Golden Age Thanksgiving Covers

Posted on November 25, 2008 by Bill Jourdain

As we are about to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, I thought it would be fun to mention some Thanksgiving covers from the Golden Age of Comic Books.  As I’ve discussed several times on the Podcast, there are many Christmas covers to be found, but when it comes to covers featuring a Thanksgiving theme, they are few and far between.

Believe it or not, the two earliest Golden Age Thanksgiving covers that I am aware of, Ace Comics #8 and More Fun Comics #26, both have cover dates of November, 1937.    I am not aware of any earlier Golden Age cover with a Thanksgiving theme. 

One of the next earliest Thanksgiving covers was Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #2 (November, 1940) and features Donald Duck trying to catch the elusive turkey (It’s kind of weird that a duck in cloths is trying to catch a turkey to eat for Thanksgiving dinner).  Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories gave us another Thanksgiving themed cover the following year on issue #15 (November, 1941).

The only superhero Golden Age Thanksgiving cover I could find is Comic Cavalcade #18 (December 1946-January 1947) and features Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash.  By the way, why couldn’t The Flash catch that turkey?

If there are other Thanksgiving themed Golden Age covers not pictured here earlier than 1940 please leave a comment to let me know.  There are others from after 1940 (i.e., New Funnies #70  from 1942 featuring Andy Panda as a Pilgrim) I have not pictured, but I would be curious if there are others between 1935 and 1940.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Update: December 1, 2008 – After writing this entry, I realized that I left out what was very likely the very first Thanksgiving cover, Famous Funnies #16 (November 1935) as shown below.  Better late than never!



Share
Posted in Golden Age Comics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Comics Then Columns Now Online

Posted on November 24, 2008 by Bill Jourdain

Since the Fall of 2007 I have been writing the “Comics Then” column for Comics NOW! magazine.  While the magazine focuses on the modern and current comic books and comics book characters, “Comics Then” showcases the comics and characters of the past.  I thought it would be great to make available each of the columns here on the Golden Age of Comic Books web site, so I have added a page with a link to the PDF file of each of the first three columns.  As future columns are published in Comics NOW! (and after an appropriate delay so everyone will go out and buy the magazine), I’ll be posting each of my columns on the “Comics Then” page.

So, look…up to the right…it’s a bird…it’s a plane…no, it’s a link to the “Comics Then” page!

I hope you enjoy reading each of these columns as much as I have enjoyed writing them!

By the way, Comics NOW! #4 should be hitting the stands very soon, so please go out to your local comic shop or online retailer and buy a copy!  Better yet, buy two or three!

 



Share
Posted in Golden Age Comics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

DC and Marvel Vaults

Posted on November 23, 2008 by Bill Jourdain

So, you’re struggling with what to get your Golden Age fan for the holidays and can’t come up with the cash for that elusive Action Comics #1?  Why not raid the vaults over at Marvel and DC for some really cool Golden Age memorabilia!  No, I’m not kidding, and there are a bunch of one-of-a-kind Golden Age artifacts available for under $50.

In late 2007, Running Press published the Marvel Vault by Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson.  This Museum-In-A-Book™ covers the history of Marvel Comics from its earliest days until the present.  The first 65 pages are devoted to the Golden Age and Atlas Eras of Marvel, and the narrative by Thomas give a great glimpse into the creation of such Marvel icons as the Sub-Mariner, The Human Torch and Captain American.  The book then follows Marvel through the birth of its superheroes in the 1960’s to the present.  The best thing about this oversized book if the inclusion of exact recreations of many rare Marvel artifacts from the Golden Age such as:

  • Photographs of many of the early Marvel creators
  • Original pencils of the Sub-Mariner from 1941-42
  • Original Bill Everett postcards

 

Of course, the main focus of the book’s artifacts is with the Silver Age of Marvel and the creation of its most popular superheroes (Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, etc.), but if you are a Golden Age fan, there’s a lot of history here worth looking at.  The Marvel Vault has a cover price of $49.95 but can be found at online retailers for much less.

 

In 2008, the DC Vault Museum-In-A-Book™ was published by Running Press.  The narrative was authored by Martin Pasko with a nice introduction by Paul Levitz.  To me, this book is filled with much more information about the Golden Age of comics than its Marvel counterpart.  Similar to the Marvel Vault, this book is oversized and contains some wonderful history of the birth of the various titles published by DC.  The artifacts are great (particularly for the Golden Age fan) and have such items as:

  • Photos of many DC executives and creators
  • Ads for Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #1
  • Lots of original art and sketches from the Golden Age
  • Color reproduction of Double Action Comics ashcan
  • Batman mask from 1943
  • Working recreation of the Junior Justice Society decoder (this is very cool!)
  • Letters and memos between DC and creators
  • Reproduction of Superman-Tim store booklet from 1944
  • Color Reproduction of “Superman and the Great Cleveland Fire” from 1948

 

Where the Marvel Vault spends about 65 pages on the Golden Age and Atlas Era, the DC Vault spends almost 100 pages covering the same time period.  For the Golden Age fan with a hankering to learn more about the origins of DC, this book should be at the top of your list.  It has a cover price of $49.99 but can also be found at online retailers for much less.

As a Golden Age fan, I enjoyed the DC Vault more than the Marvel Vault, but both offer a well written look to the past, with some very cool artifacts to read and use while on the journey.  Both of these books are welcomed editions to my library.

Share
Posted in Golden Age Comics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Golden Age Reprints for 2008

Posted on November 22, 2008 by Bill Jourdain

In the last episode of the Golden Age of Comic Books Podcast, I mentioned that there had been a plethora of Golden Age reprints over the past several months.  In looking back at 2008 (at least through the date of this post) it seems that Marvel has been a little busier than DC in providing Golden Age fans with some high quality reprints, but DC continues to churn out the “Chronicles” for Batman and Superman in a trade paperback format that is much more affordable to the average reader.  Following is a list of the majority of the Golden Age reprints I am aware of to date in 2008.

DC Comics

  • Seven Soldiers of Victory Archives, Volume 3 (Reprints Leading Comics 9-14)
  • Spirit Archives, Volume 24 (Reprints Sunday Spirit Sections from 1/1952 to 10/1952)
  • Spirit Archives, Volume 25 (Reprints Spirit dailies from 10/13/41 – 3/11/44)
  • Superman Chronicles, Volume 4 (Reprints Action Comics 26-31, Superman 6-7)
  • Superman Chronicles, Volume 5 (Reprints Action Comics 32-36, Superman 8-9, World’s Best Comics 1)
  • Batman Chronicles, Volume 5 (Reprints Detective Comics 57-61, Batman 8-9, World’s Finest Comics 5-6)
  • Batman Chronicles, Volume 6 (Reprints Detective Comics 62-65, Batman 10-11, World’s Finest Comics 5-6)

Marvel Comics

  • Golden Age Marvel Comics Masterworks, Volume 3 (Reprints Marvel Mystery Comics 9-12)
  • Golden Age Daring Mystery Comics Masterworks, Volume 1 (Reprints Daring Mystery Comics 1-4)
  • Golden Age Captain America Masterworks, Volume 2 (Reprints Captain America Comics 5-8)
  • Atlas Era Tales to Astonish Masterworks, Volume 2 (Reprints Tales to Astonish 11-20)
  • Atlas Era Tales of Suspense Masterworks, Volume 2 (Reprints Tales of Suspense 11-20)
  • Atlas Era Journey Into Mystery Masterworks, Volume 1 (Reprints Journey Into Mystery 1-10)
  • Atlas Era Heroes Masterworks, Volume 2 (Reprints Men’s Adventures 27-28, Captain America Comics 76-78, Human Torch 36-38)
  • Atlas Era Heroes Masterworks, Volume 3 (Reprints Sub-Mariner 33-42)

Dark Horse

  • Roy Rogers Comics, Volume 1 (Reprints Four Color Comics 38, 63, 86, 95, 109)

Gemstone (EC Comics) (Note: some of these may have been released in 2007)

  • Crime SuspenStories, Volume 1 (Reprints CrimeSuspenStories 1-6)
  • Haunt of Fear, Volume 1 (Reprints Haunt of Fear 1-6)
  • Frontline Combat, Volume 1 (Reprints Frontline Combat 1-6)
  • Shock SuspenStories, Volume 1 (Reprints Shock SuspenStories 1-6)
  • Shock SuspenStories, Volume 2 (Reprints Shock SuspenStories 7-12)
  • Tales from the Crypt, Volume 1 (Reprints Crypt of Terror 17-19 and Tales from the Crypt 20-22)
  • Tales from the Crypt, Volume 2 (Reprints Tales from the Crypt 23-28)
  • Tales from the Crypt, Volume 3 (Reprints Tales from the Crypt 29-34)
  • Two-Fisted Tales, Volume 1 (Reprints Two-Fisted Tales 18-23)
  • Two-Fisted Tales, Volune 2 (Reprints Two-Fisted Tales 24-29)
  • Vault of Horror, Volume 1 (Reprints Vault of Horror 12-17)
  • Weird Science, Volume 1 (Reprints Weird Science 12-14, 5-6)
  • Weird Science, Volume 2 (Reprints Weird Science 7-12)
  • Weird Science, Volume 3 (Reprints Weird Science 13-18)

The list above represents the mainstream reprint sources I am aware of and does not include any reprints contained in single comic book issues (i.e. Uncle Scrooge that from time to time reprints Uncle Scrooge stories from the Barks run in the 1950’s) or any of the many web sites and digital resources available for reprint material.

The best resource on the web for a complete listing of reprints in collected editions is the Collected Comics Library, maintained by Chris Marshall.  Chris also hosts the Collected Comics Library Podcast which is an excellent weekly show featuring all things related to collected editions.

Please leave a comment if you believe I left out any Golden Age reprints from 2008 that should be included in the above list.

Share
Posted in Golden Age Comics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Golden Age of Comic Books – November 12, 2008 – #59

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Bill Jourdain

Welcome to the 59th episode of the Golden Age of Comic Books Podcast!  In this episode we discuss Phantom Lady, who was published by several comic book companies during the Golden Age.  She first appeared in Quality’s Police Comics #1 (August, 1941) and ran until issue #23 in 1943.  Four years later, she was published by Fox Features Syndicate in her own title, Phantom Lady starting with issue #13 and ending with issue number 23.  Her run in Phantom Lady was highlighted with art by great “good girl” artist, Matt Baker.  Baker was probably the first African American comic book artist.  After another 5 year hiatus, she was picked up by Ajax and had a four issue run of Phantom Lady.  The cover to Phantom Lady #17, shown here, is famous for being discussed by Fredric Wertham in his attack on comics in Seduction of The Innocent (1954).

Phantom Lady #17

We also bring back the Golden Age Market Report and discuss some Golden Age reprint material.

We also discuss Comics Now! magazine and the DC Comics Vintage Super Hero Calendar.

Last but not least, we have our first ever Golden Age of Comic Book Podcast contest, but you’ll have to listen to the show to find out the details!

Share
Posted in Golden Age Comics, Podcast | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments