In the Shadow of the Atomic Age 6 6

[Forbush-Man]

Thanks, but it does have a partial staple-pop at the top staple. It was previously CGC graded as a Fine. Oh well,....

[adamstrange]

And here's something you don't see every day of the week, although you probably don't want to!

 

What can you tell us about the stories,? publisher? artist? That's a very unusual book.

 

Not a lot, unfortunately. Overstreets designation is "Steinway Comic Publ. (Ajax) (America's Best)" and the indica says Steinway. It's a mystery anthology but the art and stories are fairly crude. I've been quite scathing about Stan Lee on other threads, but when you read the smilin' ones short stories and compare them with what a lot of other publishers put out, they really are a lot more polished and readable. This particular book is fairly cruddy.

 

I don't recognise any of the art and I've scanned a representative page below to see if anyone else does.

 

 

Aside from the mystery stories, there is also one humour story which is obviously modelled after the Bill Everett approach that would have existed in some of the Atlas books of the time. Again, here's a page.

 

 

Maybe someone else can shed further light.

 

Ajax story/art was outsourced to the Iger shop. Robert Webb seemed to have set the house style for much of their 1950s work. Unfortunately they tried to follow that style so consistently that it's hard for amatuers like me to identify particular artists. I suspect that this book was leftover art that was already paid for but not published. Ajax put out a Mad imitation called Madhouse and I'm thinking the ghost story might have been intended for that series.

 

The horror stories from the Iger shop are generally quite readable. I don't recall much else of their storyies that I've read.

[adamstrange]

Sorry to be spamming the thread with Lulu's, but I just got this one, and it is one of my favorite covers so I had to show it off.

 

 

Thanks to archiefan for giving me the heads up on this one

 

Seeing all the locker doors opened and the paper strewn about the hall on the last day of school had to be the highlight of each school year for me!

[tth2]

Thanks, but it does have a partial staple-pop at the top staple. It was previously CGC graded as a Fine. Oh well,....

The cover art, man, the cover art! I only obsess about grade when it comes to my own comics!

[adamstrange]

Superman 133

 

 

The book seems so simply colored and then you notice the intense magenta in the Superman logo. Very eye-catching.

 

Thanks for posting, Joanna!

[adamstrange]

The Mask of Dr. Fu Manchu, 1950. Wally Wood cover/art. Canadian edition.

 

 

Will you send this book to me if I pay postage? Pretty please

 

 

In other words,.........uh, no. Sorry!

 

That cover might be too good for the thread.

 

Awesome book, FM!

[adamstrange]

Murphy Anderson cover and interior art.

 

Edited April 9, 2005 by adamstrange

[Forbush-Man]

Thanks, but it does have a partial staple-pop at the top staple. It was previously CGC graded as a Fine. Oh well,....

The cover art, man, the cover art! I only obsess about grade when it comes to my own comics!

 

I hear ya, I had to have it for that very reason!

[adamstrange]

 

tth2: this guy is almost as bad that "hack" Schomburg.

Edited April 9, 2005 by adamstrange

[tth2]

tth2: this guy is almost as bad that "hack" Schomburg.

 

Jon Juan! Where do they get this from?

[esquirecomics]

 

 

What is on page 38 that got this book mentioned in SOTI?

[adamstrange]

 

What is on page 38 that got this book mentioned in SOTI?

 

Don't know. My copy only has 32 pages!

 

 

 

It's either a typo in the Guide or one of the mis-directions to catch plagiarism.

Edited April 9, 2005 by adamstrange

[JohnBull]

I like the DC Charlie Chan series from the 50's and here's a cover I like a lot. The reason I like it is that it's one of DC's more misleading cover pictures (SPOILER - no, Charlie doesn't really have his brain transferred!) and I always thought they had the best in misdirecting covers around.

 

 

 

Here's another My Greatest Adventure. It doesn't really qualify as a scuba cover for FFB, but it does have an enormous amount of 'purple' at the top of the page.

 

[Scrooge]

Here's something different - Certainly not as romantic as Jon Juan nor as exciting as My Greatest Adventure nor as exotic as Dr. Fu Manchu or Charlie Chan which were all great books to share but I have a soft spot for the depth sensation that Bolle was able to convey on this cover.

 

 

I have noticed that I like most My Greatest Adventures covers shown here or in the 10 centers thread in SA. Who was (were) the main cover artist(s) on that series?

[adamstrange]

Here's something different - Certainly not as romantic as Jon Juan nor as exciting as My Greatest Adventure nor as exotic as Dr. Fu Manchu or Charlie Chan which were all great books to share but I have a soft spot for the depth sensation that Bolle was able to convey on this cover.

 

 

I have noticed that I like most My Greatest Adventures covers shown here or in the 10 centers thread in SA. Who was (were) the main cover artist(s) on that series?

 

I looked at the cover before reading your comments and I thought "Hm, nice cover". The coloring is a littel unusual for ME -- I like it. I get bored looking at the same type of thing all the time, so you have at least one appreciative onlooker.

 

Ruben Moriera is the predominant cover artist on MGA and there is much to appreciate in his cover and stories. I have the original art to a splash of his from the 50s.

[esquirecomics]

 

What is on page 38 that got this book mentioned in SOTI?

 

Don't know. My copy only has 32 pages!

 

 

 

It's either a typo in the Guide or one of the mis-directions to catch plagiarism.

 

The book is not listed on the website that was posted on the Wertham thread I started which supposedly lists all of the SOTI books so perhaps we did catch a plagiarism trap.

 

Hmm, I smell an interesting thread thought!

[Scrooge]

Adam:

 

What makes you think I am still listening to you, you defensive Krigstein booster. Your parallel with Orson Welles has validity and we probably should not value quantity versus quality when it comes to art. But in keeping with Tim's (?) discussion in the General section about celebrating journeymen versus celebrating true masters in the industry, I am in the camp that because Krigstein's output was limited, one still has to wonder what, and more importantly if, higher peaks Bernard would have achieved had he stayed in the industry. A question for the ages that will never be answered. (Same with Frazetta, his later work, as praised as it is, is no indication as to how successful he could have continued to be at story-telling). Instead of recalling Welles, I liken the situation to James Dean, Natalie Wood or other such interpretors (for lack of a good US creator example in mind right now) because Welles could have had a longer career but never achieved Citizen Kane's heights again (remember The Long, Hot Summer). I will not take anything away from Krigstein's achievements but I weigh longevity and quality together (see Barks, Eisner, ...). Not arguing here but discussing this with you helps clarify my thoughts.

 

Re: Ruben Moriera is the predominant cover artist on MGA and there is much to appreciate in his cover and stories. I have the original art to a splash of his from the 50s.

 

The OA, is this anything you could actually show us? (or even a scan / picture of the printed page to this OA)

[RareHighGrade]

 

What is on page 38 that got this book mentioned in SOTI?

 

Don't know. My copy only has 32 pages!

 

 

 

It's either a typo in the Guide or one of the mis-directions to catch plagiarism.

 

On page 38 of SOTI, Dr. Wertham observes:

 

"And just as there were supermen, superwomen, superboys and superducks, so the industry now supplied a 'super-lover.' Studying these love confession books is even more tedious than studying the usual crime comic books. You have to wade through all the mushiness, the false sentiments, the social hypocrisy, the titillation, the cheapness."

 

RHG

[adamstrange]

 

What is on page 38 that got this book mentioned in SOTI?

 

Don't know. My copy only has 32 pages!

 

 

 

It's either a typo in the Guide or one of the mis-directions to catch plagiarism.

 

On page 38 of SOTI, Dr. Wertham observes:

 

"And just as there were supermen, superwomen, superboys and superducks, so the industry now supplied a 'super-lover.' Studying these love confession books is even more tedious than studying the usual crime comic books. You have to wade through all the mushiness, the false sentiments, the social hypocrisy, the titillation, the cheapness."

 

RHG

 

I haven't read my copy of SOTI yet or I might have realized we mis-interpreted p.38.

 

As far as "the mushiness, the false sentiments, the social hypocrisy, the titillation, the cheapness" -- well that's what I look for when I buy a comic!

 

tth2: Al Reid = Alex Schomburg

Edited April 9, 2005 by adamstrange

[adamstrange]

Adam:

 

What makes you think I am still listening to you, you defensive Krigstein booster. Your parallel with Orson Welles has validity and we probably should not value quantity versus quality when it comes to art. But in keeping with Tim's (?) discussion in the General section about celebrating journeymen versus celebrating true masters in the industry, I am in the camp that because Krigstein's output was limited, one still has to wonder what, and more importantly if, higher peaks Bernard would have achieved had he stayed in the industry. A question for the ages that will never be answered. (Same with Frazetta, his later work, as praised as it is, is no indication as to how successful he could have continued to be at story-telling). Instead of recalling Welles, I liken the situation to James Dean, Natalie Wood or other such interpretors (for lack of a good US creator example in mind right now) because Welles could have had a longer career but never achieved Citizen Kane's heights again (remember The Long, Hot Summer). I will not take anything away from Krigstein's achievements but I weigh longevity and quality together (see Barks, Eisner, ...). Not arguing here but discussing this with you helps clarify my thoughts.

 

Re: Ruben Moriera is the predominant cover artist on MGA and there is much to appreciate in his cover and stories. I have the original art to a splash of his from the 50s.

 

The OA, is this anything you could actually show us? (or even a scan / picture of the printed page to this OA)

 

The Krigstein debate might be worthy of a thread at some point as I don't think his merits vis-a-vis Eisner/Barks (and others) can be examined fairly without having a longer discussion. (I'm not knocking either of those 2 guys as they are among the top of the field -- I've read and loved almost every Barks story and at least 60% of all of Eisner's output).

 

Original Art: I'm assuming at some point we'll have a thread about that and then I can try and post. (Don't start one! I'm in no hurry as I don't have a digital camera.)

 

P.S. I'm not that excited about the Natalie Wood/James Dean analogy as I don't think they were particularly revolutionary. Welles, in an artistic sense, was. If you feel that I'm over-reaching in comparing Krigstein to Welles, I would feel better with a suggestion of somewhat innovative auteur as opposed to pretty-faced actors. (But then maybe now you think I'm knocking Natalie/James!)

Edited April 9, 2005 by adamstrange