october Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Andy, got one of these already? - No. You'll find one yet. My copy is too low grade anyway to be next to that CoC # 19 you just re-posted in General. Smoking blacks on that copy! Yeah, that was one of my first pre-code purchases. I started out right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Funny you mention "Weird" didn't CCA forbid the use of Weird in titles and only relaxed them towards the dawn of Bronze? I don't have a gerber. Need one... Correct. Weird went out when the Code came in. Based on what I'm seeing you like so far, I think you'll end up with at least 100 issues that interest you. If you really want to get down to 10 then I definitely suggest Gerber Guide, Comic Book Marketplace Halloween issues, and Mike Benton's book on Horror comics and Tales Too Terrible to Tell (fanzine) from New England Comics. And read the two pre-code horror threads here as there are lots of scans and notes. The danger in doing this much researching is that you might actually decide you want a 100 pre-code issues rather than 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
october Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 The danger in doing this much researching is that you might actually decide you want a 100 pre-code issues rather than 10. "Might"? 10 is an outright impossibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterlingcomics Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 The danger in doing this much researching is that you might actually decide you want a 100 pre-code issues rather than 10. "Might"? 10 is an outright impossibility. Seriously...It's going to be 10. I'm adding them all into a list....and then I'm going to prioritize. I'm keeping this venture focussed...as I'm just getting my feet wet. In fact, I'm probably going to buy a low grade (gasp) copy or two just to feel out the stories and art to satisfy my palette before diving in. One thing is for sure...unlike Bronze, I will not be collecting titles...focussed on classic covers that also have great stories/art. Maybe I'll even get back what I paid. Thanks for the words of advice adamstrange on researching...I think you are right...I'm basically going to research prices and go for the first 10 that strikes my fancy from a cover perspective...I'll post my list shortly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayman Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Andy, got one of these already? - if not, I will hide it from Sterling otherwise, my favorite of that run is 114 of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayman Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 This just in, my second Fiction House. Spirit #3 with a great horror cover! So much I like about this book, the colors, the skeleton, the candle, the severed heads! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWatcher Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 For a such a short run, it had some great Eisner covers. Angelo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
october Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 For a such a short run, it had some great Eisner covers. Angelo Actually, I am pretty sure Whitman did those, not Eisner. Adamstrange would know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWatcher Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 For a such a short run, it had some great Eisner covers. Angelo Actually, I am pretty sure Whitman did those, not Eisner. Adamstrange would know... According OSPG, aside from #1, it's Eisner or Eisner/Grandenetti covers Angelo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayman Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 For a such a short run, it had some great Eisner covers. Angelo Actually, I am pretty sure Whitman did those, not Eisner. Adamstrange would know... According OSPG, aside from #1, it's Eisner or Eisner/Grandenetti covers Angelo Yeah October and I were discussing this and we weren't 100% sure. I'd like to hear a board member's opinion on this as OS has been wrong before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWatcher Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 For a such a short run, it had some great Eisner covers. Angelo Actually, I am pretty sure Whitman did those, not Eisner. Adamstrange would know... According OSPG, aside from #1, it's Eisner or Eisner/Grandenetti covers Angelo Yeah October and I were discussing this and we weren't 100% sure. I'd like to hear a board member's opinion on this as OS has been wrong before! I'm pretty familiar with Eisner's linework, and I'd say that the cover on #3 is him. At the very least, he did the layouts or breakdowns. Although, the skeleton may be the hand of someone else. But I'd say that the other figures are by Eisner. That being said, I've been wrong before Angelo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayman Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 For a such a short run, it had some great Eisner covers. Angelo Actually, I am pretty sure Whitman did those, not Eisner. Adamstrange would know... According OSPG, aside from #1, it's Eisner or Eisner/Grandenetti covers Angelo Yeah October and I were discussing this and we weren't 100% sure. I'd like to hear a board member's opinion on this as OS has been wrong before! I'm pretty familiar with Eisner's linework, and I'd say that the cover on #3 is him. At the very least, he did the layouts or breakdowns. Although, the skeleton may be the hand of someone else. But I'd say that the other figures are by Eisner. That being said, I've been wrong before Angelo So definitly not Grandenetti? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWatcher Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 For a such a short run, it had some great Eisner covers. Angelo Actually, I am pretty sure Whitman did those, not Eisner. Adamstrange would know... According OSPG, aside from #1, it's Eisner or Eisner/Grandenetti covers Angelo Yeah October and I were discussing this and we weren't 100% sure. I'd like to hear a board member's opinion on this as OS has been wrong before! I'm pretty familiar with Eisner's linework, and I'd say that the cover on #3 is him. At the very least, he did the layouts or breakdowns. Although, the skeleton may be the hand of someone else. But I'd say that the other figures are by Eisner. That being said, I've been wrong before Angelo So definitly not Grandenetti? I should have explained myself better. I wouldn't rule out another hand like Grandenetti. The Spirit's face doesn't look like "true" Eisner and, like I said, the skeleton doesn't look to be by him either. But I'd say that the scientist and woman look like Eisner with another hand inking his pencils, possibly Grandenetti. Angelo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 For a such a short run, it had some great Eisner covers. Angelo Actually, I am pretty sure Whitman did those, not Eisner. Adamstrange would know... According OSPG, aside from #1, it's Eisner or Eisner/Grandenetti covers Angelo Yeah October and I were discussing this and we weren't 100% sure. I'd like to hear a board member's opinion on this as OS has been wrong before! I'm pretty familiar with Eisner's linework, and I'd say that the cover on #3 is him. At the very least, he did the layouts or breakdowns. Although, the skeleton may be the hand of someone else. But I'd say that the other figures are by Eisner. That being said, I've been wrong before Angelo So definitly not Grandenetti? I should have explained myself better. I wouldn't rule out another hand like Grandenetti. The Spirit's face doesn't look like "true" Eisner and, like I said, the skeleton doesn't look to be by him either. But I'd say that the scientist and woman look like Eisner with another hand inking his pencils, possibly Grandenetti. Angelo I did a little bit of research before posting but I would like to have had more time. These aren't easy for me. I don't think Grandenetti had a had in any of the covers. He completed his Dr. Drew series in 1951 and had started at DC in 1952. From material I've read Eisner was not happy that Grandenetti was drawing Dr. Drew so I seriously doubt they had a reunion on this title nor do I perceive Grandenetti as doing work like these covers in this time frame (his figure work was a bit stiff). The inking on issue 1 looks nothing like Eisner (lots of lines in the blouse and shirt rather blacks), nor does it look like Whitman. Whitman did nearly all of the FH covers from 52 to 54 but the Spirit was owned by Eisner. He could easily have ddrawn the new cover -- that was what he did later for Harvey, the Warren, then Kitchen Sink. Alternately, he could have done part of the work and then turned it over to someone else in his studio. Eisner was mostly likely to ink the faces when he acted as a coordinator rather than sole creator. Issue 2 is puzzling because of the face in the UL. If it's Eisner, it's the only time he used that "ghostly" technique that FH was so found of on the last few issues of Jumbo. I'd love to compare the panels to the story but I'm not sure which one it is. If someone knows please post as I do have all the post-WWII reprints. Basically there's not enough info to tell who did issue #2. Issue 3 I thought didn't look like Eisner. Looking at the larger scan, I do think that it could be all Eisner. Issue 4 is tricky because the composition isn't terribly Eisnerian , yet the inking on the pants of the bound Spirit in the LR is not Whitman. I did some reviewing of his FH covers and he didn't use large amount of blacks on pants, usually just lines to indicate folds. It took a while to confirm this as most of his figures often don't wear too much in the way of clothes. Could Whitman have done this in imitation of Eisner? He's an excellent artist so I don't see why not but I really can't confirm that he did it. Issue #5 is a classic Eisner composition, classic inking of pants/shoe on the tall villain, and with a background that seems to fit him. The ink work on the Spirit's chest is also typical for Eisner and you have all four characters with bent knees, something that Eisner was very fond of. Looks like Eisner to me -- perhaps his last Spirit work of the GA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightson fan Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 And very nice research at that. You never cease to amaze me with the knowledge that you possess about this genre of collecting. I am a mere babe in the woods. I also wanted to thank you for the info you gave to Jay about the "neon" inks that Fawcett was using on some of their later PC books. Jay and I had been discussing that very topic not a week before. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
october Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Very interesting. Looks like the world may never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Very interesting. Looks like the world may never know. Grandenetti is still around so we can rule him in or out. He has a website and comick1 here on the boards has conversed with him. I'm a little rusty on my Eisner and I don't have copies of the FH Spirit comics so it's much harder to do than if I have enough time to look at the books and then look again at Eisner's work. And there many folks who are my betters at this stuff that we could ask. I do think that someone in the hobby knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 And very nice research at that. You never cease to amaze me with the knowledge that you possess about this genre of collecting. I am a mere babe in the woods. I also wanted to thank you for the info you gave to Jay about the "neon" inks that Fawcett was using on some of their later PC books. Jay and I had been discussing that very topic not a week before. Scott Always happy to share info with fellow geeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWatcher Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 For a such a short run, it had some great Eisner covers. Angelo Actually, I am pretty sure Whitman did those, not Eisner. Adamstrange would know... According OSPG, aside from #1, it's Eisner or Eisner/Grandenetti covers Angelo Yeah October and I were discussing this and we weren't 100% sure. I'd like to hear a board member's opinion on this as OS has been wrong before! I'm pretty familiar with Eisner's linework, and I'd say that the cover on #3 is him. At the very least, he did the layouts or breakdowns. Although, the skeleton may be the hand of someone else. But I'd say that the other figures are by Eisner. That being said, I've been wrong before Angelo So definitly not Grandenetti? I should have explained myself better. I wouldn't rule out another hand like Grandenetti. The Spirit's face doesn't look like "true" Eisner and, like I said, the skeleton doesn't look to be by him either. But I'd say that the scientist and woman look like Eisner with another hand inking his pencils, possibly Grandenetti. Angelo I did a little bit of research before posting but I would like to have had more time. These aren't easy for me. I don't think Grandenetti had a had in any of the covers. He completed his Dr. Drew series in 1951 and had started at DC in 1952. From material I've read Eisner was not happy that Grandenetti was drawing Dr. Drew so I seriously doubt they had a reunion on this title nor do I perceive Grandenetti as doing work like these covers in this time frame (his figure work was a bit stiff). The inking on issue 1 looks nothing like Eisner (lots of lines in the blouse and shirt rather blacks), nor does it look like Whitman. Whitman did nearly all of the FH covers from 52 to 54 but the Spirit was owned by Eisner. He could easily have ddrawn the new cover -- that was what he did later for Harvey, the Warren, then Kitchen Sink. Alternately, he could have done part of the work and then turned it over to someone else in his studio. Eisner was mostly likely to ink the faces when he acted as a coordinator rather than sole creator. Issue 2 is puzzling because of the face in the UL. If it's Eisner, it's the only time he used that "ghostly" technique that FH was so found of on the last few issues of Jumbo. I'd love to compare the panels to the story but I'm not sure which one it is. If someone knows please post as I do have all the post-WWII reprints. Basically there's not enough info to tell who did issue #2. Issue 3 I thought didn't look like Eisner. Looking at the larger scan, I do think that it could be all Eisner. Issue 4 is tricky because the composition isn't terribly Eisnerian , yet the inking on the pants of the bound Spirit in the LR is not Whitman. I did some reviewing of his FH covers and he didn't use large amount of blacks on pants, usually just lines to indicate folds. It took a while to confirm this as most of his figures often don't wear too much in the way of clothes. Could Whitman have done this in imitation of Eisner? He's an excellent artist so I don't see why not but I really can't confirm that he did it. Issue #5 is a classic Eisner composition, classic inking of pants/shoe on the tall villain, and with a background that seems to fit him. The ink work on the Spirit's chest is also typical for Eisner and you have all four characters with bent knees, something that Eisner was very fond of. Looks like Eisner to me -- perhaps his last Spirit work of the GA. Brilliant work Angelo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayman Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 So definitly not Grandenetti? I should have explained myself better. I wouldn't rule out another hand like Grandenetti. The Spirit's face doesn't look like "true" Eisner and, like I said, the skeleton doesn't look to be by him either. But I'd say that the scientist and woman look like Eisner with another hand inking his pencils, possibly Grandenetti. Angelo After looking at the book tonight I do have to say I agree that (at least) the scientist's face looks very much like Eisner. But as adamstrange stated, other artists could have been mimicing his style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
