Moondog's Ashcan Odyssey - Part 2 0

[Moondog]

I was convinced that ashcans, as historically important as they were, would never attain the level of respect they deserved unless they were listed in Overstreet.  Real comic books are listed in Overstreet.  Ashcans are real comics.  They may not have been sold on a newsstand, but there was no question in my mind (and many others) that they were comic books. 

Enter Tom Gordon, Overstreet managing editor, comic book historian and long-time advocate for ashcans.  He was as determined as I was that they needed to be listed in the Guide.  Through Tom's efforts Bob finally listed ashcans in the 2006 edition - a full 20 years after first reporting on my initial purchase.

The 1998 publication Comics Between the Panels published by Dark Horse ran a very cool feature on my ashcans.  This book is an overlooked gem. 

Wizard jumped on the ashcan band wagon in 2002 when they ran a nice piece on my collection.  The photo of Steve and me is one of my favorites.

A couple of years after Bob finally listed ashcans, JC Vaughn asked me to do a definitive article for the Guide.  Mark Zaid and I co-authored the piece.  We had a lot of fun with it.

The 2010 uber tome - 75 Years of DC Comics by Paul Levitz had a nice section on ashcans.  Paul was gracious to inscribe my copy. 

Part 3 coming up.

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by Moondog