jpepx78

how about something a little different...

comic strip characters have been used in merchandising since the early days of the comic strips. little lulu was the centerpiece of an extensive advertising campaign for kleenex tissues in the 40s and 50s. this spectacular kleenex billboard with little lulu was located at the corner of 43rd & broadway in new york from the late 40s to early 60s. the billboard was animated with a series of lights that made lulu jump from one letter to the next. each time she landed, it would light a letter and when she turned the corner, lulu grabbed a neon kleenex and slid down the length of it to its neon box and the cycle would begin again. it was 35 feet high with about 24000 lights and cost $10000 a month to operate according to kiplingers magazine (mar 1950). notice the budweiser & camel signs in this late 40s picture.

here's a color shot from 1957. any new yorkers remember this sign?

here's a shot from the 1950 thanksgiving parade. the catch phrase is "you can blow your head off".

a less spectacular billboard with capt marvel is on this truck in houston texas in june 1950.

here's a standard oil billboard with mickey mouse at 800 hill st in los angeles in 1939.

we will now return to our regular scheduled programming...

what happens in louisville kentucky stays in louisville unless someone takes a picture. man is reading deputy dawg four color 1238 and looks like a CARtoon magazine at his feet at a wild surfa shield corporation sales meeting (nov 4 1964) where guys dress in drag and drink beer (budweiser).

man reading superman 62 while getting a massage or a medical exam in 1950.

anyone interested in billboards with comic book characters?

superman in CKWX radio ad in vancouver bc in 1940.

let's take the wayback machine to texas, the lone star state. there is a fascinating photo essay of the spanish-speaking people of texas here. these images were taken by russell lee between april & july 1949 in corpus christi, san angelo, san antonio & el paso. here's the comic-related images...

here's a san antonio shoe shine stand where all the comics seem to be romance comics. this image seems to show the beginning of the romance comics phase since there are several number one issues. i see my love affair 1, lovers 25, my confession 7, love tales 38, first love illustrated 4, modern love 1?, woman in love 1, real west romances 2? & romantic secrets ? i'm sure someone will identify the others.

a kid reading a comic at a san antonio vegetable market.

a corpus christi grocery store with jungle 111, joe palooka 32, suzie 68, rulah 24 & murder incorporated 10.

what is that kid reading?

another image.

the kid is reading funny animals 62 at a corpus christi stand. i see police 91, amazing mysteries 33, wanted 20, boy 46, black cat western 17, smash 83, babe ruth sports 2, superboy 2, modern 86, a date with judy 11 & georgie 23. there's a few more that i'm sure our resident experts will be able to identify.

there's been lots of neat pics of pulps & comics recently. i've been thinking of the upcoming wondercon so how about a few old pics from the san francisco area?

boys in a sf orphanage in 1951. looks like boy on right is reading heroic 61 and listening to a crystal radio?

one boy's dream is to be surrounded by comics and he gets to pick whatever he wants in a taylor street bookstore in 1946. on top of his stack is detective 104. recognize the other books?

boys reading comics in sf chinatown in 1938. anyone recognize the comics? looks like boy on bottom is reading a comic with a western story.

sailor reading wdc&s 69 across the bay at alameda naval air station in 1946

anyone recognize this san francisco collector? photo taken in 1975 by ted streshinsky. looks like wolverton original art at right. nice collection.

photo of someone's collection taken by same photographer in san francisco 1978. (maybe from the collector above?) i like that target v1 #7 with the wolverton cover and the donald duck.

photo of pulp collection taken in 1978 by same photographer.

Can anyone identify the Boy Comics or, what appears to me to be, the Laugh Comics?

i believe it is boy 5 & top-notch laugh 29.

this is another photo of the same kid by dorthea lange from the manzanar internment camp.

The late, great, Leonard Brown

I'm glad you knew who that was. Too often I get this sickening feeling that the first generation of collectors are simply forgotten. If it wasn't for them, there'd be a lot less GA to collect. So many of them remain nameless, yet they loved these books and saved them when most people could have cared less.

I bought Leonard's comic collection in the early 90s. It became known as the Crescent City Collection.

His best friend for many years is our own Richard Olsen (yellow kid). He can tell you many stories about their exploits in those days

I would certainly like to hear some of those stories. (thumbs u

i was scanning ebay and found this press photo dated feb 11, 1966 for sale.

here's the caption on the back of the photo:

that's a pretty good auction find for $4.16!!!

i wonder what other books was in that crate since batman 1 & superman 1 were not worth anywhere close to 10K together back in 1966. maybe the other books are on his knees?

Awesome pics of comics in the shelter! (thumbs u

 

Jpepx78, what is the source of those?

pasadena photos are from the university of southern cal digital archives, 1957 shelter from the national archives and civil defense comic from a flikr search.

although the 1950s seem to be a simpler and stress-free period, americans were concerned with the threat from communism and nuclear war. the government had civil defense programs (remember "duck & cover"?) and some worried people built bomb or fallout shelters.

these are pictures of a south pasadena california bomb shelter taken on sept 29, 1955. the entrance to the shelter and space is tiny for a family of four. i don't think i could last more than a day or two in this extremely small space.

what to bring to the shelter? how about a few comics and games for the kids.

comics are donald duck 31 & 41, woody woodpecker four color 405. i'm not sure about the other comic under woody woodpecker.

looks like the girl is playing with a toy sewing machine.

after reading comics and playing with the sewing machine, they play chess. mom has not changed expression and looks bored.

the shelter is woefully underequipped since there doesn't seem to be any food, water supplies or any toilet facilities.

a better equipped shelter would have ample food, water, toilet facilities, battery power and medical kits like this 1957 shelter.

in spaulding elementary school in richland washington, a teacher is handing out a civil defense comic on jan 10, 1952. can anyone identify the comic from the open pages? this comic might be more useful for the kid in the shelter above...

what comics would you take to your bunker?

Look at all those mags! Toronto village cigar store.

 

some nice pics! that cigar store doesn't look kid friendly. see the sign "do not read comic books in this store" next to comics.

how comic-crazy are you?

have you ever found yourself, like in this picture, where you were so focused on a comic that you weren't paying attention to or didn't care about (ahem) what your significant other was doing? this was taken at rockaway beach new york in july 1946. that ibis 4 must really be fascinating!

That looks like a bag from a fast food joint. Wonder what places were open in 1946?

you're from new york and you don't recognize the white castle logo?

well the logo has changed since the 1940s though.

how comic-crazy are you?

have you ever found yourself, like in this picture, where you were so focused on a comic that you weren't paying attention to or didn't care about (ahem) what your significant other was doing? this was taken at rockaway beach new york in july 1946. that ibis 4 must really be fascinating!

here is an interesting article about comic obsession from aug 16, 1951 in the eugene register-guard.

how about a visit to the city of brotherly love, philadelphia?

it's interesting to see the variety and numerous crime, horror and romance titles available on the stands in this period and a few of these genres would almost disappear a few years later after adoption of the comics code.

these pictures are from the site phillyhistory.org

north broad & west lehigh on 2/18/53

some books i see are: haunt of fear, combat casey, boy loves girl, combat kelly, crime does not pay, first love 27, journey into mystery, pogo, junior, hopalong cassidy, jungle, t-man, red ryder and tarzan 42?

17th & market 7/25/52

some comics: boy 81, atom age combat 2, weird thrillers 4, weird horrors 1, crime does not pay, love confessions 23, donald duck four color 408, lone ranger 51, nevada four color 412, cisco kid 10, complete love and looney tunes 129?

special thanks goes to scrooge for his help in identifying many of the books. (thumbs u

11th & market 7/25/52

i can only identify a millie and police comic

these next few pictures contain comics but they are hard to identify.

south 15th 7/25/52

comics on the farther stand

16th & market 7/25/52

unknown location 12/17/53

this pic is for the early golden age fans and is also from philadelphia 9/8/40.

notice all those clothespins!

top row (l-r): magic comics 15, superman 7, rex dexter 1, wonderworld 18, mystery men 15, champ 11

i'm not sure what is to left of magic 15.

first, let me apologize for showing this picture again, but i wanted some of you to see the details from a large hi-res scan. this photo was taken at the southwestern corner of 32nd st & 3rd ave of manhattan on november 19, 1935 by berenice abbott. there is one comic partially hidden amongst all those magazines, hence the large hi-res scan. can you spot it?

a closer look at this 1936 new york photo reveals king comics #8 and the 10/24/36 issue of argosy magazine.

in grand central station new york, the headlines from 11-30-50 scream "considering of a-bomb!' refers to president truman's statement that he will consider the use of the atomic bomb if necessary. what comics was on the stand that day? at the bottom is little audrey #16 and pancho villa. what's next to little audrey?

I was trying to find more information on the Comic Book Magazines, and of course this is the only thing I could find: Golden Age Collection

i found this newspaper ad for the sunday comic book magazines from june 1940.

Some recent acquisitions and submissions. Fellow boardies should recognize a few of these books since I purchased a few of them here

 

i was intrigued by the chinese characters written on the book and i asked a coworker for a translation. he said it is most likely a chinese boy's name and the left pictogram means imaginary animal or beast and the right pictogram means strong or healthy. so, strong imaginary beast wherever you are, telerites is taking care of your comic book.

First acquisition of 2011

 

All the way from Italy. This is the first time I have owned a copy from this title.

 

If someone can remove the '2' sticker, please let me know. I am wondering why it is there and if it is connected to being in Italy. It seems fully original.

 

cool book and in nice condition too! it's interesting to see american golden age comics that made it to europe. i guess the sticker may be a price tag. in 1939, 1 us dollar = 19.8 italian lira.

so 2 lira was 10 cents.

happy new year everyone!

the holiday break allowed me some time to find a few more images.

new york is very rich in newsstand imagery.

lower east side of manhattan may 15 1948. israeli flag is next to us flag. wacky duck 1 in the box.

a kid reading a comic on madison ave in 1933 or 1934. is that a baseball mitt under him? looks like a comics rack on the door.

these next few pics are from the ny daily news.

new york lawyer & politician newbold morris reading paper in soda fountain in feb 3 1952. i see bugs bunny four color 376 & dagwood 16 on the left.

at lexington & 51st, a blind newsdealer is showing his license on aug 26 1946. i can see A-1 #6, camera #9, coo coo 29, jo-jo #2, young king cole v2#2 & comedy #34 (introduction of margie).

i hope someone can identify the other comics.

i think this is a fascinating june 6 1944 pic of servicemen reading about the d-day invasion on wall street & broadway. the only issue of sure shot comics #1 is at the lower right.

here's a late comic-con report for a new york comic-con held on bush ave in newburgh new york in the summer of 1937 or 1938. there were only a few dealers but there was a variety of big little books (BLBs) and golden age books. most of the interest seemed to be in the BLBs. the girl on the right is reading tip top comics 12. i wonder if there were any early detectives?

let's look back at a 1953 christmas where kids are reading comics instead of watching the television to the left. visible comics are caspar, archie 66, krazy cat and a walt disney comics & stories.

i wish everyone a happy holiday with comics!

here's a few pictures with disney books.

walt disney looking at mickey mouse series #1 in 1931.

stacks of magazines are for sale in a La Grange Georgia drugstore in 1935. in the center foreground are copies of some david mckay books, mickey mouse #4 and little annie rooney. little annie rooney was a knock-off of little orphan annie and was also about the adventures of a little girl and her dog.

a movie still from the disney movie "the shaggy dog" (1959) features a wholesome image of a kid reading a comic. the character "moochie" is reading uncle scrooge 18.

a less wholesome image taken in february 1959 is this photo of a 2 year old with a cigarette reading mickey mouse 65. more pictures can be seen here in this thread from several months ago. it is somewhat disturbing to see a 2 year old smoking cigarettes.

here is an unusual mobile newsstand in san jose california in the fall of 1939.

a closeup of the sign reads bennie's popcorn & newsstand.

taking a close look at the back of the vehicle is a rack of pulps and magazines. there are western and detective pulps but no comics. since popcorn and snacks were sold, it's possible comics might also have been sold on this newsstand.

a closeup of the door shows an ad for the october 1939 issue of good housekeeping promoting the upcoming movie pinocchio.

here is a picture of the promotional sign that was sold for $801 in a hake's auction in 2005.

the pinocchio story with pictures was serialized in the october & november 1939 issues of good housekeeping to promote the movie that was released in feburary 1940. here are scans of the story for those who might be interested. notice the mutt & jeff ad for kellogg's all-bran cereal in part 1 page 6.

part 1

part 2

#19 = Green Mask #1

#20 = The Gumps #1

NICE. Thanks for posting, I missed it the first time around.

 

I think that might be an Action 21. I think I'm seeing the Superman corner bust logo in the upper left corner (which would exclude the 14 if true), and that shape visible below the Action logo towards the left could be Superman's cape. Obviously, hard to make out though.

 

Btw, thanks very much for your contributions to the thread -- and to everyone else digging stuff up as well. A thoroughly enjoyable thread.

i'm glad you enjoy these pics as much as me. also thanks to previous contributors too.:thumbsup:

i think you have a more convincing argument that it's an action 21. when i was doing image correction, i thought i saw a vertical box on the left side of the cover which only occurs in action 12 or 14.

speaking of superman, here's some pics of 2 great boxers...

(shown before in another thread)

joe louis reading superman 12 in minneapolis minn in 1941

don king & muhammad ali looking at superman vs muhammad ali in 1/31/78

the cheercart brings reading materials and snacks to serviceman in the camp kilmer hospital in 1945.

 

in a cart closeup, i see a sensation ?, real life 19, dynamic 14, green hornet 23 and capt marvel jr 28.

 

Is there possibly a Leading Comics on top of the Sensation in the bottom row, underneath the Real Life. Problem is that neither 12 / 13 / 14 are a good fit for the image. Maybe it's another L... title. Color-scheme-wise, 13 is the best bet. Can you see it?

i initially thought it was a leading comic too but i think it's just another copy of real life.

i hope you guys don't mind seeing a few of these pics again.

these first 2 pics were linked in a 2 year old ajaxfarrell thread and further digging led to the third pic.

how about some golden age action? in this undated photo, the kid appears to have an action 14.

i know it's hard to see but what do you think? maybe this was taken in elko nevada?

this is the post exchange of camp kilmer in new jersey in 1942. on the right pillar, i see superman 18, crime does not pay 23 and doll man 3.

the cheercart brings reading materials and snacks to serviceman in the camp kilmer hospital in 1945.

in a cart closeup, i see a sensation ?, real life 19, dynamic 14, green hornet 23 and capt marvel jr 28.

this pic was also shown in another old ajaxfarrell thread but color pics of golden age books are rare and worth seeing again.

the cover of our navy magazine 1945 shows a sailor at a "gyp joint" newsstand holding a copy of shadow comics v4 #12 (#48).

other comics shown are air ace 20, blue circle 4, capt midnight 28, camera comics 2, comic capers 3, our gang 16, picture stories from the bible-new testament 1, startling 32, three ring comics 1 and young allies 14.

a few more photos of kids reading comics...

superman 158 in 1963

reading unknown comic in 1940s

reading red ryder at lake superior 1951

marvel family 27

all star 44 in 1955

reading unknown comic in june 1943

sad sack 15

mystery in space 60 in 1960

family reading goofy 19

a few newsstand pics...

cannon beach oregon 1941. some pulps, popeye 1 (david mckay 1935) and famous funnies. (#89?)

i think this pic has been shown before but the image is missing from this thread. it's worth seeing again. from mobile alabama 1948. i'll let you guys have fun identifying the comics. i wouldn't mind having that copy of startling comics 50 (2nd row left, next to little lulu #2). i hope that kid wasn't reading the killers #1.