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Overstreet's phantom issues...

Started by Bookery,

45 posts in this topic

Bookery

Bookery

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Inspired by the "Strange Story #1" topic, here is a list of Overstreet phantom issues I've compiled (with a few other corrections). I've probably missed some, as this wasn't the purpose of my research... just side notes I made as I encountered them. Many of these may already be compiled and listed elsewhere.

 

It's been mentioned elsewhere that OPG purposefully adds false info for copyright purposes, and that may explain some. But I think most are just errors that have never been corrected. Some appear likely to be cut-and-paste mistakes, perhaps the majority seem to have simply been lifted from Gerber's speculation about missing numbers, others are pretty clearly confusion between similar titles, and still others seem likely to be accidental inclusions of foreign editions, or publications that aren't truly comic books.

 

Of course, my own conclusions about issues not existing are somewhat speculative as well... since it's difficult to prove a negative. So I will be happy to be corrected if someone has better data.

 

Adventures of the Dover Boys (1950) -- #2 does not exist.

 

All Comics (Chicago Nite Life; 1945) -- probably does not exist

 

All-True Detective Cases (nn- 100 pages) -- does not seem to exist Yes... Does exist!

 

Animal Crackers (1946) 1 & 2 do not exist; (1950s) "nn, nd" -- no such thing, but there is a #9 (1957) published by Green that is not listed.... this is probably what the "nn" line refers to.

 

A-1 Comics #1 (1944) does not exist... the nn (Kerry Drake) is actual #1.

 

Attack (1953) OPG accurately lists two #5s, but is a bit confusing... the first is dated Jan '53, and the second is dated Sep '53.

 

Battle Fire (1955) there is no #7.

 

Beware (1955) There doesn't appear to exist a #15.

 

Blue Beetle OPG questions the existence of #43... it does not exist.

 

Broncho Bill (1948) Schomburg did not do the covers for #s 6 & 7

 

Camera Comics (1944) The two no-number issues do not exist.

 

Captain and the Kids (1947+) #s 1 thru 15 do not exist! (Title begins with #16)

 

Catholic Comics (1946) #s 1 thru 4 do not exist.

 

Comedy Carnival (1950s) This is not a separate comic, but is the same as "All-Picture Comedy Carnival"

 

Cupid #2 (1950) The model on the cover is not Bettie Page. In fact, Bettie Page does not appear on the cover of any American comic book. This photo was taken in 1945 and used on this 1950 comic.... before Bettie was posing professionally, and before she even had the page-boy haircut. Collectors have been radically over-paying for this comic for years. See same error for My Love #4.

 

Danger is Our Business! (1955) There are no issues 4 thru 10.

 

Dime Comics #1 (1951) There is a 1945 issue, but the 1951 issue does not exist.

 

Dream Book of Romance #124 (#9) (1954) Does not exist. This is supposed to be part of the A-1 series, and there is an A-1 #124 -- but it is a humor issue titled "Hot Dog".

 

Ella Cinders (1948) Duplicate entry? OPG lists a #1 (with a #2 on the cover), and then lists a separate #2. There is only the #2 issue, which is indeed the first issue.

 

Family Funnies #9 (1946) Does not exist.

 

Fightin' Marines #11 (Jan '53) There is no "Canteen Kate" by Baker in this issue... OPG has confused this with Approved Comics #11 ("Fightin' Marines") from Aug '54, which does have Canteen Kate.

 

Frisky Animals on Parade -- there are no L.B. Cole covers on this title (3 issues) -- this has been confused with other

titles.

 

Hercules (1968) OPG lists 2 "low distribution" magazine format issues for this Charlton title, #4 and #8. The #4 does not exist.

 

Hot Shot Charlie (1947) Not sure what this is? Does not appear to exist.

 

Jester (1945) This Chesler title does not exist... it has been confused with Jest.

 

Johnny Hazard (1949) Ran from #5 thru #8. #35 does not exist.

 

Jungle Jim (1949-1951) Title ends with #15. There are no issues 16 thru 20.

 

Katy Keene Fashion Book Magazine OPG correctly lists that there are no #s 3 thru 10.... but he misses that there are no issues 11 and 12 either. The title runs #s 1, 2 and then 13 thru 23.

 

Katzenjammer Kids (1953) #26 -- OPG lists half of book is 3-D... but only 5 pages are in 3-D.

 

Keen Detective Funnies (1940) vol. 3#2 does not exist.

 

Kid Colt Outlaw (1950s Album) OPG lsits this as 132 pages in b&w with cardboard covers.... but it does not seem to exist. Probably not an invention, as much as a possible British or Canadian reprint that was seen?

 

Liberty Comics (1945) Issue #5 does not exist.

 

Love Confessions (1951) The Robert Mitchum-Jane Russell photo-cover is #9, not #8.

 

Merry-Go-Round Comics (1944) #21 probably does not exist.

 

Murder Incorporated #1 (1948) There is a typo in the price-spread.

 

My Love #4 (1950) Photo is not Bettie Page (also see Cupid #2)

 

Private Buck (1941) There is no Large Feature #22 with Private Buck.

 

Sheena (1949-50) Baker did not do the covers of issues 5 thru 10.

 

Strange Story #1 (1946) Although some original art exists, the title was never actually piblished.

 

Super Duper (Harvey, 1941) There is a #3 issue from Howard, and there is one or more obscure issues from Britain, there is a Super-Dooper comic from Harvey, but the #5, #8, and #11 issues listed by OPG here do not exist.

 

Sweetie Pie (1955-1957) There are no issues 3 thru 14. There are only 3 issues.... 1, 2 and 15.

 

Sweet Sixteen #8 (1947) OPG lists the cover model as Shirley Jones (as in Partridge Family)... but the model is Shirley Johns (and is not a celebrity as far as I know).

 

United States Marines #s 7 thru 11 by Toby do not exist.

 

Up-to-Date Comics (1938) Have no idea what this is.... OPG lists lots of content info about this, but I could locate no proof of its existence. [edit -- Yes... does exist!]

 

Varsity (1945) Another title I can't confirm.... possibly this is a magazine and not a comic book?

 

Vic Flint (1949) #s 3 thru 5 do not appear to exist.

 

 

 

 

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Bookery

Bookery

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A very cool list. Can you offer us some insight into how you arrive at the conclusion that an issue or title never existed? Is there some master list of publications you can refer to?

 

It's just a matter of checking a number of different sources... in this day and age if an issue doesn't appear anywhere, there's a pretty good chance it doesn't exist. If there is no such issue listed in the Grand Comic Book Database, and nobody has ever scanned such an issue on the internet, it seems pretty unlikely that it still eludes collectors.

 

Some just become obvious with a little research.... Gerber sometimes just assumed issue numbers on late 40s or 50s books that he wasn't looking to do full runs for anyway. Example: he encounters issues 1, 2 and 10. He only planned to show #1 (say, of a romance title) and just figures 3 thru 9 are probably out there. But they're not. OPG just picked up on these listings via Gerber( or maybe Gerber picked them up via OPG?).

 

Othertimes, especially with a major publisher like Harvey or Charlton, it is very unlikely there are existing issues that nobody has scanned or indexed yet. It's possible on an obscure publisher above, an issue could turn up... but not for an established and well-researched publishing house.

 

Many times issues may have been advertised (or even mocked-up, as with the Strange Story #1), but never actually published, or their contents ended up in different issues from what was originally intended.

 

And others probably really are just imaginary. It's not in the current OPG, but years ago I remember the guide listing an early series of Jackie Gleason issues that preceded the actual ones... unlikely since Gleason was not a nationally known TV star during the dates claimed to be for the comics.

 

Other errors are just persistent rumors... such as the two Bettie Page issues. I used to assume these were valid, until I found sites that documented the photos as coming from 1946, before Bettie could have posed for them. Today's collectors often are unaware of just how common and popular the "pageboy" haircut was in the late '40s and early '50s, and a lot of Bettie lookalikes have been improperly identified.

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markseifert

markseifert

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Up-to-Date Comics (1938) Have no idea what this is.... OPG lists lots of content info about this, but I could locate no proof of its existence.

 

Some weird data glitch from way back?

 

OPG notes the publisher as King Features, and there is a 1938 King Features book with the title "Etiquette Up-to-Date". It does not appear to contain comic content.

 

edit -- nope, Bo comes through with verification of the book's existence below.

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markseifert

markseifert

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in this day and age if an issue doesn't appear anywhere, there's a pretty good chance it doesn't exist. If there is no such issue listed in the Grand Comic Book Database, and nobody has ever scanned such an issue on the internet, it seems pretty unlikely that it still eludes collectors.

 

I disagree with this just a little.

 

If the Jacquet family had tossed out his old files rather than selling them, our picture of comic history would be substantially different. No copyright or trademark records for MPFW, nobody who was involved on the record talking about it prior to its discovery.

 

If Stephen Fishler hadn't snuck the Fawcett ashcans out of the CBS archives, likewise. (we'd have figured this one out, but maybe 20-30 years later, and it would have been vastly harder to get people on board with a different version of history based on trademark records alone).

 

Mostly you're right, but there are great white whales still out there... maybe. lol

 

 

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OtherEric

OtherEric

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As you say, it's hard to prove a negative, but...

 

(The Adventures of) Peter Wheat only ran to 64, as near as I can tell; not 66. I've never seen even a cover scan for 65 and 66, and I've got about 2/3 of the run with at least low-quality scans of the covers of the issues I don't have... except for those two.

 

Peter Wheat News, on the other hand, ran to 66; not 30 as stated in Overstreet. The books are completely bonkers rare, but I have 63, and scans of enough of the comic pages to see that it went to at least 65. Given that the stories were always 3-parters, and assuming Overstreet got the 66 number for Adventures from somewhere, I'll say 66.

 

 

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rjpb

rjpb

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I don't know if they still list earlier issues in Overstreet, but it is my impression that the only Crime Does Not Pay Annual ( The Best of Crime Does Not Pay) is the 1953 issue.

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pemart1966

pemart1966

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I realize that this is a Gold Comics forum but I did see a 1968 Charlton Hercules issue referenced in the original post.

 

To that end, I can confirm that the 1966 Turok paper cover annual does not exist. That being said, I would love for someone to post a pic of it. lol

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Bookery

Bookery

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One of these on ebay right now. 3 on the census, looks like.

 

Hmmm. looks like I had my own glitch! I should not have missed those census copies!

 

That's what's great about these boards.... I figured if any did exist, we'd find out soon enough here. The Up-to-Date Comics is truly one I've never laid eyes on before!

 

Between the 1st and 2nd editions of my pulp guide, a number of issues assumed not to exist did indeed turn up... some of them may be unique copies or close to it... nevertheless they were produced and distributed after all!

 

 

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Bookery

Bookery

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I have edited my first post to reflect the correction on the 2 issues shown here to exist.

 

Perhaps this can be a running thread for both adding seeming non-existent issues, and for clarifying that others do indeed exist. (For instance, I made no attempt to verify giveaways or platinum-age, and have no idea if there are any anomalies in those areas, beyond the Peter Wheat already mentioned).

 

 

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Dr. Love

Dr. Love

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Thanks, Tim, great stuff. (thumbs u

 

I confirm (not that you needed it) your romance corrections, and I can add the following. These are listed in Overstreet, but do not exist as far as I know:

 

Love Tales 59 (Marvel)

Love Trails 2 (Marvel)

Sweet Romance 1 (Charlton)

My Secret Life 27 (Fox) - the 5/50 issue, not the 9/51

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Bookery

Bookery

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Thanks, Tim, great stuff. (thumbs u

 

I confirm (not that you needed it) your romance corrections, and I can add the following. These are listed in Overstreet, but do not exist as far as I know:

 

Love Tales 59 (Marvel)

Love Trails 2 (Marvel)

Sweet Romance 1 (Charlton)

My Secret Life 27 (Fox) - the 5/50 issue, not the 9/51

 

Thanks! I've added these to my notes now too!

 

 

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Bookery

Bookery

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Here is the updated list, corrected, with additions....

 

Adventures of the Dover Boys (1950) -- #2 does not exist.

 

All Comics (Chicago Nite Life; 1945) -- probably does not exist

 

Animal Crackers (1946) 1 & 2 do not exist; (1950s) "nn, nd" -- no such thing, but there is a #9 (1957) published by Green that is not listed.... this is probably what the "nn" line refers to.

 

A-1 Comics #1 (1944) does not exist... the nn (Kerry Drake) is actual #1.

 

Attack (1953) OPG accurately lists two #5s, but is a bit confusing... the first is dated Jan '53, and the second is dated Sep '53.

 

Battle Fire (1955) there is no #7.

 

Beware (1955) There doesn't appear to exist a #15.

 

Blue Beetle OPG questions the existence of #43... it does not exist.

 

Broncho Bill (1948) Schomburg did not do the covers for #s 6 & 7

 

Camera Comics (1944) The two no-number issues do not exist.

 

Captain and the Kids (1947+) #s 1 thru 15 do not exist! (Title begins with #16)

 

Catholic Comics (1946) #s 1 thru 4 do not exist.

 

Comedy Carnival (1950s) This is not a separate comic, but is the same as "All-Picture Comedy Carnival"

 

Cupid #2 (1950) The model on the cover is not Bettie Page. In fact, Bettie Page does not appear on the cover of any American comic book. This photo was taken in 1945 and used on this 1950 comic.... before Bettie was posing professionally, and before she even had the page-boy haircut. Collectors have been radically over-paying for this comic for years. See same error for My Love #4.

 

Danger is Our Business! (1955) There are no issues 4 thru 10.

 

Dime Comics #1 (1951) There is a 1945 issue, but the 1951 issue does not exist.

 

Dream Book of Romance #124 (#9) (1954) Does not exist. This is supposed to be part of the A-1 series, and there is an A-1 #124 -- but it is a humor issue titled "Hot Dog".

 

Ella Cinders (1948) Duplicate entry? OPG lists a #1 (with a #2 on the cover), and then lists a separate #2. There is only the #2 issue, which is indeed the first issue.

 

Family Funnies #9 (1946) Does not exist.

 

Fightin' Marines #11 (Jan '53) There is no "Canteen Kate" by Baker in this issue... OPG has confused this with Approved Comics #11 ("Fightin' Marines") from Aug '54, which does have Canteen Kate.

 

Frisky Animals on Parade -- there are no L.B. Cole covers on this title (3 issues) -- this has been confused with other

titles.

 

Hercules (1968) OPG lists 2 "low distribution" magazine format issues for this Charlton title, #4 and #8. The #4 does not exist.

 

Hot Shot Charlie (1947) Not sure what this is? Does not appear to exist.

 

Jester (1945) This Chesler title does not exist... it has been confused with Jest.

 

Johnny Hazard (1949) Ran from #5 thru #8. #35 does not exist.

 

Jungle Jim (1949-1951) Title ends with #15. There are no issues 16 thru 20.

 

Katy Keene Fashion Book Magazine OPG correctly lists that there are no #s 3 thru 10.... but he misses that there are no issues 11 and 12 either. The title runs #s 1, 2 and then 13 thru 23.

 

Katzenjammer Kids (1953) #26 -- OPG lists half of book is 3-D... but only 5 pages are in 3-D.

 

Keen Detective Funnies (1940) vol. 3#2 does not exist.

 

Kid Colt Outlaw (1950s Album) OPG lsits this as 132 pages in b&w with cardboard covers.... but it does not seem to exist. Probably not an invention, as much as a possible British or Canadian reprint that was seen?

 

Liberty Comics (1945) Issue #5 does not exist.

 

Love Confessions (1951) The Robert Mitchum-Jane Russell photo-cover is #9, not #8.

 

Love Tales #59 (Marvel) -- does not exist

 

Love Trails #2 (Marvel) -- does not exist

 

Merry-Go-Round Comics (1944) #21 probably does not exist.

 

Murder Incorporated #1 (1948) There is a typo in the price-spread.

 

My Love #4 (1950) Photo is not Bettie Page (also see Cupid #2)

 

My Secret Life #27 (1950) Double-entry in OPG... there is no 1950 issue, but the Sep '51 issues does exist.

 

Private Buck (1941) There is no Large Feature #22 with Private Buck.

 

Sheena (1949-50) Baker did not do the covers of issues 5 thru 10.

 

Strange Story #1 (1946) Although some original art exists, the title was never actually piblished.

 

Super Duper (Harvey, 1941) There is a #3 issue from Howard, and there is one or more obscure issues from Britain, there is a Super-Dooper comic from Harvey, but the #5, #8, and #11 issues listed by OPG here do not exist.

 

Sweetie Pie (1955-1957) There are no issues 3 thru 14. There are only 3 issues.... 1, 2 and 15.

 

Sweet Romance #1 (1968) Charlton. Does not exist.

 

Sweet Sixteen #8 (1947) OPG lists the cover model as Shirley Jones (as in Partridge Family)... but the model is Shirley Johns (and is not a celebrity as far as I know).

 

United States Marines #s 7 thru 11 by Toby do not exist.

 

 

Varsity (1945) Another title I can't confirm.... possibly this is a magazine and not a comic book?

 

Vic Flint (1949) #s 3 thru 5 do not appear to exist.

 

 

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OtherEric

OtherEric

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Here is the updated list, corrected, with additions....

 

 

Beware (1955) There doesn't appear to exist a #15.

 

 

Guess again ;)

 

30lfk0m.jpg

 

The GCD shows this issue was published by Merit, unlike the others, so it's an understandable miss.

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