Okajima pedigree 25 25

[skypinkblu]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:20 AM, comicnoir said:

The theory is she was gone from the camp but the comics were still being signed. The brother was still in camp.

If CGC was correct when they certified my 2 Superman books, and one in the middle was signed...it brings up another issue...maybe not all her comics were signed, or maybe they were a family collection.

Perhaps CGC could weigh in since they certified the Pedigree? What info did they base it on?

[skypinkblu]

On 6/7/2022 at 9:47 PM, miraclemet said:

(Superman #29, "5-4-44" with the "Okajima" (unsure of code)

So if I have the one before and one 2 books after with no codes? Where is Alice and the White Rabbit?

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 6/7/2022 at 9:25 PM, skypinkblu said:

So if I have the one before and one 2 books after with no codes? Where is Alice and the White Rabbit?

Alice and the White Rabbit were in a different camp...

[skypinkblu]

This signature is different than the book above. The way the "a" is written is significant.

 

[Tri-Color Brian]

But, seriously, I think boys were more likely to read the war and jungle comics than the girls.  At least, back then...(I know how you love comics).  It just seems strange to me that there weren't any funny comics or Archie's, etc. in the camp books.

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 6/7/2022 at 9:33 PM, skypinkblu said:

This signature is different than the book above. The way the "a" is written is significant.

 

Hmmm...maybe George wrote that one...or a clerk at the camp store.  Maybe a clerk wrote all the stuff on the camp books.

[Tri-Color Brian]

And don't forget, we have this example of Bette's writing that also does not match the "a"s on the camp books...

 

[Blackmask]

On 6/7/2022 at 9:25 PM, skypinkblu said:

So if I have the one before and one 2 books after with no codes? Where is Alice and the White Rabbit?

??…..the Superman #28 has a signature and code, the #31 has a code.

[skypinkblu]

Ill have to pull them out tomorrow.. i could have sworn some of the books I bought from Blissard did not have them...maybe it was the Sensation

..or Im losing my mind

Edited June 8, 2022 by skypinkblu

[comicnoir]

On 6/8/2022 at 1:16 AM, skypinkblu said:

Ill have to pull them out tomorrow.. i could have sworn some of the books I bought from Blissard did not have them...maybe it was the Sensation

..or Im losing my mind

Okajima has that affect on ppl.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

On 6/7/2022 at 11:34 PM, Tri-ColorBrian said:

But, seriously, I think boys were more likely to read the war and jungle comics than the girls.  At least, back then...(I know how you love comics).  It just seems strange to me that there weren't any funny comics or Archie's, etc. in the camp books.

This one looks like it would appeal more to boys than girls

[path4play]

On 6/7/2022 at 9:47 PM, miraclemet said:

Still trying to reconcile the facts, the stories and the comics... 

Some initial thoughts

Bette left camp on October 19 1943 for Chicago to join her sister Frances and brother-in-law.

At this point the collection is very small. At this point there are a dozen comics with the "Okajima" --script, But no codes. The earliest known code (from my list, correct me if you know of an earlier one) is a "1C" code from Action Comics #68, which is also dated on the cover with "11/16/43" (which lines up with the estimated newsstand release date). [note there is an earlier comic, Startling #24, that has a "1" and a "P" on it, but I'm doubtful that this is the same type of coding]. So after Bette gets to Chicago with a few comics from the camp (maybe?) she starts collecting (again?) in Chicago. Questions: IF she's living with her sister & brother-in-law why bother writing her name on them? Usually the point of writing ones name on a comic is to show ownership. Who did she have to prove ownership to? She wasn't a kid fighting with her little brother/sister over the comics, or trading them at school... And what changed for Better in October of 1944, a year later, to change her notation methods? To drop the signature, and the coding and the date? I assume a change in behavior connotes a change in something else. What changed?

I do not doubt that the books signed "Okajima" were signed by Bette. The penmanship/style is just to close to the exemplars not to be hers. 

George left camp on May 5 1944 for Keenesburg Colorado to a work camp and then enlisted in the army on August 16 1945
First lets look at May 1994 to see if there's any signs in the collection to note this change. There was a comic bought the day before George left camp (Superman #29, "5-4-44" with the "Okajima" (unsure of code) and the day after George left, another comic was bought, Shadow Comics V4n3 ("3M" and Okajima con cover along with 5-6-44) So no change in the collection despite George leaving camp. George's enlistment similarly doesnt seem to change the collection. On August 9 Mystery Comics #2 is purchased, noted with code "4o" (yes lowercase, though maybe it was a p? which would make more sequential sense), no "okajima" signature, but with the note "Camp 3". Again this is AFTER George left camp, but BEFORE he enlisted. So no clue what "Camp 3" is supposed to reference. A week after enlisting (and two weeks after the "Camp 3 noted Mystery Comics #2) the aforementioned Whiz Comics #58 is purchased, again no signature, but with the "4T" code (which sequentially makes sense and the "Camp I" note. 

The most interesting thing to me is that after George enlisted in mid august, We see the start of the date stamp use in October. Once the date stamps start, we no longer see scripts, codes or signatures. Maybe these books were either a) George's books bought while enlisted maybe at the PX? or b) maybe these books were sent to him from family while he was shipped out? Though the idea that they were Georges and they made it back to the family home to be added to the collection is a stretch, especially if he was deployed. I dont know if George was deployed, or just stayed stateside. 

Based on my notes, the mother returns home 9/4/45 - which actually doesn't work based on the stamp shift dating.  If I wrote down my notes wrong and its 9/4/44 that would fit better.   Truth is none of the moves/dates of any of them seem to fit the coding perfectly.

[SOLAR BOY]

The story is fascinating. I enjoy mystery. It’s making me want to buy all the copies I can find. 
 

skypinkblu please sell me all yours that boys should be reading. The manly comics not the girly stuff. Thanks Ma. 😂

[skypinkblu]

On 6/8/2022 at 1:13 AM, Blackmask said:

??…..the Superman #28 has a signature and code, the #31 has a code.

OK, the 31 was the one I was thinking of...I never noticed the code (duh) I was consumed by the fact that there was no signature...so thank you very much for pointing it out. I just grabbed my book and looked at it with a magnifier, lol..then I reread your note. that was a pleasant surprise:) I always thought it had nothing on it.

Note to self, do not post after midnight...it's like Gremlins;)

[skypinkblu]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:36 AM, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Hmmm...maybe George wrote that one...or a clerk at the camp store.  Maybe a clerk wrote all the stuff on the camp books.

Or different clerks or family members, we need a way back machine

[skypinkblu]

On 6/8/2022 at 7:28 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

This one looks like it would appeal more to boys than girls

The key is "might" ...There were probably fewer girls who bought those, but there were girls. I was always a fan of Sheena because SHE WAS A GIRL...not for the sex aspect. I don't like Wonder Woman because she got tied up a lot. 

My mother and aunt both read Superman way before I did...I never did a survey of others, lol.

[skypinkblu]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:23 AM, SOLAR BOY said:

The story is fascinating. I enjoy mystery. It’s making me want to buy all the copies I can find. 
 

skypinkblu please sell me all yours that boys should be reading. The manly comics not the girly stuff. Thanks Ma. 😂

Boys should be reading Tillie...so unless we find one of those, forget it;)

[miraclemet]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:45 AM, skypinkblu said:

The key is "might" ...There were probably fewer girls who bought those, but there were girls. I was always a fan of Sheena because SHE WAS A GIRL...not for the sex aspect. I don't like Wonder Woman because she got tied up a lot. 

My mother and aunt both read Superman way before I did...I never did a survey of others, lol.

I always try to check any gender/comic assumptions at the door. We dont know Bette or her reading interests, so I dont assume that because it's a particular type of book that it might be more or less likely to end up in her collection. Heck some voracious readers, will read ANYTHING, just so they can keep reading. 

Edited June 8, 2022 by miraclemet

[miraclemet]

Here's a question I haven't seen yet...

How did all the comics end up back at the mom's house at some point? Assuming we believe the discovery story as fact (the collection being discovered/divvied up when the Mom passed away in 1995 and house/estate sale that followed), how and why did the comics end up back at the mothers house? They were bricked up (stacked, wrapped tightly in newspaper), so did Bette send them back to the mom at some point, and if so why?

At what point between 1955 (last book in the collection) and 1995 (when the collection was "discovered") did the books end up back in Fresno California where the mother lived? And why did they go there?  

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

On 6/8/2022 at 11:25 AM, miraclemet said:

They were bricked up (stacked, wrapped tightly in newspaper),

I missed this part. The back of my okajima book has a heavy shadow. Do a lot of these books have it?