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Hey now! According to court documents Garcia’s comic collection was assessed at $30000 in 1997. (Page 2 item 8) http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/jerry-garcia-dead-mans-touch-green-0 There was a Bonham’s auction that sold off Garcia’s comic collection of mostly ECs in several lots. I’m not sure of the auction date. (2007?) There were multiple copies of some issues. The conditions looked decent and the prices seemed reasonable? The buyers premium is outrageous- 27.5% for first $3000 bid and 25% for over $3000 to $400000 bid! The EC lot with Crime Suspenstories 22 was probably the best deal. https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25922/#/aa1=1&MR1_length=12&w1=list&m1=1

It’s always interesting to see collections of other fanatical collectors. A neurologist Dr Steve Lomazow started collecting all the July 1942 “United We Stand” magazines with flag covers in the 1970s. He said 838 magazines participated and I think he has all of them. I think he is a completist. Check out the video of his “United We Stand” collection and check out all the comics. https://www.americanmagazinecollection.com/videos/ Take a guess which magazine he believes is the most valuable. Hint: it’s a comic He has a pulp collection too.

I remember buying a few cheap model kits by Linden that were sealed with 2 pieces of scotch tape in the early 70s. Here is a picture of a kid in a toy store around Christmas 1964 in southeast Kansas. You can see some cellophane wrap reflection from the Aurora, Revell kits on the left and from the Hawk and Monogram kits at the top.

One thing I have been picking up from some of these older photos is the mesh-like wire (as seen in your photo in front of the Coca-Cola / Drugs signage - definitely something I think I should have him integrate). The wire mesh signage you believe to see in the Long Beach drugstore pic is actually paint on square clay tiles. Wall tiles were typical American exterior building decor from that period and they can be seen at the base of the Arlington store. If you like signage, it can be seen at Shinders newsstand in Minneapolis Minnesota in the late 40s. Comics are in the metal wire racks at right. The second pic is a street level view of Shinders. I couldn't find a bigger pic.

I recognize Discolandia Records in San Francisco since I walked by it many times. Discolandia closed in 2011 and the space is now a restaurant. In the old days there were no dedicated comic stores but only stores that happen to sell comics. Most of the time comics were sold inside with the exception of exterior newsstands. Not many of these stores are still around with vintage or 3D signage due to modernization and gentrification so the best examples would be photos from the 20s to 40s. Since your main focus is on the building architecture, here are some examples that might be of interest. However your choice would depend on the artist’s willingness for detail, work timeframe and price. See if you can spot any comics. If the artist resides in the San Francisco area, there is a building in downtown SF that is still around that could be examined. Marquard’s newsstand closed in 2004 and is now a baseball cap store. The neon sign is still there but the building exterior has been altered. Pics in order: New York City Oct 1935, New York Harlem June 1939, Long Beach CA 30s, Toronto Canada 20s, Marquard’s 2004, Marquard’s 2014

I don’t think the colors are faded. Here are 2 Gaines Files copies of Weird Fantasy 15 from the Heritage archive that shows a purple cover and a blue cover. If we assume there has not been any fading in these GF copies, I believe the difference is due to the slight variation in the mixing of the printing inks. Since comics were printed using a 4 color CMYK process (cyan, magenta, yellow & black), a slight variation in the ratio in one of the inks will make a visible difference in the color. I tried to duplicate the cover colors using a CMYK blender. For example if the ratio of the cyan ink is changed (by mixing up ratios), purplish color can turn into bluish color. So less rigorous print quality control might explain the prevalent cover color variations in Fiction House books and other comics that people have discussed previously.

Part 2 Worldcon guest panels With amazing foresight the panels at Worldcon were archived on tape by a local radio station KPFA-FM from Pacifica California for future generations to enjoy. The panels contain many interesting stories and insights on overlapping topics of comics and pulps that will be of interest to many forum members. Remembrance of Things Past: HP Lovecraft and the pulps panel moderator: Alva Rogers, Baycon co-chair guests: Robert Bloch, Edmond Hamilton, Fritz Leiber, Emil Petaja, E. Hoffman Price & Jack Williamson Several writers talked about their recollections with HP Lovecraft. Price shared colorful stories of HP Lovecraft in New Orleans and he was the only one who met Lovecraft in person. Petaja and Lieber only corresponded with Lovecraft by letter. Rogers, Williamson and Hamilton talked about writing for the pulps. Hamilton said pulp writing was difficult because story payment was marginal and slow but a few writers were paid well. Pulps were a good training ground for many writers. Bloch talked about the early days of pulps, was amazed his works were collectible and considered them as “garbage collection items”. Comics panels with Marv Wolfman and Harry Harrison moderator: Paul Moslander guests: Marv Wolfman & Harry Harrison no shows: Mike Friederich, Ted White Wolfman who started that year at DC Comics as a writer gave a contemporary and behind-the-scenes look at the field of comic book writing and the challenges in entering that field. He describes the editorial changes at DC in 1968 were done because DC was trending away from superheroes and all the storylines, artist changes and additional titles were done to compete with Marvel. He said “ we were staying away from superheroes because after 10 years you get sick of it”. Harrison was a former EC artist and currently was a science fiction writer and editor. Harrison talked about his early working days in the comic industry with bad publishers like Fox which had problems paying their staff and sometimes threats of violence were made to get paid. He had cynical memories of the comic industry where kickbacks to editors were made for more work. Artists used swipes and inserted more dialog for less art to meet deadlines. He said “this field is the a55 end of creation inhabited by very good artists, incompetent writers, worse incompetent editors, voluminous incompetent publishers and good printers”. He worked with Wally Wood at EC Comics whom Harrison said was a poor artist initially but improved greatly to surpass him. He describes his days at EC Comics working with Harvey Kurtzman and Al Feldstein whom he said was a bad artist but good editor. An example of Harrison's talent evaluation was when he fired 18 year old Jules Fieffer because he thought Fieffer did a lousy pencilling job on one story. He said EC Comics were “real vomit” with good art but bad stories. He believed most comic artists were lousy and admits he was lousy inker but he was fast and could ink a page in about 18 minutes. The pay was low and about $25 per page. He said Roy Krenkel admitted doing swipes and Joe Orlando was the worst artist. After the Congressional Hearings on Comics devastated the comics industry, he became a science fiction magazine writer, editor and artist. Dealers rooms Of course pictures of the dealers room are most interesting because one is able to see what was available then. Baycon photos were taken by Jay Kay Klein who also took photos of many other sci-fi conventions. Pulps, scifi books, art prints and movie posters were available. Comics were also available from one dealer. This next picture shows the comic dealer Bud Plant as a young kid in glasses with his friends. “Well, this is quite a shot, entirely new to me. This is from Baycon 1968, the World Science Fiction Convention in Berkeley, from an archive of Jay Kay Klein's photos of almost all SF conventions. This is four of us comic book buddies, from our San Jose days, and all four part of our 1968 store, Seven Sons Comic Shop. From the left, the tall good looking blond youngster is my good friend Jim Buser; with his back to us is Tom Tallmon, who used to drive me around before I got my license and I roomed with along with first wife LeAnn, with my business downstairs; with black hair and elbow up is John Barrett, co-founder of our seven stores, Comics & Comix, and collecting buddy since I was 13; and the geek next to him with glasses is me, 16 years old. We are checking out original art at Roger Nelson’s table. Roger and his partner Jack from New Orleans took us under their wing and helped watch our table there. We visited them a couple times years later. This was the first show we four had ever attended, we all shared one lone table.” The next couple of pictures show an intriguing piece of history and some interesting items. As comic fans what sticks out among all those pulps? Who would have thought you could find a copy of Capt America 1 and some original art pages at a sci-fi convention? The original comic art has an intriguing story since Marvel did not sell or usually give away recent art pages especially not anything by Kirby. There have been numerous accounts of theft of thousands of pages of Marvel comic artwork in the 60s to 80s. Original artwork was highly desirable by fanatical collectors but it did not have a large monetary value at that time. John Morrow in the Kirby Collector magazine mentions at a 1969 and 1970 St Louis convention, 2 Marvel staffers showed up with hundreds of pages of stolen art for sale including Kirby Fantastic Four pages from 1963. Those pages sold for $10-15 per page. These photos above show a dealer's booth with the following original Kirby art for sale, all of it probably stolen from the Marvel offices according to John Morrow in the Kirby Collector magazine. Here is a look of what that artwork might be worth: “The Return of the Mole Man” page 1 splash Fantastic Four 22, “When a Planet Dies” page 1 splash Strange Tales 97 (sold at Heritage for $7475 in Jan 2006, now for sale at $12500), “The Jaws of the Dragon” page 1 splash Journey into Mystery 123, “While a Universe Trembles” page 1 splash Journey into Mystery 123 (sold at Heritage for $38240 in Feb 2016), “The Mighty Thor vs the Executioner” page 1 splash Journey into Mystery 84 (sold at Heritage for $44812.50 in Nov 2009). The highest sold price for a Kirby original is $167300 for the cover to Tales of Suspense #84 as of summer 2018. In the mid 1970s Congress revised the laws around copyright, offering longer periods of ownership for copyright holders if the proper paperwork could be provided. In 1978 Marvel began handing out freelancer contracts that guaranteed the company “forever all rights of any kind and nature in and to the work”. In recent years, the availability of Kirby's Marvel art from the 1960s has been limited. About 1900 of the 8000+ pages of Jack Kirby's Marvel original artwork was returned to him in 1987 after a long legal battle. The Kirby estate subsequently battled Marvel/Disney later in 2009 over Jack Kirby's rights to the characters he created or co-created and the details of the legal battles between the Kirby estate and Marvel/Disney can be explained better elsewhere. With the billions Marvel/Disney made off films filled with characters Kirby created, Marvel/Disney might have had to negotiate for millions for each of the characters in the Marvel universe to keep the franchises going. Disney made an undisclosed settlement with the Kirby estate in October 2014 before the case was to be scheduled for the Supreme Court. The settlement retained publisher-friendly precedent to assume that work by non-employees was mere work-for-hire and freelancers did not have a clear claim to their own copyrights. How is this Kirby estate settlement relevant to the limited availability of Kirby 1960s original art and scarcity on dealer sites? Here is a proposed theory. Original Kirby art from the 1960s is worth enormous amounts and there is a question of provenance of who owned the art. Once big money is involved, contention, arguments and lawyers could be involved. Some of Kirby's art pages were legitimately sold but many were likely to be stolen and the chain of ownership would be difficult to prove after many changes of hands. Art dealers don't want to peddle stolen goods and few could afford to give it all back if that became the case. Would you want to be served a letter and have the financial means to deal with the lawyers of the Kirby estate or Marvel if they decide they are interested in the return of original Marvel artwork in your possession? It is probably a good idea to not show what you have and only make deals in private. People will find ways to connect with their hobby community and pursue their hobby interests even in changing and difficult times. This Covid-19 crisis will change many things in the comic collecting hobby but many collectors will adapt over time. I miss going to cons, talking with other collectors and perusing the back issues. However I am fortunate there is a virtual community on these forums where I am still able to pursue my comic interests. Hopefully some of you will share some interesting “comic collecting in the Covid-19 era” memories for future generations. References Worldcon Photos http://www.fanac.org/worldcon/ Worldcon Demographics https://www.adastrasf.com/report-worldcon-membership-demographics-1961-1980/ Worldcon Reports http://www.jophan.org/1960s/chapter8.htm 1960s Berkeley protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960s_Berkeley_protests Kirby's missing 1960s artwork https://www.pipelinecomics.com/the-mystery-of-60s-marvel-jack-kirby-original-artwork/ Kirby original at Baycon 1968 https://books.google.com/books?id=zeeDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA135&lpg=PA135&dq=stolen+kirby+art+baycon&source=bl&ots=TU4CHO7Qra&sig=ACfU3U08C-uRkX_bXhAwtSWdQvAsbqJ0kQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjSrI7CibzpAhUJDKwKHXX5BtEQ6AEwCnoECBsQAQ#v=onepage&q=stolen kirby art baycon&f=false Kirby-Marvel/Disney lawsuit https://ami.org/professional-resources/advocacy/legal-news/318-understanding-the-kirby-case Kurk Busiek on Kirby-Disney lawsuit https://www.cbr.com/kurt-busiek-breaks-down-the-marveljack-kirby-legal-battle/

Part 1 In January 2020 I began thinking about the national and international political and health crises but I didn't know the eventual magnitude of the Covid-19 crisis. At that time my mind was filled with thoughts about personal and work concerns but I found my mind drifted into thinking about an upcoming comics only convention and what comics I hope to find and acquire. Some people might ask why am I thinking of comics when there are so many important things going on? I would say comics are a diversion and they remind me of my happy times as a youngster reading comics. In challenging or difficult times, entertainment can serve as a morale booster or diversion from harsh reality for a short time. I thought about how some people still attended a fan convention during a time of great social upheaval in 1968. As I did research on the 26th World Science Fiction Convention or Baycon 68, a science fiction convention held in Oakland California, I found many photos and documentation about Baycon 68. The 26th World Science Fiction Convention or Baycon 68 was held in Oakland California August 29-September 2 1968. The World Science Fiction Convention or Worldcon is an annual convention started in 1939 to promote interest in science fiction and the previous 1967 convention was held in New York. Did anyone here attend Baycon 1968? America in turmoil 1968 The year 1968 was one of the most tumultuous years in world history that was marked by historic achievements, shocking events, an unpopular war and a spirit of rebellion in many countries around the world. In America, the dominant topic was the Vietnam war and the North Vietnamese launched a series of coordinated attacks against Saigon and other key targets in South Vietnam in January during the lunar new year (Tet). The Tet Offensive surprised US and South Korean forces causing heavy casualties and was a turning point in US involvement in the war as media coverage brought the horrors of the war into American homes daily. President Lyndon B Johnson and his administration had become increasingly unpopular and Johnson surprised everyone by stating on March 31st he would not seek a second term in an election year. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in Memphis and news of his murder sparked rioting in many cities. The assassination of the leading Democratic presidential nominee Robert F Kennedy in Los Angeles left the Democratic Party in a weakened position to challenge the leading nominee Richard Nixon. There were numerous protests and demonstrations by college students against the war and for civil rights in many cities throughout America. Thousands of students, antiwar activists and other protestors poured into the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and were met with a violent police response that injured demonstrators and media personnel. Daily reports of violence and conflict at home and abroad polarized many Americans and widened the generation gap. Meanwhile North Korea captured the Navy intelligence vessel USS Pueblo and its crew and held them in a POW camp for 11 months before their release could be negotiated. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were thrown off the Olympic team when they bowed their heads and raised their black-gloved fists in a recognized salute to the Black Power movement during the playing of the American national anthem in the summer Olympic awards ceremony in Mexico City. Three astronauts in the Apollo 8 mission, Jim Lovell, Frank Borman and Bill Anders became the first humans to orbit the moon. The classic sci-fi movie 2001 by Stanley Kubrick was released and it would win a Hugo award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1969. The Hugo award is the most prestigious science fiction award voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention annually. Worldcon 1968 Worldcon is the principal annual gathering of science fiction fandom and has been held every year since 1939 except 1942-1945 because of WW2. It is the oldest convention with a continuing existence. Baycon 68 was held at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland near the Berkeley city border which was located less than 2 miles from the UC Berkeley campus which was one of the epicenters of student protests and demonstrations. The World Science Fiction Society kept detailed records for every convention. There were 1841 attendees where 1338 were registered Society members and several hundred non-registered walk-ins. Photos indicated attendees were older and demographics showed that the attendees were less male oriented than comic book conventions. Registered attendees were 66% male, 30% female, 4% other and 58% were first-time attendees. Baycon 68 had almost the same schedule of events as modern day fan conventions: dealers room, film showings, art show, awards banquet, costume events, fan demonstrations, guest and creator panels. Unfortunately the hotel had no air conditioning and the beginning of the convention coincided with a heat wave which caused some cases of food poisoning from the food buffet. Sci-fi guests One of the reasons people attend fan conventions is a chance to meet and talk with famous or favorite creators. The guest of honor for Baycon 68 was Philip Jose Farmer and many prominent science fiction figures attended such as Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Jack Williamson, Edmond Hamilton, Forrest J Ackerman, Anne Mccaffrey, Leigh Brackett and Lin Carter. Anne Mccaffrey, Leigh Brackett, Blanche Williamson, Edmond Hamilton & Jack Williamson Bradbury signing and fans meeting and talking with Bradbury SCA pictures Several events organized by the Society for Creative Anachorism (SCA) were a Medieval Tourney and medieval party with colorful costumes, medieval music, dancing and free beer. The SCA is an immersive history group that studied and recreated Medieval European history and culture before the 1700s. Berkeley riots Berkeley was the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement (FSM), a massive long-lasting student protest that was the first mass act of civil disobedience to protest against the university's ban of on-campus political activity in 1964. Students wanted to lift the ban of on-campus political activities and acknowledge students rights to free speech and academic freedom. The FSM was influenced by the New Left, related to the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement. There was backlash against the protestors by voters and conservative officials. Worldcon took place at the same time as the Democratic National Convention where thousands of protestors converged in Chicago and encountered a violent police response. It is interesting that Baycon attendees were watching simulated armed combat in the Medieval Tourneys here while actual violence was happening a few miles away near the Berkeley campus. Attendees who stayed at two downtown Berkeley hotels were exposed to tear gas dispersed by police to quell protesters. Here are some examples of the situations that people faced during regular demonstrations in Berkeley in 1968. 1968 Riot video (no sound) Numerous and larger Berkeley protests arose in 1969 and one protest escalated into a large riot involving up to 6000 people after agitators started throwing projectiles at police on May 15th 1969. The violence between police and protestors resulted in one death, dozens of injuries to police, demonstrators and bystanders. Governor Ronald Reagan sent 2700 National Guard troops to Berkeley and the city was under military occupation for 17 days. 1969 riots video Costume pictures The costume contest is always a popular event at conventions and there were many creative costumes compared with professional cosplay of today. Lin Carter as Elric of Melnibone Dr Strangelove Other participants in the costume contest

Documentary runs about 25 min. 20 min montage of her comic book work before film and 20 min color montage of her art exhibition and 2007 Comic-con appearance after film.

Considering the timing of the name change from Batman to Le Justicier in the original art page, one would have to be aware of the social atmosphere in German occupied France. France had surrendered to Germany in June 1940 and Les Grande Aventures published their first issue in September 1940. The Nazis had banned all comics in the late 1930s under the 1933 Smut and Trash decree after discovering the majority of comics were produced by Jews from America who the Nazis believed had a hidden agenda against the Nazi party. Superman had worldwide popularity but he got the attention and raised the ire of the Nazis since they discovered the co-creator of Superman Jerry Siegel was Jewish. The February 1940 issue of Look magazine published a 2 page spread showing how Superman would end the war and a copy found its way to Das Schwarze Korps, the weekly paper of the SS. http://sequart.org/magazine/23691/on-how-superman-would-win-the-war/ The Superman character as a super-human created by a Jew went against their beliefs that the Nazis were the only ones capable of creating a master race. In the paper Das Schwarze Korps, April 25, 1940, Jerry Siegel was discredited by saying he “ is a fellow who is intellectually and physically circumcised and has his headquarters in New York. He invented a colorful character that boasts a striking resemblance, a strong body, and a red suit…The creative Israelite named this pleasing character with an overdeveloped body and underdeveloped brain ‘Superman’.” https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/superman.htm As for the Batman name change, my speculation is that the letterer or translator just transcribed on the page from the original comic dialog without thinking. Later on before publication, an editor or the letterer/translator thought about the potential harsh consequences of going against the censorship rules against American comics and made the name changes to disguise the American origin. I believe that the publishers did not want any undue attention to face repercussions from breaking censorship rules. Imagine what consequences the publishers could face if the Nazis had discovered Batman’s creator Bob Kane (birthname Kahn) or uncredited creator Bill Finger also had Jewish backgrounds. Before the fall of France, Superman was renamed to Yordi in the strips. After France surrendered to Germany, Superman was changed to L’homme d’acier (Man of Steel) with original stories by French creators and had no costume. The Superman strip was published in Belgium but it disappeared after Belgium fell to Germany. You say it may be rare, but truthfully I didn't pay much for it. $79 total and it was all paid with my ebay bucks. I just thought it looked cool because B & R weren't wearing masks. Rarity doesn’t always equal high value but if more than few people find your item “cool” then it will be more valuable.

Your French Batman Sunday paper has a fascinating history. You have issue 7 of the French 8 page weekly Les Grande Aventures with a publishing date of November 10 1940. The dimensions are about 11 X 15 inches and contains 4 black & white and 4 color pages. Les Grande Aventures had 70 issues between 1940 and 1942 and the the first issue was dated September 26 1940. Your issue contains a 1 page adaptation of Detective 39 page 11 that has been redrawn and resized. The tremendous popularity of comics with new superheroes extended overseas and some foreign publishers obtained rights to American comics for adaptation and publication. Superman, Batman and Mickey Mouse appeared in French papers. After the defeat of France by June 1940, the country was divided into 2 regions: occupied France in the northern region with Nazi German forces and Vichy France in the southern region which was controlled by a puppet regime without German forces. Your copy of the weekly would be considered quite rare since it was published during wartime in German occupied France during material shortages, probably did not have a large circulation and publication would be sometimes interrupted by bombings or fighting. The French had bigger problems than keeping children's papers after the war and it survived French scout organizations that collected old papers for recycling throughout the decades. Batman previously appeared only once in issue 261 of the black & white weekly Hurrah! from June 1940 which was a montage of 2 stories. The beginning of the episode is taken from Detective 33 which was Batman's origin and the rest of the episode is a translation of the story in Detective 28. The paper shuts down due to the war and Batman's next appearance would be in Les Grande Aventures #1-8. Batman was renamed Le Justicier. Les Grande Aventures 1 starts the adaptation of the story from Detective 30. Issue 5 starts the adaption of the story from Detective 39. The characters will reappear in the pages of number 30 of L’Audacieux de 1940 dated September 8, 1941 where Detective 49 is translated. Batman and Robin only appear in issues 30-34, 37, 39, 41 and 43. This is the link to the issue 1 of Les Grande Aventures with the Batman page: http://collections.citebd.org/ark:/12345/AA6064/1940/09/26/v0004.simple.selectedTab=thumbnail You can look at some other archived issues of Les Grande Aventures in French: http://collections.citebd.org/ark:/12345/AA6064? The artwork was redrawn, recolored and panels resized to fit the weekly format. The dialog balloons take up a larger portion of the panels because French dialog translations take up more space compared to English which is a more precise language. The artwork has been attributed to the French artist René Brantonne. The art has a lower quality probably due to the short time allotted to complete his work. It has been noted that the names have been changed and the masks of Batman and Robin have disappeared. There are several theories concerning these major modifications during wartime in occupied France. The first is based on the opinion from the wartime censorship committee. The committee did not like masked heroes because it believed that masked heroes encouraged clandestine actions and could serve as inspiration to resistance fighters. Second, the censorship commision regularly gave unfavorable opinions to the publications of foreign and notably American comics even though America had not entered the war against the Axis yet. The comics were redone to hide the origins of the American comics in order to make them pass for French creations. Several years ago someone on the boards discussed about the existence of the earliest original Batman artwork. What was found was a page from issue 2 of Les Grande Aventures. How it survived wartime France is a mystery. Side by side comparison: Much of this information is from the blog (in French) by Jean-Michel Ferragatti describing Batman comics during WW2: https://www.comicbox.com/index.php/articles/french-collection-17/

I like to trace former owners too especially if they write their address. This is what discovered about Shirley Kutina from her comic.

SF Cartoon Art Museum https://www.cartoonart.org/ Someone asked about comic stores to visit in the San Francisco area and I mentioned he could visit the SF Cartoon Art Museum if he had time. When I checked the website, I found there was an exhibit of EC horror comics original art that was ending on March 1st 2020. It was a rare chance to view EC original art up close so I made an effort to visit the museum on the last day before the exhibit ended. I’m glad I got to see the EC art before it was gone and I know some EC fanatics would be interested in this exhibit. I had visited the museum many years ago when it was located in downtown but I had not visited this new location near Fisherman’s Wharf. This new location has a main gallery, 2 side rooms, a small bookstore and is much smaller than the downtown location. One side room is a library of old and new comic related books that one can read but not check out. I apologize for a few blurry photos since the glare from the lighting and glass made it difficult to get good shots for a few pieces. Walking in was the new exhibit of original art from the graphic memoir “They Called Us Enemy” based on actor/author/activist George Takei’s childhood when he was imprisoned in an American concentration during WW2. On one wall visitors were asked to put their family names on tags (just like in WW2) on the wall if their family were interned during the war. In the back I was excited to see a couple of WW2 DC original art covers. After looking closely at the description I was disappointed to find they were only digital reproductions. The “Pre-code Horror: Scary Stories and Ghastly Graphics from EC Comics” exhibit was in the next room and most of the art was from the collection of Eric Roberts and a few pieces were from John Butler. On one wall was a collection of EC Comics inspired masks created by Trick or Treat Studios. It’s rare for me to see so much EC original art in one place and even rarer to see 3 complete stories together. I took shots of all the description boards as I went around the room. Here are some splash pages and a cover by Graham Ingels and Wally Wood. Here is a complete story by Al Feldstein. Here is the infamous complete story “Foul Play” by Jack Davis. Here is a complete story by Graham Ingels. On one wall were 2 mock-up newsstands full of EC comics (covers only). More splash pages and covers by Ingels and Davis. I admired all the art especially the fine draftmanship by Davis and fine detailed linework by Ingels. You can tell the quality of the artwork was so much better than most of the other comics at that time. There were only about 10 people there and after 90 minutes, I was the only person left. Only 2 people looked at the EC exhibit while I was there. As I was leaving, I looked at the Batman exhibit where they had movie costumes and props from Bronze Armory Studios,

If you have time check out the Cartoon Art Museum near Fisherman's Wharf. Featured current exhibit ending March 1 is pre-code horror original art from EC comics. https://www.cartoonart.org/visit

In the distant past there were no answering machines... Hey guys! Anyone here on the boards get a phone call from Charlie? He says there are a bunch of new comics at the drugstore that you might be interested in. There is Feature 46, Action 38, Thrilling 18, The Funnies 56 and couple of new ones called Military and All Winners. There are lots of books left but looks like Military and All Winners are popular since there are only a few issues left. All the books will probably be gone by the time you see this. The release dates for the comics are Action 38 May 22nd, All Winners 1 May 20th, Feature 46 May 23rd, Funnies 56 April 30th, Military 1 May 2nd, Thrilling 18 May 20th so the date of this photo is between May 23 & 29 1941 because Feature 46 was on newsstands May 23rd and the next issue of Funnies #57 would be out on May 29th. The comics fit in the Fawcett magazine rack pretty well.

Cleveland Ohio 1939 In my never-ending search for historically interesting photos, I came across this great 80 year old newsstand photo online. Although this photo scanned from an old fanzine is blurry, there is enough detail to pick out many of the comics & magazines. This photo is of a newsstand in Cleveland Ohio located on the corner of East 105th and Euclid avenues from the week of December 18th 1939 and that date is based on the December 18 1939 issue of Time magazine with president Herbert Hoover on the cover (3rd row, right side). Ever wonder what a newsstand would look like with a major first issue? This photo has the first newsstand appearance of a major character Captain Marvel in Whiz 2. Whiz 2 was the first entry in the comic book business for Fawcett Publications. What is also fascinating is the appearance of 2 advertising placards promoting Whiz 2 with the cover and the words “Just Out” on the counter. Would that placard influence your decision to buy Whiz 2? These are the comics I see in the middle rack: 2nd row: Ace 34, Champion 3, Marvel Mystery 3, Adventure 46, Superman 3, Whiz 2, More Fun 51, Feature 28, Smash 6 bottom row: All-American 11, Pep 1, Amazing Man 9, Flash 2, Fantastic 3 These are the other comics that I believe are on the bottom row but not sure: Keen Detective Funnies 17, Silver Streak 2, Wonderworld 9 When I showed this picture to Primetime, he was able to quickly spot the Fantastic 3, Superman 3 & Marvel Mystery books. Can you recognize the other books? What is also interesting is the location of this newsstand is one block away from the building that once housed Joe Schuster’s art studio at 10609 Euclid Avenue. Marc Taylor Nobleman, author of “Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman”, posted an old photo of that building on Euclid Avenue. So it is highly possible that either Joe Schuster or Jerry Siegel could have walked by this newsstand.

Why are these pictures of this Harlem newsstand so fascinating to me? Look at the comics and the closeup pictures and read my explanation below. The comics in the stand are: single series 6 Jim Hardy Tip Top 39 Feature 22 Keen Detective Funnies v2 #7 The Funnies 32 All-American 4 Action 14 More Fun 45 Famous Funnies 59 King Comics 39 Crackajack Funnies 13 If you take a close look at the newsdealer, he is holding and counting a stack of new DC comics because that back cover is a Johnson Smith ad that appears on DC comics with the cover date of July 1939. The previous month's back cover was a Spencer Fireworks ad. The DC comics that came out that month are Action 14, All-American 4, Adventure 40, Detective 29, More Fun 45 and Movie Comics 4. Which of these comics are in his hands? There could be a fortune in his hands. So this is a photo of new comic day in 1939 at the very moment a newsdealer is about to put out or just finished putting out new comics. A closer look: Adventure 40 back cover The Action 14 was only on this newsstand for a few days according to the on sale date of June 2nd as seen in this DC house ad for Action 14. [ The movie stars on the covers are Carole Lombard on Silver Screen, Tyrone Power on Screen Romances, Tyrone Power & Alice Faye on Motion Picture and Paulette Goddard on Look. Goddard was married four times including marriages to Charlie Chaplin and Burgess Meredith. The date of these photos is Thursday June 8, 1939. One clue is the sign for the Annual dance on June 26, 1939 and the tabloid headlines about the death of the wife of Esquire artist E. Simms Campbell dates the pictures.

I am reposting this since my old pictures were blurred for removal by P-bucket and I hope these pictures would remain by using another image hosting site. Harlem New York 1939 We will take a detailed look at two pictures of a Harlem New York newsstand taken for the Federal Art Project by Sid Grossman in 1939. Harlem New York, a 3 square mile section of Manhattan, is well known as a major African American residential, cultural and business center. In the period after World War I to the mid 1930s, there was a literary, cultural and artistic movement that kindled a new black cultural identity that was called the “Harlem Renaissance”. This outburst of African American creative expression resulted in many literary works and artistic works of which the best known is jazz music. There were many socioeconomic factors contributing to the Harlem Renaissance. There was a great migration to northern cities because industrialization created demand for unskilled industrial labor and offered escape from the institutional racism of the southern states. However, job losses during the Great Depression and the deindustrialization of New York City after WW2 contributed to increased rates of crime and poverty in the neighborhood in later years. A few of you might have seen this picture before but may not have taken a closer look. See if you can figure out the exact date of when these photos were taken from all the details in the closeup pictures. It may be possible to determine the exact address of this newsstand from a 1939 or 1940 New York City phone book. This stand was packed with newspapers, magazines and comics and in the closeups you will be able to identify many of them. You could get a lot of things for a 5 cents in 1939: a newspaper, a loaf of bread, and from the pictures a jumbo malt, a shoeshine, a sausage or a ham or bologna sandwich with a free root beer. A dime could get you a valuable comic if you picked the right one and held onto it for 60-70 years. What would you get? Notice the gumball machine on the left. Let's get to the the good stuff first: comics! Okay, I'll pick out the easy one. Can you see that Action 14? Identify the other books. I'll let someone else to do the work of identifying all the pulps in the newsstand. Can you identify the movie stars on the bottom 4 movie magazine covers? More pulps, magazines and a newspaper are on the left side. In these closeups, you can see some of the major African-American newspapers and tabloids of the period. Newspapers and tabloids are held by clothespins near the gumball machine. Hitler was the subject of tabloid fodder in True Story magazine but probably wasn't a major concern yet in many American lives since most people were concerned about getting out of the depths of the Great Depression. In a short time, he will become one of the faces of the enemy and on the minds of nearly everyone. Here is the second picture of the same newsstand. How many of you have ever used a relic from the past like a rotary dial payphone? Another closeup of the comics from the second picture. Here's a closeup of the pulps. Here's more pulps to the left of the newsdealer. [ This is a closeup of the newspapers. Elmer Simms Campbell Coincidentally the name Elmer Simms Campbell appears prominently on the headlines of African-American papers that day. The subject of race relations is still a divisive issue after the end of forced segregation and after the civil rights movement in America. So it is noteworthy to recognize individuals who acheived successful careers despite the social barriers during their lifetimes. Elmer Simms Campbell (1906-1971) was the first African-American nationally syndicated cartoonist and a very successful commercial artist who is best known for his art and cartoons in Esquire magazine. Campbell was born in St Louis, Missouri to school teacher parents and later moved to Chicago. He first gained national attention in 1926 with his award-winning Armistice Day cartoon for his high school newspaper. In the cartoon, Campbell drew a soldier kneeling in front of his comrade's grave with the caption “We've Won, Buddy!” At age 14 he attended the University of Chicago for a year and then finished his education at the Art Institute of Chicago. Upon graduation he went to work as a waiter in a dining car on the New York Central Railroad. His big break came one day as he was drawing caricatures of train passengers. J.P. Sauerwein, the manager of Triad Studios was so impressed with his work that he offered Campbell a job at his St Louis art studio. That job gave Campbell the courage to move to New York where he worked at an advertising agency and was able to sell his work to many magazines. In October 1933, Esquire magazine hired Campbell and gave him creative freedom as long as there were beautiful girls in his drawings. He contributed art in nearly every issue of Esquire from 1933 to 1958 and created the magazine's pop-eyed mascot “Esky”. His work might be of interest to aficionados of good-girl art since Campbell is known for his drawings of voluptuous women in harem outfits. His good-girl art was compiled in this 1945 Cuties magazine. Here is an example of a 1939 cartoon. caption: Esquire, "Personally, I'm willing to close my eyes to Reverend Thornton's methods-- after all, the basket fund has already doubled last year's record." Campbell's most popular character was a voluptuous red-head named Cutie who appeared in these 1944, 1946 and 1950 Barbasol ads. Campbell describes the interesting origin of the character Cutie in the interview below. Campbell describes his working methods, friends and frank opinions in this September 1, 1945 article from The Afro American newspaper. Campbell 1945 bio Campbell was certainly aware of the irony that he was making a successful living drawing white women in lingerie at a time when southern states mandated jail terms for blacks whistling at white women. It is unknown if Campbell ever met Matt Baker but since they were both artists known for their drawings of beautiful women, Baker certainly would have been aware of Campbell's art and it might have had an influence on Baker's drawings of women. He also drew children's books and penned comic strips such as Phantom Island that was primarily for an African-American audience. Campbell had an interesting personal life. There was much newspaper speculation about the circumstances of the death Campbell's first wife Constance, however the medical examiner pronounced the case as a suicide and attributed her ill health as a motive. Incidentally, Elmer married Constance's younger sister Vivian in 1940. Campbell wasn't just an artist since he wrote articles about racism and music for Esquire. Campbell socialized with many famous jazz musicians and many were his close friends including Cab Calloway. Here is Calloway singing one of his signature songs, Minnie the Moocher. If you thought Michael Jackson's moonwalk and spin moves were original, take a look at Calloway's dance moves from the 1930s and 1940s. A map of the night clubs in Harlem drawn by Campbell. His later commercial art appeared in other national magazines such as Ebony, Cosmopolitan, New Yorker and Playboy. His daughter Elizabeth, a fashion model, married the famous photographer Gordon Parks (1912-2006) in 1962. Campbell was not happy with his daughter's marriage since Parks was twice the age of Elizabeth at that time. Parks would later divorce Elizabeth in 1973. In the mid 1950s Campbell moved to Neerach Switzerland because he was tired of the racial prejudice in America and stayed until his wife died in 1970. He returned and lived in New York until his death in 1971. Can you figure out the exact date from these pics? Answers to follow later. A picture is worth a thousand words. References Harlem Renaissance Lives from the African-American National Biography, H.L. Gates, E. B. Higginbotham editors, 101-2 2009 Billy Ireland Cartoon Library Museum blog, Ohio State Univ. http://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2013/02/28/found-in-the-collection-e-simms-campbell-letters/ Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance, Sandra West, 56 2003 Escape from the Rat Race, Ebony November 1966, 133-138 http://books.google.com/books?id=9zlc1lcRd44C&pg=PA132&lpg=PA132&dq=simms+campbell+ebony+1966&source=bl&ots=9_iHXItTzK&sig=DCGvplu_IaCrOpjVF9c38Wes0HM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BsVuU8qoCYOxyAS5noKICA&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=simms campbell ebony 1966&f=false

A few of you seem to be afraid of reading your old comics in fear of causing damage to them. I dare anyone to read their comics in the water like these kids. The first kid is floating and reading Little Lulu 71 in Steeplechase Park at Coney Island in New York on July 24 1955. EC comic sighting! The second kid has no fear in reading Haunt of Fear 8 in a lake in Humboldt Park in Chicago in August 1951. Comics are meant to be handled and read. “Only thing we have to fear is fear itself” - Franklin D Roosevelt

Uncle Scrooge squeeze toy ad from Donald Duck #71

I did another search and the picture is from a bookstore on Markham St in Toronto Canada around 1974. http://www.mirvishvillagetg.org/home/good-bye-to-mirvish-village-honest-eds/

I found the picture on another comic book message board but it had no source info.

Glad to see some new pics! Here's one pic for you EC fanatics. I think this is an old time hole-in-the wall store from the early days before bags & boards. Anyone recognize the guy? How do you display a bunch of ECs for sale? You clip them to the wall. Notice what looks like little price tags stuck to the bottom of the covers. I wonder what books are in those boxes...

I think you misunderstood the artistic intent of using the same panels. My interpretation is that the panels represent a cinematic style where the self-absorbed main character is in the foreground and there are other people talking in the background. Comic panels are static and various methods are used to convey movement. The characters are just talking and not physically moving so their changing conversation convey the passage of time. As you can see in the later panels the main character is lost in his own thoughts especially in the black panel where he is spotlighted. Although a little bit of time was saved by using the same panels, I think it would be artistically lazy if there was one panel with just text or one panel with huge word ballons of the conversations. That would not look as nice. EC books were much better written and drawn than most other comics of the time.

The second list is just a comparison of census numbers for other popular books that didn't make my top 50 list or from other ages.