Here’s the thing. I really couldn’t pick one over the other so I’m picking both of these comic books for this week’s Undervalued Spotlight.
In January of 1947 Avon Periodicals published Eerie Comics #1. Eerie #1 is credited as being the first true horror comic. Overstreet guide value for Eerie #1 is a healthy $8,200.00. Though the book is also credited as establishing the horror genre it really did not cause an...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #50Early Marvel Keys are one of the most collected group of comic books in the hobby. A hobby wide consensus regarding a book's status as a legitimate Marvel key is enough to send it's value way up. The Tales to Astonish title had already given us Hank Pym, the Ant-Man a year and a half earlier. In Tales to Astonish issue #44 Janet van Dyne becomes...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #49American Comics Group (ACG) editor Richard E. Hughes contributed much to comic books. Hughes was already a veteran of the industry in 1958 (he was ACG editor at this time). The early 1940s characters Fighting Yank and Black Terror were among Hughes’ more popular creations. A prolific writer, Hughes used many pseudonyms. The most famous of these ‘pen names’ would be Shane O’Shea (though my favorite is Ace Aquila). It was Shane O’Shea that received the writing credits for the...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #48The Phantom was the brainchild of Mandrake the Magician creator Lee Falk. Mr. Falk’ brilliant twist to the character was that he made his Phantom the 21st in a line stretching back over 400 years. The Phantom always fought evil wearing the same costume, part of a ruse to get the bad guys to believe that the character was immortal.
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #47Four Color Comics was a Dell Comic anthology series that ran from 1939 top 1962. Often Dell introduced characters (original and licensed) in the Four Color run. If the character sold well Dell would launch a separate series devoted to the character. When we look at titles like Turok (original) and Bugs Bunny (licensed) we see that Dell published several issues within the Four Color run (actually more than...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #46Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #3, Pacific Comics, March 1982. This little gem has quite a lot going for it. First off the book features the first appearance of Ms. Mystic (back up story). Ms. Mystic is a witch who was burned at the stake during the Salem witch hunts of the late 17th century...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #45Lobo #1, Dell Comics, December 1966. Lobo (unnamed in the book but dubbed Lobo by his adversaries) is a black Union soldier who goes west after the Civil War ends. He is hired as a ranch hand who gets wrongly blamed for killing the...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #44Animal Comics #1, Dell Comics, Dec/Jan - 41/42. Animal Comics #1 features the 1st appearance Pogo Possum and Albert the Alligator by Walt Kelly
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #43This comic book does not get the respect it deserves. March 1965 is very early for Marvel Comics, The Silver Surfer and Galactus were still a year away while the Amazing Spider-Man title was only...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #42In the late 60s and early 70s comic books were tackling some very important social issues. The Amazing Spider-Man and Green Lantern ran some very controversial drug use stories. Famously the Amazing Spider-Man issues #96-#98 did not receive approval from the Comics Code Authority and these issues are now known as “the drug issues”. Titles like Lois Lane and Wonder Woman were exploring women’s equality issues...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #41Daredevil #1 is counted right up there with Hulk #1, FF#1, Avengers #1 and the rest as an early Marvel Key. Technically you could say thast it’s “keyer” than Amazing Spider-Man #1 since the Spidey issue is a title launch and not a first appearance. Printed in April 1964 Daredevil #1 is considered the last big early Marvel key.
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #40It should be noted that Jack and his writing/drawing partner Joe Simon first developed the concept of the romance story in a teen humor comic called My Date. My Date #1 (July 1947) featured teen humor but also featured a story that was very realistic in its approach to teen age romance. The non humor romance story was a huge success and this success enabled Simon and Kirby to negotiate a deal with the publisher to produce a romance title. Young Romance #1 was
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #39Torchy #5, Quality Comics, July 1950. Artist Bill Ward is one of the most popular ‘good girl art’ cartoonists of the 20th century. His most famous creation is Torchy Todd, the goodhearted naïve young blonde whose...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #38Today I’ve learned of the passing of Frank Frazetta. Even during his lifetime Mr. Frazetta was considered THE giant of 20th Century American fantasy illustration. His god-like status was well deserved. The Conan book covers he produced for Lancer Books in the 1960s single handedly defined a whole genre of art...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #37The Phantom #74 is the last Charlton issue of series. Final issues are very collectible. Usually the print run is very low just before the plug is pulled. Later, when someone tries to collect the run they usually find that the last issue is...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #36Marvel Team-Up #22, Marvel Comics, June 1974 Spider-Man and Hawkeye team-up to take on Quasimodo! OK, I admit it’s not the kind of line up that would have had the kids running to the local variety store but other forces…
Dell Publishing had a longstanding agreement (since the late 30s) with Western Publishing to produce comic books based on properties that Western licensed from the likes of Disney, MGM, Warner Brothers, Hanna Barbera and others. This agreement was very lucrative for Dell and they fast became the largest comic book publisher. In 1962 Western Publishing decided to create their own comic imprint called Gold Key...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #34The Avengers were Marvel’s unchallenged super hero team for a full 8 years before their first real challengers appeared...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #33In my opinion Tales to Astonish #27 (Jan/62) is not one of the early Marvel Keys. “The Man in the Ant Hill” story featured the first appearance of Henry Pym but it was just another Sci-fi/fantasy story typical of the books Atlas Comics was producing at the time...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #32Wonder Woman, Storm, Supergirl, Batgirl, Emma Frost, She-Hulk, Phoenix, Dazzler and all the other female superheroes owe a lot to Shiera Sanders a.k.a. Hawkgirl...
Read MoreUndervalued Spotlight #31