vaillant

I suspected that… But maybe it wasn’t even him which stated so, I can’t recall. At any rate it was a member which seems reliable, but I found odd that in 1941-42 they might have used plastic. The Shock Gibson kit is awesome!

Many thanks! I think it’s very useful…

Thanks and great… I see it has been pinned. I will see to update it.

You lucky robot!

I don’t know how accurate this might be, but recently I was talking about the badge on Facebook. I do have 2-3 copies of the 1990s "reissue" in plastic, and (IIRC) Bob Beerbohm stated that even the original, in its later production, was made of plastic. But as you have righteously pointed out here, it seems more likely to me that there were two prints but in metal. I honestly don’t know. At any rate, given your commendable interest and love for the period both on the collecting passion front and on the historical profile, I take the liberty of pointing out this thread I did time ago, trying to make a comprehensive list (to keep updated) of all the threads on Golden Age comics specifically related to the war climate, events and themes: And also a recent sales thread I am running which was very welcome (to my delight) also about non-american material of the period, always related to comics, illustration, interwar and WW2 propaganda:

Given how nicely my sales thread has been welcome, maybe it’s a good time to revive this attempt I made in 2017 for a "comprehensive directory" of the GA wartime threads here; Also in the hope that it may get pinned! @CGC Mike

There are some “classic covers” in Master Comics featuring Capt. Marvel Jr. itself, which are not common but surely affordable. And (trivia!) Capt. Marvel had Italian editions (together with local characters!) in the late 1940s!

Given it’s been so welcome, I will keep looking for certain items while I hope to find some time to devote to small upgrades to my research — to present here in English as well. I also hope @Sardo Numspar might drop here once again — he’s the one boardie which already purchased some of the Italian material from the past & he also had a very cool american book which I’d liked to purchase that I hope he has kept.

Thank you! Also: The Four Favorites #16 has SOLD via PM.

Wonderful thread Ed! I am SO glad I already have a Captain Marvel #11 and Famous Funnies 89. Some of these quite "haunt" me, but I must stay put!

Four Favorites #16 (Ace Comics, November 1944)
 VG-/VG (slightly brittle, delicate along spine) Usual crudeness and weirdness in the Magno & Dave and Unknown Soldier stories in this issue (scans from the Internet). Louis Ferstadt cover. In order of appearance: "Magno and Davey, 'A Confusion of Terror'"; "Unknown Soldier"; "Lash Lightning, 'You Can't Tell a Book by Its Cover'" art by Louis Ferstadt; and "Captain Courageous". "Boot Hill Recruits" text story by Cliff Howe, reprinted in Super Mystery Comics Vol. 4 (1944) #6. 52 pages. This copy is delicate as it has some brittleness, especially around the spine which caused a beginning of tearing on the upper part: pages however are supple and it can be read without harm, but with care. Given this I would grade it as a VG-/VG even if it presents better. I will add a back cover scan later on. Asking $260 / 240€ SOLD via PM

I have another Samurai postcard — this one was sent to my own city (Modena) Samurai postcard by Boccasile ("Postcard for the Armed Forces", 1942) The "Samurai" postcard by the great illustrator Gino Boccasile, which could have easily been suitable as a comic book cover in the hypotetical case Japanese were doing comic book sized publications during the war… :-) Circulated. Military Mail from the 16th division. Issued by the National Fascist Party, this one does not have a precise date stamp, but is dated December 9, 1942. Asking 42$ / 38€ SOLD to IngelsFan

I forgot to tell that Testimonianze #8 is still available as the buyer picked another copy that I had via PM.

The mad scientist and sorcerer Virus adventures were collected in comic book format (in Mondadori's Albi d'Oro run) straight after the war. These are two issues of from my collection, issue 7 is of Mefistofele, a faustian adventure masterfully drawn by Rino Albertarelly on the italian Mickey Mouse journal. NFS

@crassus: Caesar’s most important stories and characters mostly have not been published in USA. An exception are the first issues of Sky Blazers, which feature the first adventure of Will Sparrow (rechristened "Sky Pirates"), Italy’s proper very first "anti-hero", a villainous air pirate created for the italian Donald Duck journal (aimed at a more mature audience than "Topolino" and graphically created by Caesar). But I think it was not published in full. I do have issue 2. NFS. Caesar then worked occasionally for american titles like Jungle Comics (in issues 117 and 118 he draws the "King of the Congo" feature), Rangers Comics and Wings Comics and later (among a million of other things) for the german market with the character of Perry Rhodan. Please, beware that many of the informations shared and published around the web are inexact and inaccurate, so take them with a grain of salt. Information on "King of the Congo":

Kurt Caesar has been one of the three leading artists/writers from the italian journal "Il Vittorioso". An amazingly fascinating figure, he was german and had married a german woman which ran a small publishing house during the Weimar republic. Since they did not like the climate of nazism, they moved to Switzerland around 1930 (while he was doing editorial illustrations for European agencies) and eventually established themselves as italian citizens. At this point Kurt started to work for the main comics publications for children, for Mondadori and many others. At some point he was involved with A.V.E. (Anonima Veritas Editrice), one of the leading catholic publisher which had just launched — in 1937 — a journal produced by italian writers and artists alone. Caesar became one of the three "columns" of the journal, together with Sebastiano Craveri and Franco Caprioli. When he was contacted, they asked him to create a "perfectly partriotic" italian action hero (but not formally expressing a fascist rethoric), and thus Romano was born, and his first adventure was set in the Spain divided by the civil war, before the beginning of WW2. Caesar was uncomfortable with war and the nazism policies, but when the conflict came into full swing he was enlisted and had to go back to Germany. But he eventually went to serve the troups of General Erwin Rommel as an interpreter and field artist, remaining behind the lines and documenting the Africa campaign. The result was partially published in a 1942 illustrated volume where he also provided texts and translations (his interest in ethnography and ethnology turned this, more than a war report, into a fascinating documentation on the native populations). When he came back to Italy, his growing unease with how the war events unfolded, prompted him to join the italian resistance as an "undercover agent", and he even freed two young partisans from fascists which arrested them (I have had the blessing to meet and interview one of the two before he died in 2016). And there is a lot more… went through the war events and lots of things are not easy to document. I had to stop my research after my parents death due to a lack of time/resources, but I sincerely hope to be able to continue. And the interest, passionate response and purchases from this thread are an incentive and a great motivation for me. Thanks much everyone!

While I wait to see if there are preferences for the journals, I will prepare a first round of invoices for the buyers so far (thanks much). In the meantime, a 10% discount will be active for who already purchased items from the thread. Thank you!

Let me know which thing inspires you more, and I will take pictures and list some issues.

And then I have a huge number of loose numbers of the journal which started it all for me, Il Vittorioso, from 1937 to 1947. Its unique feature (and gamble) was to decide to publish italian authors' strips only, since the beginning. Among the leading authors are Kurt Caesar (an author with an amazing life full of surprises) with his Romano (Italy's romantic nationalistic hero) Sebastiano Craveri with his delightful and deep "funny animals", la Famiglia Zoo, and Franco Caprioli, a master artist which has been among the leading influences of artists like Milo Manara, up to 1945, with Bonanno and Paparella's I Ragazzi di Piazza 500 ("The Boys of Piazza 500") a real italian "kid gang" (unusual in comics here) operating in the poorness of the streets of post-war Rome, between partisans and german soldiers, allied turned to enemies, and the already shown Benito Jacovitti with his amazing trio of kids, Pippo Pertica e Palla, fully immersed in the war climate itself with the story Ciak, and many others. Here’s an assortment of pictures to show the variety:

Then I have a run of L’Intrepido issues from 1946, the ones preceeding the gas chamber issue that I listed and was purchased. It’s a very long story and the full year runs of 1945 and 1946 are rare. Many of these are in very nice shape, and scarce. They contain episodes leading to the scene in #53, with german soldiers, beautiful women, partisans, a field priest, exploiters and jackals. About ten issues or a bit more. Here’s a pair of pictures:

Then I have two issues of the uncommon journal Le Journal de Toto. Toto was a kid sailor created by Spirou's creator Rob-Vel before of Spirou himself. Similar in themes and ideas. It was published in France up to 1940, when the german occupation resulted in the "nazification" of the press and the closing of most children publications (and the launch of the aforementioned Le Téméraire instead, in 1943). On Toto the war begins to peep out in two of Toto's own story arcs, but even more relevantly, it constitutes the setting of a very original strip, Boule de Neige, Tirailleur Sénégalais, which features a "daredevil" character of a pugnacious and humorous black soldier, and his french comrade. The whole story runs across issues #156 through #171, which is the final issue before nazist occupation of France. I assure you that they are pretty scarce, and uncommon in nice shape. I have two duplicate issues in nice shape (and I am acquiring more as I am missing a number)., #166 and #167 IIRC. Here’s a pair of pictures.

Since the italian and french comics journals are large, difficult to picture and show adequately, I was wondering what might be more of interest to list. So I will make a small informal "poll". First, I have a beautiful sequence from 1939 of L'Audace (the journal where Ciclone/Superman appeared later on in 299) running from 276 to 285 — almost full run. These are rare, and a very important historical run: Mondadori bought the title from the previous publisher and basically made it a showcase of what represented the top italian talents of the time: Angelo Bioletto with his amazing Don Quixote (which would have subsequently influenced Pierlorenzo De Vita in creating the Disney version featuring Donald Duck), Italy’s very first villain to become the star of a comic strip, the nefarious Virus, Sorcerer of the Dead Forest, drawn by master illustrator (and later "GGA" advertising star) Walter Molino, Rino Albertarelli seminal westerns, which would have been sort of forerunners of Bonelli’s fortunate Tex Willer, and many more amazing italian strips, intertwined with american material (Popeye, Tarzan, etc.). When Gian Luigi Bonelli purchased L’Audace most of the amazing features were brought by Mondadori on the most successful of his own journals, the italian Mickey Mouse, Topolino. Included in this lot is also a copy of Topolino #356 (1939) featuring the very first appearance in Italy of Mickey Mouse outwits the Phantom Blot (obviously predating the american collected edition in Four Color #9) Here’s some pictures: Opening page of the very first episode of Virus (on L’Audace #276): Bioletto's Don Quixote: More Virus villainy: The first appearance of the Phantom Blot in Italy:

Nice condition! The Ace books are hard to find in VG and above.

Dang… I will pray for him. Isn’t there any board member which is directly acquainted with him?

@Roo_Phillip: Did he reply to your email?