Doohickamabob

I was going through one of my magazine boxes today. Decided to re-group a lot of stuff, and take some fresh pictures. Here are some of the magazines in my collection (some new acquisitions, but most of them older). I am sparing you my collection of New Yorkers, National Lampoons, Games Magazines and other sentimental but not-that-interesting material. Instead, I will focus on the more out-there magazines I collect (and again, this is just some of what's in one box...). First up: Some of my #1 issues of cool but not notably valuable comics/magazines. It's fun to have some #1 issues. I wish I had a #1 Vampirella to add to this group (I had one, and foolishly sent it back to a seller because a cover tear wasn't disclosed. I should have just kept the dang thing).

Here's an unusual Fox Feature Syndicate item that I found in auction several years ago. The comic is Rocket Ship X, #nn (the only issue of this title). It's a strange, late-era Fox comic, not exactly the pinnacle of quality, but I like it anyway. The woman is sexy and the man is....actually the man seems a bit lecherous... The comic was auctioned along with the original color guide or printer's guide... What do you call it? I think it's the color-test page used by Fox Feature Syndicate to make sure the comic was produced according to specifications. I don't know the provenance of this, but the seller said it was authentic and I have no reason to doubt that. I haven't seen any other items like this for auction, but I wish they'd turn up because I'd love to have one for something like Blue Beetle #54 or Phantom Lady #17...

That is fantastic. I want one... I dig the framing arrangement as well. One question: Is there some sort of Photoshop fill-in effect going on with the gray area in this image?

I don't know the history, but I remember that Don Martin jumped ship to work for Cracked, and that probably made it tough for him to do shows alongside the Mad guys. I agree about Mort Drucker's signature, even though to me, at a glance, it looks like "Ert Qcker" if I'm not thinking about what I'm looking at. If memory serves, in the older days, Feldstein used to actually draw a beer stein glass for part of his signature, or at least did a few times in the EC comics. Here is an example of the best possible Al Feldstein signatures. I saw this several years ago on eBay. I tried to win it (I was the underbidder) but whoever I was bidding against was very determined. Some day maybe this will turn up again, though I am not crossing my fingers.

Wow! Angelo Torres, Mort Drucker, Don Martin, Al Feldstein, Jack Kamen, Sergio Aragones, Duck Edwing, De Bartolo, Will Elder, Kelly Freas, Nick Meglin, Don & Marie Severin....plus the other ones I can't remember (the image is not in front of me as I type).... Wow, wow, wow. (EDIT: Looks like Annie Gaines, and writer Stan Hart? And a few others I can't make out.)

She's a looker!

Ha ha, I never noticed that! (Too busy looking at stretchy fabric...)

Though this is a great cover, I am fairly certain it isn't by Matt Baker. Looks to me like Bob Lubbers.

Hey! It's Dollface Dimples! (aka Alice Kelley) I'm pretty sure this is a Dollface sighting that hasn't been noted before.

Wow, what scummy seller behavior. You are right, it is unquestionably the same comic. -- ASM #27 -- slabbed CGC restored 8.0 (top cover TRIMMED) -- purchased for $52 -- ASM #27 -- raw ... and sold as unrestored, for $122 -- ASM #27 -- raw -- resold to an unsuspecting buyer for $122 after OP returned it for refund The seller doubled his money by being dishonest. Blech.

If these before and after pics are any indication, you must have done well: BEFORE: AFTER: Great photos and explanations!

That's interesting because I have a double-cover Mad from the same time period (issue #184). I'll take a pic next time I am sorting through the issues. It's really a shame your copy of that double-cover Mad isn't in better condition, huh? I just noticed that there's a MAD #200 double cover on eBay as well. Sounds like 1976 to 1978 is a prime time period to look for double cover MAD magazines. Must have had a slippery printing machine... That Mad #200 doesn't look too bad. If I were in a buying mood I would snag it.

Wow that is a beautiful copy! Here's one I picked up recently: Jo-Jo Congo King #9. The cover doesn't have much gloss, but it seems like maybe it never did, because of the notoriously low-quality paper used by Fox at the time.

That's interesting because I have a double-cover Mad from the same time period (issue #184). I'll take a pic next time I am sorting through the issues. It's really a shame your copy of that double-cover Mad isn't in better condition, huh?

"Glimpses into the intimate secrets of girls in love..." Oh yeah... Now we're talking...

That man has three arms!

Your message is writing in a manner humorous.

Never seen or heard of those, or if I have, it was a looooong time ago. Those aren't in Gerber, are they?

They look great!

Best Jack Davis cover? I would have to vote for MAD #2 but his one is a very close second... Just got that one back from CGC as well... That cover has the most unusual composition, with the baseball player's body all contorted and making a circular shape around the center where the "evil eye" is. Then if you look more closely, there's so much weird background stuff going on with the other people in the crowd, which registers almost subliminally. Also, I don't know if this is Jack Davis's design or if some of it is due to the colorist (Marie Severin?), but the way some colors are bright and others are muted gives the whole thing an almost 3-D effect. The same is the case with Two-Fisted Tales #30, which has the most dramatic lighting (or I should say backlighting) of any comic I can think of. I remember reading the "Nostalgic Mad" reprints as a kid, which were featured in the Mad Super Specials for several issues, and being enjoyably creeped out by the dark Davis and Kurtzman artwork of those early covers. (Mad #27, while technically not a comic book but a comic magazine, is also a contender for favorite Jack Davis cover.)

A member of the Daring Love club! WOW EC, Fox, and I spy a Farmer's Daughter #1 in the back? and more besides? Dang, Doohick - did you pay for all this from selling your romance longbox last year? Boys, there's gold in these golden love books! Thanks! I've had most of these for a while, but the romance longbox definitely helped pay to get some of these graded a few months ago. (You have a good memory on the romance longbox... )

I got back Two-Fisted Tales #30 from CGC, featuring one of my all-time favorite Jack Davis covers:

Issue #5 is the only one I have. Mine is probably a little lower condition than yours, but complete and held together. I love it!

Several years ago somebody on eBay auctioned a full run of Farmer's Daughter #1, #2, #3 and #4. There were all mid-range, probably VG's or VG+'s. If memory serves, the auction hammer price was $400 and change. That is one of those auctions that years later, I still kick myself for not bidding higher. Fantastic collection you've got there. I keep thinking I've seen your best stuff, then you post a wealth of even more great stuff.

Some recent romance-related comics I had graded: Daring Love #1; A Moon, A Girl...Romance #9; and Women in Love #2 (cover by Kamen/Feldstein)