Baz Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I've always believed that the DD FC #4 was the rarest Disney comic book, across all grades. The Mickey Mouse FC #16 gives it a run in higher grades, but not in lower grades where it is relatively common. The only book rarer in my experience is the WDCS #4 with the promotional ad probably sent to formerMickey Mouse Magazine subscribers. For me, the MM FC #16 is one of the greatest comic books ever published, but the DD FC #4 is clearly rarer and it is a real treat to see such a beautiful copy. Thank you for sharing it with us. Rich, refresh my memory on the Crescent City collection. Were all three of those present in it? If so, how nice were they? I know I should remember but it has been a long time since I made that purchase and owned them for such a short time Bill, Actually none of them were in it because Leonard wasn't able to find them in the condition he liked. Years earlier he had a beautiful FC #4, absolutely gorgeous, but he sold it to a good friend/customer who specialized in Disney, and he was never able to replace it. He had never even seen the WDCS #4 promo until I showed him my copy. Yellow Kid - how different is the wdcs #4 promo from the regular #4, other than the cover? Were there any other differences inside? Would love to know and thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB-Gun Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I've always believed that the DD FC #4 was the rarest Disney comic book, across all grades. The Mickey Mouse FC #16 gives it a run in higher grades, but not in lower grades where it is relatively common. The only book rarer in my experience is the WDCS #4 with the promotional ad probably sent to formerMickey Mouse Magazine subscribers. For me, the MM FC #16 is one of the greatest comic books ever published, but the DD FC #4 is clearly rarer and it is a real treat to see such a beautiful copy. Thank you for sharing it with us. Rich, refresh my memory on the Crescent City collection. Were all three of those present in it? If so, how nice were they? I know I should remember but it has been a long time since I made that purchase and owned them for such a short time Bill, Actually none of them were in it because Leonard wasn't able to find them in the condition he liked. Years earlier he had a beautiful FC #4, absolutely gorgeous, but he sold it to a good friend/customer who specialized in Disney, and he was never able to replace it. He had never even seen the WDCS #4 promo until I showed him my copy. Yellow Kid - how different is the wdcs #4 promo from the regular #4, other than the cover? Were there any other differences inside? Would love to know and thanks in advance. I think BZ has a copy of that WDCS Christmas giveaway. Near mint probably and not for sale but he has taken pictures to answer questions on previous occasions. Maybe he can help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yellow Kid - how different is the wdcs #4 promo from the regular #4, other than the cover? Were there any other differences inside? Would love to know and thanks in advance. I think BZ has a copy of that WDCS Christmas giveaway. Near mint probably and not for sale but he has taken pictures to answer questions on previous occasions. Maybe he can help? BB-Gun - I'm still new around those parts Who is this BZ? I've always heard of this WDCS giveaway and seen only the front cover but never saw any more detail on it, hence my curiosity in finding out if there were any other differences. Would love to contact him and see if he can share that info with me. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yellow Kid - how different is the wdcs #4 promo from the regular #4, other than the cover? Were there any other differences inside? Would love to know and thanks in advance. I think BZ has a copy of that WDCS Christmas giveaway. Near mint probably and not for sale but he has taken pictures to answer questions on previous occasions. Maybe he can help? BB-Gun - I'm still new around those parts Who is this BZ? I've always heard of this WDCS giveaway and seen only the front cover but never saw any more detail on it, hence my curiosity in finding out if there were any other differences. Would love to contact him and see if he can share that info with me. Thanks. BZ = Bangzoom = guy who started this thread. http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1628473#Post1628473 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yellow Kid - how different is the wdcs #4 promo from the regular #4, other than the cover? Were there any other differences inside? Would love to know and thanks in advance. If anyone can answer this it would probably be Yellow Kid or Mr. Zoom. I would very much like to know the answer as well. One note I do have about this book is that I have seen two copies with labels like the one shown below, both from dentist's offices. This scan is of my own copy; I have a low grade complimentary edition and a slabbed regular version but have never compared the contents. The second copy was listed for sale on eBay in 2005. I saved a picture of the label somewhere but can't find it right now. I have never seen another Disney comic with this kind of "D.D.S." label, so either it is a remarkable coincidence or these rare variants had some special marketing purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yellow Kid - how different is the wdcs #4 promo from the regular #4, other than the cover? Were there any other differences inside? Would love to know and thanks in advance. If anyone can answer this it would probably be Yellow Kid or Mr. Zoom. I would very much like to know the answer as well. One note I do have about this book is that I have seen two copies with labels like the one shown below, both from dentist's offices. This scan is of my own copy; I have a low grade complimentary edition and a slabbed regular version but have never compared the contents. The second copy was listed for sale on eBay in 2005. I saved a picture of the label somewhere but can't find it right now. I have never seen another Disney comic with this kind of "D.D.S." label, so either it is a remarkable coincidence or these rare variants had some special marketing purpose. Adamstrange - thanks. I looked through the first couple pages of that thread. Amazing. I need to go through it all now tb: glad i'm not alone in my curiosity whether the promo was different in any other way. As for your question regarding the label, I am *somewhat* positive I have something like that on one of my WDCS books. I'll have to dig through them this week and see if I can find it. I remember it being odd that it wasn't a stamped address like most of the other mailed comics were. Maybe a trial issue/promo mailing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senormac Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yellow Kid - how different is the wdcs #4 promo from the regular #4, other than the cover? Were there any other differences inside? Would love to know and thanks in advance. If anyone can answer this it would probably be Yellow Kid or Mr. Zoom. I would very much like to know the answer as well. One note I do have about this book is that I have seen two copies with labels like the one shown below, both from dentist's offices. This scan is of my own copy; I have a low grade complimentary edition and a slabbed regular version but have never compared the contents. The second copy was listed for sale on eBay in 2005. I saved a picture of the label somewhere but can't find it right now. I have never seen another Disney comic with this kind of "D.D.S." label, so either it is a remarkable coincidence or these rare variants had some special marketing purpose. Barbershops and dentist's offices used to have comics to keep kids happy while they were waiting. With television and DVDs there's much less need (or interest) for comics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yellow Kid - how different is the wdcs #4 promo from the regular #4, other than the cover? Were there any other differences inside? Would love to know and thanks in advance. If anyone can answer this it would probably be Yellow Kid or Mr. Zoom. I would very much like to know the answer as well. One note I do have about this book is that I have seen two copies with labels like the one shown below, both from dentist's offices. This scan is of my own copy; I have a low grade complimentary edition and a slabbed regular version but have never compared the contents. The second copy was listed for sale on eBay in 2005. I saved a picture of the label somewhere but can't find it right now. I have never seen another Disney comic with this kind of "D.D.S." label, so either it is a remarkable coincidence or these rare variants had some special marketing purpose. Barbershops and dentist's offices used to have comics to keep kids happy while they were waiting. With television and DVDs there's much less need (or interest) for comics. I don't think that was what TB was wondering about - the WDCS in that era would usually have the address stamped on the comic itself for subscribers (IIRC), but the example he gave had a label stuck on the book. That makes me wonder if it was just a promotional mailing by the marketing dept to those doctor offices to see if they'd be interested in subscribing to the comic for their waiting room. If I'm off base, I apologize in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I don't think that was what TB was wondering about - the WDCS in that era would usually have the address stamped on the comic itself for subscribers (IIRC), but the example he gave had a label stuck on the book. That makes me wonder if it was just a promotional mailing by the marketing dept to those doctor offices to see if they'd be interested in subscribing to the comic for their waiting room. If I'm off base, I apologize in advance. Here's what the subscription stamp usually looks like (WDCS 12 and 18). Not to derail the original question, this is just something I've been wondering about myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yellow Kid - how different is the wdcs #4 promo from the regular #4, other than the cover? Were there any other differences inside? Would love to know and thanks in advance. If anyone can answer this it would probably be Yellow Kid or Mr. Zoom. I would very much like to know the answer as well. One note I do have about this book is that I have seen two copies with labels like the one shown below, both from dentist's offices. This scan is of my own copy; I have a low grade complimentary edition and a slabbed regular version but have never compared the contents. The second copy was listed for sale on eBay in 2005. I saved a picture of the label somewhere but can't find it right now. I have never seen another Disney comic with this kind of "D.D.S." label, so either it is a remarkable coincidence or these rare variants had some special marketing purpose. Barbershops and dentist's offices used to have comics to keep kids happy while they were waiting. With television and DVDs there's much less need (or interest) for comics. I don't think that was what TB was wondering about - the WDCS in that era would usually have the address stamped on the comic itself for subscribers (IIRC), but the example he gave had a label stuck on the book. That makes me wonder if it was just a promotional mailing by the marketing dept to those doctor offices to see if they'd be interested in subscribing to the comic for their waiting room. If I'm off base, I apologize in advance. I think the fact that the labels were to dentists, a population who were likely to be interested in subscribing for the reason explained above, makes it far more likely that it was a promotional effort by Dell to establish their new comic book line as part of the dentists, kid distracting material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senormac Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 thats how I'm used to seeing them..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffman_Comics Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 What is it about Dentists and comic books? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Kid Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 The only difference between the WDCS #4 promo copy and the regular copy is that yellow block of advertising in the lower right hand corner of the cover. About 40 years ago, a LCS owner in New Orleans (not Ciorac) called me and said he had just bought a collection and he was holding a few pieces out for me. Because I was an obsessive-compulsive collector, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the promo copy. The dealer said that because of its rarity, he wanted double guide, so I happily paid him for what is still the rarest book in my collection. As a Disney specialist, I had to have it and would have paid much more. He had a lot of other early Disney books in his buy, but nothing unusual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Kid Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Oops. I just noticed that across the title in black block letters, it reads, "COMPLIMENTARY COPY NOT TO BE SOLD." I mention this because technically it would be another difference. I posted a picture of my copy on this thread some time ago. I think it was under "WDC+S #4 Mickey Mouse Magazine ad" but I'm not sure. I guess you could also find it at Photobucket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 First picture: I posted this book 5-6 years ago, but here is a more detailed re-scan. The condition of these file copies is pretty consistent. The CGC census currently has 33 blue label books in 9.0+ from 1937. The corresponding number for 1961 is 3,579. For 1965 it is 12,890 (stats courtesy of cgcdata.com). Second picture: As I have learned more about the early history of the hobby, I've developed an interest in material with some kind of association to The Collector's Bookstore. I bought this book because it was so cool how Malcolm Willits went to the trouble to get a Four Color 16 bound like this back in the mid 1950s. The "near mint" copy would have been a real treasure back then so this bound copy reflects a genuine passion for back issues at a very early time. When I got to visit Mr. Willits, he explained that this book came from an incredible original owner collection that would have rated among the finest pedigrees if it had been discovered later. I've heard other long term collectors rave about this same collection but will leave it to them if they want to share more details publicly. In the 1960s, Willits managed to get to meet Gottfredson. The dedication is even more important to me than the book itself, although the story has got to be one of the most classic of the Golden Age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Kid Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Sadly, when Mal had the book bound, it was virtually perfect. The water damage occured years later, showing that misfortune can strike even bound books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underthebigw Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 (edited) I just want to say thanks for posting these pics. It's been a real eye-opener and just confirms in my mind how beautiful these books must have been new and how under-appreciated they are. Just absolutely fantastic stuff . Edited June 7, 2011 by silverandbronze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tb Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 (edited) Sadly, when Mal had the book bound, it was virtually perfect. The water damage occured years later, showing that misfortune can strike even bound books. The history of this book so bizarre that it borders to hilarious. First, Willits wanted to preserve it back in the 1950s, so he got it bound in order for it to remain pristine. I absolutely love the thought process. It just shows a genuine love for this high grade book back in a very early stage of the hobby, long before collectors started thinking about all the concepts we take for granted today. That the book was damaged later is completely incidental to me; it is still a great reading copy. It is the fact that Willits treasured this book as a teenager, 10 years before he went on to found The Collector's Bookstore with Leonard Brown, that is so cool to me. Gottfredson's signature is fantastic because it is from long before his name become known and because he and Willits went on to work together on the paintings. I can just envision how Gottfredson would have understood Willits' genuine love for his stories once he saw and signed this beautifully bound comic. The fact that Willits never would have guessed the appeal that motivated me to buy it in 2009 adds an extra twist to the history of the book: the value to me lies entirely in the history of the hobby that it represents. --- Edit: S&B: Thanks, it's always nice to hear that other people enjoy these books. My own favorite moments reading the board is when someone writes something that makes me understand that something I thought was mundane actually is pretty cool. Edited June 7, 2011 by tb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archiefan Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Some great books and stories here. Thanks everyone for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
