Zolnerowich

OK. Part 2 of 2 of this long-winded non-saga. Here are some of Tuska's actual signatures, from the 1940's to the 2000's. Original art from Captain Marvel Adventures 1941 (I think). From his 1960's Buck Rogers newspaper strip: His first Iron Man, 1968: A bit of the risqué (original illustration art, 1987): From The Art of George Tuska, by Cassell, 2005: So then, dear reader (if you've made it this far), what sayeth you? Is it George Tuska's signature? Yea or Nay?

A surprise visit from George Tuska at NY Comic Con! Well, sort of. I'm sure most of you Golden Age aficionados know a thing or two about George Tuska, but just in case: George Tuska was one of the premier artists of the Golden Age of Comics. He was there near the beginning, joining the Eisner/Iger studio. His first published artwork was in 1939, in Mystery Men #1 (pencils and inks on the "Zanzibar" story and the "Wing Turner" story) and Wonderworld Comics #4 ("Tom Barry of the Royal Mounted"), both with a cover date of August 1939. These were published by Victor Fox for his fledging comic book company, at that time under the name Bruns Publications, Inc. And from Aug. 1939, here's Zanzibar: And here's Wing Turner and Tom Barry: (Wing's got a wicked right punch!) George Tuska went on to have a prolific career in comics, and did artwork for Jungle Comics, Ranger Comics, Planet Comics, Black Terror, Fighting Yank, and notably, Crime Does Not Pay. He was artist for the Buck Rogers newspaper strip in the 1960's, and in the Silver Age he had a major impact, as lead artist on Iron Man, beginning with issue #5 (Sept. 1968) and continuing for 10 years on this title. Tuska died in 2009, at the ripe age of 93. He was still doing artist commissions almost up until the very end of his life. In fact, just 6 months before he died, there was a topic posted on these very CGC boards, on April 26, 2009, titled "George Tuska Signature Series signing". Some boardies had arranged to have Tuska sign some of their books, and it seems like everything went very well. So where was I? Ah yes, a surprise visit from George Tuska at the 2018 NY Comic Con. I went to NYCC on Sunday. Fastest line ever. Starting off strong! Crowds not so insane. Most of the comic book dealers are set up in rows 2400-2900, northeast corner of the convention center. No need to venture outside of this safe zone! A highlight of the show was watching my pal @Sqeggs bargain down the price on a handsome Sensation Comics #13 (at Harley's booth). Speaking of Harley, he had some mighty fine books at the show. In what has become my comic con mantra, I asked Harley: "Do you have any early Fox books?" Harley said, "No, um, uh, hold it... yeah, here's a few." He pulled out a couple copies of Mystery Men #6, and also a Mystery Men #5. Here is that book: Uh huh, I know what you're thinking, "meh, a 2.5 restored, piece missing from bottom left corner, upper spine a bit of a mess." Anyhow, that's what I was thinking, and was about to hand it back to Harley, when I noticed THIS: There, staring right back at me, was the signature of George Tuska! Had you noticed the signature? Harley hadn't. And it took me a while to notice it. Now, at first, I figured it was just someone's random scribbling. But the more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself it might be authentic. It just seemed to me kind of unlikely that some random person would have gone out of their way to "forge" George Tuska's signature. Sure, Tuska did draw the Zanzibar feature in this issue (see below, you can see his style has already become more sophisticated). But after all, if you were going to go out of your way to forge a signature, how about Lou Fine's, who did the cover, or Will Eisner's, who did interior artwork in this issue. I first pointed out this signature to Harley. Well, that was a mistake -- he hadn't noticed it, but once he realized that this *might* be Tuska's signature, I think I lost some bargaining power on the price. I then showed it to Sqeggs. He was fairly convinced, but suggested I pull up some actual Tuska signatures for comparison. The next post in this thread will show off these signatures.

My favorite of the bunch. Fantastic colors! And that arrow through the bad man’s thorax is going to end badly for him, and when he keels over, will also end badly for the poor girl. tho’ end very well for the crocs.

Great pickup, Kelly! I say, crack it out!

Guess it comes down to whether you prefer yellow or red. Though in general for the Planet Comics run, I think the reds tend to suffer most, so there's always more interest whenever a rich red cover makes an appearance.

I've bought from Marmat before. It's no problem with his being in Spain. Hassle free. Package was sent securely and arrived quickly.

Actually I traded it for something a bit more "all season":

Nice! I need to get me some of those ankle cozies.

Mid-December I'm told.

Assuming the Church copy has the color strike that your 8.5 has...

Them are classic Zolnerowich layouts and pencils on those black covers. The Jumbo 28 reminds me a bit of Planets 14 and 15.

This treasure belongs in the Bodleian Library! It's too nice for mere mortals.

I'll add my to your ? ... This has the aroma of two "at all costs" bidders sweating it out.

Thanks goldust40 and PUNYHUMAN!!! I'm thrilled to be part of this club for sure! The detailed line work and spectacular color scheme that Lou Fine brought to this book is just mind-boggling. And the robots! And the train! My copy has a back cover, though there's a coupon clipped out. At least the kid who bought the book was careful not to mangle the rest of it -- it's a very tastefully done coupon clipping. To your point about weak spines, I think this probably applies to a lot of the early Fox titles, certainly to mine at least. It seems all I have to do is open up my GA long box and the split grows by another half millimeter. It would be great to see your guys' copies one of these days...

In terms of grails, this one would go on my short list.

Looks like a pretty routine surgical case to me. Fabulous book!!

Such a great Fawcette cover! Puts the reader right in the middle of the action. Congrats!

OKAY, GANG, LET'S MOVE THESE BOOKS!!! FINAL PRICE DROP! ***TAKE 25% OFF ORIGINAL PRICE***

THREAD BUMP: 10% DISCOUNT ON ALL BOOKS!!!

That's all for tonight. May the Flash be with you!

The Flash #153 ….. 5.0 – 5.5 ….. ow pages ….. $80 $60 Stellar cover from Infantino/Anderson. Mr. Element and Professor Zoom (the Reverse-Flash).

The Flash #151 ….. 4.5 ….. ow/w pages ….. $70 $52.50 Another great cover with Murphy Anderson inks! Featuring the Shade aka Richard Swift.

The Flash #137 ….. 4.0 ….. ow/w pages ….. $120 $90 First SA appearance of the Justice Society of America! Murphy Anderson inks. Barry Allen in fisticuffs with Jay Garrick.

The Flash #132 ….. 5.5 ….. ow/w pages ….. $65 $48.75 The Heaviest Man Alive! Small 1/4-inch spine split.

The Flash #129 ….. 4.5 ….. ow pages ….. $75 $56.25 Some great stuff here! Second team-up with the original Flash (Jay Garrick). Murphy Anderson inks. First SA appearance (as a cameo) of Golden Age JSA members, including Black Canary, Dr. Mid-Nite, Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Atom, Wonder Woman General wear on cover and spine; name written in pen on page 1; doesn’t affect art.