Comic book collecting with a foreign variant focus 20 20

[gadzukes]

As I've picked up these Mexican Fantasticos I've had fun trying to identify the insides and sometimes there's something special.

This one turned out to be Weird Science 21 which has a nice Frazetta/Williamson story within.  Unfortunately the Mexican editor deleted their sigs from the Splash page of the story. (Is that so they didn't have to pay them?)

Once again the inside coloring on a foreign comic is atrocious (see last pic.  It wrecks Frazetta's art)

Edited March 9, 2023 by gadzukes

[Qalyar]

On 3/9/2023 at 5:10 PM, gadzukes said:

Once again the inside coloring on a foreign comic is atrocious (see last pic.  It wrecks Frazetta's art)

 

That coloring job is ... not good, but it's made a lot worse by laughably incompetent color registration. It might have looked okayish if the plates had been aligned properly. Maybe.

[gadzukes]

On 3/9/2023 at 6:20 PM, Qalyar said:

That coloring job is ... not good, but it's made a lot worse by laughably incompetent color registration. It might have looked okayish if the plates had been aligned properly. Maybe.

I agree, but it seems like almost every foreign comic I have that has a colored interior has the same registration problems.  They slapped these together pretty quick I guess

[Yorick]

On 3/9/2023 at 12:34 PM, Happyfarm said:

That's a very interesting photo.  Look at the bottom edge of the 32 and top of 33.  They were printed at the same time.

[Happyfarm]

Yes, they must have been printed at the same time and then cut afterwards. They published 39 issues all in all in 1958 so I would assume they were published on a weekly basis. Around 15 of them had Superman or Superboy on the cover. And then there were around 4 with Batman on the cover.

Edited March 10, 2023 by Happyfarm

[Happyfarm]

On 3/8/2023 at 8:08 PM, Yorick said:

I believe I have a 1958 Nr 33.  It's sealed in a plastic tomb, but I thought the cover was very interesting.

Something happened to some of the photos you posted and are no longer visible.  I guess I should have saved them when I had the chance!!!

I've now reuploaded some of the photos so hopefully you should be able to see them now.

[Yorick]

On 3/11/2023 at 12:16 AM, Happyfarm said:

I've now reuploaded some of the photos so hopefully you should be able to see them now.

I dig your avatar image.  I have a pic of my younger self in some Superman pajamas!! 

[Happyfarm]

On 3/11/2023 at 8:21 PM, Yorick said:

I dig your avatar image.  I have a pic of my younger self in some Superman pajamas!! 

Thank you. It must have been taken when I was about 8-9 so somewhere around 1981-82, I think. My mother made the costume. Up, up and away!

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by Happyfarm

[Happyfarm]

Here are some other early Danish Superman covers from the anthology title Kong Kylie 1951.

[Happyfarm]

These locally designed covers were based on panels inside as you can see here (where I've put the Danish editions next to the IDW Sunday pages edition).

[Happyfarm]

Superman first appeared in Denmark in a woman's magazine Familie Journalen in 1940-41 with early Sunday pages but that was put to an abrupt end due to the German occupation. After the war he turned up in one of the earliest Danish comics anthologies Kong Kylie from 1948-51, with both daily strips and Sunday pages. Only 3 of these carried him on the cover. Notice how they reformatted the panels to create a half-page as opposed to the full American Sunday pages from the 40's. Furthermore the Danish edition almost solely used red as the only color, as did the early Danish Superman editions from 1950-52.

Edited March 12, 2023 by Happyfarm

[Happyfarm]

And another fun curiosum. The first appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes (originally printed in Adventure Comics # 247) was printed in Danish Gigant # 16 in 1968.

[Happyfarm]

The first Danish edition to ever sport an American superhero on the cover was Skipper Skræk # 34, published in August 1946. This book included both Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel, in Danish known back then as Atomdrengen (Nuclear Boy) and Atompigen (Nuclear Girl).

Edited March 11, 2023 by Happyfarm

[Happyfarm]

And the first Marvel superhero to ever appear here was Daredevil in January 1967. The cover proudly proclaimed that here was "a whole new superhero from space for the first time in Denmark!" I guess the editors had no idea what they were about to publish. Spider-Man was removed from the cover since he was about to be published here by a competing publisher a few months later.

Edited March 12, 2023 by Happyfarm

[Happyfarm]

Some fun Danish Superman books from the 60's with locally designed covers.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Happyfarm

[Happyfarm]

[Yorick]

On 3/11/2023 at 1:20 PM, Happyfarm said:

@Get Marwood & IYellow hands!!!

A common occurring issue when the printer does not include that section on the red plate.  I have been seeing it more and more (now that I look for it). 

[ADAMANTIUM]

That's a heart for the supes if there ever was one  

[Happyfarm]

On 3/7/2023 at 5:20 PM, Kromak said:

Great collection. I wonder if number 6 (from 1951?) , was inspired by US Superman 47?

 

Upgrades:

 

 

Disney Especial may well be Disney's most successful new title released from the 70's anywhere in the world

 

By the way, while last times has showed some difficult moments for the US comic book collecting market, Brazil's has showed some really strong results, especially for the US Uncle Scrooge title. In a few weeks some ultra scarce 50's Mickey will go on auction and I think this trend will persist.

Figured out the cover to # 6 is derived from the first splash page inside.

[andyborehol]

In honor of all of these books from Denmark, here’s my entire Danish collection:

 

Last but not least, this comic includes Incredible Hulk #179, 180 & 181. Interestingly, Wolverine was originally referred to as “Ulvemanden” which translates to “The Wolf Man” (according to Google Translate). Since then he has been “Jærven”, which is a more accurate translation of “Wolverine.”