vaillant

I have an Annual #6 as well, also signed personally, so it’s a matter of choice if I have to make a "special gift". I also have a copy of the 1990s edition of Argosy magazine, with the story "Street Code" documenting Jack's childhood in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, personally signed by him and gifted to me, this is somewhat even more meaningful than the FF#8…

Well, the fact that a good number of people do not know about him does not mean he’s not popular and getting popular by the day. There are many people of that age (35-40) which probably have teenage kids already knowing about Deadpool, and now this movie gives a complete exposure to the character. People in Italy do not even know who Archie is, or most of the DC Comics less known characters (given the discontinuing nature of DC publications here) but most people will be exposed to Deadpool on a movie level, so they get to know the character and could discover the comics later on. Also, most people UNDER 35 in the USA barely know the richness of Walt Disney‘s comics universe, as opposed to most people in Europe, of all ages. This is a fact.

To me it is, cover to cover, the best golden age comic book of all time. I know that sounds like lofty praise but it was my grail book for years until Metro found me a nice copy in the late eighties (for $300!). And it is still my favorite. Obviously the front cover is outstanding. The Futuro story is killer. The Lost World chapter is incredible. And as an added bonus...the back cover is the single greatest back cover ever (someone just try to refute that claim)... The art is indeed top notch, but as far as Hitler stories go, I believe the story in Four Favorites #12 tops them all. Not only it’s "realistic", but for its depth and the themes involved. The Futuro story is fun and weird but as usual portraits Hitler as a superficial caricature and has not much of a plot. In the FF#12 one not only there is this ambiguity between the devil and Hitler (as an "image" of the devil) but the story of the young soldier is moving… Way above the average quality level of many GA stories, especially the others from Four Favorites, which often were simple and not of the same quality of the ones from Quality (sorry for the pun).

I’ve been doing that too. Also, I doubt I will "get rid" of my Iron Man #2 (from the collection of Roger Stern) and FF#8 and/or Annual #6 signed by Kirby. Hey, let’s not forget the Kirby mini-poster, that one came from him as well!

The italian one you are referring to is a reprint, the original one (above) uses the right angle. In the reprint, it was probably an adaptation suggested by the lettering box of the logo.

This one was not used anywhere, I believe. It’s an illustration of the Smurfs he did by himself, printed in a limited run of 150 copies (signed).

He was born mostly as an illustrator. Here are some of his early 2000s works done in Italy, while he was already working for Marvel. Calendars based on famous movies for our Arm of Carabineers.

And these are also great stories! #14 is a classic.

It could be interesting Ditch, especially forum 1).

They’re just minty to me and your FFs are always… BTW, I believe I miss two out of three (or I have them in super-rag condition, either one or the other)!

You lost your avatar!

In italian it’s awesome, as they translated it as "La peste dello spazio" ("The (little) pest from space"), instead of "The Infant Terrible"… One of the many classic Lee/Kirby stories that I have read as a boy and cherished a lot!

We FF fellows are not restrictive or prone to a kind of pickiness you might find on other threads across the boards… You can post whatever FF-related item you cherish as a "true believer"… I appreciate that sentiment. You guys have been very friendly and welcoming (even with a big ugly store stamp on my FF1) and I think that's pretty cool. Dave, I would love a FF#1 with a pile of dead rats on it… well, if that’s been disinfested, that is! I’m still missing it…

Keith recently bought a pair of Silver/Bronze Marvel books from my last sales thread, he was very corteous and timely in his communication, and also in his payment. Deal with him with confidence, you will not be disappointed to have him as a customer!

We FF fellows are not restrictive or prone to a kind of pickiness you might find on other threads across the boards… You can post whatever FF-related item you cherish as a "true believer"…

I don’t recall precisely GIJOEISAWESOME case (or did not follow it) but basically the bad thing was that he lied. I appreciate the fact Swagacorn stopped pretending and admitted his age, I am sure a lot of people would have done a lot badder if there was Internet as an option when they were boys… Aside from this, I started collecting at 14, and started to buy wartime material (italian Disney comics) when I was 16, so I can just sympatize and I’m sure he will learn not to lie and/or cheat…

BTW, the photos by Miyatake are wonderful…

Do you know how the stores inside the camps worked? I mean, if the japanese americans within weren't supposed to move out of the camp, did they just work the various activities, and the goods were brought in by the camp's rulers?

Um… Right.

Right, but Bill's copy is too nice for me… I am still missing too many important issues, and #68 is not high on the list, so I’d be more than happy with a nicely presenting FNVF… His has a gorgeous "undercopy" anyway!

I’m not sure but I think I still miss #68…

jpepx78: Awesome work, are the texts yours? I’d have a few stories related to italian comics of the same period but all of these require more in-depth research as there is little documentation, and I would love to arrive to write something about it – one is pretty awesome. Did you know that Earl Norem served with the US Army more or less in the zone where I live? I would have loved to interview him, but unfortunately he died recently.

David purchased a pair of SA Marvel books in my last sales thread. Genial as usual, and very timely and accurate in communication and payment – his sympathy and his purchases are much appreciated!

One of the best cover images ever as well, and I would love to have the misprinted version if it happens that I find a deal.