941, Japanese pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi, who had just bombed Pearl Harbor, crashed his plane on the small Hawaiian island of Niʻihau. He was captured by Hawaiians living on the island. The captive pilot convinced several Japanese-Americans living on the island to change loyalties. They helped him escape his captors. They helped him reach his downed plane, where he tried to use the radio to contact Japanese command. The Japanese pilot and his Japanese-American allies took an Hawaiian family hostage, and threatened to kill everyone on the island. The hostages fought with their captors. The Japanese pilot shot one Hawaiian man three times, but the man was able to pick up the pilot and throw him against a wall. The Hawaiian man's wife bashed the pilot's head with a rock, and then the Hawaiian man slit the pilot's throat. The Japanese-American man who had helped the pilot killed himself with a shotgun. The Japanese-American woman who had helped the pilot was put in prison for 31 months. After her release, she would say she was sorry for her actions in English, but when she spoke in Japanese to a Japanese audience, she said she felt sorry for the pilot and wanted to help him more. She was later visited by Mitsuo Fuchida, the leader of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Historians say the Niʻihau Incident played a role in the internment decisions. They said Hawaiians were disturbed by "the rapidity with which the three resident Japanese went over to the pilot's cause." In the official Navy report on the incident, dated January 26, 1942, Navy Lieutenant C. B. Baldwin wrote, "The fact that the two Niʻihau Japanese who had previously shown no anti-American tendencies went to the aid of the pilot when Japan domination of the island seemed possible, indicate likelihood that Japanese residents previously believed loyal to the United States may aid Japan if further Japanese attacks appear successful." On December 11, 1941, a Japanese submarine sank the freighter SS Lahaina off the coast of Honolulu. On December 17, 1941, another Japanese sub sank the SS Manini in Hawaiian waters. On December 18th, 1941, another Japanese sub sank the SS Prusa near Hawaii. Several other December attacks occurred within 20 miles of the California and Oregon coastlines. On February 23rd, 1942, a Japanese submarine bombarded the Ellwood oil fields in Goleta, California. The war by Japan was already reaching American shores. Decoded Japanese cables from 1941 described Japanese spies in southern California who were reporting on movements of troops and supplies. The cables also said there were Japanese-American spies in the U.S. Army. A U.S. Army intelligence report from January 3rd, 1942 said, “‘there can be no doubt that most of the leaders within the Japanese espionage network of Japanese clubs, business groups, and labor organizations continue to function as key operatives for the Japanese government along the West Coast.” In 1944, 28% of draft-age Japanese-American evacuees refused to swear allegiance to the United States or to forswear allegiance to the emperor of Japan. When given the chance, 5,620 Japanese-Americans chose to abandon their U.S. citizenship. The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II will remain controversial...as will the WW II internment of German-Americans and Italian-Americans, and the internment during World War I of 6,300 "European-born civilians". Keep in mind that Canada and Mexico also moved Japanese away from their coasts during WW II. It was a time of total war, and sabotage by just a few enemies could have had devastating effects...

Here's another recent find - a version of "Double Talk" imprinted for the Freedom Information Center of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Yes, the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade was an association. Some of the literature I have has their address in Long Beach, California. But the comics have an address in Houston, Texas. See the pics for samples of different versions of the Two Faces of Communism. I think Pflaum worked separately from the Guild. The Guild seemed to publish under several different names including Catechetical Guild, and Guild Educational Society. The "This Godless Communism" booklet has no publication info on it...

Those are great comics! Love the old cartoony style of illustration. Looks like great page quality, too.

What a pile!

This Godless Communism - Found this weird black and white pamphlet with some other material from The Christian Anti-Communism Crusade, publishers of The Two Faces Of Communism and Double Talk. Reprints the opening episode of the Treasure Chest series, with Reed Crandall art. Could be a prototype/mock-up/ashcan for a proposed but unpublished stand-alone publication of "This Godless Communism?"

WOW! Highest in census and a double cover! GREAT!