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show us your Mile Highs (Edgar Church copies)
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Started by Cpt Kirk,

635 posts in this topic

LDarkseid1

LDarkseid1

Posted
Posted (edited)
33 minutes ago, Timely said:

 

action6.jpg

Aww damn, well that puts a stinker in my case lol. I guess SA8 was more about making it a popular thing to do. I googled first gorilla comic book cover and Action 6 didn't pop up, nor other earlier books but clearly my key word search didn't produce the best results. I could still make the case for 1st sci-fi gorilla cover hm.

https://comicsalliance.com/history-gorillas-comic-books/

The real turning point for gorillas, the year that really made them a star, was 1951. This was the year that Strange Adventures #8 came out, featuring the story “The Incredible Story of an Ape With a Human Brain.” At this time, editors were anxious to grab on to any trend they could that would increase sales (plus ça change...), and apparently Strange Adventures #8 sold pretty well. Legendary DC editor Julius Schwartz once recalled that “[DC editorial director] Irwin Donenfeld called me in and said we should try it again. Finally all the editors wanted to use gorilla covers, and he said no more than one a month."

Soon they were pushing that “one gorilla a month” rule to the limit. DC's sci-fi/fantasy/horror titles such as Strange Adventures and Tales of the Unexpected have since become notorious for their gorilla covers. Even in this not-quite-Silver Age era, superheroes were getting into the gorilla mix, with Batman fighting the Gorilla Boss of Gotham in Batman #75 (1953), Superboy battling Kingorilla in Adventure Comics #196 (1954), and Wonder Woman, uh, playing baseball with one in Wonder Woman #78 (1955).

Edited by LDarkseid1
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Timely

Timely

Posted
Posted (edited)
14 minutes ago, LDarkseid1 said:

Aww damn, well that puts a stinker in my case lol. I guess SA8 was more about making it a popular thing to do. I googled first gorilla comic book cover and Action 6 didn't pop up, nor other earlier books but clearly my key word search didn't produce the best results. I could still make the case for 1st sci-fi gorilla cover hm.

https://comicsalliance.com/history-gorillas-comic-books/

The real turning point for gorillas, the year that really made them a star, was 1951. This was the year that Strange Adventures #8 came out, featuring the story “The Incredible Story of an Ape With a Human Brain.” At this time, editors were anxious to grab on to any trend they could that would increase sales (plus ça change...), and apparently Strange Adventures #8 sold pretty well. Legendary DC editor Julius Schwartz once recalled that “[DC editorial director] Irwin Donenfeld called me in and said we should try it again. Finally all the editors wanted to use gorilla covers, and he said no more than one a month."

Soon they were pushing that “one gorilla a month” rule to the limit. DC's sci-fi/fantasy/horror titles such as Strange Adventures and Tales of the Unexpected have since become notorious for their gorilla covers. Even in this not-quite-Silver Age era, superheroes were getting into the gorilla mix, with Batman fighting the Gorilla Boss of Gotham in Batman #75 (1953), Superboy battling Kingorilla in Adventure Comics #196 (1954), and Wonder Woman, uh, playing baseball with one in Wonder Woman #78 (1955).

Maybe 1st sci-fi gorilla, not sure.  I know fiction house used a lot of animals on their titles, Jumbo, Jungle, Kaanga, Wambi, etc...  Fox also like using Gorillas, such as Wonder Comics #2 from 1939.

 

 

wonder.jpg

Edited by Timely
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LDarkseid1

LDarkseid1

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Timely said:

Maybe 1st sci-fi gorilla, not sure.  I know fiction house used a lot of animals on their titles, Jumbo, Jungle, Kaanga, Wambi, etc...  Fox also like using Gorillas, such as Wonder Comics #2 from 1939.

 

 

wonder.jpg

Well sir, you've definitely made me feel pretty stupid lol. I guess It will stay a cool story for the book itself, and nothing more.

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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2 hours ago, LDarkseid1 said:

Not the prettiest due to the mis-cut, but here’s my entry. I tried to reason with CGC to update the label for this that it's the 1st gorilla cover in comics or 1st comic to showcase a gorilla on the cover, however you want to say it. There's a fun backstory online with the history of the book, and how this comic made it popular going forward to put gorillas on covers. Alas, I lost the battle for that lol. I may be reaching haha, but I choose to believe you could make an argument that this book paved the way for the creation of the DC villain, Gorilla Grodd. Just my .02.

 

According to Julie Schwartz, this is the cover that started the "intelligent" gorilla cover theme for DC.  There was a sales uptick that editors/publisher noticed that caused them to include gorillas across most of their line.  It couldn't be just any gorilla randomly included but rather sales increased when it was a gorilla that could think.

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Crowzilla

Crowzilla

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Posted
On 9/24/2020 at 6:37 PM, Robot Man said:

From the penthouse to the outhouse...:roflmao:

combobcolt2Church1.jpg

You see a book like that and think, this is what Chuck based his offer for the entire collection on. Overpay on Bob Colt and then find out you get an Action 1-100 to make up for it.

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manofsteel

manofsteel

Posted
Posted
On 9/24/2020 at 12:05 PM, LDarkseid1 said:

Not the prettiest due to the mis-cut, but here’s my entry. I tried to reason with CGC to update the label for this that it's the 1st gorilla cover in comics or 1st comic to showcase a gorilla on the cover, however you want to say it. There's a fun backstory online with the history of the book, and how this comic made it popular going forward to put gorillas on covers. Alas, I lost the battle for that lol. I may be reaching haha, but I choose to believe you could make an argument that this book paved the way for the creation of the DC villain, Gorilla Grodd. Just my .02.

81AF08B4-118C-4B5E-A5AF-03F4DE7771C0.jpeg

Does CGC still note mis-cut books? I haven’t seen one that I can recall, and I’ve seen some way more mis cut books than yours. 

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LDarkseid1

LDarkseid1

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, manofsteel said:

Does CGC still note mis-cut books? I haven’t seen one that I can recall, and I’ve seen some way more mis cut books than yours. 

I could be wrong but I don’t believe they do notate that anymore, and if I got this reholdered it would come off the label.

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LDarkseid1

LDarkseid1

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, manofsteel said:

Thanks... I have a Supes 31 with that noted too. I wouldn’t mind reholdering it to have it removed. 
 

Yeah I mean once again I’m not 100% positive, but pretty damn sure they don’t anymore. I certainly haven’t seen anything like that in a looonnnggg time, but would be worth calling CGC to check before sending in. I just sent my Superman 30 and 31 in to get graded. Luckily no mis cuts to worry about lol.

Edited by LDarkseid1
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manofsteel

manofsteel

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, LDarkseid1 said:

Yeah I mean once again I’m not 100% positive, but pretty damn sure they don’t anymore. I certainly haven’t seen anything like that in a looonnnggg time, but would be worth calling CGC to check before sending in. I just sent my Superman 30 and 31 in to get graded. Luckily no mis cuts to worry about lol.

Did you find a nice 30? It’s on my list to buy when I come across a nice one for a decent price. Good luck on the grade.

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