Looking for information on this Special Edition Series 0

[shadroch]

In the early 1970s, Alan Light, of CBG fame, published a series of B&W  reprints.  I bought a few when they came out but they weren't great repros and they were expensive for the day. Over the years I've bought and sold a bunch but never saw these before. They appear to be from the same series, but somehow missed them.

Issue 2 contains stories from The Ray and Black Condor. It is 316  pages and contains one story  that has eight pages printed in color

It's got a price on the interior of $14.95, at a time when you could buy an AF 15 for under $100.  It's got an introduction by Jim Sterenko.  

I've never come across an ad for them so I'm curious how they were sold.  No library had them, nor any bookstore that I remember.

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by shadroch

[shadroch]

Issue 3 Captain Marvel Jr.

208 pages, no cover price, no color.

It appears they are cutting quality and costs, implying earlier editions were  not successful.

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by shadroch

[Zonker]

In addition to Alan Light's Flashback series (B&W reprints of individual Golden Age comic books), he also produced three of those thick anthology Special Editions.  In addition to the two you posted, there also was a Volume 1 reprinting the Captain Marvel stories from Whiz Comics #7-28, all in black and white, retailing for $9.95.  Among other stories, this included the introduction of Captain Marvel Junior and Captain Nazi.  

I am not sure how these were distributed, I got mine years ago on eBay.  I'd guess they originally were sold via ads in Light's The Buyers' Guide fanzine.