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No more Foxing around: Complete run of WEIRD COMICS, 1940-1942!
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Started by Point Five,

154 posts in this topic

jbcomicbox

jbcomicbox

Posted
Posted
253,766 on avg. But I'd like to see the breakdown from May-Jun-Jul where there's a big variance to see if there are any other insights to be gleaned.

It does make you wonder. 253,766 on average is a crazy high number. Where did all those Weirds go?

 

 

That number isn't right. By my count there were over 60 Foxes in 1940. I'm hoping to break down the numbers in detail tonight. There are some unusual results at first glance.

 

 

Here are some placed together.....did not get beyond 1940,,

 

http://www.comicartville.com/foxcovers.htm

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buttock

buttock

Posted
Posted

Long post coming, fair warning.

 

Fox published 14 comics in 1939 (Wonder/Wonderworld 1-8, Mystery Men 1-5, Fantastic 1). The total number of published books was 3,456,422, for an average of 246,887 per issue.

 

Fox published 67 comics in 1940 (Fantastic 2-13, Mystery Men 6-17, Science 1-8, Wonderworld 9-20, Weird 1-9, Blue Beetle 1-3, Flame 1-3, Samson 1-2, Rex Dexter 1, Green Mask 1-3, Big 3 1-2). The total number of published books was 13,125,833, for an average of 195,908 per issue.

 

Taken together for 1939-1940 the average is 204,719 per issue.

 

The monthly breakdowns are as follows:

Yr/mo (# of comics published) avg published per issue

1939

J 0

F 0

M 0

A 0

M 1 --?

J 1 --?

J (1) 227,533

A (2) 209,298

S (2) 314,264

O (2) 341,849

N (2) 328,682

D (3) 296,900

1940

J (4) 247,543

F (4) 343,057

M (4) 280,819

A (5) 227,295

M (6) 235,478

J (7) 123,268

J (6) 194,041

A (5) 193,088

S (10) 112,082

O (4) 239,998

N (4) 252,132

D (8) 125,985

 

These numbers are taken from those cited previously in this thread. I feel confident that the dates given correspond to the month given in the indicia because the doubling in numbers between July & Aug 1939 match the addition of Mystery Men to Wonderworld. I also assumed that a Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter issue was published in Mar, Jun, Sept, or Dec -- which I believe is correct based off of the way they transitioned from quarterly to bimonthly. However, I can't verify this as I can't find any of those titles with arrival dates. If anyone has a house ad or arrival date for Samson, Big 3, Rex Dexter, Flame, or Green Mask to confirm this would be helpful.

 

Surprisingly, few patterns emerge from this. Conclusions that I can speculate are:

 

1) Fox seemed conservative when issuing new titles. The delta between a month where a new #1 was published and the previous month is significantly less than the average per issue published in the prior month. e.g. Aug 1939 Wonderworld 3 was 227,533 copies. Sept 1939 when Mystery Men 1 was added to Wonderworld 4, Fox published a total of 418,597 books, a difference of 191,064. This pattern holds true for all first issues, to the degree I can evaluate. Conventional history says that GA first issues were often published in higher than usual numbers to get the title out there, then the 2nd & 3rd issues were published in lower numbers until the returns came back on the first issue to see how sales were. If this is true, Victor Fox went against the grain.

 

2) It may be the case that the total amount of issues Fox could publish in a given month was capped by the publisher, finances, or other reasons. For months where 4-6 issues were published the numbers were generally in the 1M range. In two months where 8 and 10 issues were published, the total numbers were 1.1M and 1.0M. Sept of 1940 there were 10 issues, three of which were first issues, and he only published 1M books. This could be him being conservative with first issues again, or he may not have had the ability or funds to publish more than a million books or so.

 

3) Over time the average numbers trended down, although they varied widely. I'd be interested to see what happened in 1941.

 

 

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buttock

buttock

Posted
Posted
253,766 on avg. But I'd like to see the breakdown from May-Jun-Jul where there's a big variance to see if there are any other insights to be gleaned.

It does make you wonder. 253,766 on average is a crazy high number. Where did all those Weirds go?

 

 

That number isn't right. By my count there were over 60 Foxes in 1940. I'm hoping to break down the numbers in detail tonight. There are some unusual results at first glance.

 

 

Here are some placed together.....did not get beyond 1940,,

 

http://www.comicartville.com/foxcovers.htm

 

Your Samson 1 has an arrival date of 8-9, which would make the Fall issues published in Aug rather than Sept which may change the conclusions above. Jon, do you have any other Big 3, Samson, Rex Dexter, Flame, or Green Mask from 1940 with arrival dates? I can't read what's on your Samson 2.

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50YrsCollctngCmcs

50YrsCollctngCmcs

Posted
Posted

Here's my only Weird. Issue number 7 which I bought from A-1 at a Wonder Con in the late 2000's. It was noted as cleaned and pressed but the staples also look way to clean for a book of this vintage. Anyway, it is a fun book to look at and I'll post some pictures of some of the interior later. In the meantime enjoy the front and back covers.

150984.jpg.bf9b55eca68759055fb36d55718a0ff4.jpg

150985.jpg.ecc4a4a958753e46acbe7e29b6848e9c.jpg

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50YrsCollctngCmcs

50YrsCollctngCmcs

Posted
Posted (edited)

There were a number of ads. The ad for Rex Dexter looks fun and the ad for the Blue Beetle radio show indicated that Mr. Fox must have had a cash cow going already with his properties (despite no Kooba Cola!)

 

The inside back cover continues the push to push Fox books!

 

It's also worth noting that you got a full 64 pages not counting the covers on these books. Look at the Blue Beetle ad which is the last page in the book numbered page 64. Quite the bargain for one thin dime!!

150988.jpg.167f3de3789191aedddcc7b8399e7dcc.jpg

150990.jpg.a32ea9f2409490c6d309d30b8160ec3b.jpg

150991.jpg.7fc6dbbad2131cfe67dcfafcf8fee103.jpg

Edited by 40YrsCollctngCmcs
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Point Five

Point Five

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I don't remember too much about Dr. Mortal but he sure was freaky looking! I think I would have had nightmares if I read his stories.

 

150987.jpg

"Hm, something went wrong." Easy for him to say! lol

 

Thanks for the interior photos!

 

 

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Point Five

Point Five

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And finally,

 

Weird Comics #20, January 1942. Final issue in the series, with a crazy Eagle cover showing Hitler personally kidnapping Churchill in London. Weird #20 has long been thought of as one of the scarcest Fox Comics, and with good reason (though recent high prices have scared up a few more #20s lately, and I'd hazard a guess that a few other issues in the run may be yet a touch rarer).

 

Huge thanks to Dan/buttock, who really went above and beyond the call of duty in locating this copy for me. I'm super pleased to have it in my collection. :applause:

 

14cqzk9.jpg

 

 

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AJD

AJD

Posted
Posted (edited)
And finally,

 

Weird Comics #20, January 1942. Final issue in the series, with a crazy Eagle cover showing Hitler personally kidnapping Churchill in London. Weird #20 has long been thought of as one of the scarcest Fox Comics, and with good reason (though recent high prices have scared up a few more #20s lately, and I'd hazard a guess that a few other issues in the run may be yet a touch rarer).

 

Huge thanks to Dan/buttock, who really went above and beyond the call of duty in locating this copy for me. I'm super pleased to have it in my collection. :applause:

 

14cqzk9.jpg

 

 

Weird cover idea!

 

And the artist had a bet each way on the handedness of the swastika. I've sometimes thought that a 'wrong orientation swastika' collection would be fun.

 

Thanks for sharing those books Jon (and others), some genuine GA goodness in that bunch. :applause:

Edited by AJD
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telerites

telerites

Posted
Posted
And finally,

 

Weird Comics #20, January 1942. Final issue in the series, with a crazy Eagle cover showing Hitler personally kidnapping Churchill in London. Weird #20 has long been thought of as one of the scarcest Fox Comics, and with good reason (though recent high prices have scared up a few more #20s lately, and I'd hazard a guess that a few other issues in the run may be yet a touch rarer).

 

Huge thanks to Dan/buttock, who really went above and beyond the call of duty in locating this copy for me. I'm super pleased to have it in my collection. :applause:

 

14cqzk9.jpg

 

 

Fantastic book. Amazing.

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gino2paulus2

gino2paulus2

Posted
Posted (edited)
And finally,

 

Weird Comics #20, January 1942. Final issue in the series, with a crazy Eagle cover showing Hitler personally kidnapping Churchill in London. Weird #20 has long been thought of as one of the scarcest Fox Comics, and with good reason (though recent high prices have scared up a few more #20s lately, and I'd hazard a guess that a few other issues in the run may be yet a touch rarer).

 

Huge thanks to Dan/buttock, who really went above and beyond the call of duty in locating this copy for me. I'm super pleased to have it in my collection. :applause:

 

14cqzk9.jpg

 

 

Fantastic book. Amazing.

 

+1 everything about this screams cool I really did the color schemes used here great great book!!

Edited by gino2paulus2
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sagii

sagii

Posted
Posted
And finally,

 

Weird Comics #20, January 1942. Final issue in the series, with a crazy Eagle cover showing Hitler personally kidnapping Churchill in London. Weird #20 has long been thought of as one of the scarcest Fox Comics, and with good reason (though recent high prices have scared up a few more #20s lately, and I'd hazard a guess that a few other issues in the run may be yet a touch rarer).

 

Huge thanks to Dan/buttock, who really went above and beyond the call of duty in locating this copy for me. I'm super pleased to have it in my collection. :applause:

 

14cqzk9.jpg

 

:golfclap: Terrific thread, awesome display of rare comic books! Now I concur with an earlier post by Gino: group shot, group shot,.....
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Point Five

Point Five

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Wonderful job collecting the run! I still have quite a ways to go with many of the hardest ones still to find :frustrated:

 

Here is my copy of 20.

That is a honey of a copy. Well done. :applause:

 

In a perfect world I'd still like to upgrade mine, but at today's prices I doubt very much that it's in the cards. Ah well!

 

 

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Point Five

Point Five

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What's a Giant Comicscope?

Meant to get back to this! Fox advertised this product on many of their back covers.

(If you are guessing the ad illustration took more than a bit of poetic license, you are right on.) lol

 

http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/category/topic/comicscope

 

10x6521.jpg

 

 

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