Comic book collecting with a foreign variant focus 20 20

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 8/23/2023 at 7:12 PM, BuraddoRun said:

I found this book recently and it's crazy, funny, sad, and cool all at the same time. It's one of those PSA books that Marvel and DC used to do now and then, but this one was released in Bosnia and Herzegovina for landmine safety awareness. Apparently it was released in 3 written languages initially, including English. I found 3 copies, all the Cyrillic versions. I got them for $4 total.

Interesting. Looks pretty modern too.

[BuraddoRun]

On 8/23/2023 at 7:28 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

Interesting. Looks pretty modern too.

Yeah, it's from 1996. They reprinted it in 2006, too, according to mycomicshop.

[Happyfarm]

First Superman ever published in Denmark. A Sunday page printed in Illustreret Familiejournal # 39 from September 1940.

 

[rakehell]

Went back and nabbed the rest of his Spirou -

And I didn't have to say sorry after. 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 8/30/2023 at 11:24 AM, rakehell said:

Went back and nabbed the rest of his Spirou -

And I didn't have to say sorry after. 

Did you have a glass of Smurfing Beer to celebrate, Daphne? 

[rakehell]

On 8/30/2023 at 1:05 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Did you have a glass of Smurfing Beer to celebrate, Daphne? 

Yes, I Smurfing well did, Velma. Smurfing outside in the Smurfing sunshine, in a Smurfing beer garden, what could be Smurfing better than that, I ask thee? 

[Kramerica]

I'm happy to finally visit this thread and ask a question! Is there something super special about the issue below? I was aware that Spanish language books were coming on hot in the last few years but this book is heavily defaced inside and out. What makes this one so special? Thanks in advance! Oh yeah, I should probably add that the reason I'm asking is because it's at $335.00 with heavy bidding.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145271866953?hash=item21d2e0c649:g:IskAAOSwz5Vk75nD

Edited September 5, 2023 by Kramerica

[Get Marwood & I]

On 9/5/2023 at 10:05 PM, Kramerica said:

I'm happy to finally visit this thread and ask a question! Is there something super special about the issue below? I was aware that Spanish language books were coming on hot in the last few years but this book is heavily defaced inside and out. What makes this one so special? Thanks in advance!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145271866953?hash=item21d2e0c649:g:IskAAOSwz5Vk75nD

I think this one has an original Mexican story in it. One of the thread regulars will know I'm sure 

[Jaylam]

On 9/5/2023 at 5:05 PM, Kramerica said:

I'm happy to finally visit this thread and ask a question! Is there something super special about the issue below? I was aware that Spanish language books were coming on hot in the last few years but this book is heavily defaced inside and out. What makes this one so special? Thanks in advance! Oh yeah, I should probably add that the reason I'm asking is because it's at $335.00 with heavy bidding.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145271866953?hash=item21d2e0c649:g:IskAAOSwz5Vk75nD

There are several articles you can find concerning this subject, here's a link to one that delves into explaining it, and recently collectors have caught on to these unique Spanish language Spider-Man issues that don't follow the official Marvel continuity of our favorite Web-Slinger. 

Forgotten Masterpiece: EL SORPRENDENTE HOMBRE ARAÑA #128 – The Tom Brevoort Experience

[Jaylam]

Some of these issues are selling for outrageous prices. This one is the most sought after.

[Kromak]

On 9/5/2023 at 6:05 PM, Kramerica said:

I'm happy to finally visit this thread and ask a question! Is there something super special about the issue below? I was aware that Spanish language books were coming on hot in the last few years but this book is heavily defaced inside and out. What makes this one so special? Thanks in advance! Oh yeah, I should probably add that the reason I'm asking is because it's at $335.00 with heavy bidding.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145271866953?hash=item21d2e0c649:g:IskAAOSwz5Vk75nD

All José Duran originally made Spider-Man stories are worthy a lot, easily 3 digit books. Ones with good looking girls in the cover can reach low four digits; This might end over $1000 with some luck.

[Kromak]

On 9/5/2023 at 7:05 PM, Jaylam said:

Some of these issues are selling for outrageous prices. This one is the most sought after.

A 6.5 sold at $35000 at Ebay and a 8.5 at $19000, if my memory serves me well, on Heritage or CC.

[Kromak]

On 8/23/2023 at 7:38 AM, GermanFan said:

Colossal price for Koloss.

https://www.comicconnect.com/item/998491?tzf=1

Must be quite rare considering Norway had (guesstimate) a population about 5 or 6 Million in the 60s.

The German Hulk 1 from 1974 had a print run of 78. 000 I believe.

One of the many great results on it:

 

Nearly tying the US Avengers at the same grade

 

Great result, not that far away from the US Famous Funnies (a 4.0 sold at $ 2880)

 

Though not in the same ballpark as the US one, but a pretty solid result for this UK publication.

 

Another 4 digit sale for this thick Australian book:

 

Much better result than my 5.5 that sold on Heritage last year.

 

Highest result of all. I never saw a copy sold until today:

 

Second highest result, first ever Superman outside US:

I will continue latter in my next post.

 

[Kromak]

An apparent very solid result for this Italian Avengers 4:

 

Batman 227 comparison:

 

Batman 232 comparisons:

I will continue latter.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 9/6/2023 at 5:52 PM, Kromak said:

I've always loved that cover. Iron Man looks so jolly in it, like he's posing for the camera 

It's great to see these books getting the recognition they deserve, and doing so well financially, but I can't help but feel sad that yet another segment of the hobby is moving out of my price range. The days of picking these up for twenty quid are well and truly over it seems.

Ah well.

[Kramerica]

On 9/6/2023 at 8:23 AM, Kromak said:

All José Duran originally made Spider-Man stories are worthy a lot, easily 3 digit books. Ones with good looking girls in the cover can reach low four digits; This might end over $1000 with some luck.

Thanks for the info. I've learned a lot about these in the last 24 hours 

[Yorick]

On 9/6/2023 at 10:55 AM, Kramerica said:

Thanks for the info. I've learned a lot about these in the last 24 hours 

It seems that these are being reprinted.  Be cautious if you're on the look-out for an original.

[Happyfarm]

The Mexican non-canon books relied heavily on swiping. José Luis Duran's art in the issue in the ebay auction, for example, is swiped from John Romita's art in Daredevil # 18.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Happyfarm

[Kromak]

I will now show a more or less recent addition to my collection. Abril's Capitão América n°1, from June of 1979, and use it to tell another part of Marvel's story in Brazil

It's in my opinion, the most important super-hero comic book released here in the 70's, slightly above Heróis da TV n°1.

Here is it:

 

From 1975 to 1979, the publishing rights were with Bloch publisher, that published Marvel stories until January of that year. The month after, RGE, "O Globo" successor, got the rights and started to publish Marvel heroes. But unlike Bloch, that had the rights of all the big characters, RGE got the publishing rights of a selected few. And they got, in theory, majority of the better ones. Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, Daredevil, Fantastic Four were among them. Hulk and Spider-Man even had their TV shows on Brazilian TV to increase their popularity.

Abril, that at the time already was our number 1 publisher, decided to try the super hero comic market. They got a few decent ones from Marvel, like Cap, Thor, Master of Kung Fu. But they did not have the super hero firepower that RGE had. And where RGE's Marvel publications would fail, Abril would succeed with an inferior cast

While RGE would more more or less publish the stories in chronological order, Abril would carefully choose the best phases and best stories to publish, many times publishing stories out of their chronological order. They would also trim the dialogs (a lot).

The result would came quickly. Abril started to publish Capitão and Heróis da TV with modest printing numbers, around 60.000. They would soon be able to increase it to around 85.000. RGE on the other hand, wouldn't  eed much time to start to struggle.

Here a stock image Heróis da TV n°1:

In 1983, when they gave up fully of the Marvel's publishing rights, the printing number of the Spider-Man title shrink-ed from +_ 120.000 to around 20.000 if my memory serves me well.

In 1982, Abril got the publishing rights of a few characters that RGE already gave up, such as Daredevil, and created a new title for it, Superaventuras Marvel. This title would initially be shared between him, Conan, Luke Cage and soon, Dr Strange, Black Panther and a few others.

Here a stock image of it:

The year after, when RGE fully gave up Marvel Rights, Superaventuras would start to receive the X-men adventures. It was once mentioned in one number of our Wizard Magazine that with Miller's Daredevil and Claremont's X-men, it would surpass Heróis da TV as the number title in the reader's heart :).

Heróis da TV would start to publish The Avengers, more or less in the same period, a group that had been largely ignored until then. Conan The Barbarian stories.

Spider-Man would receive its own title that would be shared with a few more characters, FF being the most important. Hulk would follow the same destiny. There was just someone missing: Conan that had its Conan the Barberian stories published in Herois and Superaventuras, would soon get its own Savage Sword title the year after. It would be a massive success. But Conan deserves a post of its own since its debut in 1972 by Minani e Cunha

 Homem Aranha and Hulk n°1:

Spider-Man would continue to be the number Marvel's number one title, with Conan not much behind. The X-men would continue to increase its popularity until the end of the 80's, when they would finally get a title of their own. A title that would have the privilege of being Heróis da TV sucessor.

So, until Abril's day, Marvel only had sporadic sucess since its debut in 1969, mainly with Spider-Man. Abril would change that scenary and make it surpass DC's publication in the readers mind and hearts.

Now days, Abril's Marvel super hero titles are the most sought after super hero publications by Brazilian collectors, with plenty of people trying to complete their runs, specially the earliest issues of the oldest titles. They can be quite expensive when compared to US Marvel publications of the same time period.

[Kromak]

No movement in here for so long? I have ton of neat stuff to post, but I do not want to monopolize the thread.

 

So I will post just one and use it as a motivation for others to start posting again

 

Some time ago I posted photos and images of the brief encounter that Cap Marvel had with the Human Torch in the pages of the 1964 Almanaque do Globo Juvenil.

 

The first time one could see characters of different publishers inside a same comic book. But not the last one

newsstandnewstands, kids first had to buy the 1970 Invictus Vacation Almanac:

 

 

Inside it, there was a coupon. Filling it and sending it back to Ebal's address, one would receive, free of charge, one of these in their home:

Published in bigger than usual format, at least one level beyond standard golden age dimension, this high quality edition, with a plastic layer on the cover,  thick, high quality paper inside,  was a call to many characters from different places to reunite in Ebal's headquarter to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Characters from comics, from fairy tales and even Brazilian historical figures, were all called from the spacial super station by no one less than Wizard of Oz himself!

 

For such an important meeting, they need to interrupt their usual activities. Here Jerry tells Tom to stop chasing him and that  a matter of higher importance arises and they have to go:

Here Batman and Flash Gordon receives the call. Robin tells Batman that they need to let their pursue of criminals for latter:

 

 

After all heroes, classical fairy tale characters and historical figures are properly warned, they proceed to the meeting . The central page depicts they arriving in space rockets at Ebal's place:

Inside the building, they were introduced to Ebal's staff, including its founder, Adolfo Aizen:

Aizen tells how he, a journalist , traveled to the US in 1935. There, he went to the Daily Mirror, where he had the opportunity to interview Alex Raymond and Milton Caniff.

Back to Brazil, he contacted João Alberto, head of the newspaper "A Nação" to ask for support to his plan. The day after, the newspaper introduces in its first page, the plan to introduce a daily comics suplement, "Suplemento Infantil":

Suplemento achieves enormous success and not too long in the future, it became an independent publication and changes its name to Suplemento Infantil.

After a few initial years, a new project started, move to the building depicted above and then Ebal was born.

After that, characters are introduced to Ebal's printing process and get a chance to know their own comic: 

Thor mentions above something like: "This is magnificent, my father Odin needs to see that"

 

Finally, all characters gathers to sing Happy Birthday to Ebal's 25th anniversary