selegue

Very fun stuff. That page reminds me of early Dr Suess. Any chance that he had a hand in it. He was born in 1904, so the timing isn't impossible, although Bails' Who's Who doesn't have any comic-book credits for him. Thanks for posting these. Jack

Here's one bought off the forum -- not high grade, but great for the price. All-American Men of War 90. Just nice enough to toss on the scanner to scan a page without ruining its "value": Story 1, page 3, Jerry Grandenetti, right? And Roy Lichtenstein's triptych, "As I Opened Fire" I know that a lot of comic collectors rag on Lichtenstein for "stealing" images, but I like him. He never tried to hide his sources, and he did transform, not just copy, the originals. Jack

Here's one that I've been after for a while. A very nice copy of The Great Society Comic Book 1 from ckb (Chris) that started as a single book purchase and ended up being shipped with 45 lb of low- to mid-grade Dells. (Anyone want to trade Four Color reader copies?) SuperLBJ is knocked out of commission by a chunk of his kryptonite, ALCUFE (for my chemical elements in comic books fetish). It's a cool book with lots of topical political references. The cover has an unusual textured finish that was tricky to scan. Thanks, Chris. Jack

Anyone who saw ckb (Chris Brown) at the recent Boston show (photo by DickPontoon) probably wondered about the sheet-itting grin on his face. Here's the explanation. What started as him selling me a single book, The Great Society Comic Book 1, turned into a 45 lb box! Mostly the foetid backwater of comic collecting, low to mid grade Dell comics, plus a short stack of nicer books for my "chemistry in comic books" fetish. I ended up with about 90 Four Colors toward my reader run and about 50 more FC duplicates (some condition upgrades). I'll be indexing obscure Dell books at GCD for the next year! So Chris was happy to get rid of a whole of box of books that he'd never be able to move, and I was happy to get them at a very attractive price -- he even covered the substantial (even at Media Rate) postage! The book that started it all? A gorgeous copy of The Great Society Comic Book 1, featuring SuperLBJ losing his powers to a chunk of his personal kryptonite, ALCUFE! The book has a very unusual textured cover that will probably be a bear to scan. Not quite a Holy Grail, but I've been after it for several years. Anyone want to swap Four Color reader copies? I can provide a list of my spares and wants. Please PM because I don't check this forum very often -- too much temptation, not enough storage space! Kudos -- a whole bunch of 'em -- to Chris Brown. Jack

Seriously, does anyone mind seeing low-grade fillers for the "missing" books? There's a full run at GCD, so it's nothing you can't find elsewhere, but I can fill some gaps. If the point is to post copies that board members actually own, I'll jump in. I just received a huge box of mostly Dells from the board's ckb (Chris), including about 90 Four Colors that I didn't have and another 50 that came along for the ride. They're in about fair to fine condition. (Anyone want to trade Four Colors books?) I also got enough Short Bus books to keep that topic busy for the next few months! Who loves Dell's Angel? Jack

It's a bonus on the Bedroom Ballroom CD. If you like these Felix books, you'd probably like it. .... Jeez... did I type that? Bedlam Ballroom. Jack

HAW! I'm with you, 'Troop. Just enjoying the ride because I KNOW I'm never going to get one of these beauties. Speaking of which, is this a paratrooper cover? I have no idea what's happening on that cover. The perspective is bewildering. Is the guy with the gun a giant? Is "The Eye" hidden in the palm tree shooting out his eyeball ray? Jack pass me one o' them beers

Wow. What are they, political progaganda Tijuana Bibles? From the staple size, they're maybe 2" x 3"? I'd say that's a safe bet. Not a chance! Jack

I'd guess a mouse, but they don't walk on two feet or wear clothing. Seriously, it's a BLB cover (only?) with the cover art of the first Mickey BLB but the title of the second, right? The first "variant"? Tell us the rest of the story! Jack

I think that Uncle Milty deserves reserved seating in the Short Bus. I can't recall a single cover in the short-lived series worthwhile. In fact, isn't the cover to # 1 a prime candidate for the Short Bus Hall of Shame? In fact, that's one bizarre cover! Younger forum members may not be aware of some of Milty's shticks -- the artist (who?) managed to pack in a reference to Berle's penchant for gay jokes (he often dressed in drag) with the waving handkerchief and also his "anatomical reputation" with the positioning of the flagpole. Probably people seeing this on the newsstand at the time would have caught the gags. Jack

It's a bonus on the Bedroom Ballroom CD. If you like these Felix books, you'd probably like it. Probably better than me, but I'm learning. Could be -- people advise me to look at the secondary characters, because the lead character is probably drawn from a strict style sheet. Jack

Were 15, 46 and 77 all strip reprints, and original material started with 119? Judging from the cover blurbs, that might be true. 15 looks simpler than the others (secondary characters) -- could that me Messmer himself? 46-119 look like maybe the same artist. 135 art looks a little different to me, but maybe I'm putting too much weight on the coloring (pink face). (But I'm lousy at art ID.) I like this style. Have you ever seen the video of Squirrel Nut Zipper's "Ghost of Stephen Foster" that uses the same look? Jack

When in doubt, check the Month thread. Here are the relevant snipets: "Joe Oriolo .... Thanks. Where was he, under Felix's own title? Do you think that's his work on the Four Color cover? I find the board Search function less than useful. HEY MODS, here's a vote to pin "Month in the Life" to the top of the GA forum! Jack

Very nice! Any idea who drew this issue? Jerry Bails' Who's Who suggests Otto Messmer, John Stanley and Joe Oriolo (who?) are possible. Same artist on the inside? Jack

I could, but maybe I should show some Centaur or Fox first. Detectives are posted so frequently already. That's the spirit! Show us some books that we rarely or never see! Great collection and scans. Thanks. Jack

Yes. I've thought that Dagwood was one of the last men on earth that I'd like splitting an atom. I can think of others I'd like less -- some in high government positions, in fact. You've probably heard of them! Jack

Today, the Short Bus takes us on a field trip to the SCIENCE MUSEUM! First, Dagwood Splits the Atom (King Features Syndicate, 1949) gets the long back seat not only for content, but also for its awesome condition! (I know I overheard some of you saying it's in AW-something condition.) As a special feature, you can readily judge the paper quality with only a cover scan! And that's not all! The cover can amuse the kids as a jigsaw puzzle! (Does anyone have a copy that comes in one piece?) But let's take a look inside. It's not every day that you see Mandrake instructing Dagwood about how to make a 6" uranium nucleus undergo fission by blowing a neutron at it through a giant pea-shooter! Dagwood's buddy, Science Comics 5 (Ace Publications, 1946) gets to share the back seat. This book not only sports another paper-judging window, but also has a feature on the wonders of cheap wood-pulp paper. There's also a remarkable story about how a modern, streamlined facsimile recorder (about the size of an old console television) will automatically "print" the morning newspaper in the average home of the future. (My scanner was giving me fits on these books!) Jack

HAW! Possibly the best "unnecessary exposition cover" ever. Do you suppose that the word balloon is there for DC's blind customers? Jack "Look, he posted his name!"

WOOT! Fangs, Jay! Yeah, we care. Hurrah! Comic books got insides! Nice overview -- thanks. Jack

Wow! I have two copies of this book but neither is in this league. Stunning! Why is this book common? I have multiple copies too, although nothing even close to this 9.6 grade. Was it overprinted by DC, or saved by collectors in unusually large numbers? The idea that some comic books were more collectable than others was beginning to sink into kids like myself at the time, and "everyone knew" how collectable Ditko's early Spider-Man comics were. I've plucked some of the later versions of Creeper out of quarter bins and bargain lots. The character has the same name and general appearance -- or not! The Vertigo version merely borrows the name. Jack

Cinderella's more popular than I would have thought! Lots of foot fetishists out there! Jack

Somebody called? There is nothing wrong with flowered sarongs! Absolutely not! It should be universally encouraged. Apparently trollin' for babes in flowered sarongs! I don't usually resort to graemlins, but I wondered why Marquette U was distributing US Fed Reserve comics! I had requested some from the govt site a while back and a few were out of stock. I thought this was a followup with the missing ones. Not just received, but I was in the mood to index some easy books: Federal Reserve books indexed at GCD They're all there! Did you tell me that they were coming? Sometime my whatchamacallit that you remember stuff with ain't what it used to be. Answered on line instead of PM for a public thanks! Jack

A very bizarre story, even by Silver-Age DC standards! A detail that interests me is that, as I remember it, gold blocks kryptonite radiation in this story. In Weisinger's hands, lead had this ability exclusively and at near-magical levels (i.e., the lead in a tank of leaded gasoline was capable of fully blocking kryptonite rays, yet thick layers of other metals were totally ineffective). Did Kashdan (editor) and Haney (-script) dream this up themselves? Can anyone think of another example of kryptonite being blocked by something besides lead? (Apologies for the deep-geek question.) Jack

Wow! I've never even seen that B&B cover before! And a grey tone to boot! Be careful posting babes in flowered sarongs -- they'll attract Scrooge! I've been meaning to read this thread for a while and at last did. I'm in awe of the wonderful copies of early issues. My lowest numbers are reader copies of 30 (I think with a duplicate), 31 (coverless), 32, 35 plus an attractive fine- 35. None are where I can get at them for scanning. (I'd be interested in trading away the duplicates next time I get to "the bin".) Some people are pledging their love of the pre-hero B&B, but I especially liked the title right up until DC turned it into an exclusively Batman teamup book. The adventure, showcase and oddball teamup issues (Metal Man/Atom, Starman/Black Canary, etc.) were great. Even Strange Sports were a change of pace, although I never would have "wasted" my 12¢ on them at the time. The Batman teamups had some high points, but month after month? Keep 'em coming! Jack

Awesome book Cioric. Congrats!!!!!!! So whats next now that you have a book like that?? Thanks MK! What's next?? Financial recovery!! Before or after the reconstructive surgery? Jack They weren't getting used anyway... Bah -- more trouble than they're worth, huh? Jack non habet conscientiam