Four Color #123, Dell Comics, October 1946 – Artist: Tom McKimson.
I mentioned in the comments section of yesterdays post that I thought these early Four Color books were underappreciated then lo and behold this cover pops up on Day 123. This Four Color #123 cover is pure eye candy, well composed and a joy to behold with it’s striking and contrasting colors, it has that warm full effect that could be found in really good Funny Animal comic art.
I too like Flash #123 but to me the books stature helps carry the art a bit past where it deserves to be. Marvel Tales #123 has great imagery and Tomahawk #123 is fantastic.
Perv alert on Lois Lane #123 !! Nixon alert on Fantastic Four #123 !!
A great comic book cover matching each day of the year, 1 through 365. Please chime in with your favourite corresponding cover, from any era.
Another great choice. I really like these issues where you educate us. Next issue….124. As a kid one comic struck my imagination more than any other. That comic is Classics Illustrated 124. War of the Worlds.
Outstanding cover, and I appreciated your description as “pure eye candy”. Excellent choice, and a gutsy selection. Thanks, Walt.
The Tomahawk cover was again fantastic. However, Flash #123 suffers from the same fate as several other key Flash covers, as DC often struggled to find a visual way to convey the essential element of speed.
And thanks for the shout-out to the Nixon appearance on FF #123, as presidential appearances have recently become a side collection for me with Superman #168 and #170 and several others.
As far as funny animals go this is well above average, but I find it hard to get interested. There isn’t even a clever gag. And the title is “Dangerous Venture” and what is depicted appears to be the happy discovery of a jewel, so no storytelling here. So very pleasant but I am not buying “great”.
I didn’t pick Marvel Tales but it is pretty good. I think what put me off is the finishing looks a bit rough.
I am again arguing emotional memory for Alex’s #124 pick, I can’t agree on that one. I didn’t see much to choose from for #124. Just to prove that I am not anti-Romita at all times I am going with ASM. Nothing visually confusing in this one, big characters, and crazy high on the “tells a story” meter. Bonus points for working up the “Man-Wolf” title style for the first appearance.
Ghostly Tales is really impressive, but after the recent run of Coles its impact is blunted.
I always found this House of Secrets to be particularly creepy – let’s call it the runner up.
Marvel Tales is pretty cool.
Some others to note:
Feature is particularly horrifying but not great.
It wasn’t until this exercise that I noticed that JLA #124 is a reference to JLA #21.
Girls’ Love – great way to start off the marriage – she is afraid to “lose him forever” because…?
JOWA to Alan of Romantic Story.
I agree, its gutsy to pass by Flash #123. Isn’t this the first time a Golden Age version of a hero meets a Silver Age version? It certainly is the most famous early example, plus a great story. But there are better Flash covers once you can let go of the historical importance.
All that said, you chose probably my very favorite Bugs cover. Its like they were channeling Carl Barks and his superlative globe-trotting adventures with Scrooge, Donald and the kids. But those came AFTER this 1946 issue.
There was an short-lived Golden Age era of these kinds of exotic, heroic more “serious” adventures among the Dell Funny Animal titles. You would think Barks pioneered these, but obviously he didn’t. This was a common Dell trope…Barks just perfected it. As a kid, and even to today, I loved those Barks globe-trotting adventures, that carry the reader to different lands, climates, peoples, current and ancient.
Great choice!! Alex, you nailed it…Walter IS educating us as he goes outside the keys into covers like this. What a fun project. I keep trying to turning my comic buddies on to it.
As you might imagine, I offer a second to Chris’ nomination of Amazing Spider-Man #124. The back to back Man-Wolf covers in #124 and #125 are among my favorite ASM covers for the dynamic and violent nature of each.
Also, as to Alex’s Classics Illustrated War of the World’s #124 – I recently went through an older box of my comics and found a forgotten run of Classics Illustrated and I recall War of Worlds was among those I saw, and I agree that its cover really did have a strong impact and provides an immediate entry into the memories of that story.
And I can’t wait to see to what Alan did in Romantic Story to earn a JOWA. I am convinced that each cover of a “Romance” comic is better than a week’s worth of soap operas.
The pre- Barks insights are invaluable, adding just a bit more importance that makes this a must have for me now! thanks Bud.
I used to do these in weekly buckets but lately I’m finding myself doing the post nightly taking into consideration everyone’s next day suggestions.
Great fun!
I’ll go out on a limb and suggest Star Spangled War Stories 124 for tomorrow. Something about that Red Rex and Kubert art that grabs me.
I agree Bud….Dell comics were masterful at travel adventure stories…taking their funny animal characters all around the globe and even outer space. Most notably in the Dell four color run. Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig , Mickey mouse,Oswald Rabbit, Andy Panda and Donald Duck had numerous adventures in far away lands, introducing us to new cultures and people. Once these characters morphed into their own series, this type of wide scope adventure seem to narrow. A lovely cover Walt, but I agree with Chris, it doesn’t convey the drama of the pending story. A Funny animal cover attempt, but a fail Walt. Donald Duck and the terror of the River #108 would’ve been a better choice weeks back. I think the whole cover thing was rushed the first 100 issues missing whole important genres. Abbot and Costello 11 is an example of this. One cover pick isn’t enough. I like how some commentors are indicating their picks with links to their suggestions. I wish Walt you’d picture 5 or six covers and choose one. Having said that, I imagine this is very time consuming. So thanks for your efforts Big Fella.