markseifert Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Wow, incredible. You don't see a 1937 book in that kind of shape every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50YrsCollctngCmcs Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Thanks everyone. Yellow Kid, it certainly says a lot when you have not seen a nicer copy of a book. I actually had another very beautiful copy (CGC 9.0) but I reluctantly sold it to a good friend when I bought this one. The day I no longer can make myself help a friend in a case like that is the day it is time to stop collecting. Here's another book that I like a lot. I know it is not a Duck, but neither was that stupid woodpecker above and no one seemed to mind. Anyway, I just get a kick out of seeing books from this era in virtually perfect condition. This one hit the stands (well, actually it didn't since it's a file copy from the Disney Archives) the month before "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" premiered ( ). Today, it is easy to forget that the cover characters, which at best seem secondary today, must have been just as fresh and recognizable in 1937 as Lightening McQueen or Spongebob Squarepants are now. Back in the mid to late nineties when you could go to San Diego Comic Con on a Friday and have the hall to yourself (I am not making this up), Busted Flush and I were casually looking around and came across the dealer who had bought all these Mickey Mouse Magazines from the Disney Archives. He was very gracious and even though he knew we weren't buying he allowed us to look through them all. They were all amazing with colors and the kind of quality you have above. I have often wondered where they ended up but it looks like they are spread across many happy collections. They were a sight to behold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Wow, that must have been fantastic. I have traced quite a bit of history of these books, not least thanks to a wonderful meeting I had with Malcolm Willits last year. Suffice to say that there were multiple sets of file copies from several different sources, but not all had the same quality. The book above is not from the run that you saw. I have been extremely fortunate that my favorite title not only is one that very few people bother to glance at, but also just about the only one from the mid- to late- 1930s where quite a number of copies in true near mint have survived outside of the Church and San Francisco pedigrees. I just did a quick comic book search in the Heritage archives and found 0 (zero) copies of any titles from 1936 in CGC 9.4 up, 8 from 1937 (4x9.4, 4x9.6), and 24 from 1938 (15x9.4, 7x9.6, 2x9.8). Perfect books from these years are just incredibly rare, regardless of the title, and virtually all of those listed are from the top pedigrees. Once I get to submit earlier Mickey Mouse Magazines, I'd be surprised if at least a few issues from Vol. 2 don't reach a CGC 9.4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 This is an incredible cover! Do we have any idea of who the cover artist is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelholt Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Wow, incredible. You don't see a 1937 book in that kind of shape every day. That is one beautiful book. I own 1 Mickey Mouse Magazine and it is a CGC 7.0 and I marvel at how well it looks, I can't image how this 9.4 looks in person. The larger size of these books compared to other comics makes it even more condition sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Unlike many of the other covers, this is one you never see reproduced on lunchboxes or postcards. Someone smart once told me that "any book looks great in near mint" and that's the main reason I like this particular one. Well, I actually really do like the fact that it is _not_ what we'd consider a commercial cover today because it is evidence of the dramatic changes that happened in those hugely important years in the late 1930s. Just like the non-superhero covers quickly disappeared from Action Comics, the characters from the Silly Symphonies and other shorts would soon be replaced by the Ducks. Before that, you have these precious few years of cover art reflecting a time when neither feature length animation nor comic books had been invented and all Disney's income came from shorts and merchandising. There is so much fascinating history hidden in these books... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50YrsCollctngCmcs Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Unlike many of the other covers, this is one you never see reproduced on lunchboxes or postcards. Someone smart once told me that "any book looks great in near mint" and that's the main reason I like this particular one. Well, I actually really do like the fact that it is _not_ what we'd consider a commercial cover today because it is evidence of the dramatic changes that happened in those hugely important years in the late 1930s. Just like the non-superhero covers quickly disappeared from Action Comics, the characters from the Silly Symphonies and other shorts would soon be replaced by the Ducks. Before that, you have these precious few years of cover art reflecting a time when neither feature length animation nor comic books had been invented and all Disney's income came from shorts and merchandising. There is so much fascinating history hidden in these books... The cover makes me wonder if this was an early version of Lil' Bad Wolf. It sure looks like it. I'm not sure of his first appearance but by the fifties he was a staple in WDC&S. Very impressive and quite the nod to the impact of the Three Littel Pigs movie in the depression years. I don't think most collectors today realize the impact that MMM and subsequently WDC&S must have had. Print runs of up to five million I believe and massive subscription sales meant these books were ubiquitous in their influence. Consider a population in the US of guessing (100-150 Million) and pass through and you are talking about a serious influence on the under ten set. Mr. Disney was wise in keeping the quality up on these books, making the parent want to purchase escpecially when viewed against the other fare on the newstand. He always tried to hire the best artists he could at the studio and put them to work on a wide variety of projects including these magazines. The quality still shines! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Unlike many of the other covers, this is one you never see reproduced on lunchboxes or postcards. Someone smart once told me that "any book looks great in near mint" and that's the main reason I like this particular one. I've heard that before as well. It's a shame we don't know the artists for these as the comic fans have done a tremendous job at identifying the artists and writers for so many unsigned comics from that era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 (edited) The cover makes me wonder if this was an early version of Lil' Bad Wolf. It sure looks like it. I'm not sure of his first appearance but by the fifties he was a staple in WDC&S. Very impressive and quite the nod to the impact of the Three Littel Pigs movie in the depression years. [...] Mr. Disney was wise in keeping the quality up on these books, making the parent want to purchase escpecially when viewed against the other fare on the newstand. He always tried to hire the best artists he could at the studio and put them to work on a wide variety of projects including these magazines. The quality still shines! I assume the cover above is based on "The Three Little Wolves" (1936). Several of the covers (and a lot of the content) from this time were based on Silly Symphonies. Being a bit of an entrepreneur myself, I have the utmost respect for the way Walt Disney expanded his business in the 30s. Aside from his own emphasis on quality, he managed to build a company that attracted the best talent at the time, not least Kay Kamen (in 1932). And he put everything he had built on the line to make "Snow White". --- There is one more note I wanted to make about the quality of the Mickey Mouse Magazine file copies from the Disney archives. Whether you care about Disney comics or not, I don't think collectors realize just what a treasure the top 2-3 runs of file copies are in terms of pure high grade survival rates. I've suspected this since buying an incredible run of these in 2003, but it is only now that the exceptional quality is starting to become apparent thanks to the CGC census. For comparison, here are the numbers for the total population of CGC graded comics in 9.4 or above from the 1930s as of April 2011 (courtesy of valiantman's site): CGC 9.8s: 4 CGC 9.6s: 28 CGC 9.4s: 62 Of these, here is the current population of Mickey Mouse Magazines (3rd series up to December 1939): CGC 9.8s: 0 CGC 9.6s: 2 CGC 9.4s: 12 In other words, although it only has been possible to certify MMMs since around 2008, they already represent 15% of the entire population of CGC graded comics in 9.4+ from the 1930s. And this percentage is very likely to climb over the next 12 months. It is not because MMMs are common: the print run for every issue prior to 1940 must have been substantially lower than that of Action Comics 1 (based on available data). The census anomaly is entirely due to a select few runs of file copies that stand out among the considerable number of file copies that exist. Edit: another Silly Symphony cover: Edited May 9, 2011 by tb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50YrsCollctngCmcs Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I don't recall ever seeing any print run numbers on MMM, only WDC&S which were stratospheric. As for the file copy runs, I got to see the ones from the Disney Archives, which were amazing. Were the others from the Western files? Although I am not sure if they were the printers on these books. How about Kay Kamen? Did he have file copies, never heard anything about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transplant Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 tb: Glad your back posting more often. Your knowledge on Ducks is invaluable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I don't recall ever seeing any print run numbers on MMM, only WDC&S which were stratospheric. As for the file copy runs, I got to see the ones from the Disney Archives, which were amazing. Were the others from the Western files? Although I am not sure if they were the printers on these books. How about Kay Kamen? Did he have file copies, never heard anything about that. Here are the circulation data for 1937 (see this link for credits): Jan 1937 - 109,685 Feb 1937 - 95,663 Mar 1937 - 94,782 Apr 1937 - 95,508 May 1937 - 95,936 Jun 1937 - 85,395 Jul 1937 - 91,474 Aug 1937 - 111,355 Sep 1937 - 106,800 Oct 1937 - 91,169 Nov 1937 - 95,069 Dec 1937 - 112,436 For comparison, Action Comics 1 had a circulation of 130,000 copies. Other titles like "Feature Funnies", "Popular Comics", "Tip Top", "Comics on Parade", ... had print runs of 200-400,000 in 1937-38. After several hundred upgrades to my run, I've seen so many file copies with different markings that I've lost count. Curiously, the ones that are easiest to recognize have no markings at all. You know when you have one in your hands because it is unlike any other book you've ever seen from the 1930s except for the cream of the Church and San Francisco collections. Btw., when I added up the 9.4+ census population from the 1930s yesterday, I forgot to count this one: Does anyone know of an earlier comic from the 1930s that has received a 9.4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrooge Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 The spish! :shrug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Does anyone know of an earlier comic from the 1930s that has received a 9.4? I can't answer that but I was wondering how much "comic" content is in the magazine? Is is original or just reprints of the Mickey Mouse strip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Another very cleanly designed cover that actually works very well despite the limitations of the black and red two-color printing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Does anyone know of an earlier comic from the 1930s that has received a 9.4? I can't answer that but I was wondering how much "comic" content is in the magazine? Is is original or just reprints of the Mickey Mouse strip? You're right, it's not a comic at all. In fact, I don't collect the second series of red/black books because I just don't find them that interesting or attractive. But the very first series is fun just because they are some of the hardest Disney books to find. And the first few are extra curious because they have a price listed. I actually don't know how they were meant to be distributed, but it clearly didn't work very well. There are some issues from this first series that I have not seen for sale in 10 years. ---- The spish? Unfortunately, I can't remember what it is about and my copy is in a safety deposit box some 5,000 miles away. Here is a link with more info and some interior pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondog Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Here is a cover that I like a lot. My native country was occupied by Germany in 4-40. The contrast between the time and these happy, innocent covers is strange to think about. Holding a near mint book from this era always gives me an amazing feeling of being transported back in time. I actually don't like hoarding multiple copies of hard-to-find books and try to offer them to friends whenever I upgrade (although it always is hard for me to sell anything from my collection). I'm not particularly proud of a shot like this but at least it's something you don't see every day... --- Edit: Just to be absolutely clear, I did not mean to hint that the duplicates would be for sale. Absolutely no books that post in this forum will be for sale. Hmmm... one of those looks familiar. The center one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondog Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 There was a group of file copies that were sold in Kansas City in 1995. Apparently an accountant for Western (which had a plant there) was about to be laid off, and they asked him if he wanted to stay on for a week or so to clean out some sheds. In the shed he found a run of WDC&S (multiples of 2-10 only one copy of the first issue), multiple runs of all the four-color MMMs and sundry BLBs, Fast Action, etc. These were all file copies. Some had dings of course, and the # 1 was only a F/VF, but they were beauties. He asked if he could have the stuff and they said sure - take it. This was an odd auction. Bob Cook was there representing Steve Geppi. Mark Wilson was there. Steven Fishler was on the phone and there were a few other dealers. Every dealer was asked to submit one sealed bid and the seller would sell to that person. My offer of $27,500 (75% of OPG) finished fourth. Steve was the high bidder at $46,000 (Guide and half). I knew I really didn't have a chance against all this high-powered competition so as I was inspecting the MMMs (which I collected at the time), I would take the best copy and put it off to the side. When I had the top run completed (Vol. 2 # 10 through Vol. 5 # 12 I believe), I approached the seller and offered him double guide for the 30 odd books (around $12,000 if I remember correctly). He almost sold them to me, but finally said that it would not be fair to everyone else. That was one that got away that still hurts. A few years later I sold my MMMs (tb bought a few!) knowing that I would never have another chance like that again. I believe Steve sold the MMMs to Jim Payette who had a buyer lined up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Thanks for the great information, moondog. I can see why an experience like that would be disheartening. You must have liked the MMMs a lot to make that kind of offer at the time. I've been lucky to buy several larger groups of file copies since I bought your books, but all of yours are either still in my own collection or that of a very good friend who I have been collaborating with for many years. I think you were the first who explained to me who "mamanook" was when he outbid me on some of your best copies. I was very glad to get the V5#7, which I don't believe has been submitted to CGC yet. I do remember submitting your V5#4 among a group of books before I left for a longer trip to Europe. In any case, the exact CGC grade doesn't mean that much to my own enjoyment of the book. Aesthetics are more important and I regularly pass on purely "numerical" upgrades when a lower graded book is more beautiful in my eyes. The one below, which I am 95% sure I got from you, is a perfect example: it may not be the highest graded in the census, but the colors are incredible. I have two other beautiful copies (CGC 9.0 and 9.4) but this one stands out. PS: I haven't forgotten how nice you were to send me the CBM with your article on ashcans. Although my posts may seem lopsided, I actually love a wide variety of comics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moondog Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 The one below, which I am 95% sure I got from you, is a perfect example: it may not be the highest graded in the census, but the colors are incredible. I have two other beautiful copies (CGC 9.0 and 9.4) but this one stands out. PS: I haven't forgotten how nice you were to send me the CBM with your article on ashcans. Although my posts may seem lopsided, I actually love a wide variety of comics. I love this forum - it allows guys like us to reconnect after 10 years or so - and it's so cool to see books I once owned again. And that copy truly is a beauty! (thumbs u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
