vaillant

These are among the most awesome thing of these issues content (besides the stories, of course! ).

If you go back and look at "Disney" it is surprising the variety that the studio delivered in the late forties after the initial slate of hits that you most consider classic "Disney". Films like Saludos Amigos, Make Mine Music and Fun and Fancy Free all broke the mold of what had come before. The bottom line is the Studio was willing to try new things and I think that spirit may be back! With all the due respect, I am not talking about this. I have nothing against experimentations, on the contrary this is what they need. I am talking about the overall vision, which should follow the lines of what Walt Disney meant it to be, and the little I have seen of the humour or dialogues in that movie have little to do with Disney (as a good portion of what they have been doing), although I agree there are good elements resurfacing (also in the comics, here).

The cover colors are not so great, and the overall graphic adaptation (lettering, etc.) looks a bit "amateurish), but the insides are well colored and it’s nice because it’s slightly smaller than comic book size.

To bring the thread down to earth , here’s the rather cheap (but it’s in color) first Greek edition of Fantastic Four #1 (and #2), which has been graciously gifted to me by board member lscomics (Tim). Οι 4 Φανταστικοί No.1, published by Μαμούθ (Mammoth) in 1986.

They are two different yellows (the #4 is a pastel yellow, with a percentage of the full ink), and I also think the scan/picture of the #2 might be very slightly misleading (judging the overall paper color with the help of the label).

The overall anatomy? She must have a broken spine to bend like that…

Speed 1 is the issue. I don't have a copy of that one. I still have a copy of National 18 and can make a scan of the splash page if the one I sent you wasn't good enough. I had forgotten about that one. What did you need again? I think I was stuck trying to edit the scan because the resolution was so high. Much appreciated sir, I will send you a PM. (thumbs u The scan was excellent but I need pretty high resolution. Ah, now I see the style matches. I must admit I don’t like it so much – imaginative et al, but the overall quality of drawings does not convince me, while the other artist (the one of the avatar) looks great.

I don’t think so, but maybe I am just remembering wrong – the Four Favorites #16, here you go. Bought it for a nice price, listed as a VG but the seller did not disclose it has brittle paper and it falls apart if you don’t handle it with extreme care. I needed to scan the story so I am still looking for a coverless copy.

Ah, now that’s where I remembered it from, is that also from the story from which you picked your avatar? But those were excellently drawn, earlier Four Favorites covers are often pretty crude…

But namisgr copy is cut better… Seriously, awesome #7s, mine has already been shown…

It is signed by Ferstadt, but I am not familiar with his work. Honestly, I don’t like the cover much. Actually, the Unknown Soldier story, in this case, has little to do with Hitler, although Hitler impersonates a devil-like figure which remains shrouded in mystery. The story is about personal responsibility, and its consequences, as there is a "selling your soul to the devil" situation which ends quite happily thanks to the help of the Unknown Soldier, which prompts the leading character to react and win over his own fear. Those "zombies" are something… Which year/title/issue? BTW, I still count on the high-res scan of the splash page of the National #18, if you have kept the file.

No, I am sure it was another book. I am mostly into Charles Biro stuff, and particular wartime superhero stories, so I ended up with a Four Favorites #8 and #16 for their unusual Unknown Soldier stories, but I don’t crave the title particularly. Ah, I have a #4 (with detached cover) but I am going to sell it later on. It might have been either a Boy Comics, or a Daredevil Comics, or a Steel Sterling book. Or some MLJ or Timely I can’t afford…

Thanks pmpknface – I am sure you have a book I am looking for as well, but don’t remember which one. I am not strictly a L.B. Cole fan, but this story is something, and it struck me for its originality when I extended my wartime research to GA comic books. It is indeed tough to score a nice copy at a good price, or a copy in general, this one was graded as a F- by Ted at Superworld. It has a pair of cover tears and two centerfolds detached, but otherwise is in excellent shape and I am just glad with it!

Thanks Bill – the cover is so-so, but I got fixated on it because I wished to have the inside story, by L.B. Cole (image courtesy of the DCM). I think in terms of story this is WAY better than the sought after "Futuro Takes Hitler to Hell": here in some way there is an identification between Hitler and the Devil.

In time for Christmas I finally got a decently priced Four Favorites #12 (have been looking for it for almost two years):

I am envious: this has been published only partially in the USA, but it is one of the most important italian science-fiction stories of the 1930s-1940s. Would love to find a lowgrade copy for cheap. BTW, the Chicken-headed villains are martians, and to see how this story have been culturally important in Italy, just google "Saturno contro la Terra"

Great and unusual nordic editions, Tim – and the Batman is in awesome shape. I recognize the language but is that Portoguese or Brazilian? I could not say "no" to this one, especially for the whiteness and freshness of paper. This series (which translates as "Giant-sized Fantastic Four" in English) is the second italian edition (and thus the first reprint) of the Fantastic Four series, oversized (magazine size), and the place where I have read first the Lee/Kirby story, and it’s a beautiful edition. I actually prefer this over the first edition, as the artwork is valorised while being printed on an appropriate paper stock (not the coated paper they often use for the reprints nowadays, which does not fit). While I am not intentioned to keep most of my italian editions, I hope this to be a restart, for myself, of this particular series, which reprints a good deal of the Lee/Kirby original issues (up to 85 or so).

I don’t like what I have seen of Frozen – both in terms of drawings and of story. There is little Disney, but again, there is little Disney in most of what they are doing now.

You can attain whatever you want if you love the characters. If movies respected the characters in full, we would be having something awesome by now – but no surprise things went the way they went, seeing what Marvel is doing now with his characters in comics as well.

Utter nonsense.

Super-sweet! It looks like Cavazzano’s Barks commemorative story, originally published in Italy in Topolino – honestly I quite dislike this kind of things (there have been a number in 1990s italian Disney stories, including the gang meeting Federico Fellini), especially when they are overdone.

Wow!

Wow, awesome quantity of Heritage books, and they all seem in high grade! They must be tough to find in grade… This one has been my very first FF (in Italian)…

I think a full fledged Disney thread would be even better, especially with the awareness that Walt’s vision is universal. (thumbs u

The brittle pages should hurt the price, but these days early Actions seem to transcend defects. I'm not a brittle page guy at all, so I wouldn't buy it at any price. But, that is just me It's me, too. And me. Great news on the books CB! (thumbs u