Sharkey

Major Kudos to the following forumites. They sent payment faster than Petey can wolf down Aunt May's hot cakes!! and to: Sid Flying Donut Marvelcollector 143ksk comix4fun AlexH *Bronze age fan*

NICE!!!! I just LOVE those TTA Hulk/Giant Man split covers!!!

WOW never seen this page before , , which title/issue is it from ? That's from FF1.... Cool piece! Do you think it's actually from 1961, or do you think it is a stat that might have been used to do one of the many reprints of FF1 at some point since the original art may not have been available?

I started a thread for this but I should probably post it here too.... Journey Into Mystery 125 Thor Splash by Jack Kirby

Kudos to Andy (October) for superfast payment on a nice TTA 31!

Dude, that's a great set. Not many people have a run of 1-6, not to mention in those grades....

I'll add this one for the trifecta... [/img] That's AWESOME!!! Now to make the Quadfecta don't forget the Hulk CAMEO appearance in Fantastic Four 5:

Thanks for the kudos! I knew a girl in California who owned a red Ducati Monster (motorcycle). She named it "Gossamer" because in the old cartoons Gossamer was a big red monster.... Gossamer (Rudolph as well) Wiki link Nothing like Monster-In-a-Can

Nice Hulks Joey! Here's a couple "early" Hulks. Do they count?

Great idea, Adam! Ok, I have posted this before, but what the heck. Here's a nice pre-hero Pedigree'd book (Pac Coast)

That makes it 3rd highest graded copy (1 in 9.4, 2 in 9.2). Very tough indeed..... I love this annual!!!

Scott, nice pickup!!! You back into buying?

Mar-vell, Them's some SWEEEEEEEEET Strange Tales! Man do these bring back the memories...

Paul, what gorgeous books!!!!

It's definitely interesting -- what I'd consider some of the more well-known and high profile "giant monster" movies like THEM! (1954) or "It Came From Beneath the Sea" (1955) were done in the early to mid-1950s. Many of the pre-hero giant monster ideas were clearly lifted from some of these movies and similar stories -- but they came 5 to 6 years after some of the more popular giant creature movies. But remember 1955/56 launched Godzilla, so it's possible that the comics were just a few years late in picking up on this concept, but once they did there was no stopping them! Gorgo which was a Godzilla clone, was a 1960 movie, so maybe the genre was just a late-bloomer for comics? In addition other things happening in the late 1950s early 1960s were flying saucer sightings like the very famous Pacific Sightings in 1959, on the heels of Roswell NM in the late 1940s, etc -- and a lot of the pre-hero stories reflect the concerns of alien invasions, giant creatures (many of them extra-terrestrial in origin), and witchcraft. In 1957 the Russians launched Sputnik, and the whole Red Menace issue took on new life. So you have a LOT of things coming together in the late 1950s, early 1960s that stoked the imaginations of the public (and Stan Lee!) at the time. And thank goodness they did or we would not have had these wonderful comics! Good questions, especially when you compare S-F vs Monster era : TOS #1 (January 1959) - #4 (July 1959) : S-F TTA # 1 (January 1959) - #4 (July 1959) : S-F ST # 67 (February 1959) - #69 (June 1959) : S-F Then starting in August/September 1959 the monsters start in the three titles Could it be linked to some movie (or movie genre) that became popular in the summer of 1959 ? Searching on the web I found the following movies from year 1959 :"Giant Gila Monster", "Behemoth, the Sea Monster", "Gigantis, the Fire Monster" and "Monsters of Piedra Blanca" that have the same type of monsters than the one seen in ST, TOS and TTA from 1959 on... Before 1959, big monsters movies were more S-F type. Maybe that's where Stan Lee got his inspiration.

Oh yeah, baby, give the pre-hero TTAs some loooooove!

That's why I picked it up. I have a 5.5 and that's the nicest I've ever owned. I love that cover! You and me both. An AA/AAF Masterworks would be superb. I was hoping they'd start with that instead of Tales to Astonish!!

You nailed it, Red. It's an illness, I swear it! You know, I love the books. I just can't help myself. I did sell a chunk of them off. But I will keep buying them when I see something I like. I seem to do this about every 6 to 7 years. Keeps the hunt fresh or something, I don't know.

Angelo, those are all GREAT books! Keep it going! Sorry for cross-posting, but in case you don't go into Comics General or Comic Events, here's my pickups from Chicago, all Pre-Hero naturally! Also, I posted my extremely late and brief con report in the Events section: Rhino's Chicago Report Strange Tales 85: Return of Gargantus! I have always loved this cover because of my deep-sea fixation. AAF 8: I have a copy of this book, but any time I see a decent copy that's better than a 4.0 I'll probably buy it. A gorgeous red cover and incredibly hard to find in nice grades! TOS 34: Probably wins the award for the most panels in a multi-panel cover! I always liked those multi-panel covers, like the TOS 23, 28, etc. TOS 35: Nice copy and Watcher prototype to boot!

Glad you are finally out here posting your sweet, sweet Pre-Hero books, Angelo! It was great meeting you at the Chicago Con, sorry I missed the majority of the show, but my scuba trip rocked. I'll post the goodies I picked up on preview night as soon as I have time to scan them!

Kudos to the following forumites for purchasing my [embarrassing lack of self control], I mean sweet, sweet books! - The Collector - JimJum12 - TheWatcher - FineComics - blutobc

Nice pickup Rob, and NICE PRICE too!

Well, that guy is pretty cute. Have you been to the Galapagos? If not, I highly recommend a trip. Seeing the various tortoises and the differences in the way each species on each island evolved and adapted to its environment is absolutely amazing. Here's a pic with one of the dudes:

I collect comic art and some comic-related statues, but my wife and I try to collect a piece of art from every country we visit (all sorts of stuff, statues, paintings, mixed media, just whatever strikes our fancy that is representative of the region we visited). In addition, we have been working on some Mexican Folk Art, such as the Alibrejes by the Linares family of Oaxaca. These are wildly imaginative papier mache pieces featuring bizarre creatures. We have several and hope to get more. The thing is, they are not particularly easy to display, because they are just plain bizarre. But we figure, so are we, so what the heck....

Here's another example of some of the changes to the art from the original pre-hero book to the 70s reprint. Journey into mystery 65 vs Where Creatures Roam #1. Note the difference in the body position of the guy right in front of the monster, the change in the woman by the door, and the elimination of the man on the left, replaced by a couch -- as well as the orientation of the monster's head.