notes from the junkyard

Dune - A Federal Super Special

2011-10-25T15:44:00.002+11:00

This Federal Super Special edition of Dune is a facsimile copy, from front ocver to back cover, of the Marvel edition, which was part of the Marvel Super Special/Marvel Comics Super Special series of album-sized comics. This Marvel series of comics was virtually a separate imprint, printed with cardstock covers and focussing on movie properties and adaptations such as Conan, 2010, Star Trek and pop music-related content such as The Beatles and Kiss.

Federal put out a few of these with similarly upscale production values – the larger dimensions, the cardstock covers, the full colour reproduction, and the “A Federal Super Special” banner or text box, indicating a line of sorts separate to the rest of the Federal line-up. Some of the titles Federal published included Sheena, Conan the Destroyer, 2010 and The Last Starfighter. Unlike their Marvel counterparts, the Federal editions did not have their own series numbering. For example, the Marvel edition of Dune is Marvel Comics Super Special #36 – The Federal edition is unnumbered.

These Federal editions are about as upscale as Murray/Federal comics ever got – large full-colour pages, cardstock covers, no advertisements, premium cover price; a long way away from the black and white more-bang-for-your-buck reprints, and on the cusp of the wave of graphic novels which were about to hit the comics reading market. So consider these few issues circa 1984 as the Federal Comics series of graphic novels. It’s only a bit of a stretch, and I don’t think anyone would begrudge them the courtesy.

Beatles comics

2011-10-23T08:37:00.006+11:00

You don’t have to be a Beatles expert to know this comic was published circa 1965. Paul McCartney’s moptop is an acute enough cultural sign to tell you this was published before 1967. And if that doesn’t tell you, maybe the pre-decimal cover price for Australia and New Zealand will do the trick.

You won’t find much about the Beatles or McCartney in this romance comic, other than a passing reference to Liverpool. But that won’t worry the sub-group of comics collectors who are Beatles Comics collectors. These collectors are interested in any comics which reference the Beatles. Some of these collectors are not really comics collectors per sel, but rather Beatles fanatics who, I presume, are just as interested in lunch boxes and underwear with the Fab Four emblazoned upon them.

I’m a bit different - avowedly a comics nut and a Beatles nut, but not a Beatles Comics nut as such. Sure, I’ll pick up a Beatles-related comic like this one if I come across it by chance, but I don’t seek them out or cross them off a checklist or anything.

This particular issue was published by C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd. in London, printed by Cahill & Co., Ltd. in Dublin, and price-badged for local distribution.

Chatto on Page Publications pocket size comics

2011-10-16T08:16:00.019+11:00

I’m no expert on Keith Chatto by any stretch, but I do appreciate his approach to cover illustrations in a series of Page Publications digest or pocket size comics.

In Terror Pocket Library #1 (above) Chatto copies the splash page to the story “Cast a Crooked Shadow”, which of course features just such a creepy hunchbacked shadow lurking in a deserted urban nightscape. Chatto’s improvement is to add dollops of blood on the wall - after all, the cover is in colour – and to promote to the foreground the image of a terrified woman, which amplifies the pulpy terror stakes.

He undertakes a similar renovation for the cover to Nightmare Suspense Library #5 (below) – again adding a close-up of a terrified face on the left side of the frame whilst replaying a scene from the interior, and again, making exquisitely gruesome use of the colour palette.

Nightmare Suspense Library #8 is a bit of a mix of the above two issues. On the one hand it contains a story featuring a British Secret Service agent named Nick Bailey, whose distinguishing physical feature is a single eye patch. This character is also featured in Terror Pocket Library #1, but not in Nightmare Suspense Library #5. And contrary to the pattern established in the previous examples, the cover to NSL #8 is not a rendition of a panel or action in the story – rather, it appears to be based on some other adult-oriented mystery/suspense/horror comic – probably from the UK/European source (see James’site or this site for more detail).

Or it may be something which is even more typical of Chatto – as I say, I’m no Chatto expert, but my antenna is now on alert for other such patterns related to Chatto and the variety of digest/pocket sized thriller/horror/suspense comics which permeated the Australian comics reprint market in the 1960s-1980’s.

Crypt of Shadows #3

2011-09-18T14:57:00.006+10:00

It’s taken quite a while, but I’ve finally tracked down a copy of the Yaffa/Page Crypt of Shadows #3. This is a digest-sized issue, which I assumed it would be given #’s 2 and 4 are digest-sized, but I’m happy to be able to confirm it. The twist to the story (and there’s always a twist with these Yaffa/Page issues) is that it was later reprinted as an unnumbered regular or magazine-sized edition, as per James’ site.

To date I have only come across 4 issues in this series, not counting reprinted issues with the same title or indeed with other titles.

Review: Nicki Greenberg's Hamlet

2010-12-29T10:13:00.009+11:00

A month or so ago I attended The Wheeler Centre for a conversation between Nicki Greenberg and Shaun Tan. This was one of the best comics-related talks or presentations by practitioners I have seen in ages. It was especially interesting when they appeared to momentarily forget about the audience and just chatted about working on comics, it was a privilege to eavesdrop. And again I fell in love with an artist's sketches... here's hoping a sketchbook is published some time... Check out the conversation here. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I managed to squeeze out a review of Hamlet for English in Australia, a journal put out by AATE, which will be out some time 2011. I don't think all the articles or reviews are made available online, so I figured I may as well post it here... I've probably broken some rule doing so (gulp!)... I know I don't I don't usually post my academic stuff here, but the junkyard's been so quiet and neglected this year...

Nicki Greenberg (2010)
Hamlet
Sydney: Allen and Unwin
ISBN 9781741756425

Greenberg’s Hamlet is nothing if not idiosyncratic. Traditional realist-oriented comic book adaptations (of Shakespeare and other classics) have tended to be reductive and utilitarian; consciously foreclosing the interpretive gesture, resisting any urge to engage in creative visual metaphors, choosing instead to foreground plot and action in order to fulfil their contract to ‘explain’ the ‘difficult text’. Greenberg’s Hamlet doesn’t bother with realism, and as such has little in common with traditional ‘Classics Illustrated’-style adaptations.

Picking up Greenberg’s Hamlet prompts a number of immediate and emphatic first impressions. At over 400 pages it’s a hefty tome, a lavish production which teases and invites one to peruse its lush, vibrant, glossy psychedelic pages before settling down to an orderly reading. This instinct to pre-view the object proves to be both orienting and estranging—on the one hand it acclimatises the reader to the strangeness of the spectacle, of the design, layout and colours and the scale of the production, but it also serves to prompt more questions than one might have expected to ask on first picking up a comic book or graphic novel adaptation of such a canonical text.

For Hamlet as for Greenberg, ‘the play’s the thing’, and no doubt the pun on ‘play’ proved irresistible for Greenberg, emphasising not only the metafictional elements of Hamlet, but also the natural and inherent playfulness of her own idiosyncratic art style whilst also tapping into her abiding formalist interest in the narrative structure of comics as a storytelling medium. It is these impulses which drive the production and the most creative elements of this text.

The story is presented as a staged production, but this is a feint, a sleight-of-hand of misdirection as Greenberg cannily subverts the proscenium arch of the stage in deference to the malleable space of the comics page. Each scene begins with heavy theatre curtains framing the stage which reveals a number of fully-painted backgrounds in which Greenberg sets her characters. However these backgrounds are abstract, non-Euclidean, psychedelic, op-art planes (with at times a clear debt to Gaudi) which exhibit rather than contain Greenberg’s ciphers, who get to strut and fret in spatial exploits uninhibited by mere middle distance perspective. This freeform visual play extends to the representation and subversion of the panels and borders and speech balloons—the constituent parts of the comics page—with which Greenberg’s conducts all manner of virtuoso performances on the picture plane which belie both the middle distance perspective of the figures, and of the regular proscenium. This is a performance which begins and ends with the curtain of the stage, but the drama is played out on the plane of the page—a neat metatextual commentary on seeing the play performed, and reading the text as words or ink on the page.

This is one of Greenberg’s most inspired gestures, to equate the image with the word on the ontological basis that each are but ink markings on the page. Greenberg’s characters are ciphers, black animated inkblots with the barest definitions of animating arms and legs. They are elfin, connotative of animals or other imaginary beings, marvellously rendered by caricature and gesture. Hamlet is the most prominent inkblot shape, literally an ‘inky cloak ... of solemn black’, a malleable cipher which contorts and deforms and spreads and multiplies throughout the text, bleeding into and out of the frame, morphing in shape or colour as required by the text, a virtual Rorschach blot.

Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are rather ingeniously represented as Siamese twins sharing a pair of eyes. In his speech of clichés to Laertes, Polonius is every bit the posturing old fool, presented in a two-page spread of bubble-shaped panels, dancing like a performing clown with his cane, a caricature of the song and dance man. At times he breaks out into a multi-headed organism comically pontificating (which, in one hilarious scene, prompts Hamlet to add a ‘doo-dah doo-dah’ coda from Camptown Races). Gertrude is presented with three pairs of exposed breasts, expressing not so much a sexuality but rather a predisposition to be milked—perhaps a pair of teats each for Hamlet, Claudius and the King? Such physical traits are used as shorthand to identify and characterise the otherwise blank inkblot ciphers populating this kaleidoscopic landscape.

One of the background motifs employed is of a constellation of randomly arranged clocks—or rather, of the interlocking gears which make up a timepiece, suggesting in visual metaphoric terms that time is out of joint. During Hamlet’s soliloquy towards the end of Act 1 Scene 2, the ‘too solid’ scene ‘resolve(s) itself’ to ‘an unweeded garden (growing) to seed ... rank and gross in nature’, with thorny musk thistle leading over the next two pages to a False Saffron which surrounds an image of Gertrude and the King (‘frailty, thy name is woman’). These weeds later metamorphose into shadowy venus flytraps snapping away at Ophelia during Laertes’ speech. The fixed clockwork background morphs into a bended, refracted version during Ophelia’s madness scene, which again includes the shadowed venus flytrap visual metaphor.

If modernist productions of Hamlet operate under an influence of anxiety, postmodern interpretations such as Greenberg’s might be said to operate under a confluence of influence. For example, Greenberg riffs on Rozencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in her own play-behind-the-play without resorting to an explicit reference to Stoppard. At the end of each scene, the actors are seen backstage in a two-page spread in which they conduct their own pantomime, a cameo spinning off the main stage. I like the gesture represented in this narrative incursion by Greenberg—it is respectful of the canonical text inasmuch as there is no additional dialogue in these intervals to compromise the integrity of the bard’s text, yet she honours the license implicitly granted by texts such as Stoppard’s. The one time we see an actor speaking behind the curtain is in the opening pages, in which the blank Hamlet inkblot figure—it is blank and vacant so we are not sure whether he is facing us or the rear of the curtain—picks up his face, plants it on his head, and addresses the reader with an excerpt from Act 2 Scene 2: ‘I have heard That guilty creatures Sitting at a play Have by the very cunning Of the scene Been struck so to the soul, that presently They have proclaimed their malefactions’. In this short excerpt we see many of the themes of this text—the self-reflexiveness of the text, the malleability and abstractedness of the forms of the characters, not to mention the willingness to remix the order of the text with purpose and not indiscriminately.

This is a sophisticated text, confident in its critical and creative engagement with a text bearing canonical weight, conscious of its difference and strangeness, and yet uninhibited. The overall production values, the artistic scope and ambition suggest something almost avant-garde, albeit without the overbearing decoding and inscrutability this implies. It is strange, but more ‘wondrous strange’ than inscrutable.

...wherefore art thou junkyard...?

2010-12-29T10:03:00.004+11:00

Well, it’s certainly been a long time between drinks here at the junkyard... a very busy year, which barely left any time to attend to my hunting and gathering of vintage Australian reprints... and as much as some of those redoubtable skills will have been blunted in the interim, allowing some of the lower order foragers to jump in and have a play in the big boy's paddock, let me assure you that muscle memory does not get Alzheimer’s, and I have still been able to focus when required and pick up some gems during the year... including scarce and long sought-after issues such as The All Favourites Comic Annual #2... and have also managed to complete runs of series such as Five-Score Comic Monthly... and issues such as this Colossal Comic #23 from October 1962, featuring a Hart Amos cover which I may have seen once before, but is certainly not common, and is the last issue of Colossal Comic I have been chasing numbered in the 20’s or higher, which will give some indication of its relative scarcity. Look for the contents details on James’ site soon...

I have also found myself accumulating snippets of information about Australian reprints during the year which I will try and share soon on the blog, and a number of cover scans I’ve sourced which I will eventually upload... and I also intend to update the Gredown comics list very soon... and time allowing, I have in mind an interesting project or two related to these comics which will either see the light of day by January, otherwise be deferred until the end of the 2011, as next year will also be a very busy year for me...

During the year I also managed to suffer another hard drive crash, so there are a few contact details and email addresses and collection/wants lists I am missing, so if you haven’t heard from me since February/March, now is a good time to contact me again and I can update you on my spare and duplicate issues before I list the remainders on eBay... and so, to the hunt...

Three Psycho's for the price of three...

2010-01-30T14:18:00.012+11:00

If you're a reprint content reader/collector rather than a series completist, then I offer a small word of caution: Don't buy any Yaffa/Page Skywald reprints without a checklist, or at least without checking the contents between the covers, otherwise you'll find yourself with a mass of duplicated material.

Page Publications Pty Ltd published over a dozen issues of the Skywald series Psycho, but many of these issues were recycled copies of previously published issues. Generally you could assume an unnumbered issue with a $1.00 or $1.10 cover price had an earlier numbered counterpart. Yet even a high numbered issue with a $1.00 cover price was just as likely to be a reissue of an earlier 50c cover price edition (for example #'s 12 and 4 respectively).

However, even these two rules of thumb are not enough to guide the intrepid collector. Take the case of Page's Psycho #8. This is virtually a facsimile of Skywald's Psycho #14 (with some minor re-ordering of contents and omission of a text piece).

This 60c cover price issue was actually published earlier by Page as #6 in the series, with a 50c cover price under a different cover (see above). I'm not sure where this other cover was sourced from - it looks like the work of Mario Nava based on his art in this issue, so maybe it's from another Skywald issue - but it doesn't end there, for Psycho #6 was later reissued as an unnumbered edition with a $1.10 cover price. This latter edition by Yaffa Publishing Group Pty. Ltd. has bare inner covers and rear cover, but apart from this and the price and the altered indicia, is identical to Psycho #6.

In other words, the one Skywald issue was reprinted three (if not more!) times within the one nominal Yaffa/Page series.

This is sport, or fun and games for those of us curious about these Australian reprints from the 1970's/80's, but something of a minefield for the unwary seeker of cheap reading reprints.

Ghoul Tales #6/NN

2010-01-29T13:40:00.009+11:00

Page Publications' Ghoul Tales #6 was based on Stanley Publications' Ghoul Tales #3.

Page reprinted this issue as an unnumbered edition, but maintained the 50c cover price on the reissue.

I have copies of all five U.S Ghoul Tales issues in either a Page or Portman edition. I don't yet know for sure if all five issues were issued by Page, although I expect they were. It appears Portman issued all five issues, but I'd prefer to see this verified at some stage.

I also believe one of the numbered Page editions is a reprint of another issue but with a different cover, but I'll need to check that out later.

I wonder if all the Page numbered issues were reissued as unnumbered 50c and/or 60c cover price editions...

Oh, and though it's not mentioned on the cover, Ghoul Tales #6 includes a classic 4-page story titled Rat-Trap, which has been reprinted at least twice since Ghoul Tales #3 - I've spotted it in Tales Too Terrible To Tell, and also in an issue of Eclipse Comics' Seduction of the Innocent.

Stark Terror #3: From Stanley to Page to Portman...

2010-01-28T12:23:00.007+11:00

The Stanley Publications reprints of pre-Code horror material - titles such as Stark Terror, Chilling Tales of Horror, Ghoul Tales and Shock - which were published circa 1969-71, provided material which was plundered for reprints a number of times in succeeding years. Many stories were reprinted in various titles in the U.S, the U.K and Australia (for example in series such as Tales Too Terrible To Tell and Haunted Tales). Page Publications in Australia and Portman in the U.K went a step further and reprinted complete facsimile issues in the late 1970's/early 1980's.

Page Publications' facsimile reprint of Stark Terror #3 is an interesting case, as it appears to have scored itself a homegrown photo cover instead of recycling the original Stanley cover. The original Stanley cover was used by Portman in the U.K for their Stark Terror #1.

Page later reprinted this issue with a 60c cover price and no issue number.

I should say that I assume this issue is a facsimile of the Stanley issue, but I'm not 100% certain, because both covers advertise a story titled Swamp Monster, yet such a title does not appear in the Page issue, nor in its table of contents. Neither does it appear in the GCD indexed entry for the U.K Stark Terror #1. So this may or may not be reflected in the Stanley issue, but I'm betting they are indeed facsimiles. Presumably the title refers to the famous Basil Wolverton Swamp Monster story, which has appeared in various forms over the years, including Stanley's Shock which provided the reprint in Haunted Tales #8.

Fear #1: The Yaffa edition

2010-01-05T15:16:00.009+11:00

A couple of years or so ago I wondered aloud whether there was a Yaffa/Page Fear #1, given Fear #2 reprinted the contents of the U.S Fear #1. I should have guessed - the Yaffa/Page #2 is actually a reprint of the Yaffa/Page #1!

Fear #1 is from 1978 with a 50c cover price, and Fear #2 is from 1979 with a 60c cover price, but apart from this and the indicia, and the advertisements and back page colour, the issues are identical.

In the previous blog entry I also noted I had sighted a digest edition of Fear. I can confirm there is an unnumbered digest edition with a cover based on the U.S Fear #5. This suggests there are more Yaffa/Page Fear issues, numbered or otherwise, regular or digest sized.

The other interesting thing I noticed in passing is that the cover of the U.S Fear #9 is the cover of K.G. Murray's Climax Adventure Comic #13. In the previous blog on Fear #2, I mused that some or all of the stories in that issue had previously appeared in a KGM issue... so it appears that at least some of the Marvel material which was licensed to K.G. Murray was later licensed to Yaffa/Page... or was otherwise obtained...

Planet of the Apes #1: The Yaffa Edition

2009-12-08T15:06:00.009+11:00

Under the strictest criteria the Yaffa edition of Planet of the Apes #1 does not quite qualify as a facsimile of the U.S magazine, for it does not include the endpaper photos and Table of Contents, nor Roy Thomas's editorial Road to the Planet of the Apes, nor, of course, the various ads and subscription notices... But it does include virtually everything else, including the three text articles complete with black and white photos: Escape from the Battle of the Planet of the Apes: An Overview of the Apes series by Gary Gerani; The Face of the Planet of the Apes by Ed Lawrence; and Rod Serling Recalls by David Johnson. They may not be reprinted in the same sequence as the U.S magazine, but the layouts are identical, and they are dutifully flanked by the two main features - the Prologue and first two chapters of Terror on the Planet of the Apes, and the first instalment of the movie adaptation.

This issue was published in 1978 with a 50c cover price. Yaffa recycled this issue a few years later with a $1.10 cover price (I believe without an issue number).

I'm pretty sure Yaffa didn't publish any other POTA comics, but would be happy to be proven wrong.

Ringo #1 and Gun Western

2009-10-28T16:54:00.007+11:00

James has done some great work covering the history of the Ringo series on his website, so head on over for the lowdown. I don't have much to add other than to show off a cover scan of my own spiffy copy of Ringo #1... (It is a K.G. Murray #1 issue after all, right...? And it's not as if there's plenty around to choose from, right...?)

I can at least confirm that a couple of the Ringo stories are reprinted as Gringo in the Gredown issue Gun Western. "The Secret of the Swamps" and "A Cross in the Snow" in Ringo #1 are retitled "The Swamps Secret" (sic) and "Cross on the Snow" in Gun Western.

Gun Western also includes another Gringo story, "The Kidnapping".

And yes, this spiffy copy is mine too!

Daredevil #1: The Yaffa Edition

2009-10-26T12:58:00.011+11:00

It's hard to tell whether the Yaffa/Page sub-editors intentionally - that is, with deliberation - altered the colour scheme on this cover, or whether they just inadvertently stumbled onto a red Daredevil costume, given the original cover of Daredevil #2 featured the yellow Daredevil costume. Either way, the Electro costume is wrong... unless there's a golden Electro in Marveldom that I'm blissfully unaware of...

Regardless of intent, this issue is a beauty for Daredevil fans, reprinting the first three issues of Daredevil in glorious black and white. The first issue is reprinted sans the splash page, but apart from that, and some editing of the next issue boxes (and the covers to #'s 1 and 3) I believe the reprints are complete.

I wouldn't be shocked to find this issue is reprinted later in this series, just as the Yaffa Avengers #1 is reprinted as #10 in the series.

The rear cover advertises The Fantastic Four series at a cover price of 35c. Curious, as the Daredevil issue has a 50c cover price. The same advertisement appears on the rear of Yaffa's Conan the Barbarian #1, which is also a 50c cover. The Avengers #1 also has the 35c Fantastic Four advertisement on the rear cover, the only difference the blue and red ad text components are reversed, which suggests to me The Avengers #1 was released slightly earlier or later than Daredevil #1 and Conan #1.

Crypt of Shadows #1

2009-10-26T12:23:00.005+11:00

Well, it's only taken a bit over a year to prove my little theory, but I can now confirm that the unnumbered digest sized Where Monsters Dwell is indeed a facsimile reprint of the earlier standard size edition of Crypt of Shadows #1.

I'm not sure how long the COS series ran for, but I do know #'s 2 and 4 (and presumably #3) are digest sized, so #1 may be the only regular large size issue in the series.

It's well worth seeking out this larger edition for the greater printing clarity. The Wolverton and Maneely strips especially benefit from the larger scale, although the Heath reprint still suffers from a degree of muddiness, which I guess was inherent in the U.S reprint source.

Panico #2, Fingers of Fear and Avenging Spirits... or, "So that's where the Gredown covers come from...!"

2009-08-28T12:23:00.010+10:00

You may think you've seen this cover before, and you could bet your Fingers of Fear and Avenging Spirit that you have... but Panico #2 from 1978 came in first, courtesy of Vilmar ... and if you spend a bit of time browsing http://www.tebeosfera.com/ you will find many such samples of original sources of Gredown covers and reprint material.

I've made a start on matching many of the covers on this site to the Australian issues... It's easy to get lost on this site given both the wealth of material and the translation hurdles... But for the willing and patient, there's plenty of information on issues, artists and writers, cover artists, contents... I say roll up your sleeves, bookmark your favourite online translator (I've been using http://www.translate.google.com/), and get stuck into it, fellow Gredownphiles!

Thanks to James for putting me onto this site... and check out James' excellent articles on Johnny Galaxy and Ringo.

Two in One - Another K.G. Murray Format Experiment

2009-08-19T12:55:00.007+10:00

In the mid-late 1950's K.G. Murray experimented with the format of their reprint comics. Joining the regular line-up of 24- to 32-page black and white pamphlet issues were a variety of formats: 100-page titles; 148-page titles; colour issues and titles; gray-scale reprints; 292-page volumes of coverless rebound issues; digest-sized issues...

The Two in One series is one of the most curious and short-lived experiments. As the title suggests, the magazine represented twice the value to the consumer by presenting two comics pages side-by-side on the one page in the landscape format. This in itself was not uncommon for K.G. Murray - they would routinely resort to this tactic in the regular pamphlet series for one or more of the back-up features. What was novel was to use this so prominently as the rationale for a new series.

It wasn't very successful. Like the 100-page Color Giant experiment, it appears to have only lasted for a couple of issues. But at least it afforded us another couple of local (Hart Amos!) illustrations featuring popular and minor (almost forgotten - The Dodo and The Frog!) DC Comics characters.

My thanks to David Studham for the great scans.

Magic Moment Romances and Lover's Secrets

2009-08-06T09:14:00.009+10:00

Lover's Secrets #'s 125 and 126 surprised me - I was aware of the unnumbered one-shot by the same title, but surely I would have seen one of the previous 124 issues of this series somewhere along the line... And could it just be coincidence that Magic Moment Romances #124 was the highest numbered issue of that series that I'd seen...?

Well, until I see a Magic Moment Romances #125, I'm going to file my Lover's Secrets next to my Magic Moment Romance issues.

And the unnumbered Lover's Secrets and Magic Moment Romances one-shots can vie for the honorary #'s 127 and 128... Maybe a pillowfight can settle it...

Dating the Murray Romance Library Imprint

2009-08-05T13:13:00.016+10:00

It's great to find a run of consecutive issues of K.G. Murray romance titles, especially issues which span the transition from one logo/imprint to another.

I've checked with James and his timeline, and we're reasonably confident that the Murray Romance Library imprint was effective January/February 1980, in concert with the first red Murray Comics logo.

Murray Romance Library one-shots

2009-08-04T18:28:00.009+10:00

Here's a half a dozen more Murray Romance Library one-shots I picked up over the weekend, most of which I haven't seen before.

Digest-Sized Romance Comics from Page Publications

2009-08-03T21:56:00.005+10:00

Here's a pair of digest-sized romance comics published by Page Publications, each sporting a Keith Chatto cover. At the top is Unforgettable Love Stories #11, and beneath it is Modern Confessions Library #1.

If you look closely at the cover to Modern Confessions Library #1 you can see the original owner has dated the book 29 May 1971. No idea if she still lives at the same address...

The Murray Romance Annual Series: Love 1974 and 1979

2009-08-03T18:15:00.013+10:00

Following on from a previous entry on K.G. Murray's series of Romance Annuals, here are the covers to the 1974 and 1979 instalments, courtesy of a small haul of romance comics snagged over the weekend.

This series takes its cue (title and masthead) from the Super DC Giant series even as cover images are drawn from Charlton comics...

The 1979 issue is also part of the Planet Series titles.

Presumably there were Love Annual instalments for 1976 and 1978 - TBC.

The Digest-Size Man-Thing #4

2009-07-03T14:48:00.003+10:00

Following on from previous instalments interrogating the Yaffa/Page digest-size Man-Thing series... The Man-Thing #4 reprints #'s 10-12 of the U.S series (possibly omitting one page from #12, TBC). The cover is from #11.

Horwitz Strange Tales #3

2009-07-02T08:12:00.004+10:00

Horwitz Publications’ Strange Tales #3, c. May 1963 sports a Maurice Bramley cover with Ant-Man in graceful flight, and also includes a single-page Bramley feature titled Bones.

Apart from this Australian content, this issue reprints the contents of the U.S Tales to Astonish #40, February 1963.

Five-Score Plus Comic Monthly #23

2009-05-31T09:56:00.004+10:00

By request... the cover to Five-Score Plus Comic Monthly #23... this appears to be an elusive issue for collectors... I think it's fair to say that sometimes, issues aren't necessarily scarce as they are elusive... that is, there is no reason to assume there are fewer copies in existence than other similar issues... and yet, they nevertheless remain stubbornly elusive and unsighted for a period of time... until such time as a few copies start to appear, and we all wonder why we thought they were so scarce... and I'm betting we'll be saying the same thing about Five-Score #23 in a year or two...

Fastest Gun in the West

2009-05-29T16:21:00.007+10:00

This Fastest Gun in the West unnumbered one-shot is to the Fastest Gun Western series as the Western Heroes one-shot is to the Bumper Western Album series, or the Western Album and Western Action and Adventure and Wild West Album one-shots are to the Super Western Album series - essentially unnumbered instalments of those series in magazine-size format with adapted titles and mastheads.

Sharp Shooters of the Wild West

2009-05-29T13:01:00.010+10:00

Sharp Shooters of the Wild West is another in a line of one-shot Murray Comics westerns.

This issue carries features such as Texas Rangers in Action and Cheyenne Kid, each of which was afforded its own eponymous one-shot issue in this period. This is one reason I think this issue was cobbled together from extraneous material (though I hasten to add these features did appear in other one-shot westerns too...)

The other clue is the title typeface, a generic, overused style from the 1970's/early 1980's found in many magazines and advertisements of the period, unlike many other one-shot issues which adapted existing type from other related series.

The cover is signed by Prieto Muriana, a name rather familiar to Australian readers of Gredown western issues such as Bullet Western, Gun Western, Outlaw Gunslingers and Wild Western Action, just to name a few.

Will the real World's Finest Comic Monthly #13 please stand up...?

2009-05-12T07:39:00.010+10:00

Here it is - the long-sought-after cover to World's Finest Comic Monthly #13!

I know there are a few of you KGManiacs out there who will be rapt to finally see this cover. It's been the subject of speculation for a quite a while now.

Indeed, not so long ago, a crude yet effective cut-and-paste fake-alternate-proxy of this issue was in circulation, courtesy of moi... we had no idea what the real one looked like, so I mocked something up which could have plausibly been a facsimile of the real thing... I took a punt on an unreprinted DC Flash cover of the period... and some did think it was the real thing on first look... I got my cheapies out of that... mischief is contagious in the junkyard... all of which only whet the appetite and anticipation for the real thing... and so I naturally assumed the duty and responsibility to present the real thing in due course, to compensate for my indiscretion and giggles...

And if you think the real thing looks good on the blog, well, I assure you, it looks even better in my collection, as this issue completes my run of this series!

Of course, there are still a few poor condition issues which really need an upgrade, and even a coverless rebound issue in primo Gigantic Annual real estate which has been holding up its end of the bargain for a good while now...

Oh, and if you still can't tell the real one from the fake, you should either take more pills, or stop them altogether!

Man and Woman #15: Slipping through the CCA net...

2009-05-06T12:02:00.008+10:00

First one to say Comics Code Approved Bondage has probably already seen this site, but if not... And when you come back you can check out the original cover on DC's Love Stories #150, June-July 1973...

Yaffa/Page Presents: Night Nurse!

2009-04-30T12:30:00.008+10:00

If you want to know what I know about the short-lived 1970's Marvel Comics series Night Nurse, well, just search for the entry on Wikipedia and you'll see almost all of it for yourself.

As for the other two things I know about Night Nurse:

1. The Yaffa/Page issue above reprints the first 3 issues of the Marvel series, omitting the splash page from #2, and;

2. According to a friend of mine (who should probably know better than to know about these things, but alas, it is far too late now) Night Nurse is something of a running joke amongst Bronze Age enthusiasts and original issues are in relatively high demand for a series which is not exactly a regular fanboy favourite.

Apparently the fourth and last issue of the series took a Gothic turn away from the previously established 'urban drama' genre, so just as it's unlikely there is a second issue to the Yaffa/Page series, it's possible the fourth U.S issue is reprinted as a back-up feature in another Yaffa/Page mystery or horror issue.

Blazing Western Stories #4 and Nightmare Suspense Library #5: Keith Chatto Page Publications Digests

2009-04-29T20:11:00.006+10:00

Here’s a couple of intrepid Page Publications digests which managed to find their way into the junkyard… A nifty pair of Keith Chatto covers by anyone's reckoning… I especially like the green tinge highlight on the Nightmare Suspense Library cover… just the right finishing touch…

The Romance Annual Series

2009-04-29T19:38:00.006+10:00

I assumed Love 1977 was a one-shot issue from K.G Murray until I recently came across Love 1975. It appears there was a series of ‘Romance Annuals’ - presumably there was a 1976 instalment, and possibly more. Curiouser and curiouser....

Romance Comics 1970's-style

2009-04-29T19:12:00.006+10:00

Charlton's pastel tones on the cover of Secret Romance #30, January 1975 may have been nuanced and subtle (note the colour gradation on the skin), but I reckon the comparatively garish K.G Murray rendition above is far more in tune with the pop culture spirit of the times.

Planet of the Apes Sunday Observer Special #2

2009-03-21T09:08:00.006+11:00

I don’t know if the recent earth tremors felt in Melbourne have had anything to do with shaking loose so many hard to find comics but it’s been an unexpectedly bumper period for collectors of scarce Australian comics. I can report off the top of my head from the last week or two:

Copies of Giant Batman Album #’s 14 and 16 surface on eBay;

A second copy of Colossal Comic #18 has been brought to my attention, hot on the heels of my own copy and Colossal Comic #14;

A few other stubbornly elusive (if not bone fide scarce) issues such as Giant Flash Album #5, All Star Adventure Comic #50 and Superman Supacomic #113 were retrieved in, shall we say, somewhat irregular circumstances;

A bunch of very early Superman Supacomics and similar pre-decimal material was secured in a single lot with some fellow KGM Kronies;

And now comes confirmation of the long-rumoured second edition of the Planet of the Apes Sunday Observer Special. This cover scan was generously sent to me a couple of days ago from a fellow who says he has a few copies of each in pristine condition. The date on this issue is 15th June 1975, two weeks after the first supplement.

Bumper Western Album #75: More Toth

2009-03-11T14:27:00.012+11:00

I picked up a few more K.G. Murray Westerns over the weekend, including this Bumper Western Album #75, which has an Alex Toth reprint: "The Real Johnny Thunder", originally from All-American Western #122, 1951, and presented here via Johnny Thunder #3, 1973 (full issue contents details available on the Ausreprints site).

It appears I've missed this in previous instalments of The Alex Toth Stocktake so I think a new stocktake might be due.

True Junkyard Tales: Colossal Comic Annual NN/#1

2009-03-05T17:07:00.009+11:00

It was two and a half years ago. I remember I was ill with the flu and a fever. I had resolved to stay in bed for the next couple of days and not move an aching muscle. My wife was at work and my son had gone to his playgroup for the day, so there would be no distractions from much needed rest and sleep. I was dead set on not moving and had dosed myself up with sudafeds and whatnot appropriately.

Then the phone rang. This guy reckons he's got some comics I might be interested in. I'd dealt with him a few times before and admittedly scored some gold off him, but the last time I'd seen him he'd been dry, and I thought that would be it. So I wasn't in the mood for indulging him in conversation. Besides, he was prone to popping over armed with books and hanging around for one coffee too long. You know the sort.

So I just asked what he had, prompting him a bit to keep him on track but not really concentrating. I didn't really care about his digest-sized westerns and romance comics and whatever other narcotic titles he was reeling off.

But then he said the magic words. Colossal Comic Annual. He continued... no number... no back cover... a bit rough... Superman and Batman standing on one another...

I've never injected but I immediately knew what a hit must feel like. I didn't ask for any more information. I didn't ask for a price. I didn't ask him to deliver. I just told him to sit tight and I'd be there in 20 minutes. And I was off like a rocket!

I have no idea how I navigated traffic in my drug-induced stupor. All I know is that an hour later I was driving back home with the above Colossal Comic Annual NN/#1 on the passenger seat, and I've never been so distracted by a comic whilst driving. I'm sure I stalled at traffic lights and probably caused accidents along the way, completely oblivious like Mr. Magoo. But I couldn't resist. I just kept looking over to it and muttering to myself: I'm sitting next to my own copy of Colossal Comic Annual #1! I can only blame some of that on the drugs.

Needless to say, it sure cleared my sinuses.

Colossal Comic #18

2009-03-04T16:16:00.008+11:00

If you're just interested in the contents you can probably crib together a facsimile of Colossal Comic #18 by ransacking later issues of the series, along with a couple of issues of All Star Adventure Comic and Tip Top Comic Monthly, an issue of All Favourites Comic and Super Adventure Comic, and one or two other pamphlet issues.

And I wouldn't blame you if you resorted to this. Issues like this one are very difficult to find. The earlier issues may have more cachet, and may fetch the highest prices, but there's also more chance of finding copies of them. The Colossals numbered in the teens are some of the most difficult issues to find.

But there's more to Colossal Comic #18 than the contents, and it's all evident on the cover. Another beautiful outer space cover by Hart Amos, this time with a satellite front and centre (Space Station No 1? Not Sputnik I guess...) And Australia even makes a cameo appearance on the green mudball in the bottom left hand corner (Earth tended to be green on Colossal Comic outer space covers for some reason - see Colossal Comic #13 - let's call it another Amos trademark!) This cover is unsigned but, unlike Colossal Comic #15 discussed yesterday, the style is typical and representative of Colossal Comic and Amos of this period.

Oh, and just in case there’s any doubt, no, I haven't seen another copy besides this one, and yes, this one is also mine, and yes, I scored them both together, and... BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAA!!!!

Colossal Comic #15

2009-03-03T16:40:00.005+11:00

It might not be slab-worthy, but I don't care - Colossal Comic #15 is incredibly hard to find, and this is the only copy I've ever seen. And it's mine!

Contents-wise it's very similar to the issues immediately preceding it, with Captain Triumph and Taxi O'Hara (Hack O'Hara) features from Quality Comics brushing shoulders with regular DC features such as Superboy, Superman, Batman and Green Arrow. I haven't quite completed indexing this issue, but it does appear all the features previously appeared in K.G. Murray issues (TBC).

I'm curious about the origins of the cover image. It's odd enough that it doesn't feature Superman (this was more common in the last dozen or so issues of the series), but the fact that the figures are arranged so that their facial features are hidden is even stranger, especially for a cover. It looks like it may have been based on a panel rather than a cover. I'm quite sure it's illustrated by an Australian artist, and it may be that the Batman and Robin figures were adapted ie: dressed.

Another KGM/DC swipe - but whodunnit?

2009-01-08T13:38:00.003+11:00

Here’s another interesting swipe - take the cover to World’s Finest Comics #42, add a few additional characters in Rex the Wonder Dog and Detective Chimp, convert The Wyoming Kid to Hopalong Cassidy, a few little extras here and there, and there you have it - the cover to Century The 100 Page Comic Monthly #4!

I’m not convinced this cover is by Hart Amos. For one thing, it’s unsigned. For another, the Superman figure/linework just doesn’t look like typical Amos, even allowing for stylistic camouflage due to swiping. And even Rex’s tongue looks uncharacteristically flaccid!

However, there is a hint of Amos in Superman’s and Hopalong Cassidy’s eyes… and a couple of other KGManiacs have discerned the Amos touch on this cover… so it’s certainly possible that Amos was involved.

Batman #26: The Back O' Bourke Variant

2009-01-06T14:16:00.005+11:00

If DC publish a second volume of Batman: Secrets of the Batcave, I'll be looking forward to seeing the inclusion of "The Atom Cave Raiders", a nifty little Bill Finger and Dick Sprang production which was originally published in Batman #68, cover-dated December 1951-January 1952, and reprinted by K.G. Murray in Batman #26.

This is one of those reprints which has dialogue modified to reflect Australian place names, so in one exchange one criminal says to another: "You made a few mistakes in your past, Duane, and I know all about them! That business in Bourke -- that job in Brisbane - it would ruin you to reveal that now!" Hmmm... now I wonder whether the UK version via K.G. Murray maintained these place names, or substituted them for Hackney and Liverpool...

A colour reprint will also reveal just how much Batman and Robin were glowing due to the radiation after the atom bomb blast...

But I really don't have much confidence that this story will ever be reprinted again, given the apparent suspension of the DC Archives program on the one hand, and their propensity to recycle previously reprinted vintage Batman stories in new editions (Archives to Showcase to Chronicles...) on the other... OK, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it does seem that way... Maybe if they do ever deign to give us what we really want - a single hefty collection of all of Sprang's Batman stories - then we will also see this story reprinted... but I'm not holding my breath for it.

The cover to Batman #26 above is also by Sprang, modified from the cover to Detective Comics #136, June 1948. The background has been omitted, and some minor extension work is evident (Batman's cape and right elbow, the bottom portion of robin's chest and emblem), but a bit of judicious cropping would pretty much keep Sprang’s linework intact. The cover is also reprinted in Batman Archives Volume 7, which looks like being the last volume in the series. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

A Mammoth Christmas...

2008-12-25T09:13:00.002+11:00

Ringo Kid Western #6: True Maneely and Faux Maneely

2008-12-15T08:46:00.004+11:00

The cover to Horwitz's Ringo Kid Western #6 looks like Joe Maneely's art on the cover of Ringo Kid #1 but it’s not quite a true reprint, as the art has been modified.

I doubt any such modification occurs on the reprints inside this magazine, which feature Maneely and John Severin amongst others I have yet to identify.

Bumper Western Comic #3

2008-12-14T18:29:00.006+11:00

The cover of Bumper Western Comic #3 is taken from Masked Raider #15, October 1958, but for some reason, all the Masked Raider features reprinted in this issue are from Masked Raider #14, August 1958 - the issue which provided the cover for Bumper Western Comic #2!

The issue contains a mix of Charlton and Atlas reprints, including some by Pete Morisi from each publisher.

The main attraction for me in this issue is the 4 pages by Al Williamson in a story titled "Where Larrabee Rode!" The plot itself is no great shakes, but it's very nice to see Williamson's art in black and white with zipatone. I'm not sure where this story originally appeared, but it was reprinted in the early 1970's in an issue of Rawhide Kid.

I understand copies of Bumper Western Comic #3 are very hard to find, and this is a beaut copy in above-average condition, as you can see from the scan.

...too many digests lurking in the junkyard...

2008-10-31T09:06:00.005+11:00

Here's another batch of Yaffa digests which I found lurking in the junkyard... No idea where or when or how I got these... It ain't called the junkyard for nuthin'...

World's Finest Comic Monthly #21: The cover without a story...

2008-10-29T22:55:00.009+11:00

What's wrong with this picture...? Well, staring at it for hours might not provide any answer... but flip through the book and you'll realise the problem quicksmart: the story featured on the cover doesn't appear in the book!

That's right - the cover is reprinted from Wonder Woman #162, May 1966, but the story The Return Of Minister Blizzard! had already been printed three months earlier in World's Finest Comic Monthly #18.

The main Wonder Woman feature in this issue of World's Finest Comic Monthly is the back-up feature from Wonder Woman #161, April 1966.

Even with all of the charming quirks of K.G Murray's reprint comics, you could pretty much depend on seeing the cover feature leading the issue - and in the rare instances when it wasn't the lead feature, at least it was represented somewhere in the pecking order.

But not this time. Someone screwed up. Don't blame me. I just call it as I see it.

Another swag of Yaffa digests...

2008-10-27T10:52:00.007+11:00

Here's another great little swag of Yaffa digests I picked up yesterday... Haven't had a chance for an intimate look at them yet but they look great on a first cursory browse... and always nice to see the covers for identification purposes anyway... So enjoy!

Death-Face to Face! NN

2008-10-26T16:23:00.003+11:00

...signed by Faba...

Quick or Dead NN

2008-10-26T16:21:00.003+11:00

Shoot-Out Western NN

2008-10-26T16:18:00.002+11:00

Snagged a few more Gredown Westerns today… I’ll be putting up an updated checklist of Gredown titles - horror, western, sci-fi etc. - shortly, so I might just put up some cover images, just for reference purposes… just waiting on confirmation of a few more titles which should be forthcoming very soon…

This one is signed by oteirP anairuM (sic), so don’t be surprised if a similar looking cover appears on another Gredown Western comic.

2001: A Space Odyssey digest

2008-10-23T08:21:00.005+11:00

When I first spied this digest edition of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a mischievous thought occurred - could this be a decoloured and reduced version of Jack Kirby’s tabloid adaptation from 1976?

No such luck. The irony would have been acute, but really, I knew better because I not only recognised the cover from the 1st issue of the 10 issue U.S series, but also from the regular-sized Yaffa reprint from 1978.

What I couldn’t quite recall offhand was the contents of the full-size Yaffa edition. Turns out it reprints the first three issues of the U.S series.

Which I would have safely guessed anyway, but I was second-guessing myself when I was pondering this late last night because the digest edition also includes a reprint of Paul Reinman’s “I Defied the Curse of Tut-Ah-Anka!”.

This originally appeared in Tales to Astonish #15, January 1961 and was later reprinted in Fear #2, January 1971. It also appeared in Doomsday #10 c.1973.

This probably means that “I Defied the Curse of Tut-Ah-Anka!” also appears in a Yaffa reprint of Fear… maybe in Fear #1, assuming it exists, but it’s not in the Yaffa Fear #2.

Anyway, if you haven't read Kirby's 2001 and you're fond of the movie and come across this little edition, don't let the size fool you - by the end of it, you might find you've bitten off more than you can chew!

A personal note regarding emails...

2008-10-21T10:35:00.003+11:00

A personal note regarding emails... I've lost all my emails and address book effective a week ago... and as many of you know, 90% of the commentary/discussion generated via the blog happens offline... so would those of you who do contact me offline please send me a short email, even if it's blank, just so I can rebuild my address book... in case I wish to contact you before you next contact me... Cheers!

Another piece of the digest Man-Thing puzzle...

2008-10-21T10:27:00.009+11:00

For those of you still following the saga of the digest Man-Thing reprints…

Well, just when I thought all the digest Man-Things had been retitled, such as Monster of the Swamp and Swamp Creature, along comes a conventionally self-titled issue.

This issue is numbered six with a 70c cover price, and reprints in full the U.S Man-Thing #’s 16, 17 and 18. The front cover is from #16, and the cover from #17 is included in black and white.

There is also a black and white cover reprinted preceding #18, but for some odd reason, rather than being the cover of Man-Thing #18, it is actually the cover of (Adventure Into) Fear #18, which also featured Man-Thing. I have no idea why Yaffa did this - maybe they just mistook one ’Man-Thing #18’ for another…?

I don’t know… but I’m guessing that if there was a regular-sized man-Thing #6 by Yaffa, that it would be just like this digest issue…

This issue slots in quite neatly as the sixth digest with the other two mentioned above - that is, each issue basically carrying three U.S issues - except for the fact that this is a 70c cover price issue, and the others are 75c cover price issues… which suggests that there were two digest editions… so it does appear (as suggested before regarding some of the horror digests) that there was a series of conventionally-titled editions, followed by some retitled editions… which may or may not also explain why some Yaffa digests are shorter than others… more pieces of the puzzle to ponder…

Blazing Six-Gun Adventure: Wander into something bizarre...

2008-10-03T18:15:00.007+10:00

Here’s yet another unnumbered Murray Western one-shot, which I briefly alluded to in a previous post for a memorable Jim Aparo-illustrated tale: Wander Takes on “The Fastest Gun in De Wast”, originally from Cheyenne Kid #70, January 1969.

It’s memorable for two reasons – the zipatone shading; and the weird space opera/western/comedy hybrid genre.

From what I can discern Wander was a regular back-up feature in Cheyenne Kid (I stand to be corrected) so chances are other instalments are scattered throughout other Murray westerns. I haven't noticed this feature before, something of a bizarre little treat to keep an eye out for.

Oh - and whoever painted this cover does a fair rendering of Clint Eastwood!

Superman The Comic #5/Superman The Comic #1 Volume 2

2008-10-03T15:58:00.007+10:00

There are a number of K.G. Murray issues circa 1980 which I and other collectors believe may not exist. I have previously discussed some of them such as Supergirl #37, Adventure Comics #5 and Super Heroes Album #18*. I think we should now add Superman the Comic #5 to this list.

There are two series of Superman the Comic. The first series began with an unnumbered issue circa December 1978 published at the time of Superman: The Movie. Over the next few years a few more issues with the same title were issued:

Superman The Comic NN/#1 $1.00 1978**
Superman The Comic #2 75c 1979
Superman The Comic #3 80c 1979
Superman The Comic #4 90c 1980
Superman The Comic #5 ?
Superman The Comic #6 95c 1981

I believe the dates are reasonably accurate approximations based on the cover price, page count and contents. And for the sake of the exercise, I’ll designate these issues Volume 1.

Volume 2 of Superman the Comic resulted in the following two issues:

Superman The Comic #1 $1.25 1980
Superman The Comic #2 99c 1982

Again, I believe the dates to be reasonably accurate based on the cover price, page count and contents.

Superman The Comic #1 Volume 2 was also intended to piggyback on the box office success of Superman II, and this is where I think the hiccup in the numbering of Superman The Comic Volume 1 occurs. Superman The Comic #1 Volume 2 is the 5th issue of Superman The Comic. As a Special 128 Page issue at a premium price, it reflects the first unnumbered Superman The Comic issue from 1978, so it would appear the folk at Murray’s decided to designate this as a #1 too.

Then, as they play catch-up, things go a bit haywire again. The 6th issue of Superman The Comic is published in orderly fashion after the 5th (Superman The Comic #1 Volume 2), but when the time comes for the 7th issue, the numbering begins again from Superman The Comic #1 Volume 2, hence Superman The Comic #2 Volume 2.

At least that’s the way it looks to me. I’d love to be proven wrong and to actually find there is a Superman The Comic #5. But I doubt that will happen.

I mentioned above all these possibly/likely missing issues are circa 1980. This appears to be a period of flux in the Murray offices. For example, after a long period of relative stability, new cover logos start to appear only to be succeeded by new variations shortly afterwards, cover prices and page counts begin to vary in a relatively short period of time, titles and series morph and move in new directions… One can only really guess it would most likely be due editorial/personnel changes.

*Super Action Album #18 is another issue on my radar which may be missing from the same period - pending further examination.

**I note that the contents indexed for this issue seem to have some 1979 DC content, which may or may not knock the actual published date for Superman The Comic #1 Volume 1 out a tad… The copy I have to hand does not appear to include the competition details, which would help to confirm the date... regardless, this is just a distraction from the main point, it does not really impinge on the argument or timeline presented re: Superman The Comic #5.

Cowboy Adventures, Renegade Raiders, Frontier Fighters... the never-ending list of Western one-shots...

2008-10-03T09:31:00.006+10:00

...and a few more Western one-shots with rather generic titles, and rather generic masthead typography, probably a default Murray house style...

Western Album NN: Between Super Western Album and Wild West Album...?

2008-10-03T09:16:00.003+10:00

…and another unnumbered Western one-shot loosely related to Super Western Album. Indeed this would have been published before Wild West Album, given it’s a 90c cover price issue.

Wild West Album NN: It ain't blood...

2008-10-03T09:06:00.006+10:00

As Western Heroes is to Bumper Western Album, so does this Wild West Album appear to be loosely related to Super Western Album, at least based on the similar typography.

I love this cover for the striking twilight vibe. It reminds me a bit of another K.G. Murray Western cover for Super Western Album #10. Nothing to do with cowboys or horses, but everything to do with mood and light contrast.

Or, it ain't blood, it's red...

Beautiful stuff. Who needs photoshop…?

Western Heroes NN: A 'Bumper Western Heroes Album'...?

2008-10-03T08:53:00.004+10:00

Based on the “Western” typography I’d say this unnumbered one-shot issue follows on the heels of the unnumbered Bumper Western Albums which in turn followed superseded the long-running Bumper Western Comic series. Bumper Western Heroes Album sounds fine to me...

Tomb of Darkness: Vault of Evil #'s 7, 8 and 9

2008-10-02T12:36:00.003+10:00

Snagged another nifty little Page Publications horror digest – this unnumbered Tomb of Darkness, which was previously mentioned in passing a few months ago.

This issue reprints Vault of Evil #'s 7, 8 and 9, omitting The Dictator! from #9 (based on this index).

The cover is reprinted from Vault of Evil #7, and it includes a black and white reproduction of the cover to Vault Of Evil #9.

Planet Series 2 No. 8: Love Diary

2008-10-01T17:48:00.004+10:00

This is one of the harder-to-find one-shots to be published as a Planet Series issue.

Well, it’s the only copy I’ve seen to date, and I’ve had my eyes peeled for these for a few years now.

Not that I expect there to be any great demand for it. It’s basically just Charlton reprints.

Possibly the most noteworthy feature is that it includes Jim Aparo art with zipatone, which is always nice to find (I spotted some in a Western comic recently too, which I must remember to blog).

I also note that the cover is based on the splash page of the first story, which is kind of expected from K.G. Murray comics of this ilk, but the surprise is that this also happens to be the cover and splash page of the U.S Charlton edition too.

Actually, given it's Charlton, maybe that’s not so surprising after all.

Yang: Remixed and Remastered (sic)

2008-10-01T13:09:00.007+10:00

I’m not especially disciplined when it comes to picking up stray K.G. Murray comics. At the right time, in the right place, for the right price, and in the right condition, even a copy of Hot Rods has been known to activate certain primordial neurons and endorphins.

Which is just my way of saying that even though I have been able, up to this point, to resist each and every Planet Comics issue of Yang I have come across - and I believe I’ve seen them all more than once - even I found myself irresistibly drawn to this wonderful cover.

It’s just the colours and the layout which appeal to me. And if the reproduction of the scan on the GCD of the original issue is true, then it’s a quantum improvement on Sanho Kim’s original painting. (Well, that’s my opinion anyway. I doubt I would have purchased the original Charlton issue based on the cover.)

It does appear someone has gone to some lengths to remix the colours. Or could it be that the original was so poorly printed in the first instance that they only look like different mixes...? I'm no colour expert, nor printing expert... I just know which one I like better.

Texas Rangers in Action, One-Shot Murray Westerns, and the Absurd Drama of the Never-Ending Quest.

2008-10-01T12:41:00.003+10:00

When it comes to one-shot Murray Comics Westerns, I think there’s only one workable theory: There’s Always One More.

Seriously.

Don’t even think in terms of a finite wants list. Think instead of a wave, with ebbs and flows, shallow ends and deep centres, quiet moments and hot spots, quantum particles and virtual black holes. Only then will you be properly primed for this particular absurdist quest.

Then, when you’re ready for your zen moment, in which you decide Enuff! The Quest Has Ended, you can take one more peek over your shoulder, knowing full well you will spot the likes of this Texas Rangers in Action one-shot. Bang.

But it will not matter. Your task will have been done. Your karma will be settled. Your angst just a memory. Your loss a balanced ledger. Yes, you will understand without a shadow of a doubt there are more Murray Western one-shots out there. But it will no longer matter as it once did. You will have moved onto the second stage of collecting Murray comics (seeking upgrades!). The circumference is everywhere, and no centre can be drawn until this point.

Yes indeed. There’s Always One More. But the question is: How Much Is Enough?

Super Adventure Album #1: A bumper issue of vintage DC comics

2008-09-30T16:21:00.005+10:00

I don’t know how I missed this issue the first time around. I can pretty much recall owning most of the Super Adventure issues immediately before and after this issue, but not this one.

I was certainly familiar with the ‘new’ Super Adventure logo, which had been appearing on Planet Comics issues for a few years by the time this first issue of Super Adventure Album hit the stands in 1976.

And I doubt the transition from Super Adventure Comic to Super Adventure (3 issues) to Super Adventure Album would have caused much of a continuity blip as far as my antenna was concerned at the time. After all, the Justice League of America cover feature was still present and accounted for.

If anything, the cover image should have attracted my attention, being a reformatted version of the Planet Comics advertisement which was everywhere in these comics at the time (sourced from 80-Page Giant Magazine G-8, March 1965).

All I know is that I didn’t see a copy of this issue until the last five years or so, and it may as well have been an ‘unseen’ pre-decimal issue.

Which is not as much an exaggeration as it seems, for this issue is a bumper issue of vintage DC comics, featuring Superman from 1946, The Flash from 1947, The Justice Society of America from 1948, Green Arrow from 1952 – and, to top it all off, a Silver Age classic - the origin of The Justice League of America from 1962.

Of course each of these reprints reflects contemporary sources, and you can check all the nitty-gritty details here on James’ site.

All in all it’s a great example of how the Murray crew could contrive a new issue from miscellaneous material, complete with a homemade cover, and end up with a standout issue.

Tracking I, Vampire.

2008-09-12T11:11:00.002+10:00

Late last year I briefly noted a one-shot issue titled Villain of the Supernatural which mainly contained reprints of the I, Vampire series originally published in House of Mystery #’s 305-310.

The I, Vampire series originally began in House of Mystery #290 and, with a few breaks in between, continued through to #321.

The first instalments of this series - House of Mystery #’s 290-291, 293, 295, 297, 299 and 302-304 – were reprinted by K.G. Murray in the one-shot magazine-sized I…The Cursed.

So in terms of tracking the series of I, Vampire reprints in the K.G Murray titles, I…The Cursed is ‘Volume 1’; Villain of the Supernatural is ‘Volume 2’; and ‘Volume 3’ is… well, assuming it exists, I’ll let you know as soon as I find out!

Shock Stories: Another Chamber of Chills digest

2008-08-21T10:27:00.006+10:00

The Shock Stories digest (mentioned in passing in a previous post) reprints the contents of US Chamber of Chills #'s 13, 14 and 15, omitting "I Was Locked in a... Haunted House!" from COC #15, and includes a black and white print of the cover to COC #14. The front cover is sourced fro COC #15.

Where Monsters Dwell: The Proxy Yaffa/Page Digest Crypt of Shadows #1

2008-08-21T07:32:00.002+10:00

A couple of months ago I discussed the Yaffa/Page digest comic Crypt of Shadows #4. This issue contains reprints of the US COS #’s 10-12. I presumed there would be other issues in this series, each reprinting three issues of COS.

I haven’t found any more COS digests yet, but I have found a proxy – this unnumbered Where Monsters Dwell reprints the US Crypt of Shadows #'s1, 2 and 3 (omitting Thru the Door from COS #2).

Based on previous examples I won’t be surprised to find that this is a small-scale reprint of a standard-size Yaffa/Page edition of Crypt of Shadows #1. I would however be surprised to find that Where Monsters Dwell is a facsimile of a digest-sized Crypt of Shadows #1 – that would suggest a new pattern of reprints from Yaffa/Page ie: a standard-size issue; a digest reprint; a retitled digest reprint. It may even suggest a fourth instalment ie: a standard-size retitled reprint.

All just guess-work and speculation of course.

Back to the issue at hand - the cover of Where Monsters Dwell is reprinted from Crypt of Shadows #3 (the covers for COS #'s 1 and 2 are not reprinted). And the title is, of course, borrowed from the Marvel series of monster comic reprints.

Night of the Vampire: Page's Tomb of Dracula digest

2008-08-20T18:47:00.002+10:00

Night of the Vampire is another nifty little digest comic from Page Publications, reprinting Marvel’s The Tomb of Dracula #'s 7, 8 and 9 (note the splash page from #7 is omitted).

The cover is from TOD #7, which was also used as the basis for the Newton Tales of Horror: Dracula #6. I like this version with the bold and sparse green background, making it a garish companion to Monster on the Swamp.

Monster of the Swamp: A Bite-Sized Man-Thing Deathwatch Sandwich!

2008-08-16T07:36:00.004+10:00

Page Publications Pty. Ltd. liked to do things right. They preferred to reprinted US issues in full, and in sequence, rather than to sort and match features into new titles by character or theme. If possible, space allowing, they would opt to include black and white reproductions of the US covers in the issues, for completeness’ sake. If they needed to avail themselves of the rear cover to present a complete story, so be it. If the inner cover pages were not required, they would just as often as not leave them blank, without advertising. Sure, sometimes the series cover titles would differ from the US titles, but that was not the norm, and regardless, it was hardly tampering in the first degree when it comes to scheduling reprint material.

So I think they would be embarrassed to realise they stuffed up with their third digest Man-Thing reprint.

Monster of the Swamp is the follow-up to the second Man-Thing digest reprint, Swamp Creature. Swamp Creature reprinted The Man-Thing #’s 4, 5 and 6. In turn, Monster of the Swamp should have carried The Man-Thing #’s 7, 8 and 9. The cover is a reprint of the cover to #7, and the other two covers are reprinted in black and white in the book. But instead of kicking off with “The Old Die Young!” from #7, the buggers have mistakenly slotted in “Deathwatch!” from #9 both before and after “The Gift of Death!” from #7 – a “Deathwatch!” sandwich!.

Based on samples of other Page/Yaffa digests, it wouldn’t surprise me to find the Man-Thing digests are in fact reprints of standard-size Page/Yaffa issues. In other words, there is probably a series of three or four Page/Yaffa Man-Thing issues reprinting the first dozen or so US issues. I‘m guessing the digests are quasi-one-shots retitled for the purposes of recycling. So I wonder whether the ‘original’ Page/Yaffa Man-Thing #3 - assuming such an issue exists - also has this error or not.

I also wouldn’t mind knowing the title of the first Man-Thing digest – surely there is such an issue.

Not that these questions keep me awake at night or anything…

Seeing Double: Nightmare #'s 2 and 10

2008-08-15T19:11:00.002+10:00

Musing further on recycled issues and covers from a few days ago…

I’m not sure how many editions of Skywald's Nightmare were published by Page Publications by Pty. Ltd., but I’m guessing there weren’t too many numbered higher than #10.

Why? Because #10 is a facsimile of Page’s Nightmare #2. The only difference is that the colour on the last page is yellow on #2 and blue on #10.

Evidence of scraping the bottom of the barrel… unless Skywald pulled a similar stunt, and Page dutifully followed suit… but I haven’t seen any such duplication on the GCD cover gallery.

At any rate, #2 is based on the US Nightmare #9.

Ironjaw - From 40c to $1.00 cover price!

2008-08-12T21:06:00.005+10:00

It’s quite common to come across $1.00 cover price Gredown issues which recycle previously published material, whether it’s covers (or cropped portions thereof) or complete issues. Yet what appears on first pass to be a facsimile issue may in fact have some notable changes. Case in point: Ironjaw.

The original 40c issue included the Adult rating on the cover, and proclaimed the value of the Big 68 pages. The later edition also contained 68 pages, but with a $1.00 cover price, this was no longer a proud boast. Nor was it rated for A for Adults anymore. However, there was a new compensatory banner: Barbaric Fury Unleashed! I wonder which issue sold more copies…?

The other difference is in the contents. Both issues reprint the same Ironjaw material from the original series, but they differ in the extra material offered – the 40c issue reprints a 9-page Tom Sutton-illustrated Werewolf story in the middle of the issue; the $1.00 issue offers a 9-page Spanish Adult horror story with plenty of nudity, no doubt courtesy of the lapsed.

Other than that, the differences are minor – one is paginated, the other isn’t… one includes “continued” inserts at the end of the chapters, the other doesn’t bother with them… that sort of thing.

At least they both have the same cover. It looks like an original Australian cover, probably by Phil Belbin based on the whites of the eyes and the white hair of the sorcerer on the left hand side… (I'm happy to be corrected by any Belbin experts)... indeed one benefit of the $1.00 cover issue is there is less cover clutter over the painted image.

The Complete Planet of the Apes Sunday Observer Special

2008-08-10T09:29:00.013+10:00

I've had some requests (and bribes… and late-night phone calls... heavy breathing…) for scans of the The Planet of the Apes Sunday Observer Special, so I figured I may as well load them here for all to see.

I know it’s not quite the same as having an original copy to complete your Newton Planet of the Apes collection, but hey, nothing stopping you taking the image files (high res scans!) to your nearest Snap Printing or Kinkos for high quality printed copies and slotting them into your Newtons longbox. It’s scarce enough to warrant the effort and expense. If it helps, I’ll even email the files to you (in case the resolution is reduced when uploaded onto Blogger…)

And if you’re really keen to show your appreciation, there’s a nifty little PayPal donation button at the top of this blog which is touch sensitive…

Giant Batman Album #16: So scarce you wouldn't know it was scarce...

2008-08-03T08:37:00.002+10:00

Seeing as The Junkyard is in a - well, ‘rarefied mood’, so to speak… here’s one that I don’t often hear spoken of as scarce, but I assure you it is just as difficult to lay one’s hands on a copy of Giant Batman Album #16 as it is to try and score its more famous companion in the Most Wanted stakes, Giant Batman Album #14.

Giant Batman Album #16 is unassuming. Some might even say bland. To the casual observer it looks like yet another regular instalment in a long series of US facsimiles. And so it is, being based on the US Batman #193 (aka Batman Giant #14 aka 80pg Giant G-37, July-August 1967), reprinting the complete contents apart from (Holy Smoke), the Sunday newspaper strip, and appended with “Bruce Wayne's Aunt Agatha” and “The New Batman”, both of which had previously appeared in K.G. Murray issues.

I wouldn’t be surprised if casual collectors of Giant Batman Album haven’t realised how difficult it is to find a copy of #16. I think it was only after I found my second or third copy of #1 that the absence of #16 was conspicuous. After asking around I managed to find a single collector who had a copy and was able to send me a cover scan, and that seemed to break the spell as I found a copy for myself only a few months later.

That was over 2 ½ years ago, and in the 10 years or so in which I’ve been collecting these comics, these are the only two copies I’ve come across. To put that into perspective, in that time I’ve seen more copies of the first issues of Superman’s Supacomic, Century The 100-Page Comic, Colossal Comic Annual and Giant Superman Album, just to name some of the most sought-after 100-Page K.G. Murray issues.

I have some ideas as to why Giant Batman Album #14 is so scarce, and I’ll profile this issue in a blog entry shortly. The scarcity of #16 is more difficult to rationalise.

So rather than try to rationalise it, I’ll just offer a suggestion: If anyone is considering putting together a full run of Giant Batman Album from scratch, don’t bother accumulating any issues until #’s 14 and 16 have been secured (an exception should be made for particularly well-preserved, above-average pre-decimal specimens…). Once these two are in the vault, the rest should take a serious collector not more than a few years to source.

Blackhawk #1: Spotters Rejoice...! Now, where's the Kleenex...?

2008-08-01T06:40:00.004+10:00

Hot on the heels of Superman Supacomic #7 comes confirmation of another genuinely scarce and ‘previously unseen’ 100-Page K.G. Murray issue - Blackhawk #1!

It was only a week or so ago I that I prodded some Blackhawk collectors on this issue, only to be advised that to the best of their knowledge, no such issue existed. Indeed one prominent Blackhawk collector had been led to believe if a #1 existed at all, it was likely to be the first issue of some other K.G. Murray anthology series.

There are not many such unearthed issues left for the intrepid KGM-spotter. The underground network of KGManiacs has managed to fill in most of the gaps in the collective cover-image grid, so that the blank spots now resemble the burned-out pixels on a cheap plasma screen.

Sometimes the triumph at the end of the struggle is tinged with sadness... Consumation and tristesse…

Superman Supacomic #7: A Scarce Gem

2008-07-22T15:20:00.003+10:00

The Junkyard is proud to present a true gem: Superman Supacomic #7 - one of the scarcest, and thus most keenly sought-after issues of this series.

To the best of my knowledge this is the only copy to have surfaced in recent years, and I’m unaware of any other copies in other collections.

Indeed some of us hardcore collectors were beginning to wonder whether there really was a #7, so at the very least, it’s great to finally have confirmation that such a beast does exist, and put to bed another budding rumour of a missing issue.

Most of the contents would be reprinted in subsequent Australian reprints.

Superman: The War Between Superman and Jimmy Olsen!
Superman: The Reporter of Steel!
Batman with Robin The Boy Wonder: The Crystal Creature
Batman with Robin The Boy Wonder: Batman Meets Bat-Mite
Superman and Batman and Robin: The Alien Superman
Superboy The Adventures of Superman When He Was a Boy: Superboy Meets The Young Green Arrow!
Superboy The Adventures of Superman When He Was a Boy: The Helpless Hero!
Superboy The Adventures of Superman When He Was a Boy: The First Superman Robot!

Restoring The Gossips

2008-07-07T15:57:00.001+10:00

Here's a nice black and white scan of the censored last panel to The Gossips which you may now print and paste over the Superman Supacomic advertisement in your copy of Haunted Tales #6.

This copy is courtesy of Ghoul Tales Vol. 1 No. 1, Portman Distribution Ltd., U.K.

Doomsday Album No.6: The Demon/Merlin photo cover

2008-07-07T09:18:00.003+10:00

As mentioned a week or so ago, the first 8 issues of The Demon were reprinted in various issues of Doomsday Album.

I neglected to mention that the cover to the first issue in this run is a photo cover based on the splash panel to The Demon #1, featuring Merlin.

The majority of the Doomsday Album covers are painted images, however there are also some photo covers. They are in general generic enough to doubt they were solicited specifically for their respective issues, yet at least another 2 or 3 covers do appear to be related to the lead features.

Superman Supacomic # 87: Smells like Newton Comics

2008-07-03T08:09:00.004+10:00

I don’t think K.G. Murray were as prone to rushing out issues with printing stuff-ups on their covers as Newton Comics were, but that’s not to say it didn’t happen.

Mind you, this sample is something of a variant because correctly coloured copies of this issue are the norm.

Nevertheless, it’s undoubtedly a candidate for the junkyard vomitorium… makes me feel queasy and off-balance just looking at it.

Thanks to Mr M for the scan. If I ever find a copy for myself I think I might just file it along with my Newtons.

The Planet of the Apes Sunday Observer Special

2008-07-02T19:42:00.008+10:00

The Planet of the Apes Sunday Observer Special was a free giveaway with the Sunday Observer newspaper dated 1 June 1975, promoting the Newton Comics series and the television show.

The Newton series was launched mid-1975 and by all accounts was quite heavily promoted in the Sunday Observer with full colour advertisements.

This is a 16-page digest-size booklet. All the pages are black and white with red ink highlights, apart from the covers and centre pages, which are full colour. It contains a number of behind-the-scenes articles mainly related to the television series with plenty of photos. There is also a competition to win a copy of the Newton comic, and a full-page advertisement for the comic, but there are no comics stories or excerpts in this issue.

The Planet of the Apes Sunday Observer giveaway is one of the scarcest items on Newton Comics collectors’ wishlists, and unlike the majority of the series issues, it’s an item rarely seen in collectors circles these days. In fact I’ve never seen one before, even though I’ve discussed it on occasion with other collectors.

And this is where it gets even more interesting – there may be two different Sunday Observer Planet of the Apes giveaways!

Last time I met up with Kevin Patrick we happened to be talking about this supplement, so naturally I sent him a scan when I received this copy just a few weeks later, and he mentioned the one he remembers had a different cover, possibly an amended or cropped version of the cover to Planet of the Apes #2, and that it also contained comics, possibly excerpts from the Moench and Tuska adaptation which ran as a back-up serial in the Newton series.

Given the Sunday Observer was party to a robust advertising program for the series, it does appear quite possible that there were indeed two different Sunday Observer supplements. And, if the recall of collectors is accurate (and I’ve learned it’s a pretty safe bet to trust the memories of kids who pored over their comics obsessively… hey, some of us never grow out of it!) and there was another supplement (as per Danny Best’s blog possibly dated circa 1 July 1976... this date is a Thursday, not a Sunday, so maybe that's a typo...?) it also stands to reason the second supplement might feature the cover from the second issue, just as the first supplement features the cover from the first issue.

I’d love to see confirmation of a second supplement - but for the moment, I'm calling this the missing link (sic) of Newton Planet of the Apes collections!

The Demon in Doomsday Album

2008-06-30T11:47:00.005+10:00

Some time ago someone asked me which Australian series and issues reprinted Jack Kirby’s The Demon series. I knew I’d seen some in various issues of Doomsday Album, and could also summon up in my mind's eye some Batman and The Demon team-ups in Batman Albums, but at the time could not say for sure which issues to chase down for a set of reprints of the original series.

I've now completed my run of Doomsday Album, and can at least confirm that the first 8 issues of The Demon were reprinted in Doomsday Album #’s 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17 and 19. Even though the Doomsday Album issue numbers skip a few beats to get there, The Demon issues are reprinted in sequence.

The Doomsday Album series ended with #19 (well, I haven’t seen any higher numbered issues, so until another turns up…), and I’m unaware of any other reprints of The Demon series in other K.G. Murray series, so it’s possible that only these 8 issues were reprinted, leaving the balance of 8 issues on the shelf. Then again, it’s also possible there are more scattered around in various other K.G. Murray series such as Terror Tales Album, or any number of one-shots.

Captain America: Smells like Newton Comics...

2008-06-25T11:21:00.010+10:00

Do not adjust your sets - yes, that’s a green and purple Captain America!

On the one hand it’s quite true this cover hails from Tales of Suspense #70.

On the other hand, this cover could only truly be said to be the spawn of the endearingly kooky - and sometimes downright bizarre! - quality control zombies punching the clock in the Newton Comics basement circa 1976.

Really gives you that Red White and Blue feeling, right? What?! Who said it's the colour spectrum of vomit...? "If This Be Treason" indeed....

Ah, c'mon, face it, it's beautiful stuff, True Believers... Down UnderGround Pop Art...! And beware - there’s more where that came from!.

Vault of Evil #2: Confirmed!

2008-06-17T11:24:00.003+10:00

Ah, such a vain pleasure to be proven correct! As I suspected, there was indeed a Yaffa/Page Vault of Evil #2, which was later shrunken and rebadged as the digest-sized Terrifying Tales. The contents are precisely the same, the only difference being the editing of the title blurb on the first story of the digest as already noted.

My thanks to Dillon Naylor who prompted me this morning with the confirmation of another digest issue titled Tomb of Darkness which reprints the US Vault of Evil #’s 7-9, which we may safely assume was previously published by Yaffa/Page as Vault of Evil #3; and another titled Shock Stories which reprints 3 issues of Chamber of Chills. There are at least 4 issues of the Yaffa/Page Chamber of Chills series.

The Mighty Thor #7: The Yaffa/Page digest series

2008-06-14T09:56:00.003+10:00

I’m not sure precisely how many issues there are of the digest-size series of The Mighty Thor but I do know there’s more than a fistful of them because I’ve seen them.

The only one to hand at the moment is #7, and no surprise to find it reprints sequential issues of Journey Into Mystery.

Specifically, it contains the lead feature from #101, and the complete feature contents of #’s 102 and 103, including some sharp looking Larry Lieber art in the back-ups.

The cover is reprinted from Journey Into Mystery #103

Terrifying Tales NN - or, Vault of Evil #2

2008-06-13T13:12:00.006+10:00

This is a curious Yaffa/Page horror digest issue.

It appears to be an unnumbered issue of Terrifying Tales. However, it may as well be Vault of Evil #2.

It reprints in sequence Vault of Evil #’s 4-6. This suggests there was a previous issue, numbered or otherwise, reprinting Vault of Evil #’s 1-3. However, it’s just as possible that there was a Yaffa/Page Vault of Evil #1, or indeed an unnumbered issue. I say this because I’ve come to expect fidelity from Yaffa/Page reprints, and it’s odd to find that this issue isn’t titled Vault of Evil.

The Vault of Evil series carried text boxes on the splash pages such as "There Is No Escape From The Vault of Evil!". The first one in this issue has been altered to read "Stan Lee Presents: Terrifying Tales". However, the rest have been left intact.

The cover image is a reprint from Vault of Evil #4 This issue also contains a black and white reprint of the cover to Vault of Evil #5.

"Who is the Master?" from Vault of Evil #4 is omitted, otherwise issue #’s 4-6 are reprinted in full.

Crypt of Shadows #4: The Yaffa/Page digest series

2008-06-13T09:58:00.001+10:00

This digest-size issue of Crypt of Shadows is a real beauty! It reprints in full the contents of the US Crypt of Shadows series issue numbers 10-12.

This means it contains stories from Atlas/Marvel series such as Adventures Into Terror, Tales to Astonish, Uncanny Tales and Mystic. It also means it contains art from the likes of Gene Colan, Bernard Krigstein, Don Heck and Russ Heath.

The cover to this issue is sourced from Crypt of Shadows #10, May 1974, itself a homage to Joe Maneely's cover to Marvel Tales #129, December 1954. The covers to issue numbers 11 and 12 are not reprinted.

The only fault with this issue is that it omits the first title page to “Dance, You Fool!”, the Heck-drawn story Tales to Astonish #34 - a victim of the page count. The rest of the stories are crammed in by utilising the inner front cover and both sides of the rear cover.

I don’t know how many issues were published in this series, but I expect those that were published all contained complete sequential issues of the US series.

The Fastest Gun Western

2008-05-29T13:46:00.005+10:00

There is a small hole on the top right hand corner where the issue number should be, but that didn’t worry me. I recognized this as the first issue of The Fastest Gun Western anyway, without needing to confirm it via print on the spine. Not that I recall seeing a copy before, but hours misspent poring over old K.G. Murray comics advertisements when I was a kid meant instant recall when the quick decision had to be made whether to purchase this copy or not.

Up until a week or so ago I didn’t own any Fastest Gun Western issues – I have had some over the years, but always traded them or sold them – but, on the heels of a purchase in the last week, a neat bunch of early issues fell into my lap this morning, and it’s hard to resist such well preserved specimens (the hole mentioned above on #1 is the only fault to speak of in the whole bunch!)

The contents of the early issues appear to follow a pattern. The lead feature is Vandalia West by George Dollart (this is the only Google link I could find…) and Marculeta (I assume I have the right artist here…). The back-up features are generally a mix of Two-Gun Kid or Rawhide Kid reprints, or other similar Marvel material.

At some point Vandalia West is dropped in favour of Jackaroe as the lead feature. The credits say Robert O’Neill, presumably the writer, and art by Dibujos de Dalfiume (who may or may not also be Gianni Dalfiume, a Charlton war comics circa 1967-68).

The title later becomes Charlton-centric in it’s contents.

I don’t pretend to know much about this series or the lead contents, I’m just briefly laying out some of the information I’ve gleaned from browsing though them this morning and the obligatory Google hit.

The main reason I looked at them in the first place was on the off-chance of scoring some Alex Toth reprints, but I reckon I cashed that paydirt voucher a week ago, and I’ll let you know all about that one tomorrow.

The Wall of Flesh: A Pre-Code Horror Classic!

2008-05-07T15:51:00.012+10:00

Bob Powell’s The Wall of Flesh!, from This Magazine is Haunted #12, 1953 is a certifiable horror comics classic. The wall of flesh itself is one of the more bizarre and grotesque concepts to be encountered in pre-Code horror comics, so oddball and off-the-wall (sic) that it would not be out of place in a Grant Morrison Doom Patrol issue (maybe on Danny the Street – now that’s a team-up I’d like to see!). Or maybe even a Mr. Monster comic!

If it wasn’t for the play of formal elements in Colorama maybe The Wall of Flesh! would be the most oft-reprinted Powell story. As it is, black and white reprints can be found in AC Comics’ own Wall of Flesh #1, and in at least two K.G. Murray issues: Doomsday #6 and Haunted Love Tales of Gothic Romance, Planet Series 3 No. 2.

The Doomsday reprint comes complete with Dr. Death’s visage overseeing proceedings, and a small correction in the dialogue - “Vietnam” is inserted into the dialogue to replace "Korea". The Haunted Love reprint appears to be the Doomsday version as the “Vietnam” correction is in place and the handwriting appears to be identical in both.

The Haunted Love version suffers from a bit more tampering than the Doomsday version. For example, the Dr. Death images are removed from the beginning and end of the story; the title text is slightly reformatted; and the left foreground on the last panel has been filled by a rather formless shape to cover the space left by the erased host – a bit of surplus wall flesh courtesy of a K.G. Murray sub-editor!

Most jarring is the crude intrusion by a keen amateur black spotter. For example, in the panel above there are four black patches forming a virtual border around the clock and figure in the centre. In the original only the clock on the side is shaded. Maybe the editors were not accustomed to borderless panels operating outside the regular beat of the grid. Or maybe the two-panels-in-one appeared to require correction or balance. The open clock/figure/flesh image is replicated on the facing page, which is also corrected by a lick of black ink, so maybe they thought this was necessary to avoid the reading eye flowing from the bottom of one page directly across to the bottom of the following page.

I don’t know… maybe best to assume good intentions poorly executed.

Oh, and love those lurid colours on the original... not to mention the details not picked up by the black line art!

Update

In a neat little junkyard coincidence, it turns out The Wall of Flesh is being reprinted in The Comics Journal #190, May 2008. Not only that, it features an introduction by Michael T. Gilbert! Spooky.... Thanks to Dillon for the heads-up on this.

Renegade Raiders

2008-05-05T19:14:00.007+10:00

In the early 1980’s Murray Comics published numerous magazine-sized one-off titles. The bulk of them would be superhero-related issues – titles such as Dr. Fate or Superman and Manhunter from Mars. Along with the superhero titles came a variety of other genres, such as horror eg. Shock and Suspense! and Carnival of Fear; science fiction/adventure eg. Space Adventures and Space Warriors; and war eg. Men in Combat and Army Attack.

There were also a number of westerns published, some with recognizable characters carrying the titles such as Cheyenne Kid, Pow-Wow Smith and Tomahawk, as well as generic titles such as Trail Blazers of the West, Epic Western Action and Western Action and Adventure.

Renegade Raiders is another such 1980’s Murray Comics one-off. The cover looks like it might be a Spanish painted illustration with K.G. Murray text overlays. The contents range from recognizable features such as Cheyenne Kid, Texas Rangers in Action and Billy the Kid, to a number of nondescript Charlton-esque stories, to even a Spanish instalment. It is not uncommon to find Spanish westerns in various Gredown titles, but I am surprised to find one slotted into a K.G. Murray title. (Then again, I'm no expert on the westerns, so maybe it's not so uncommon).

Anyway, it's another little-known western to add to your wants lists!

Free Plug: Word Balloons #6

2008-04-24T14:54:00.004+10:00

A free plug for Word Balloons #6, Philip Bentley's “Australian Magazine of the Graphic Story Arts” which came out late last year, and includes an interview with local collector/dealer Mick Stone, and also reprints an updated version of Robert Thomas’ article on Newton Comics (which I think first appeared in an issue of Collectormania… or was it some other paper…? can’t remember, I know I have a photocopy of it here somewhere… but I digress).

And hey, even The Junkyard rates a passing mention!

You can order copies directly from Philip for $5, PO Box 286 Sandringham Victoria 3191, or secondshore@yahoo.com.

Fear #2: The Yaffa edition

2008-04-24T14:22:00.004+10:00

Here’s a nifty Yaffa issue I picked up this morning – Fear #2, which happens to be a facsimile reprint of Marvel’s Fear #1, November 1970.

It’s no surprise that the Yaffa edition reprints a complete US issue, I’ve come to expect that sense of order and fidelity from Yaffa.

I have no idea how many issues were in the Yaffa series, nor if there was a #1 for that matter, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a digest edition of Fear.

Also interesting to note that some, if not all of the stories in this issue were previously published in K.G. Murray issues. For example, I immediately recognized “I-Am-The-Genie!” (a Kirby-Ditko collaboration!) from Doomsday #8, as well as “Something Lurks Inside!” from Climax #12, both of which I’m sure were sourced from Fear #1 to begin with.

Fantastic Four #2: The Yaffa Digest

2008-04-24T08:24:00.002+10:00

Following on from yesterday's post, the Yaffa digest Fantastic Four #2 reprints US Fantastic Four #'s 26-28, omitting splash page #28, and using the original cover from #27 for cover duties.

I'll also put up a scan of #3 after Danny sends it through. In the meantime, if anyone has a cover scan of #4, or can even confirm sighting one, please let me know.

Fantastic Four #1: The Yaffa Digest

2008-04-23T15:48:00.003+10:00

I don’t know how many Fantastic Four #1’s have been published since 1961, but few would be as charming and small as this digest from Yaffa circa 1981.

This issue reprints the original Fantastic Four #'s 23-25, omitting the splash page from #25 and opting for that issue’s cover image for cover duties here. The next issue continues where this one leaves off.

I’m not sure how many issues were in this series, nor how many titles Yaffa published in the digest format, other than the number is substantially higher than I would have guessed some months ago – they seem to be suddenly turning up everywhere I look!

I have a sneaking suspicion that the contents of some of the Yaffa digests might be related to the end of the Newton Comics series. According to Danny Best, after the Newton Fantastic Four title ended with #15, the series of US reprints numbered in the mid-20’s mostly turned up in scattered one-shots and specials. The US #25 appears to have been reprinted a few times, yet no mention of #’s 23 and 24. The regular Yaffa Fantastic Four series reprinted contemporary US issues, not 1960’s issues. So maybe there’s a continuity of sorts between the exhaustion of the Newton series and the Yaffa digest series. I understand Yaffa picked up the license to reprint Marvel comics after the demise of Newton, but I had not considered that there might be a form of continuity between the Newton reprints and some of the Yaffa digest issues. Something to mull over as more of these strange little things turn up.

Battle Action Album #14: Paydirt Award April 2008

2008-04-18T14:23:00.006+10:00

I’m not very interested in war comics in general (surely I've mentioned my barely defensible genre biases before...?). I pick up the K.G. Murray war comics in much the same way I might pick up other K.G. Murray genre material of only passing interest, such as a western or a romance comic. That is, partly as a representative sample to complement the main K.G. Murray collection, and partly in the hope of snagging a choice reprint by the likes of Alex Toth or Bernie Krigstein.

As such, Battle Action Album #14 gets the Paydirt Award for April 2008 for featuring Toth’s “The Tally” from Our Army At War #254, February 1973 (subsequently reprinted in Sgt. Rock Special #2, 1988). It’s the best value I’ve had for my $1.50 all year! I’ve come across a few more Toth reprints since my last tally, I hope to update it in the near future.

The other interesting thing is that, like other issues in this series, this issue reprints stories from early issues of All-American Men of War circa 1953, stories which, according to the GCD, did not appear in later DC reprints as one might expect. I’ve been coming across quite a few instances of unexpected reprints of this type in various K.G. Murray issues from the late 1970’s/early 1980’s, that is, reprints which don’t appear to have been sourced from contemporary DC issues. Too early to draw conclusions, but a pattern may emerge when all these issues are finally indexed.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who knows of DC war comics/series being reprinted in Australia in the 1950's or 1960's. I can't recall any such regular series in K.G. Murray titles, but in conceding my scant interest in the genre, I must also concede a possible blind spot in this regard. I'm aware of other war comics reprints in Australia eg Horwitz, I'm just curious whether these DC-sourced reprints in the late 1970's/early 1980's appeared in previous Australian comics.

The Hundred Comic #90: Pressing the Strange/Uncanny button

2008-03-27T08:50:00.007+11:00

I’ve probably mentioned this before - I get a kick out of seeing key images and covers reprinted in books and magazines. The other day I saw a bit of a dvd documentary which flashed various familiar comics pages and covers on the screen, and I felt the same buzz. There’s something about the new context which invigorates the well-worn image. Modernists might say it’s estrangement doing it’s stuff, and I’m sure that’s a critical dynamic playing itself out. Freudian analysts might cue The Twilight Zone theme as they invoke the uncanny, and I would have to concede a point there too.

The cover to The Hundred Comic #90 is another recent instance of this for me. A classic image in its own right, made strange and interesting in a new context, mainly by virtue of the new title (although I'm sure other minor differences such as the subtle colour adjustments play their role.)

I could add The Flash looks ‘faster’ in the Hundred version – the cropping of the image on the left hand side makes him appear to arrive more suddenly on the scene than in the original from The Flash #139 – but I consider that to be just a little variant bonus.

I now look forward to future unexpected, strange and uncanny instances of this image.

An overview of Haunted Tales

2008-02-22T13:37:00.014+11:00

Haunted Tales (45 issues c.1972-1981) followed closely on the heels of Weird Mystery Tales and Doomsday as the third of K.G. Murray's primary non-magazine sized horror series. The series had two distinct phases – the pre-Code/ACG issues (#’s 1-12), and the DC/Charlton phase (#’s 13-45).

The pre-Code ACG phase
The first phase predominantly featured reprints from ACG horror titles circa 1951-54 (with a few earlier exceptions). Most of the material I have identified from these issues originally appeared in Adventures into the Unknown, Forbidden Worlds, Out of the Night, Skeleton Hand and The Clutching Hand.

There is also a smattering of material from various pre-Code Stanley Morse publications. Morse published a number of black and white magazines in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s such as Stark Terror, Chilling Tales etc. These were comprised of reprints of pre-Code inventory from not only Morse’s Gillmor and Key publications but also from ACG. Given this coincidence of material, it suggests these latter Stanley Publications provided the supply for the first dozen Haunted Tales. There were also Australian and UK editions of the Stanley Publications titles a few years later (from Page and Portman respectively).

Note also that the reprint of Basil Wolverton’s “Swamp Monster” in Haunted Tales #8 (cover reproduced above) is missing the last page, which I understand is also the case for the reprint in Stanley Publications’ Shock Vol. 1, No. 2, July 1969. That can’t be a coincidence! (For a complete black and white reprint see Tales Too Terrible To Tell #9, July-August 1993; for a complete recoloured reprint see Doc Stearn...Mr. Monster #3, March 1985).

Another interesting fact about the first dozen Haunted Tales is that the covers are original Australian illustrations. These appear to have been solicited for each individual issue as they each reflect the opening story of each issue – indeed they are usually adaptations of the splash panel.

The artists for the first 6 issues are unidentified. Certainly issue #’s 2 and 3 look to me to be by the same artist; issue #4 appears to be in a similar style; and there are discernible traces of the style even on issue #1, so the first 4 issues could possibly be by the same hand. However issue #’s 5 and 6 have distinctive styles, so by my reckoning there are at least three different artists involved in the first 6 issues. If anyone can enlighten me further on the artist’s identities…

The covers for issue #’s 7-12 are possibly of even greater interest as they are not only in a distinctly different style to the first 6 issues, but they appear to be the unsigned work of Phil Belbin. Belbin was a prominent and popular Australian artist who produced artwork for a variety of publishers (including other K.G. Murray publications). He was also Art Director for Gredown, and a number of unsigned Gredown covers are believed to be by Belbin (I hope to cover these in a future blog).

I’m confident that Haunted Tales #’s 8, 9 and 12 are the work of Belbin. There is a good chance that the other three issues (#’s 7, 10 and 11) form a set from Belbin, but I will await confirmation from those more familiar with Belbin’s style before I assert it more firmly.

The DC/Charlton phase
After the first 12 issues the profile of the series changed. For one thing, the covers were no longer original Australian pieces – they were reprints of US comics, with altered text and mastheads.

For another thing, the material was no longer exclusively pre-Code horror – rather, it mainly consisted of contemporary material from DC titles such as Unexpected, Ghosts, The Witching Hour, Secrets of Sinister House, House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Weird Mystery Tales, Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion – even the occasional Strange Sports Stories or Black Magic feature could be spotted.

There was also a fair representation of Charlton material, particularly in the early part of the post-ACG phase. Indeed the first three issues of this next phase sported Charlton covers - a couple from Tom Sutton and a painted cover by Pat Boyette. Following these exceptions, DC covers became the default option (most if not all from Unexpected and House of Mystery) just as the series itself came to be comprised exclusively of DC material.

Which is not to say there was no longer any vintage material appearing in the series as there were plenty of reprints sourced from DC’s archives via their 100-Page Giants, thus the likes of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, John Prentice, Ruben Moreira and Curt Swan rubbed shoulders with contemporary artists such as Jerry Grandenetti , Jack Oleck, Tony deZuniga, "Rubeny", Frank Redondo and Alex Nino. And there were also some unexpected surprises popping up now and then, such as a Phantom Stranger or Johnny Peril feature, and even the odd Marvel story too.

Haunted Tales maintained the M rating until the final issue, but this was no longer mandated by the contents (if it ever truly was). By this time the title had long been a DC-centric horror book with nothing scarier than a graveyard or a skeleton or a devilish beast on every second cover. It was Code Approved material in a book which could sit rather comfortably alongside the other Code Approved superhero titles in Murray’s stable. Indeed #35 sported the 1979 Murray Publishers logo for the first time, and #’s 37 and 38 brandished the Murray the Cat logo, making them look unambigously like regular DC/superhero kid’s books.

The last 7 issues witnessed a page count increase to 96 pages (100 pages including the covers) with a 90c price tag (95c for the final issue). I think of these as the Haunted Tales Album issues (Murray titles typically converted to Album with a substantial page increase eg. Doomsday).

My thanks to Kevin Patrick for his help in preparing this article.

Update
A few points to add following some offline correspondence.
1. It is possible there is a higher numbered issue than #45, but I have not see one.
2. My notes said Haunted Tales #1 was published in late 1972 with a 30c cover price. Having reviewed the data to hand I now believe it was published c. February 1973.

Fatal Scalpel: Spot the difference....

2008-02-19T16:05:00.007+11:00

The first is a scan of the first page of “Fatal Scalpel” as it appears in Gredown’s Horror Experience # 1, c. 1976. The second scan is of the same splash page as it appears in Eternity Comics’ Fifties Terror: Classic Pre-Code Horror #4, 1989.

Close inspection reveals the first scan to have far more pencil and ink detail compared to the second one, with more shading and, of course, blood on the face of the victim. Given the order of publication one would assume the second scan had been cleaned up, but that is not the case. This is an example of a pre-Code horror story which was reprinted for horror magazines (such as those published by Eerie Publications) with altered art work to increase the gore factor, and which found their way into Gredown’s titles.

“Fatal Scalpel” originally appeared in Haunted Thrills #5, January 1953, and it’s a truly deranged pre-Code horror story which I highly recommend to anyone who appreciates grisly revenge stories. I don’t know who the artist is but I understand from another collector that it is likely an Iger shop artist who did not do a lot of work for Iger and thus may be identifiable (TBA).

World's Finest Comics #38 and Batman Comics #3: Now that's what I call a Team-Up!

2008-02-12T16:52:00.000+11:00

I don’t have many genuine US Golden Age superhero comics. Even my collection of Australian Golden Age comics is minimal, the overwhelming majority being Silver Age comics.

So how ironic it is that one of the very few US issues that I do own is not only missing half the cover, but the missing portion happens to be a perfect match for one of the very few Australian Batman issues I own from the 1950's. And I don’t even have to erase the Superman figure on the Australian issue to make it fit!

I spotted this issue of World’s Finest and didn’t have too much time to think before committing to it, but I knew I wouldn’t have to go too far to complete the cover. Talk about striking while the irony is hot!

All Star Adventure Comic #3: The missing Yellow Claw page

2008-02-03T11:56:00.000+11:00

Some time ago I indexed All Star Adventure Comic #3. At the time I noted that the untitled Yellow Claw feature which begins "Foiled in his first attempt to cripple Western defences...") Job Number K260 was identified on the Atlas Tales site as being 6 pages, yet the reprint in All Star Adventure Comic #3 was only 5 pages.

Thanks to the good folk on the Timely-Atlas chat list I can confirm the original story is indeed 6 pages, and I present a colour scan of the missing Page 2, originally from Yellow Claw #1, October 1956.

Dear John, Here's your Superman Supacomic #41... Oh, and by the way, we really need to talk...

2008-02-02T09:31:00.000+11:00

I don’t know Carolyn Saunders. And I don’t know whether she finished her ‘Dear John’ letter or not. But it appears she rehearsed her lines on this copy of Superman Supacomic #41, and I must say it rates as the most civil of break-up letters, as well as the most notable and unexpected comics marginalia I have come across to date.

I wonder whether it was the fellow's own copy she was practising on...? Personally, that would have pissed me off more than the break-up...!

Would you like your Man-Thing Giant-Size or small and pink...?

2008-01-31T21:05:00.000+11:00

If there’s one thing guaranteed to induce involuntary fanboy giggles of a certain pitch it’s the phrase Giant-Size Man-Thing.

Yaffa were adamantly having none of that. Their Man-Thing issue (reprinting #’s 4-6 of the 1974 series) was titled Swamp Creature (all uncanny references to Swamp Thing be damned!).

And it was digest-sized.

Ha! Mock-proof!

But it makes me giggle anyway.

PS Not sure what to make of the shocking pink palette, nor the decision to ‘correct’ the reflected headlights and impact flash of the original cover… maybe they were working off black and white copies of the cover…?

If you're really desperate for a Spider-Man costume..

2008-01-30T13:11:00.000+11:00

If you were really desperate for a Spiderman (sic) suit in 1975, you could enter the Newton Comics competition by completing the statement “Thor’s identity is:”, clipping the coupon, and posting it off by the 4th of August. Or, you could buy one from The Fun Shop in Bourke Street – it says so on the same page!

But you’d have to really be desperate to want this ugly specimen, and damage your copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #4 in the process. Is that not the most unintentionally gruesome kid’s mask you’ve ever seen? The expression on the face reminds me of the Lost in Space episode in which Doctor Smith discovers a machine which makes zombie duplicate Smiths, and Will Robinson is also transformed into a zombie with a facsimile of Smith’s face. Same expression, I swear! Mortifying!

I could never understand why such costumes available in Australia never looked remotely like the genuine article. There was a red and black Batman costume kids wore in the early 1970’s which looked like a cowboy costume with “Batman” written on the vest. Something tells me they weren’t quite officially sanctioned items.

The other Mammoth/Gigantic titles: Young Love Romances, All Love Romantic Stories, Scary Stories Annual

2008-01-30T09:21:00.000+11:00

I have covered Mammoth Annual and Gigantic Annual a few times on the blog, but I have not mentioned a few other K.G. Murray titles which also comprised rebound coverless returned issues.

Young Love Romances is a contemporary of Mammoth and Gigantic featuring romance comics. The only copy I have seen is the issue linked to James’ site. Presumably there are three previous editions as this is #4.

All Love Romantic Stories is a Federal Comics-era variation with cardstock covers and square binding. This appears to be on the heels of the series of the same name.

Scary Stories Annual is a Federal Comics horror ‘companion title’ to All Love Romantic Stories, being in the same cardstock/squarebound format.

Both of these titles carry rebound magazine-size issues, most likely one-shots. For example, my copy of Scary Stories Annual includes Haunted Love (I have not identified the other two issues yet). Note also the discounted cover price - there may have been two editions of this issue.

There may be other such rarely seen compilation titles.