CGC Volume 3, Issue 9 eNewsletter

On September 11th & 12th, the staff of Comics Guaranty, LLC made their way to Baltimore, Maryland for CGC's first on-site grading experience at Baltimore Comic-Con. "Marc and Bonnie Nathan and staff at the Baltimore Comic-Con organized another great show where collectors and creators shared their passion for comics," said Tom Gordon III, Managing Editor of Gemstone Publishing. "It was wonderful that CGC offered on-site grading for attendees, as it gives dealers and collectors the chance to interact with them and learn more about third party certification. Many of the people we've spoken with look forward to CGC's return next year." The convention floor was filled with leading comic dealers such as Heroes & Dragons, Harley Yee, and Koop's Comics, along with some new faces. The presence of comic books, especially CGC certified books, was strong. Even though Baltimore Comic-Con isn't one of the larger shows, its "artist's alley" guest list was quite large. With artists and writers such as Tony Moore, Robert Kirkman, Frank Cho, Michael Wm. Kaluta, Walt Simonson & Frank Brunner (to name ONLY a few), fans were in for a treat. And speaking of fans being in for a treat, the staff of CGC was visited by the legendary Frank Brunner, who, it turns out, is a supporter and user of CGC's services and took advantage of the on-site services. The on-site grading was very successful. Fans and collectors took advantage of CGC's same-show turnaround times and altogether CGC graded 825 books during the course of the two day show. "CGC was a presence at the con with a huge demand for onsite grading," said David Matteini, collector and fan. "This was a great opportunity for both dealers and fans to certify their con purchases on the premises by the hobbies only third party certification service."

Comics Guaranty, LLC is excited to announce the new additions of pre-graders Matt Dakan and Joe Pierson to CGC's Modern Age department.

Matt Dakan

Matthew Dakan is one of the few local Floridians to work for Comics Guaranty, LLC. He started reading his brother's comics in grade school and has been interested in them ever since. The Sarasota community is known for being supportive of all forms of art, so Matt had little trouble finding local artists willing to lend their time and knowledge to help young people learn. As an aspiring artist, Matt was always on the look out for new and different styles of graphics and writing. This introduced his fascination with underground and independent comic books and helped him gain his knowledge of the vast array of Modern Age titles in circulation. His infatuation with comics led to his employment at Pop Comics & Games, a local comic store in Sarasota, where he worked for one year, gaining extensive knowledge of Bronze and Modern Age comics. His invaluable experience and love for comics led to his employment with CGC, where he now works as a Modern Age Pre-Grader.

Joe Pierson

Joe Pierson has been a comic enthusiast since the age of six and a serious collector of Silver and Modern Age comics since the age of eleven. As an aspiring young artist, he surrounded himself in comics and became forever engrossed by the comic book universe. Joe was a regular at Mint City Comics, a local comic shop in New Jersey, for over 12 years. Multiple visits each week helped him amass an enormous collection, and his sharp eye for detail helped him obtain impressive high grade Silver & Modern Age books. In 2000, Joe became Manager of the same shop he so often frequented, and by 2002, he became the owner. His association with Mint City Comics carried his love for the stories, characters and comics as a medium and opened the door to the grading aspects of the comic book market. In August of 2004, Joe made the move to Sarasota, Florida where he is now employed at Comics Guaranty, LLC as a Modern Age Pre-Grader.

During the super hero limbo that characterized comic books 50 years ago following the end of the Golden Age, eight collectible titles from three "second-tier" companies emerged with short, little-known runs ending in 1955.

If you want them all – and it's not out of realm of possibility to collect them all – the "stack" you build will be little more than three inches high!

Original concepts Captain Flash, The Avenger, Strongman and a revived Phantom Lady ran four issues. Four lesser-known revivals – The Flame, Samson, Wonder Boy and Black Cobra – lasted only three issues.

Some collectors speculate that the success of the syndicated Superman television show spurred a few publishers to try superheroes. Whether that is true or not, all eight titles died about two years before the show's final original episodes were released in 1957.

By far the best of the eight titles, The Avenger from Magazine Enterprises, features one of the few original superheroes to be introduced during the fifties. ME publisher Vincent Sullivan – who had a big hand in putting together Superman's debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938 – and editor Raymond Krank put two of their best artists, Dick Ayers and Bob Powell, on the Cold War hero. That estimable pair alone makes this title worth collecting.

Oddly, all four issues (Feb.-March through Aug.-Sept. 1955) feature nothing but Avenger stories – four tales in each, with all but two of them seven pages apiece. The first story in #1 is eight pages and one of the tales in #4 is six pages. Thus, if you want only one issue of the title, there isn't much difference, other than the origin story in #1. The first issue, by the way, was reprinted (with a new and particularly awful cover) as IW #9 in 1958. (IW started most of its titles with #9, hoping to fool stores into believing its comics had a history.)

Ayers, best known for his ME Ghost Rider strips, drew all four Avenger stories in #1. Powell handled all four covers and each of the stories in #2-4.

Strong Man, an original concept apparently inspired by the Charles Atlas ads then so popular in comics, featured four stories in #1-3 and two tales in #4 (March-April 1955 through Sept.-Oct. 1955), along with Strong Man's body building tips. All but two of the stories ran from six to nine pages. Powell, one of the most prolific artists of the 1940's and 50's, produced the covers and art.

The covers on #2 and #4 are pedestrian, but Strong Man destroys a helicopter on #1 and bends a giant clock hand on #3 in two of the most original covers of the Atom Age period.

Captain Flash, from tiny Sterling Comics, was a quasi-nifty Captain America knockoff from the pen of Mike Sekowsky in his pre-Justice League days. Captain Flash and his junior partner Ricky (!) appeared in three stories in each issue (Nov. 1954 through July 1955), running five to seven pages apiece. The origin story makes #1 the best issue, but there really isn't much difference among the four.

An original teen heroine, Tomboy, fills out each issue with stories of seven pages (#1) and six pages (#2-4).

The five super hero titles from Ajax-Farrell Comics – Black Cobra, The Flame, Phantom Lady, Wonder Boy and Samson – all feature "re-costumed" revivals of Iger shop characters who first appeared in either Fox or Farrell comics of the 1940's.

The best of the five Ajax titles was Black Cobra, a grim Cold War avenger who first appeared in Farrell's World War II era Captain Flight title. Interestingly, none of the four Black Cobra stories in #1 (Oct.-Nov. 1954) featured a logo, just titles such as "Ace Spy Smasher."

The second issue (#6, Dec. 1954-Jan. 1955), was inexplicably continued from Billy Bunny #5, as indicated in the indicia – the type of title that morbidly delighted Dr. Fredrick Wertham. Once again, there was no Black Cobra logo other than the one on the cover. The two Black Cobra stories in #3 (March 1955) finally sport a logo. Issue #3 – that's right, it went from #1 to #6 to #3! – also features a tale of Torpedoman, one of the worst "costume" heroes of all time and another steal from Captain Flight.

The Comics Code Authority probably killed off Black Cobra. Issue #3 was still not Code Approved, even though all of DC's March 1955 issues were approved.

Ajax tried an intriguing revival with three issues of The Flame (Dec. 1954-Jan. 1955 through May 1955, the only Code-approved issue). The Flame, an original Fox character, had not been seen since early in 1942, but apparently Farrell acquired the rights.

The two Flame stories in #1 did not sport a logo; the other two stories are Ajax-Farrell inventory. Issue #2, probably the scarcest of the three, features the Flame fighting scaly, green aliens on the cover while spouting, "Don't get us wrong! In this country we offer friendship, but we're always ready to fight if necessary!" You have to see this one to believe it – it's definitely one of the silliest comics in history! A Captain Flight story is reprinted in #2, with the character changed to "Captain Speed." In issue #3, the two Flame stories finally sported a logo.

The only Ajax costumed hero to run four issues was Phantom Lady (Dec. 1954-Jan. 1955 through June 1955). The first issue was #5 (formerly Linda, a teen humor title), before switching to #2-4. The Phantom Lady still features well-endowed "headlights" but no cleavage is ever spotted in her one-piece culotte outfit. The last two issues were Code-approved. The Red Rocket, a character from Captain Flight, appeared in stories in #3-4.

All three issues of Samson (#12 through #14, April through August 1955) were Code-Approved and apparently took the place of Black Cobra, even though Samson was continued from a non-super hero title, Fantastic. In #12, Wonder Boy and Captain Burke (yet another reworked Captain Flight story) also appeared, followed in #13 by Wonder Boy and Rocketman (a sci-fi character who appeared in an Ajax one-shot in 1952). Samson is by far the least collectible of the five Ajax titles.

The unspectacular but highly patriotic Wonder Boy #16 through #18 (March 1955 through July 1955) rounded out the Ajax lineup, featuring an Iger shop World War II feature. Issue #16 is actually entitled Terrific Comics in the indicia and at the top of the cover. There are Phantom Lady stories in #17 and 18.