selegue

Issue number? Thanks, Jack

Are you sure? My buddy, Fester Bestertester, says so. Jack

"an unnecessary carbuncle on the neck of civilization" HAW! I like it. Custom title territory! Jack, a necessary carbuncle

You bet! Jack

Of course you do. BZ, what is your favorite thing - the one thing you'd hold onto after everything else was gone? FD, you need to specify whether body parts are included. Jack

I thought this was the Bush administration's travel guide for 2008 Olympic attendees! Jack just in case

Now those look great to me! My favorites of the stack. Showcase 77 has been on my want list forever. It seems to show up less often than others in that range. Fantastic copy of Thor 153. Way nicer than my copy bought off the news stand, I'd wager. Quite a haul! Must have been a good show. Jack

No criticism meant of your great copy, and I admit that I also own one, but OOOOOGGGGG! Does anyone else think this cover is an absolute train wreck? One of the pug-ugliest superhero suits ever (a chest window? That only works for Power Girl), Rick Buckler at his Rick Buckliest with thighs thicker than BG's waist, feet so far apart that BG looks like a cheerleader about to do the splits, crotch-centric cover design, baddies in lavender and fuschia jumpsuits, impossible perspective (the baddie at lower left is shooting almost straight up, yet the blast hits a building across the street), pseudo-hip dialogue..... Sometimes I just don't get the Bronze Age! Jack

Thanks for the close-ups. Some gorgeous, straightforward cartooning on those covers. I could imagine Kelly having a hand on some of them, esp. Snow White (V3 #5, 7, 9 -- I really like simple #9) and the animal covers like V4 #7, V3 #8, maybe even V5 #7 and V 3 #12. Isn't that about the time Kelly worked for Disney? Jack

Gawrsh! I almost agree. If just reading them is completely the point, then I could probably pick up Essential Fantastic Four 1-5 for under $25 and be done. If there weren't something special about an original copy, we wouldn't all be posting on this forum. Jack

Thanks! 1-14 (I'll be satisfied with reprints on those, barring miracles or very good luck), 21-23, 25, 26, 29, (36 have coverless), 131, 166, 169 and then a bunch of quarter-box issues from 265 up. FF from about #30s to 80s were my favorite comics back in the day. Jack Some of those issues are pretty cheap in low grade, even the earlier issues. Keep at it and I bet you complete it some day soon. I gotta agree, I loved the early FFs, especially 39,40,44,45,46,48,49,50,52,55,56,57,58 ...ah hell they were geniuses at Marvel. I'm definitely a "cheap in low grade" and "keep at it" collector. The most I've paid for ANY FF is $35 for #20, which I really wanted for the Molecule Man appearance. That's over double the price of the next most expensive issue, #31! (Fortunately I bought the tough issues for 12¢, probably from Rose's or Karnik's Variety Store -- very possibly the 12¢ came from turning in 6 returnable pop bottles! Several issues in the teens are real beaters, bought from a VCC seller on this very forum. I wouldn't be surprised to complete the set from #11 up, but doubt that I'll ever find 1-10 at prices that I'm willing to pay. Reprints will be OK for those. Jack

Very nice Jack, great issue. Which ones do you still need? Thanks! 1-14 (I'll be satisfied with reprints on those, barring miracles or very good luck), 21-23, 25, 26, 29, (36 have coverless), 131, 166, 169 and then a bunch of quarter-box issues from 265 up. FF from about #30s to 80s were my favorite comics back in the day. Jack

QUACK! Great catch -- one of the tougher Four Colors. Is it a duplicate? Jack

WOWOWOWOW! Great group shot. If you're willing to scan V2 #s 2, 3, 4, they would complete the gallery at GCD. V4 # 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, probably some others could use replacements too. I'd be glad to upload them if you post them here. The series is almost unindexed at GCD. Is there any Walt Kelly artwork? (I swear there's a full Kelly bibliography on the web, but I can't find it.) Congrats. Jack

Now show us the Bad! Jack (you can keep the Ugly to yourself) thanks Jack, but for a run that has this kind of stuff, i figured the jeep needed to be on the short bus. . Maybe if the Liberty Lads in the jeep took off their shirts like Duke O'Dowd, The Human Meteor, you'd think more highly of #25. What's The Human Meteor's shtick? Do the Liberty Lads really have a flying jeep, or is that artistic license? Jack

Now show us the Bad! Jack (you can keep the Ugly to yourself)

Whoa -- that Bus is so Short it looks like a minivan. Glad to see so much support here for my Mr Tracy reprint. I like the Short-Busness of Nuttylife. New one on me. What does this mean? "Nice lot of covers with some interior stories. Most are incomplete." Are they mostly covers only, just a few with pages? Thanks, Jack

and slabs are the ultimate proof! Jack (but no judging by the cover)

Yeah, me too......when I was 8. Andy what are you trying to say That you've matured lately, 'Troop! Must be that fresh mountain air. Jack

Have you read "The Pulp Jungle" by Frank Gruber? I read it when it was first published in 1967 and thought it was great. .... I read it a couple of years ago and have photocopies of it. The most memorable part of the book for me was the tomato soup. IIRC, he went to a sandwich shop, one of those automatic ones in Manhattan, sat down, ordered tea or somesuch and proceeded to dump ketchup (free) into the hot water with some salt and voilà, tomato soup!! I agree it's a nice and easy book to read. HAH! Memorably borrowed in the film Midnight Cowboy! Jack "I'm walkin' heah..."

Power Comics # 3 (see scan below) ... Exactly the one I meant. I suppose the magician with top hat, handlebar mustache and goatee is an archetype, but I see a strong resemblance. Hey, Cole's doesn't have a monocle! What's up with that! Thanks. Jack

I'm no Sad Sack fan, but that's a freakin' brutal cover! I actually checked Overstreet for the "eye injury" notation -- not there. Jack

The more I learn about pulps, the more I realize that the lurid comic book covers that Wertham railed about were nothing new under the sun. Apparently you pulp collectors realized this long ago! These are striking! L B Cole's magician from -- where? A cover with multiple "floating heads". Red Sonja! What are you doing here? Hey, you two. Quit fighting and get out of Scrooge's way! The beloved Detective Comics 35 (except the Doc looks more like the guy getting the shot) and how many Schomburg "hot poker" covers? Wow -- how many Fiction House Wings Comics looked like this one? More, more, please! I really enjoy seeing the swipe sources! What an impressive collection. Thanks, Jack

Thanks for the info, BZ!. I'm always impressed by how people here have these books at their fingertips, and are willing to immediately scan or photograph them. See the attached sent to me by the off-list science fiction expert that gave me the pulpreader link. Given the original Russian publication and the text credit you just posted, the attribution of Block as translator seems feasible. Was there a lively science fiction scene in Russia in the 1920s? I'm amazed at how much early science fiction writers knew about nuclear fission, Tokamaks (the synopsis sort of sounds like one of those), etc. I wonder how many times the runaway ball of energy was used in comic book plots. At least a Wonder Woman, Superman and Atlas pre-hero story or three? Vague memories. Thanks, Jack Jack, here's a text piece missing from the Pulp Reader reprint and a clearer photo of the illustration.

The atoms are revolting! Very nice -- if you ever get a beater copy that you can scan flat, I'd love to see the illustration with better resolution. Is Orlovsky a pen name? Seems suspicious to me. What issue is it? NOT THAT I'M SHOPPING FOR A #$%^& PULP!!! Thanks, Jack Vol. 4 No. 1 (April 1929) Thankfully, I don't know which title it's from, so I can't look for a copy. Maybe my dear, sweet wife did get to you. Jack (Thanks) Why Amazing Stories of course, you silly, silly man....... If anyone else is curious about the story, you can read it at PulpReader, complete with illos. It was also reprinted with the Frank Paul art in Science Fiction Classics Spring/1968. Jack