bc

Yeah, Amazing Mysteries are the great-grandparents of the PHM genre. Had these since the '90's - the #35 is a Canadian Edition of #32. I like the "Marvel Comics" circle on these Don't think I've ever shown these here before... Not the best shape, but keepers for sure. -bc

Man, I really miss talking with all you guys regularly Gonna try and get back to being more of a poster... Being a computer nerd coupled with a semi-OCD condition, just gotta chime in more on this topic. This is a screenshot of one of many spreadsheets I use to track things like this: I know its hard to see, but this one covers every Timely/Atlas/Marvel title from Amazing Mysteries 32 ('49 - the first horror title) until 1970. Compiled from many sources, updated with real-world info - some of these timelines were in the OSPG but they had errors once I secured the book. No - I do not have all of these - just a tool I use during my collecting. I do have every post-Implosion book that you can see in my Gallery. Don't ask what all the color-coding and highlighting mean in the spreadsheet, I've long since forgotten. Maybe the red numbers are one of those "prototype" issues they tag? Those Strange Tales & World of Fantasy issues during 1958 are leftover material that was ready to be published according to some Stan Lee articles. Strange Worlds #1 in 12/59 is hailed as the first new original material during that period and, to me, begins the post-code post-Implosion PHM genre. You can see that our later World of Fantasy issues could be included here as well. @Sweet Lou 14's list is fairly reflective of this spreadsheet (you forgot Strange Worlds ) @mysterio Dippy 1 is also the same book I've seen that was the last globe - and is more than welcome during this discussion. I passed on one a long while back because I didn't realize that significance...may have to add it to the hunt list if conventions ever restart. Geek Out! -bc

I agree that the PHM definition can be treated a couple of ways as you point out. Certainly the Big 5 are the purest definition. Just wanted to point out that the significant characteristics of the PHM genre (big goofy monsters, bolded nearly mon-syllabic names, Lee/Kirby/Ditko, etc) seemed to be first tried out in WoF18. TTA & TOS followed that trend with issues 8, ST was 72 and JIM 54 was the next one after WOF18. AA/AAF were much later in the lifecycle. But all valid points my friend! -bc

Dare I say that those are some "sweet" pickups Lou ! Like that date stamp on the door on the AAF8 - someone didn't want to dirty up the great red cover. -bc

Not to disagree with my esteemed colleague kj, I think World of Fantasy has a key PHM book - #18. From what I can find, it's the first issue with a bolded mono-syllabic named monster on the cover, has new Kirby & Ditko artwork (earlier issues had artwork that was likely created before the Implosion) and the typical fleeing humanoids. Now if we had some Kirby monster pants on Xom, it would be truly official -bc

Thats a tough book in any grade. Your's presents great with vibrant colors. -bc

Well worth the money m! Presents great for a 6 ! -bc

Nice bright colors on those two classic covers! -bc

Great pickup Lou! Like these obscure titles -bc

Always great to see those Rick! Thanks for sharing! -bc

Really nice pickups m! -bc

Not sure this is the the direct answer...the Atlas Implosion in '57 caused Stan to use Independent News (when they switched from putting "ATLAS" on the cover to "IND") as the distributor. IND was owned by DC and thus limited Stan to 8 books per month from '57 to '63-ish. Think then IND allowed 11 or 12 titles to be distributed per month. Most titles in that '57-'63 period were distributed bi-monthly on what I assume would be a weekly basis based on some data stamps I have seen but that could just be based on geography.

Well, after being layed-off and turned down for dozens of jobs because of being an "overqualified" mid-50 year old, I spent some time helping a startup company get on its feet then I launched my own consulting business with the money I made from the startup. Got a couple of gigs going but unfortunately, one of them is with a firm in Mumbai, India which caused me to burn the midnight oil since I'm in the states. Other than that, needed a break from the boards. Other than this thread and a few in the GA section (and of course your fantastic work with Pence copies & Black Circle variants ) got tired of all the speculation & BS threads. Seemed like it was becoming more about the $$$ and not about the love of the hobby or the history of the medium - so I took a hiatus. Haven't bought anything new, but I did unsuccessfully bid on a few of the sweet PHMs in that last Heritage & CC auction (including that gorgeous Strange Worlds #3 @Rosland posted above). Congrats @mysterio on the awesome early JIM run! Also a shout out to @Sweet Lou 14 on the really nice TTA run you're putting together! I'll try and check in more often - may start adding to the Vault next year if the cash flow situation allows it. Glad to see the gang is still posting -bc ps - no slabs in the stocking this year @KirbyJack BUT Santa brought me 1000 rounds of ammo to keep the ongoing coyote & raccoon invasion under control

Merry Christmas to all my Pre-Hero Brothers! Hope all is well with you & yours! -bc