Dracula #7: The Newton Comics edition

Newton Comics' Dracula #7 is cover-dated November 1975:

The cover is from Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #8:

As per the cover, the main feature in this issue is The Hell-Crawlers, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #8. This appears to have been published complete without any undue tampering, based on my side-by-side comparison with the printing in Essential Tomb of Dracula which, I might add, is a superior black and white print of this story.

The backup feature is the six-page Bounty for a Vampire [Part 2], which continues from Dracula #6 and was originally published in Marvel Comics' Dracula Lives! #13.

This issue includes a poster of the cover on Newton's Silver Surfer #2:

This issue includes a full-page advertisement for Origins of Marvel Comics on the inner front cover; a Murfett games contest on the inner rear cover; a Black Panther t-shirt order form on the rear cover; and two Marvel Mailbag columns.

The indicia states it is an October 1975 issue but I'm confident it was delayed until November 1975 as per the cover date. I note Silver Surfer #2 was published 25 October 1975, and the contest expiry date in that issue was 8 December 1975. The contest expiry date in Dracula #7 is a week later - 15 December 1975 - so it appears this issue was published 1 November 1975. The series was on a fortnightly schedule at this point, so this date accords with Dracula #'s 8 and 9 being published on 15/11 and 29/11 respectively.

And for those of you who like to keep track of such things, The Hell-Crawlers was also published in Australia in Page Publications' The Tomb of Dracula #3 and the digest-sized Night of the Vampire one-shot.

The Fantastic Four Giant Size 84 Page Annual: The Newton edition

This is the cover to Newton Comics' The Fantastic Four Giant Size 84 Page Annual:

It originally appeared on the cover of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four #23:

The story contents are as follows:

The Master Plan of Doctor Doom!, originally published in Fantastic Four #23, February 1964

The Human Torch [Part 1], originally published in Strange Tales #101, October 1962

The Human Torch Part 2: The Flaming Fury Strikes Back!!, originally published in Strange Tales #101, October 1962

The Threat of the Torrid Twosome, originally published in Strange Tales #106, March 1963

[The Evil Menace of Electro!], originally published in Daredevil #2, June 1964 

This issue is rather thoughtfully compiled. After the full-length Fantastic Four feature, a couple of Human Torch stories from Strange Tales keep it in the family, and the final story features the Fantastic Four from a Daredevil comic. There was no Newton Daredevil series at the time so it must have seemed like an appropriate allotment. Of course, it meant the Daredevil series 'skipped' the second issue when it launched in January 1976, but this Annual was a suitable home for 'loose' Fantastic Four stories, and certainly less susceptible to the charge of padding in the Planet of the Apes Annual.

[The Evil Menace of Electro!] begins with a reprint of the cover to Daredevil #2 but omits the splash page and therefore the title page:

This issue includes the following in-house advertisements:

X-Men #2

Planet of the Apes #11

Conan the Barbarian #7

Dr. Strange #6

The Incredible Hulk #10

The Avengers #8

All of the above issues are cover-dated November 1975 except for The Avengers #8, which is cover-dated October 1975. All of the above series had either 2 or 3 November cover-dated issues published in 1975 and in each case, the earliest of these is represented in the advertisements. This suggests at the outset the Fantastic Four Annual was published early/mid November 1975. 

This issue was advertised in The Avengers #11, which I date to 29 November 1975:

It was also advertised as out now in The Avengers Annual #1, cover-dated December 1975 and in Silver Surfer #3 which is cover-dated October 1975 but is likely published in November 1975.

This issue was also advertised on the Avengers poster included in The Avengers #10, which I date to 15 November 1975:

This poster was also included in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 from December 1975. 

The letter column in Hulk #12 advises the Fantastic Four Annual is out 15 November, so on balance it would appear this is the publication date.

I note that it is mentioned as on sale now in Newtons Comics Corner 30 November 1975 and is also advertised in the Sunday Observer 23rd November 1975 as one of the Other Great New Releases:

This issue also includes three full-page Marvel Mailbag letter columns. The inner front cover has a subscription page, the inner rear cover has the Cat's Eye Transistor Radio contest as well as the Super Hero Swap Card Album offer, and the rear cover has The Thing t-shirt offer.

The indicia title is Fantastic Four, which is unhelpful for cataloguing purposes, so I refer to this issue by the full cover title The Fantastic Four Giant Size 84 Page Annual #1 - but I'm also OK with The Fantastic Four Annual #1.

The X-Men #7: The Yaffa edition

Page Publications' The X-Men #7 was published c.September-October 1981:

The cover is from Marvel Comics' The X-Men #19:

The contents:

[Lo! Now Shall Appear--The Mimic!], originally published in The X-Men #19, April 1966

I, Lucifer..., originally published in The X-Men #20, May 1966 

From Whence Comes... Dominus?, originally published in The X-Men #21, June 1966

The first story omits the first page, so the title of the story is also omitted. The other two stories appear to be intact.

Even without checking the contents of this issue I could have reasonably guessed it would reprint The X-Men #'s 19-21, given Yaffa editions tend to carry three consecutive issues of the relevant series.

However in this instance my job was made easier courtesy of the notes made by the previous owner of my first copy of this issue:

As you can see, the original sources of the reprinted stories have been documented with stamped references. I'm often attracted to handwritten marginalia in such secondhand comics but rarely have I found copies with such neat, almost formal annotations. I suspect the original owner may have done this for the other issues in this series - I'd love to find another one from this owner.

Superman Supacomic #14

K.G. Murray's Superman Supacomic #14 was published c.September 1960:

The cover is from Superman #137:

The stories:

Chapter I: The Super-Brat from Krypton; Chapter II: The Young Super-Bully; Chapter III: Superman vs. Super-Menace!, originally published in Superman #137, May 1960

The Dog That Betrayed Batman, originally published in Batman #131, 1960

The Millionaire Pupil!, originally published in Superboy #81, June 1960

The Martian from Gotham City, originally published in Batman #132, June 1960

Life on Krypton!, originally published in Superboy #79, March 1960

The Creatures that Stalked Batman, originally published in Detective Comics #279, May 1960

The Boy Who Was Stronger than Superboy!, originally published in Adventure Comics #273, Jun 1960 

The Alien Who Doomed Robin, originally published in World's Finest Comics #110, July 1960 

Many of these stories were subsequently republished in other KG Murray issues.

There is an advertiser's date code on the inner front cover SS9/60 - a proxy cover date. AusReprints notes a copy had 17 November 1960 written or stamped on it. 

KG Murray's Batman #38

KG Murray's Batman #38 was published c.July 1953:

The cover is signed by Hart Amos.

The main features:

The Crimes of Batman!, originally published in World's Finest Comics #61, November 1952 

The Water Crimes of Mr. Hydro!, originally published in Batman #74, December 1952-January 1953 

This issue includes the following half-page filler strips: Stevie from A Date with Judy #35, June-July 1953; and both Jerry the Jitterbug and Professor Eureka from World's Finest Comics #59, July-August 1952. This issue ends with a two-page Casey the Cop strip from Adventure Comics #179, August 1952, which concludes on the rear cover.

The Crimes of Batman! was reprinted by KG Murray in Giant Batman Album #15.

This issue contains a full-page in-house ad for Super Adventure Comic on the inner front cover:

There was also a UK edition of this issue with the same issue number published a few months later.

Federal Comics' Fantastic Four #7

Federal Presents Fantastic Four #7 was published June 1985:

The cover is from Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four #257:

The stories:

Trapped!, originally published in Fantastic Four #255, June 1983 

[The Annihilation Gambit!], originally published in Fantastic Four #256, July 1983 

Fragments, originally published in Fantastic Four #257, August 1983 

The stories in this issue have been modified. 

Trapped! has been reduced from 22 pages to 21. This is done by reformatting two pages onto one page:

Here's the original two pages for comparison:

The final page of Trapped! announces the story is continued in The Annihilation Gambit in the following issue:

This text box is omitted from the Federal edition:

This is the splash page to The Annihilation Gambit!:

This splash page is omitted from the Federal edition, which segues from the end of Trapped! to the double page spread following The Annihilation Gambit!, which means this story is untitled and reduced by one page.

The final page of the original The Annihilation Gambit! includes a text box announcing Fragments in the following issue:

This has been removed in the Federal edition:

Fragments is reprinted in full, apart from the credits box and, obviously, the indicia on the splash page:

As striking as the black and white image is, the linework in the title is not as purposeful as it is in the original colour version:

The final page of Fragments announces the following issue's story Interlude:

This story does indeed open Federal Comics' Fantastic Four #8.

It is also worth noting that one of the panels in the Annihilation Gambit is virtually black and white:

This is lost in translation in the Federal edition for obvious reasons.

Fantastic Four #7 is unnumbered on the cover, however it is labelled as such on the left hand border of the splash page of Trapped!

The rear cover has the Battle of the Sounds ad, and the inner front and inner rear covers carry the Rock Video [1] and A Fantastic Rock Poster Magazine respectively. This combination of advertisements and the 9 written on the front cover of my copy (and at least two others I have spotted) confirm the June 1985 publication date.

Super Adventure Comic #47

KG Murray's Super Adventure Comic #47 was published c.May 1954:

The cover is from DC Comics' World's Finest Comics #67:

The stories:

The Girls in Superman's Life!, originally published in Superman #78, September-October 1952

The Phantom Bandit of Gotham City!, originally published in Batman #81, February-March 1954

The rear cover has a single-page Professor Pry filler:

This is unsigned but is probably by Lloyd Piper.

Dr. Fate: The Murray Comics one-shot

Murray Comics' Dr. Fate one-shot was published c.September 1982:

This cover is a composite of elements from two separate DC covers:

DC Comics Presents #23

The Brave and the Bold #156

This issue compiles prominent Dr. Fate stories from the mid-70's to 1982. The two team-up stories from the issues above are included, as are the backup stories appearing in The Flash #'s306-310, and the eponymous Dr. Fate story (aka The Mummy That Time Forgot) which originally appeared in 1st Issue Special #9 and was reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #3 which is cover-dated July-August 1980:

Dr. Fate's speech balloon on this cover advises that this issue contains his "only full-length adventure". This surprised me, but my greater surprise was to realise that there were no self-titled Dr. Fate issues or series before this Murray edition, and that this may indeed be the first such title in the world - at least it appears so, according to the GCD (even if the GCD erroneously dates this issue to 1981).

This issue also contains a two-page Batman filler, The Impossible Murder (A Just-A-Moment Thriller) originally published in Batman #347.

One might quibble about the relevance of the filler feature, and perhaps the sequencing of the stories in this issue, but in compiling these extant Dr.Fate stories and artfully contriving a front cover image from disparate sources, this is one of those issues that Murray got right.

Dating Murray's All Star Heroes and The Phantom Zone one-shots

Murray Comics' All Star Heroes one-shot was published 25 August 1982:

I have spotted no less than seven copies to date with a newsagency marking of 12 either on the front or rear cover. Given the rule of thumb for these dates has been a three month lead time, I would usually have no hesitation in deeming it a September 1982 release. This issue also has the Hubba Bubba Gumfighter Comes to Town [2] [Four Great Flavours] ad on the rear cover which, by my reckoning, places it within the August-November 1982 period, therefore providing some corroborative evidence.

However, as a $0.95 cover-priced issue, September 1982 is just outside the range of my dating schema for the 100-page Murray/Federal issues. That is, the $0.95 cover-priced issues end in August 1982 and the $0.99 cover-priced issues begin September 1982. Of course there are always allowances made for some crossover or bleeding between these months. So it was gratifying to spot a copy of All Star Heroes with a firm date on the cover: 25/8. 

This issue includes an ad for The Phantom Zone one-shot, which is advertised as out next month:

Note the cover on this ad has a $0.95 cover price. By the time it was released it was priced at $0.99:

Having dated All Star Heroes August 1982, it would be logical to date The Phantom Zone to September 1982, a month after All Star Heroes. Supporting evidence for this date comes from Hubba Bubba [2] ad in this issue.

This issue also has the Do You Like To Draw? contest which closes 30 November 1982:

I have spotted two copies with 12 written on the cover, and one copy with 1 written on the cover, again placing this issue between September-October 1982.

It's clear the late August publication of All Star Heroes was close enough to September for many newsagents to give it the full three month plus shelf life to December. The late price change to The Phantom Zone suggests there was some delay, which might have pushed it to a late September or even an October publication date.

So on balance I deem The Phantom Zone to be published September 1982, but I would love to see a copy with a firm date on it.