Golden Age group shot 21 21

[ciorac]

Cool! That will be months of great reading and gorgeous pictures!

[adamstrange]

So have you read them all?

 

Let's see. I've read Steve Canyon up to the mid-fifties, have read Prince Valiant up to 1952 so far and I've read Terry & Pirates out of order over the years but now that I have the complete set, I'll start over from the start and, finally, can one really read Flash Gordon? It's more eye-candy than literature! I must have said it elsewhere but the strip I am enjoying the most at the moment is the Titan Modesty Blaise reprint series, very finely scripted sequences. I have the first volume of the IDW Tracy reprint staring at me right now ... but I have to finish my grading first before I can read it.

 

Grading is easy.

 

How to Grade

[Theagenes]

Speaking of Terry & the Pirates, maybe Scrooge or someone else can help me out on this. I want to read them all in order, but I know that for the first couple of years the Sundays and the dailies were two separate storylines that later converged. Flying Buttress did two separate reprints series, one for dailies and one for Sundays. Which ones should I start with? And at what point (in the reprints) do the two storylines come together?

[adamstrange]

Ok, I know it's not a GA group shot per se but ... today I received the last Steve Canyon Magazines I needed to complete the Caniff Canyon run and I took out the Big 3 collection to take some pictures. About 5 or 6 years ago, I decided to buy complete runs of the major strips from the Big 3: Caniff, Foster and Raymond and here I show the complete Foster Prince Valiant, the complete Caniff Terry & the Pirates, the complete Caniff Steve Canyon, the (almost) complete Raymond Flash Gordon with a few Rip Kirby and some Foster Tarzan. Now, I need to finish the Foster Tarzan run. Anyone knows where I can find cheap Flying Buttress Foster HCs reprints? Anyway, here's part of my ever expanding strip reprint library -

 

Very impressive collection!

I'm trying to put together all of the Nostalgia HC Prince Valiants and Flash Gordons right now. Terry & the Pirates is on my agenda too. As for the Flying Buttress Foster Tarzans, the HCs are around (try abebooks.com), but they're never cheap. I've been outbid on vol. 1 several times. I finally picked up the SC versions of vols. 1 and 2 a few days ago for $30 on the bay. Of course if you want to be a true Foster Tarzan completist you'll need one of these to get all his 1929 dailies:

 

Illustrated Tarzan Book

 

House of Greystoke did a soft cover reprint of it in the early 70's and you can find that sometimes for relatively cheap.

 

I like the book you linked to -- Foster's work is amazing, moreso when it's in black and white.

 

What to the FB HB reprints go for? I have 1 - 5 maybe I should sell.

 

Scrooge: I definitely recommend finishing off your set with Hogarth Tarzans as well.

[Theagenes]

I like the book you linked to -- Foster's work is amazing, moreso when it's in black and white.

 

Me too! It's one of the coolest things I've picked up in a while. Most copies that turn up are real beaters. Foster's B&W is amazing - check out those shadows - 5 or 6 years before Caniff started popularizing the chiaroscuro technique.

 

What to the FB HB reprints go for? I have 1 - 5 maybe I should sell.

 

Scrooge: I definitely recommend finishing off your set with Hogarth Tarzans as well.

 

The hardbacks usually go for $40-50 on ebay. A lot book dealers list them for $100 or more though.

[adamstrange]

I like the book you linked to -- Foster's work is amazing, moreso when it's in black and white.

 

Me too! It's one of the coolest things I've picked up in a while. Most copies that turn up are real beaters. Foster's B&W is amazing - check out those shadows - 5 or 6 years before Caniff started popularizing the chiaroscuro technique.

 

What to the FB HB reprints go for? I have 1 - 5 maybe I should sell.

 

Scrooge: I definitely recommend finishing off your set with Hogarth Tarzans as well.

 

The hardbacks usually go for $40-50 on ebay. A lot book dealers list them for $100 or more though.

 

Guess I haven't quite made my fortune.

 

Of the big three, Foster, Raymond, Sickles/Caniff, I am most fond of Foster.

[Scrooge]

As for the Flying Buttress Foster Tarzans, the HCs are around (try abebooks.com), but they're never cheap. I've been outbid on vol. 1 several times. I finally picked up the SC versions of vols. 1 and 2 a few days ago for $30 on the bay.

 

Hi, yeah, I know and that's why I mentioned cheap in my original post. I've tracked their ending price. They don't cost a mint but as a scrooge paying close to $100 for the first issue is going to be a pain. Considering they retailed at $35 originally, paying a little more for OOP books shouldn't be a surprise. I have spend to my limit over the last 2 months (catching up on my Spirit, Plastic Man and EC archives + pulp reprints) so this will be a New Year's project.

 

I almost bid on those SC versions 2 days ago but it seems that they were in B&W and I made the decision I would get the Tarzan in Color series. Contrary to what you guys say, I prefer my Foster in Color and my Caniff in B&W. Adam, I think for the moment though that I will focus on the first 6 volumes (minus # 2 that I have, which seems to be everywhere. What's the story on that one? Overprinted? but it's the Egyptian sequence ) and wait for the Hogarth until (much) later.

 

I'm also having a lot of fun reading this - you can call it the french Caniff alter-ego: same topic and similar artwork -

 

here's a page detailed the feint maneuver by the Japanese leading up to the Battle of Midway as they fake an attack towards Alaska as shown in the accompanying map -

 

and here's some action in China when Buck was attached to the Flying Tigers command of the American Volunteer Group -

 

Notice the progress in figure work from strip # 88 to strip # 153 shown above.

[Scrooge]

Grading is easy.

 

How to Grade

 

I wish!!

[adamstrange]

Very nice artwork on those two pages that you scanned!

 

I like Prince Valiant in color -- in the oversized versions like Fantagraphics or the original sized reprint books (awesomely cool but expensive).

 

For Tarzan Foster used a more impressionistic style that I think gets muddied when it is colored. Either way, it's still great work.

[Theagenes]

Hi, yeah, I know and that's why I mentioned cheap in my original post. I've tracked their ending price. They don't cost a mint but as a scrooge paying close to $100 for the first issue is going to be a pain. Considering they retailed at $35 originally, paying a little more for OOP books shouldn't be a surprise. I have spend to my limit over the last 2 months (catching up on my Spirit, Plastic Man and EC archives + pulp reprints) so this will be a New Year's project.

 

I almost bid on those SC versions 2 days ago but it seems that they were in B&W and I made the decision I would get the Tarzan in Color series. Contrary to what you guys say, I prefer my Foster in Color and my Caniff in B&W. Adam, I think for the moment though that I will focus on the first 6 volumes (minus # 2 that I have, which seems to be everywhere. What's the story on that one? Overprinted? but it's the Egyptian sequence ) and wait for the Hogarth until (much) later.

 

 

I hope they're not B&W! I agree with Adamstrange that Foster's (and Raymond's for that matter) linework shows up better in B&W, but if it's Sundays then I'd still like to read them in color. I guess I'll find out when they get here.

 

I'm not sure what the deal is with vol. 2. I know what you mean though - there was dealer on ebay who seemed to have an endless supply of them for a while. I don't know if it was over printed (like the Fantagraphics PV vol. 2) or if that one dealer just had some overstock. I haven't seen him list one in a while though.

[adamstrange]

Hi, yeah, I know and that's why I mentioned cheap in my original post. I've tracked their ending price. They don't cost a mint but as a scrooge paying close to $100 for the first issue is going to be a pain. Considering they retailed at $35 originally, paying a little more for OOP books shouldn't be a surprise. I have spend to my limit over the last 2 months (catching up on my Spirit, Plastic Man and EC archives + pulp reprints) so this will be a New Year's project.

 

I almost bid on those SC versions 2 days ago but it seems that they were in B&W and I made the decision I would get the Tarzan in Color series. Contrary to what you guys say, I prefer my Foster in Color and my Caniff in B&W. Adam, I think for the moment though that I will focus on the first 6 volumes (minus # 2 that I have, which seems to be everywhere. What's the story on that one? Overprinted? but it's the Egyptian sequence ) and wait for the Hogarth until (much) later.

 

 

I hope they're not B&W! I agree with Adamstrange that Foster's (and Raymond's for that matter) linework shows up better in B&W, but if it's Sundays then I'd still like to read them in color. I guess I'll find out when they get here.

 

I'm not sure what the deal is with vol. 2. I know what you mean though - there was dealer on ebay who seemed to have an endless supply of them for a while. I don't know if it was over printed (like the Fantagraphics PV vol. 2) or if that one dealer just had some overstock. I haven't seen him list one in a while though.

 

The Flying Buttress Tarzans are printed in color. You can sleep peacefully now.

[precodekeith]

 

Sweet run, Scroogey!

[Scrooge]

The Flying Buttress Tarzans are printed in color. You can sleep peacefully now.

 

Darn, if those SC volumes are in color, then congrats and to myself for not giving you some competition! A grouping of HCs vol. 3 4 & 5 just sold for a little over $100. That's reasonable. I'll keep an eye on eBay to pick the HCs up over the next 6 months.

[Theagenes]

I had enough competition as it was. I just barely won by less than the bid increment. The underbidder actually emailed me right after the auction trying to get me to sell them to him. I was like, damn, dude - give me chance to read them at least.

[adamstrange]

I had enough competition as it was. I just barely won by less than the bid increment. The underbidder actually emailed me right after the auction trying to get me to sell them to him. I was like, damn, dude - give me chance to read them at least.

 

[tth2]

I've always been an ERB fan ever since I was a kid, so when I got into GA one of the first things I wanted to do is put together a run of GA John Carter of Mars covers (collecting Tarzan seemed a little too overwhelming ). I had no idea it would take so long, but some of those Funnies issues are tough to find. Two years later I'm finally finished so I thought I'd share. I included Funnies 30 even though it's not a JC cover, but it is his first comics appearance. Funnies 42 is not a true JC cover, but he does appear in one of the vignettes on the cover.

Wow, very impressive! I'm a life-long ERB fan too.

 

How are the actual JC stories themselves? Worth reading? I have to admit I'm a bit underwhelmed by the cover art, except for the cool painted cover. This is very different from the Tarzan series, which for the most part featured great painted covers (except the early issues, which had pretty poor line-drawn covers, and all the photo cover issues, which I don't collect).

[Theagenes]

I've always been an ERB fan ever since I was a kid, so when I got into GA one of the first things I wanted to do is put together a run of GA John Carter of Mars covers (collecting Tarzan seemed a little too overwhelming ). I had no idea it would take so long, but some of those Funnies issues are tough to find. Two years later I'm finally finished so I thought I'd share. I included Funnies 30 even though it's not a JC cover, but it is his first comics appearance. Funnies 42 is not a true JC cover, but he does appear in one of the vignettes on the cover.

Wow, very impressive! I'm a life-long ERB fan too.

 

How are the actual JC stories themselves? Worth reading? I have to admit I'm a bit underwhelmed by the cover art, except for the cool painted cover. This is very different from the Tarzan series, which for the most part featured great painted covers (except the early issues, which had pretty poor line-drawn covers, and all the photo cover issues, which I don't collect).

 

Thanks! They are pretty good reads, if for no other reason than that they are ERB adaptations so they had a good foundation with which to start. The Funnies series is much better than the three FCs though, IMO. The Funnies issues, I think, do a better job of capturing the look and feel of the novels. The FC issues are a little too G-Rated if you know I mean.

 

The best art, by far are the John Coleman Burroughs issues (Funnies 34-56) and the best cover I think hands down is Funnies 36 (below), also by JCB, though I like FC 488 as well. The art for the three FC issues is by Jesse Marsh whom you should be pretty familiar with from the Dell Tarzan series - he's competent, but not spectacular.

 

 

[Scrooge]

Here are some Flash Gordon pages you've probably never seen. In 1942, the German occupants in Belgium censored not only movies from the US but also comic strips. The editors of Bravo, a youth weekly, had to commissioned a local artist to finish the current sequence as they were no longer receiving the strips from the syndicate so not only is this not Raymond's art but it's also not the same ending! The artist was Edgar P. Jacobs, soon to create Blake and Mortimer for Tintin -

 

 

 

[adamstrange]

Interesting bit of comics/WWII history!

 

And the art's pretty nice as well.

[Straw-Man]

Venii, if you please.