Lost

3 or 3.5 for me

Keep an eye out on ebay... Sorry for the loss!

Sorry to resurrect a thread, but in ToS #65, it is revealed that George Maxon was most likely taken out by the Nazis, and an imposter was put in his place. It was not Johann Shmidt in this issue, or even George "John" Maxon (his name is changed in the silver age, or its a mistake for calling him "John" instead of George). Yes, Maxon as established by Marvel retcon, was never the Red Skull, but the unfortunate victim of a nameless imposter, impersonating him for the real Red Skull (see the picture). This would seemingly make sense, except Shmidt refers to the imposter Maxon as Maxon in ToS #66, the very next issue, so I can see the confusion. The first collector appearance of Johann in my book is ToS #66 where Cap has a nice face to face with Johann, who finally reveals himself to be the true Red Skull and gives his complete origin. In reality, the Golden Age Red Skull made limited appearances, each time it was seemingly the same Red Skull coming back and thwarting death. It was always assumed to be George Maxon, but the name George Maxon was never used again after the first Captain America issue. I checked. My Golden Age Red Skull Chronology of Appearances: Captain America Comics #1 (Dec, 1940) - In this issue George Maxon is courted by Hitler to sabotage American Industry with promise of a post. Maxon seemingly commits suicide by rolling onto a needle at the end. The first splash page is probably Johann with him in a full Nazi helmet if retcon is what we are after. This is what Marvel Universe Official Handbook 2009 has cited, so one of these skulls is Johann. Captain America Comics #3 (Mar, 1941) - Red Skull returns when nobody bothered to check or bury his body. He survived his own needle. He is presumed dead from a bomb blast at the end, but Cap and Buc again, can't be bothered to check... Captain America Comics #7 (Jun, 1941) - Red Skull play Chopin's funeral march and then kills someone. He speaks like it's the same Red Skull coming back and plotting revenge from his last death. If fandom want to rally around this issue as the true Johann appearance, cool. Set in America, and its established Johann didn't travel here in other iterations. Also one punch from Cap defeats Skull and sends him into murky waters. It's established Shmidt is much stronger than that in ToS #66. Young Allies #1 (Jul, 1941) - Set in Germany, could be a good Johann starting point, except the mask removed from Skull as he is torturing an agent is clearly George Maxon with his pencil mustache. Captain America Comics #16 - (Apr, 1942) - Epic story where Red Skull learns Steve's identity...and epic battle which Red Skull definitively falls from a plane and dies at the end... Young Allies #4 (Jun, 1942) - Red Skull death recapped from Cap #16 and turns out he survived the fall with a parachute and ingenuity. Story set at sea, Red Skull mask removed is still Maxon with his pencil mustache...Red Skull falls out of a plane at the end, and is REALLY dead this time. For real. I mean his shattered body with his mask on is shown on the ground. How could all of the Young Allies and Cap get this wrong...(also a later retcon made Young Allies a comic book that existed inside the Marvel Universe, based on true and fictitious stories, and also due to harmful portrayals) All-Select Comics #2 (Dec, 1943) Skull returns to United states? So he was in Germany all this time. Captain America Comics #37 (Feb, 1944) - Doesn't die at the end! Hooray! All Winners Comics #12 (Apr, 1944) - Taking over a town to turn people into Nazis Captain America Comics #61 (Jan, 1947) - Imposter villain posing as the Red Skull falls off a dam and dies? Not sure if Cap and Bucky know it's not the real Red Skull... Captain America's Weird Tales #74 (Jul, 1949) - Red Skull is dead now? The epic battle between Captain America is all a dream set in Hell...or is it... Young Men #24 (Aug, 1953) - He's back and with the Communists...Albert Malik retconned Young Men #27 (Jan, 1954) - Dies in a crash...I mean his dead body is lying there with eyes wide open after a truck crash and Cap and Bucky just run away... Please correct me if I got any of this wrong and I will edit. The history of Red Skull is convoluted with Timely not that tied to a continuity. Somebody along the line decided that Cap #7 was special, most likely from the Marvel Universe Handbook from 1989...but there is no special story attached to Cap #7 (see above) so save your money. Thankfully CGC didn't bite. Marvel itself in their 2009 handbook corrected themselves and state the first appearance of the Johann Shmidt Red Skull was Captain America Comics #1. The two Skulls were apparently working in concert those many years ago.

I managed to snag the first Cthulhu story. I was introduced to him through South Park 10 years ago and then started reading about the mythos. Cover isn't very memorable, but this is a tough to find ish. Only took about 10 years to get it!

Hi friends, Wondering if some experts on golden age stories can help me. I always remembered that George Maxon was the original Red Skull and in later decades it was resolved that Johann Schmidt was actually the real Red Skull all these years in classic retroactive continuity. Looking around the internet and even some professional publications now cite Johann's first appearance as Cap #7 from 1941. Being the wannabe comic historian, I dutifully purchased a Masterworks to read Cap #7 from 1941 and was surprised when nothing of note happens in the issue that would lead us to believe this is a different Red Skull. CGC also makes no mention of this issue as a first appearance. I'm wondering where this information came from that Cap #7 from 1941 is some seminal issue. Please be specific with issues where Johann's name is first revealed. Thanks for your help! Rich

bump

This thread needs an update with a confirmation and speculation.... Who will be the villain so powerful that it requires all these heroes?

Thanks. And this offering is for you. Not as nice as yours, but a presentable copy with great eye appeal. I didn't think I'd ever get my greasy mitts on one of these!

An Atlas grail quest complete.... :-) :-)

The solution to this thread, Give it a blue and make a note like this....

Most restoration can be detected reliably by people who have studied restoration. Reliably does not mean 100% as there is a human factor involved. I can sometimes tell if a book is restored from 4 feet away. Sometimes I need a loop to confirm what I think might have been done to a book. Once in awhile I miss something. If you are looking for perfection, then, yes, move along. The only place it exists is Fantasy Land. Many collectors learn from reading the boards, so there is always something to see here...... my tongue was firmly in cheek for the number of people who apparently can't accept missed restoration and human error in this thread and thus get off the cgc criticism and move on from this thread ...not the boards You're missing the point. As has been noted before, many people, especially those who put down large sums of money for comics, have educated themselves in restoration and grading. The problem comes when a potential buyer cannot examine a book for themselves, using their own education (whatever level it may be) to decide if the book is restored or not. In that regard, CGC (and any other grading company worth anything; currently none) HAS to be near-perfect in detecting it, because by encasing it, they've (mostly) removed the ability for the buyer to investigate on his own. It's not about making mistakes. No one that I have seen has ever said "CGC must be perfect, always, period." It's about how you go about fixing those mistakes. And if CGC makes such a mistake, they must be prepared to rigorously confront it and resolve it to the satisfaction of all parties involved, precisely because every buyer must (nearly always) accept CGC's word that a book isn't or is restored. There are literally millions (if not billions) of dollars resting on that reputation. It is, after all, why they've been paid to do what they do for the last 15 years. For all the thousands upon thousands of books that people have paid them to grade, part of that is "mistake insurance." It is the way that CGC addresses these situations that is being criticized, not that the situations exist. They don't have to address it. They cover themselves on the certification notice. And I quote.... "A good faith effort is made to detect restoration, but CGC does not warrant the process or the results." Warrant = Guarantee.

Most restoration can be detected reliably by people who have studied restoration. Reliably does not mean 100% as there is a human factor involved. I can sometimes tell if a book is restored from 4 feet away. Sometimes I need a loop to confirm what I think might have been done to a book. Once in awhile I miss something. If you are looking for perfection, then, yes, move along. The only place it exists is Fantasy Land. Many collectors learn from reading the boards, so there is always something to see here...... my tongue was firmly in cheek for the number of people who apparently can't accept missed restoration and human error in this thread and thus get off the cgc criticism and move on from this thread ...not the boards

Restoration can't be detected reliably. Accept it and move along. Nothing to see here....

Not sure I'm following the sources of crankiness. Mad at cgc for detecting it the second time when cgc states that detected restoration is made on the label thus implying that there is such a thing as undetected restoration. If we can all accept subjectivity with changing grades on resubs...A change of label doesn't seem so unacceptable to me. Mad at cgc for making the same mistake twice is fine but maybe the restoration detection people were different this books third time graded. And even if not, im sure i've made a mistake or two on my job. Mad at cgc for their responses. Whatever. How many different ways can they say they screwed up for you all to be happy. Time to find new sources of anger. Let's get mad at the crack and resubmit gamers around here. Let's get mad at the buyers who shun purple books. Lets get mad at the trimmers. Because at the end of the day this changes nothing with people doing business with them.

Cool! But I'm curious to know why the guy's ankles are skeletonized but his hands are not and why the beasties have skeletonized hands but not skeletonized faces. Me too! It must be a very Strange Tale! Great book btw! crazy beautiful

My Atlas 1st issue collection....now let's just hope I don't lose my job...

Love it! The 2 little cats with bones in their mouths just puts a smile on my face! The inking and the bold colors of the girl on this are reminiscent of Warhol pop art! Love it.

A popular L.B. Cole cover ....but nonetheless here to see for your pleasure. Picked this up a couple months ago and just came back today.

And my last contribution for tonight. I had this pegged a little lower in grade but I'll take it!

Another Atlas #1...good for 2nd highest graded and came today as well.

Just came today....

me like!

It's all about letting go.... I must profess I missed the episode of the ABC show LOST when this comic first appeared. The title is Mystery Tales, a more difficult Atlas series to collect, and known for short horror stories during pre-code era and then short often whimsical stories with different twists to intrigue after the comics code passed. If you are not familiar with LOST, basically characters crash land on an island and discover the powers it contains in a mysterious very slowly unraveling mystery that spanned many seasons. I guess this comic issue was presented as an option for a character to pick as a test of will/character in the LOST TV series. It was not picked, but that did not stop hoards of LOST fans to try and find copies of the rare issue to see why it was shown in the TV show. It turns out this little Atlas book may have been a bible of sorts. A mysterious moving land with strange powers at the beginning of the book, and the book concludes with another story of being able to relive events over again. All these plot lines were fully explored in the TV series. Although the show plot lines never fully resolved with as many answers as viewers would have liked, the impression LOST has made on TV series history is undeniable. And just as the whole point of the TV show was *letting go* of the past...so too did I *let go* of the money in my bank account for this. No regrets! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Really? I picked this oft forgotten gem as a stupid example for the movie craze sweeping comic books. But yes, it is apparently being considered for a movie. How many of you got a tinge of excitement and ran to your comic book box and started to pat yourself on the back for that NM Power Pack book you picked up in the .25 cent bin? Seriously though, if you go on eBay and search for comic books, you are bound to see "movie" in half of the listings. Does it help with the sale? Probably. Is it bad? Heck no! Anything to draw attention to the comic book industry is a great thing. Anything to draw people into collecting comic books is also a great thing. It is also nice to see the American public has fallen in love with superhero films now that technology has caught up. What is the purpose though of labeling everything movie now? *Spoiler Alert* To be ahead of the movie going public in having something they may eventually want so you can eventually turn a big profit. There. It has been said. You may now all continue to scour the .25 cent bins. But as full disclosure and a cautionary end, I am now using spare copies of Vengeance of Bane #1 to line my bird cage. Power Pack? Really? To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.