Lev Gleason Cover Post

[Jayman]

Recent pick-ups courtesy of Nikos.

 

[Jayman]

One more. Nice bullet in the head cover, EEEEEE!

 

[dgillock]

Beautiful copy of #54, Jayman

[Jayman]

Thanks!

These are the only two issues I have of this title and there is a substantial width difference between the two books from # 42 to # 54.

With what issue did they make the book smaller?

[dgillock]

There was a progressive reduction in width as with most GA books. From my collection, CDNP seems to get noticeably narrower with issue #50. Boy seems to reduce in width around issue #28, and Daredevil a bit earlier around issue #33 or so. Tough to tell exactly with GA production standards being what they were, but it does seem to coincide with the page count transitions (48 to 68 to 52) in 1945/46/47. There was some thread a while back where this was discussed and I posted a comparison image... I wonder if I still have it around? I'll look.

[dgillock]

Here we go:

 

 

Issues pictured- #47, #50, #59. I should have noted before that there were two rather dramatic size reduction in a short amount of time. I suppose that alot of this went on in the couple of years following the end of the War.

[Jayman]

That's very interesting, thanks for the comparison pic.

Good to know things like this in case the question of trimming ever comes up.

[dgillock]

Yeah, that was the basis of the original thread if I remember correctly. Someone had purchased some CDNPs and they were concerned that they had been trimmed. I put together that image to show that they probably weren't.

 

I heard a story from a dealer friend of mine about a customer who had bought a few Timelys from him. After a couple of weeks, the buyer brought them back asking for a refund as he had decided they had to be trimmed since they were so narrow (they weren't, but the buyer simply didn't realize that the standard size had gone down from the early 40's Timelys. He was apparently also upset that they only had one staple...). The seller was happy to take them back and later sold them for more $$$ to a more informed buyer.

 

Trimming is certainly a concern, esp when buying expensive books that appear to be HG, but it's important to know what a book should look like before you start looking for "problems". All that said, I'm convinced that "expertly done" trimming is very, very difficult to spot for sure.

[dgillock]

Latest addition, Black Diamond Western #51 "Deep-Dimension" issue:

 

 

For those unaware, LG did the "Deep Dimension Process" on a few issues each of Crime & Punishment (66, 67, 68) and Black Diamond Westen (51 & 52) in 1954. I'm assuming that it was Harold Straubing's idea, since he had just taken over editorship of these two titles. Wasn't used on CDNP, Daredevil, or Boy, which Biro continued editing until the end. It wasn't really a process at all, but just a lot of forced perspective, fore-shortening, and Zipatone in "panoramic" panels. Most of the art in these issues is pretty bad, though the Toth stuff in C&P #66 holds up IMO.

[dgillock]

Just upgraded my CDNP #96:

 

 

Nice solid, square copy unlike my old one that had poorly trimmed and tattered pages. Shame about the pen, but for $13.84 shipped, I'm not going to complain too much

[dgillock]

Fresh off of Ebay for $25 shipped:

 

 

Pretty, pretty, pretty...

[Jayman]

Very nice white logo area! Is the staple ok? It looks dark but could just be from the black background the book is on.

Either way, for $25 it's a great deal!

[dgillock]

Staple's great. Little dimpled, but no tearing. Really common on these from my experience. Back cover has a little very light creasing and very minor soiling, but all and all, exactly the kind of book I seek out for my collection. Being a low to mid-grade collector is fun, because even a book like this can throw you into fits of ectasy when you acquire one for a decent price.

 

I'm getting frighteningly close to finishing my #40-#60 run now. Hopefully I can find a few more in this sort of shape with that kind of price.

[CKB]

Staple's great. Little dimpled, but no tearing. Really common on these from my experience. Back cover has a little very light creasing and very minor soiling, but all and all, exactly the kind of book I seek out for my collection. Being a low to mid-grade collector is fun, because even a book like this can throw you into fits of ectasy when you acquire one for a decent price.

 

I'm getting frighteningly close to finishing my #40-#60 run now. Hopefully I can find a few more in this sort of shape with that kind of price.

 

I really have a lot of these. I will make you a list as soon as I get through the Charltons I am working on.

[dgillock]

You the man!

Look forward to hearing from you.

[dgillock]

Another recent Ebay purchase:

 

 

A really classic issue. Not only does this book feature the return of C.B.'s nemesis Iron Jaw, but it is also the issue where C.B. stops wearing his "hockey" costume and shifts over to the slacks and sweater look that he would have through the end of the run. Interestingly, the reason for the change is done very realistically. Basically, a girl that he's seeing refuses to go out with him if he keeps running around dressed like a kid. Properly clothed, she then pressures him into fighting a masked wrestler at a fair, who of course turns out to be the supposedly dead Iron Jaw. Women!

 

The story (and it's focus on the "real" sorts of problems that adolescents face) really smacks of Stan Lee's later SA Marvel stories. Reading stuff like this really supports the rumors that Lee greatly respected Biro and even formulated some of his ideas about what comics could be while reading his work. Lee certainly took it further in the early 60's, but the Biro Lev Gleason stories from the later 40s through the mid-50's really stand up as a predecessor.

 

As a side note, there's a rumored conversation between Stan Lee and Charles Biro in the later 50's where Lee asked Biro "what comic books needed to survive". Biro apparently replied "Charles Biro! And he's not coming back!" I seem to remember that this conversation was mentioned in Men of Tomorrow, but I don't have my copy handy right now. Does anyone know the origin of this anecdote? Perhaps an interview with Lee?

[Monstro]

that was extremely funny

[dgillock]

Posted the auction link over in the Beater Grail thread, but seein that I received the book today, I thought I'd post a scan to a more permenant home:

 

Silver Streak #8

 

3rd app. Daredevil and Jack Cole c/a. Also, my first Silver Streak... Release the happy dancers!

 

[Point Five]

dmgcsr, I love it!

It looks much better than the photo of the slab that was in the auction. I came very close to bidding on it myself, but forced myself to pass since I'm trying to stick with DCs & the occasional Fox. How do the stories look?

[rjpb]

Keen