AJD Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 I picked up some more Barks goodness from the Four Color run lately, all from Heritage. Not my favourite story, but a lovely cover - I really like the Dells with strong solid colour blocks: This, on the other hand, has a great story in it. The cover is interesting in having the terror off-stage and showing only the ducks reaction. I only wish it was by Barks: Finally, a cover by Barks, but a story that's - to be generous - pretty ordinary. But I do like the cover, and the link with Don Rosa's reworking of the concept is nice too. This one will be cracked out when it arrives, to match all my other Four Colors. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 Last of the new purchases. An Australian Fiction House reprint. This one is all Fiction House - Wings 120 to be precise. (And there's our mystery Russian fighters again). One of the stories in this issue concerns trying to get intelligence about "Russia's new bomber": I dunno - maybe they should have asked American company Convair... because I reckon that's a copy of their B-36 right there on the ice: 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Shepherd Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I kinda like those Donald Duck books, something about those solid color backgrounds and innocence in simplicity get to me. I don't have any of my own, but your posts are tempting me. Sweet picks ups, not only on the duck books, but the flight books as well. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I kinda like those Donald Duck books, something about those solid color backgrounds and innocence in simplicity get to me. I don't have any of my own, but your posts are tempting me. Sweet picks ups, not only on the duck books, but the flight books as well. +1 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagii Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I picked up some more Barks goodness from the Four Color run lately, all from Heritage. Not my favourite story, but a lovely cover - I really like the Dells with strong solid colour blocks: This, on the other hand, has a great story in it. The cover is interesting in having the terror off-stage and showing only the ducks reaction. I only wish it was by Barks: Finally, a cover by Barks, but a story that's - to be generous - pretty ordinary. But I do like the cover, and the link with Don Rosa's reworking of the concept is nice too. This one will be cracked out when it arrives, to match all my other Four Colors. Nice to see you back and about sir! NIce acquisitions all!! 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 It's that time of year again. The last couple of years I posted scans of the books I'd accumulated over the past 12 months. This year I posted them as I went along, but I still felt the need to pull them together into one place. So here's the thumbnail edition of... AJD’s Class of aught-15 Ducks EC Fiction House Australian Fiction House War Bonds/WW2 Other These are all clickable links if you feel the need to see larger versions - they'll take you to my Photobucket account, which you're free to troll around in if you so desire. I have some time away from work, so I'm going to post some reflections on comics in the next few weeks. First up will be some thoughts on Pogo Possum, and tributes thereto. Happy holidays all. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Shepherd Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 It looks like you had a great year ADJ! Happy Holidays! 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 I'm going to get under the covers with Pogo Possum over the next few posts, but I thought I'd start with how I stumbled across this character. As far as I know, the Pogo strip wasn't printed in Australia - certainly not in the Victorian newspapers I grew up with. (Even though Pogo 'visited' Australia in strips in 1956 and 1961.) So back in 2007 when I got interested in collecting comics again, I didn't know about him at all, and only knew of Walt Kelly from his covers on WDC&S, which at that time I only had on Gladstone/Gemstone reprints. I really liked his style - in some cases more than Barks. One day I found an eBay ad for a seller in New Zealand. I can't recall what he had that took me to his 'other items', but I certainly remember that he had a Dell Pogo #7, which I decided to take a chance on. When it turned up I was completely won over by the charming artwork. The writing was less compelling, but the stories were fun enough in their own right, especially the use of language. Here's a later upgrade copy I got: Perhaps as important as my reaction was my wife's. Mrs AJD thought it was the best thing I'd shown her to that point and said I should get more. When a large lot of 10 Dell issues came up on eBay she literally stood beside me telling me to bid more! (She is similarly smitten by the Dell Peanuts comics.) That lot had really nice copies of half a dozen or so of the short Dell run of 16. My records tell me that it took a little over a year to collect these: This was the first Golden/Atom Age run I finished. I've also picked up a few other Pogo books: The first two are Four Color 105 and 148. Note that Pogo wasn't the headline act at first - he was second fiddle to Albert Alligator. If I was a Pogo completist, I'd be looking for the run of Animal Comics 1 - 30 (though a few don't have Pogo content). For now I've resisted the urge, and Pogo Parade collects many of the early stories. But I do have #9, which has a Walt Kelly War Bonds cover: If I get a chance I'll pick up an Animal Comics #1, which contains the first appearance of Pogo, if the price/eye appeal is right. Speaking of first appearances, here's how Pogo looked in his first panel: Yup, your eyes aren't deceiving you... Pogo went through a few cosmetic changes before becoming one of the most successful comic strip characters of his time. In the next few posts we'll do some deconstruction of the language and themes of Pogo Possum comics vice the strip. (Hey, Ed's not the only slightly obsessive college professor around these parts!) And I can thank Alan Moore for making me think about these things, as we'll see. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffman_Comics Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 What a great eccentric eclectic collecting year it's been Science Fiction, Funny Animals, War, Jungle, and nary a superhero in sight. I await with interest the AJD Pogo insights 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Kid Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 A great collection, AJD, and not just because it matches a lot of the books that I have saved. It has been a real Christmas treat to read all eleven pages just now and savor your beautiful books. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Thanks Rich, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Here's the latest installment. I said earlier that I'm not into horror comics. But there are a couple of EC Tales from the Crypt books that have such great covers I have been eyeing them for a while. I'd successfully resisted the urge, but darned if Ed's EC journal didn't tip me over the edge. This one came up on Heritage last Sunday and had the right combination of eye appeal and price, so it's mine now. I find this cover funny. The rat is a bit over the top, but the guy's expression is priceless. And Marie Severin did a great colouring job on this one. The other one I like is TFTC #41. There might be others I'd like to have, but I'm not going to look too hard - there's enough completist in me to be a concern. Note to self: file under 'blame Ed'. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC ed Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) I love it. No better place to start the horror titles than with Jack Davis. Edited December 29, 2015 by edowens71 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaultkeeper Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) I agree. Ed's journal has a way of drawing you in. That's a great copy of TFTC 45! The story is just as good as the cover. Congrats. Edited December 29, 2015 by vaultkeeper 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagii Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Thanks Rich, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Here's the latest instalment. I said earlier that I'm not into horror comics. But there are a couple of EC Tales from the Crypt books that have such great covers I have been eyeing them for a while. I'd successfully resisted the urge, but darned if Ed's EC journal didn't tip me over the edge. This one came up on Heritage last Sunday and had the right combination of eye appeal and price, so it's mine now. I find this cover funny. The rat is a bit over the top, but the guy's expression is priceless. And Marie Severin did a great colouring job on this one. The other one I like is TFTC #41. There might be others I'd like to have, but I'm not going to look too hard - there's enough completist in me to be a concern. Note to self: file under 'blame Ed'. Cool pick up Andrew It's always intrigued me as i have mentioned before that your extended EC run(s) aren't the Horror books. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vorpal Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I love the pre-code horror books, especially Tales from the Crypt. If I weren't knee-deep in superhero stuff, that's probably where I'd turn my collecting eye. Either that or GGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibou Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 I love that copy of Champion Comics 2 you have! I was looking for a copy a couple of years ago... just a fun cover. Very nice assortment of books you've compiled. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 I just picked up this Australian Jumbo Comics #28. When it arrived, I thought the lesson was that low grade books are still low grade even if they're cheap (A$13, or US$9). Now I think the lesson is that low grade books with mostly sound covers can look great in mylar. Thankfully this one does. In any case, with these books I'll take what I can find. There's no telling how long before another one turns up. This (I just discovered to my surprise) is the copy scanned for the GCD here and Ausreprints here. Neither have the #17 I showed earlier. Does anyone know how to contact the GCD folks? I've tried 'contact us' and never had a response. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vorpal Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) Nice looking book! I just picked up this Australian Jumbo Comics #28. When it arrived, I thought the lesson was that low grade books are still low grade even if they're cheap (A$13, or US$9). Now I think the lesson is that low grade books with mostly sound covers can look great in mylar. This is absolutely true! Mylar makes books look so nice, I re-bag every comic I get with it -- cost be damned! Edited January 7, 2016 by Vorpal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagii Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I just picked up this Australian Jumbo Comics #28. When it arrived, I thought the lesson was that low grade books are still low grade even if they're cheap (A$13, or US$9). Now I think the lesson is that low grade books with mostly sound covers can look great in mylar. Thankfully this one does. In any case, with these books I'll take what I can find. There's no telling how long before another one turns up. This (I just discovered to my surprise) is the copy scanned for the GCD here and Ausreprints here. Neither have the #17 I showed earlier. Does anyone know how to contact the GCD folks? I've tried 'contact us' and never had a response. Nice one! After PM's with a few Boardies, i am now settling into the 'get em as/anyway you can' mind set, especially if it;s a deal, and the book isn't 'common'. I have never been a 'High Grade only' guy, but used to shy away from anything under 3.0. No more... 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 I don't know what I like most about Ed Owen's stellar EC collection - the quality, breadth and depth of his books... or the fact that I can bottom feed on his undercopies. And, no, I'm not starting to collect Tales From the Crypt. Just a few with neat covers. This one and #32 have 'woman in peril' covers that will go well with some of my Fiction House books. At least that's my story. Thanks once again Ed. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...