Romance Revealed Golden Age Romance Thread

[gifflefunk]

Here's a couple errata pages full of pix not found at GCD (mostly romance titles):

 

Fox issues

 

Ajax (Four Star/Farrell/AB/Steinway)

[selegue]

Here's a couple errata pages full of pix not found at GCD (mostly romance titles):

 

Fox issues

 

Ajax (Four Star/Farrell/AB/Steinway)

 

 

Do you have full-sized (400 pixels wide or larger) scans of the missing covers? I'd be happy to upload them!

 

What are the errors? I'd also be glad to fix those. On Midnight, the cover currently up as #1 needs to move to #4? Do you have a larger scan of the real #1?

 

I can take a look at your comment

"Some Four Star, Farrell, and America's Best (Steinway) comics are listed with Ajax and others are not, the following titles are listed under other groups:"

Possibly those are a publisher vs "imprint" problem. Some of those will be fixed with the new indexing scheme (whenever that happens).

 

There's no reason to save up GCD errors. Send them to the errors list. You can send them directly to me if you prefer.

 

Thanks!

 

Jack

 

 

[gifflefunk]

I've sent along error reports to both Ray and Jerro and neither of them has bothered to fix anything at GCD, hence the errata pages. If you want to fix stuff feel free, but after SEVERAL years of sending error reports along and being ignored I figure the editors at GCD want to find and fix their own damn data and don't want to be bothered by me.

[selegue]

I've sent along error reports to both Ray and Jerro and neither of them has bothered to fix anything at GCD, hence the errata pages. If you want to fix stuff feel free, but after SEVERAL years of sending error reports along and being ignored I figure the editors at GCD want to find and fix their own damn data and don't want to be bothered by me.

 

 

??????

 

I've been on the errors list for about a month.

Simple errors usually get fixed the same day, sometime in minutes.

Complicated ones can take longer, but I don't think I've seen any reports get lost in the time I've been there.

Trying to deconvolute Golden Age publishers -- Ajax/Farrell/Steinway/whoever, for example -- turns into discussions. The new publisher vs imprint scheme should solve the problem of assigning publishers, as far as possible (since some GA publishers were intentionally obscure).

 

Unfortunately Midnight is not pictured in Gerber. Did I have that one right?

 

I hope I'm not stepping into a feud.

Believe me, this GCD editor doesn't want to find and fix our own damn data. In fact, it would be impossible without having the books in hand -- the data come from indexers, not editors. I'd be happy to be bothered by you with errors. There are a lot more editors than there used to be, which means a lot more people fixing errors.

 

Jack

 

 

 

 

 

[adamstrange]

[skypinkblu]

I've sent along error reports to both Ray and Jerro and neither of them has bothered to fix anything at GCD, hence the errata pages. If you want to fix stuff feel free, but after SEVERAL years of sending error reports along and being ignored I figure the editors at GCD want to find and fix their own damn data and don't want to be bothered by me.

 

Looks like you found an editor who cares and is responsive, Nick:) Jack is not Jerro...They both start with J's, but they have totally different personalities.

 

Interesting thread, JV:) I was never into Romance books, but there is a lot to learn here:)

[BB-Gun]

Adam Strange has posted the Dear Beatrice Fairfax 5 and I also posted the DBF 9. The issue #5 is listed as a Gerber 6 but the other Shomburg covers are G-5. And #6 is probably the best of the bunch.

bb

[selegue]

I've sent along error reports to both Ray and Jerro and neither of them has bothered to fix anything at GCD, hence the errata pages. If you want to fix stuff feel free, but after SEVERAL years of sending error reports along and being ignored I figure the editors at GCD want to find and fix their own damn data and don't want to be bothered by me.

 

Looks like you found an editor who cares and is responsive, Nick:) Jack is not Jerro...They both start with J's, but they have totally different personalities.

....

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

If gifflefunk or anyone here has data they'd like entered or corrected, I'll gladly help out.

 

Besides, Jerro's a merman, isn't he?

I have feet -- check -- yeah, great big ones.

 

Jack

 

[Blind Owl]

Nice thread; always good to see comics that I haven't seen before!!!

 

I saw that some of these books are stated as Gerber 6 on the scarcity index, but I wanted to mention that Gerber was not into Romance books and therefore it has been said on a lot of these titles he estimated scarcity numbers on some of these so they were not based on factual information.

 

If I'm wrong on this I welcome any corrections!!!

 

Having just said that, it is my belief that some of these books are probably Gerber 7 or higher books. Of course I don't really know!!! But it is fascinating and I would love to know how scarce these books really are!!!!

[Scrooge]

I saw that some of these books are stated as Gerber 6 on the scarcity index, but I wanted to mention that Gerber was not into Romance books and therefore it has been said on a lot of these titles he estimated scarcity numbers on some of these so they were not based on factual information.

 

I'd tend to agree that some of those numbers for Romance books were thrown in for good measure but are unreliable. However, I'll take this one: Authentic Police Cases # 18 is a white space Gerber 8 so it must be rare? I don't believe so but here it is -

[Scrooge]

Brain freeze. It AIN'T Romance

 

Okay, here's a romance book to make up for it -

[adamstrange]

The only catfight romance book.

 

[CArchivist-migration]

I've sent along error reports to both Ray and Jerro and neither of them has bothered to fix anything at GCD, hence the errata pages. If you want to fix stuff feel free, but after SEVERAL years of sending error reports along and being ignored I figure the editors at GCD want to find and fix their own damn data and don't want to be bothered by me.

 

My name is Ray Bottorff Jr, and I am the GCD editor referred to by Nick. Being a member of these forums, when I read the claim about my actions, I felt the need for you all to hear my side of the story.

 

First of all, this is completely untrue. Both Jerry and I have fixed errors of his. I specifically spending some time fixing the index to Yellowjacket Comics a few years ago.

 

Several years ago, Nick addressed these same complaints to another discussion list (I want to say one of the Timely-Atlas lists, but it could have been SAGA (Silver Age - Golden Age)) list. I cannot recall which it was.

 

At that time, I tried to make it clear that our ability to get error correction done was a direct result by the amount of free time anyone of us at any given time had to work the corrections. We have gotten thousands of them, some are easier than others to fix. Some are in dispute (and if my memory on the Yellowjacket Comics correction served me correctly, there was some dispute as to the publisher information and that added to the time it took to fix it). Being a purely volunteer organization, sometimes things did not get done as quickly as everyone want it to. There was a time that, maybe 2-4 people tops did all the corrections (which added to the slowness as they were swamped in work). There was a period of a year around 2002 when active changes to the database couldn't be done due to the overhaul being done at that time to the database engine. All of that added to the delays in getting corrections done. Today, there about 20 people working on errors for the GCD.

 

What I told Nick and I told everyone else who had issues with GCD error correction then was, that we needed their help. We needed people to act as editors to help us make those changes necessary. It worked. A number of people on the Timely-Atlas alone has and continues to provide changes and updates to those comics. We have people going through Julius Schwartz's records, fixing Quality and Fiction House titles, Classic Illustrated and its printings, and a ton of non-American material as well (we are aiming to be world-wide). Many of the publisher listings come from the massive lists created by Dan Stevenson, who has the most complete publisher listings known--so much so that he has been able to identify some 300 issues listed in Overstreet that definitely do not exist. We've been blessed by numerous creators sending us their additions and corrections over the years.

 

Nick made it very clear to me at that time that he refused to join the GCD. I do not remember exactly why. The offer remains by the way.

 

Looking at my own email archives, the GCD Error list has not received any corrections from Nick since at least 2005. I know I have been actively involved in recruiting help for the GCD for years before that, so I cannot say when I talked to Nick about the errors in the GCD. But it was after 2002 (when the new database was online), and before 2005. So I cannot speak to those who worked on errors before I did starting working on them in 2002, but I can guarantee everything Nick has sent to my attention has been worked on.

 

My work ethic and reputation are extremely important to me. Any job I have ever held in my life, I have always worked very hard and eventually excelled at it to receive recognition for my work from my employer. I have never treated my volunteer work for the GCD any less. I feel that not only was the comments unfair, but were an attack on a very important part of who I am as a person.

 

That is all I wanted to say, the best that I can recall several years after the events.

 

And I continue to welcome anyone willing to help the GCD. The project is as much yours as it is mine. It belongs to the entire world.

 

my best

-Ray Bottorff Jr

[BB-Gun]

Adam Strange has posted the Dear Beatrice Fairfax 5 and I also posted the DBF 9. The issue #5 is listed as a Gerber 6 but the other Shomburg covers are G-5. And #6 is probably the best of the bunch.

bb

 

I must have baked my brain while out playing golf before I posted these scans. I think the Schomburg cover for issue 5 was the best of the series and it is a G-6. The colors and air brush work are particularly good on that issue. My spelling seems to have deteriorated too since I managed to spell "Schomburg" incorrectly.

bb

[gifflefunk]

Ray,

 

To be fair, you and Jerry have made _some_ corrections in the past. Specifically those that have been requested publicly either on the Yahoo Charlton and Timely-Atlas groups, or on various boards around the 'net. However, when I've sent lists of corrections they have gone unfulfilled. I sent to you a list of Timely/Atlas and IW/Super corrections several years back that had not been acted upon. And to Jerry I had sent lists of corrections starting with GA publishers that begin with the letter A (Avon, Ajax, Ace, etc.). Some of these errors have been corrected over time but the remaining can be found on these errata pages, so I'm fairly certain that the corrections were done by others and not from the lists I had sent.

 

I stand by my statement that error reports I have sent along have not been used to fix data at GCD. The only time things seem to get fixed is when I drag it out into public view, which is why I started the errata pages.

 

 

[BB-Gun]

Here are a couple of Fox Giants. The Teen-age love has four different romance comics, My story, My Life, My Secret Life and My Love Story, but the Variety has only one romance comic, My Love Memoirs, and the others are the Black Tarantula, Jungle Jo, and Romeo Tubbs. The Variety comic is not listed correctly in overstreet.

 

 

By the way, Ray always made corrections in the GCD for me when I requested them and he sold me some pretty nice comics. Thanks again Ray. It will probably take the efforts of several people to fix all the problems with Fox romance comics. Let's work together team.

Bruce

[gifflefunk]

Does the OPG still list it as a 1946 issue? The copy I have contains Jungle Jo, My Secret Affair, Crimes by Women, and My Story contents.

 

...the Variety has only one romance comic, My Love Memoirs, and the others are the Black Tarantula, Jungle Jo, and Romeo Tubbs. The Variety comic is not listed correctly in overstreet.

 

 

[BB-Gun]

Does the OPG still list it as a 1946 issue? The copy I have contains Jungle Jo, My Secret Affair, Crimes by Women, and My Story contents.

 

...the Variety has only one romance comic, My Love Memoirs, and the others are the Black Tarantula, Jungle Jo, and Romeo Tubbs. The Variety comic is not listed correctly in overstreet.

 

 

My issue of Variety is from 1950. I have had two copies and both of them started with the Black Tarantula story. This is not what is listed in Overstreet. If you have something different then it should probably say "contents varies".

bb

[gifflefunk]

Isn't there a footnote at the end of the Fox Giant listings that says something to that effect? Most (if not all) of the 1950s Fox Giants were thrown together with remaindered issues... all crime issues got bundled into a crime title, all romance got thrown into a romance title, and random left-overs got thrown into the Variety title.

 

Checking Heritage shows issues with contents given as:

My Private Life, Blue Beetle, A Feature Presentation, and Jungle Lil.

Jungle Jo, My Secret Affair, Crimes by Women, and My Story

A Feature Presentation, Blue Beetle, Jungle Jo, and My Story.

 

 

[BB-Gun]

The Fox giant listing in Overstreet doesn't say that the contents may vary. It does say that for the St. John and other giants. When they list the contents, they give the impression that is what the book should contain. It is an understandable error on their part. I would rather have Blue Beetle or Feature Presentation with The Black Tarantula than Romeo Tubbs but someone else may not. Obviously it is important to always list the contents when selling.

 

The point of these comments is to show that Fox Giants like "Throbbing Love" may be scarce and as you point out, the contents may vary. If you are lucky you can get a Phantom Lady in one of the giants but I don't know how she would not have been sold the first time. Do you think they made too many interiors and not enough covers?

bb