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BLBcomics-migration

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    comic book seller, collector & historian
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    collecting comics material from the early 1800s up
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  1. For some reason the below post deleted during a typo edit which accounts for the "blank" a few clicks back, so i repost: Back in 1971 while still a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at an early Thanksgiving Creationcon in New York City I used to fly in for on a regular basis an older gent was wandering around looking tired and lost. He had some very old newspaper Sunday sections rolled up tucked under this armpit. I called out to him, asking him if he wished to take a load off, rest on a chair behind my table. He said sure, sat down, we proceeded to converse. I asked him what he was doing at this comics show as he looked to be in his 80s. I was struck such an older guy was at such a comics show. He replied he had seen a TV newscast on this thing called a comic book convention which said to "bring your #1 comic books in to sell for big bucks" something to that effect. So there he came in with his #1 comics, but he sid no one wanted to buy them. i replied, what do you have? I would be interested.... So, he unfolds his roll of vintage news print and I was treated to seeing the first Yellow Kid, first Katzenjammer Kids, first Happy Hooligan, first Little Nemo, etc etc - I no longer remember the others in the stack right this sec. He also had a few original newspaper dailies with him for sale. On the spot I paid his asking price of $50 each for a 1915 George Herriman Baron Bean, a 1935 Noel Sickles Scorchy Smith, a 1927 Walt McDougall Radio Buggs. They were my very first early newspaper strip original art pieces. Comics Heaven knew no bounds back in those days of daZe. I was blown away as we made arrangements for me to come out to his house that night which was in a town called Upper Gloustcher (sp) New Jersey across the river from Philly PA. Dealer room closed at 7 PM, i then had my very first adventure with Grand Central Station, figuring out a train to Philly, then a bus across the river in to New Jersey, then a cab to his house, which turned out to be a huge three story run-down type mansion on top of a small hill as I remember it. I knocked on the door, it was 10 PM by this point, Ernie ushered me in, saying he had almost given up on my showing up - and he proceeded to begin my education in to early comics in America. He was very impressed a young 19 year old such as myself was interested in comics as early as he as showing me. Before we both knew it, the sun was coming up, it was 7 AM or so, I am exclaiming I need to get back to NYC to guard my table of comics, we part company, me vowing to making it back to this veritable Comics Mecca. On my way out the door, again saying how he was so impressed a "youngster" such as myself enjoyed the older stuff as much as the then "newer" comics, gave me Yellow Kid Sunday strips #1 #2 #4 - his TRIPLICATES - as a gift, saying to me to keep the spirit of this earlier comics heritage alive as he did not know how much longer he was going to last. Ernie McGee had been born in 1884, had begun "serious" comics collecting in 1914 age 20, how his comics collecting passions had alienated him from his former wife as well as two daughters. More on Ernie & his collecting coming up shortly if people are interested (or not) as he was the earliest comics collector I ever met, and I have talked with many thousands of "old timers" no longer with us below is the photo spread on Ernie collecting comics from a General Motors magazine titled Friends from 1964 with its cover pictured above. There are others on his collecting yet to sort out amongst my research files.
  2. In this next Ernie McGee letter he states in no uncertain terms Walt McDougall as well as Mark Fenderson should be given proper comics historial credit for "first" comic strips in New York City newspapers. That Mark Fenderson created the first sequential comic strip in a NY newspaper dated Jan 28 1894. The second sequential comics strip was the following week and a collaboration between Fenderson and McDougall. In later letters I have yet to scan he discusses how Outcault fits in the chrono time line as well as discussing earlier comic strip creators such as Frank Bellew who began doing sequential comic strips in humor magazines as early as the 1850s. From his letters he does not appear to have ever found, consequently been aware of, Rodolphe Topffer. Ernie also stresses on page two of this missive this is only concerning "newspaper" comics with comic strips appearing in earlier humor magazines and that comic strips indeed were appearing in Europe before they began appearing in America. His list in chrono order for comic strips to begin in newspapers is: 1) New York World May 21 1893 Pulitzer 2) New York Herald mid 1894 Gordon Bennett 3) New York Journal American Oct 1896 Hearst 4) boston Globe 1896 5) Philadelphia Inquier 1898 6) Philadelphia Press 1899 then the floodgates open by 1900 with newspapers all over the country jumping at grabbing at this now proven circulation builder. [bLB: Ernie does not appear, or maybe forgot as he is in his mid 70s by the mid 1960s when writing these letters so is maybe to be forgiven, there was a Chicago newspaper Inter-Ocean IIRC which also began a color Sunday supplement in 1893 featuring recurring characters called Ting Ling Kids] Also note on page two he mentions a few humor magazine title examples Puck, Judge, Life, "...."these were not newspapers - but - they actually started the comic (strip) trend. Newspapers saw how popular the comics were in these magazines and got wise - and copied the idea...."
  3. Thanks for the kind words, you, and others, who have voiced similar, which i did not earlier directly respond to what with real life full of too many distractions. As I dig further in to the research archives am becoming re-enthused all over again spending more time with this stuff. There is so much more am going to share. Have also begun working on my own web site once again which will contain a blog unfolding the vast majority of this stuff to share. Thousands of pages of documents few have ever seen. That all debuts in a couple months as Katy keeps on her healing trajectory. We ain't out of those woods yet. Fingers are crossed, knocking on wood et al.
  4. Here is an interesting letter to "Joe" dated 1962 with Ernie McGee discussing when a number of the great comics creators died. He writes he went to the funerals of some of them as early as 1940 which by that year Ernie was 56 years old. By the time I first met him in 1971 he was 87. Born in 1884, Ernie began serious collecting of comics in 1914 he told me when he was 20. Ernie died of a heart attack in 1976 when part of his house caught fire, destroying part of his collection he had so carefully put together and maintained for so many decades. His knowledge of the earlier comics and their creators was second to no one on the planet.
  5. Here is the first of what will be a number of letters written by Ernie McGee 1884-1976 beginning in the late 1950s thru to almost 1970 to a couple of other early comics collectors. Ernie McGee was the earliest comics collector I ever was honored to have met and gotten to know who imparted to me (and others) a vast treasure trove of comics lore. After Ernie died in 1976 when a house fire destroyed part of his beloved collection which caused a heart attack, it was his pains-takingly gathered complete Yellow Kid Sunday page run which first went to noted NYC collector Jack Herbert who then bequethed the run to Bill Blackbeard's San Francisco Academy of Comic Art which became the Yellow Kid book Bill compiled published by Dennis Kitchen in 1995. In this letter Ernie makes his views on Comic Art in America by Stephen Becker (1959) known it is full of mistakes. I remember when I visited Ernie at his house in the early 70s several time he voiced the same views Becker's book had serious errors. He was full of anger Becker's seminal comics history book had gotten so much wrong in the first five chapters which Ernie supplied virtually ALL the visual aid for as well as the text for. History took an unfortunate cruel twist in that Mark Fenderson, NOT Richard Outcault, should have been credited with the FIRST comic strip in New York World coupled with Walt McDougall jamming with Fenderson being the SECOND newspaper comic strip with Outcault being in the least THIRD cartoonist doing comics in the NY World beginning in 1894. What Ernie did not know then, but which came out later via Becker's kids whom I had tracked down adn talked with a decade or so ago is their father had become literally deathly ill. Their mother finished the book in order to get the second half of the Simon & Shuster advance in order to pay the rent, buy food, etc. Hers was the desperate act of a mother taking care of her kids, proper history be damned, simply turn the project in to get paid is where she was coming from. So many comics history books of the 1960s onwards simply quoted out of Becker (along with Waugh's The Comics 1947) without actually doing any primary hands on research. Becker's wife completely misinterpreted the notes her husband had made further augmenting the myth of the Yellow Kid being first of anything other than a "super star" Pulitzer, Hearst, then Bennett, fought over in the late 1890s. More on seminal collector Ernie McGee as I have time. There is some mind blowing stuff to be scanned yet which just might blow your comics collector mind. Some of this stuff i have not looked at for over a decade. It is almost "new" all over again to me as well at this stage of my life. And I humbly thank those of you ordering comics from my eBay store, voicing support for Katy to get healed soon, as some of my time is freeing up to dig and sort further in to my research archives.
  6. For some reason the below post deleted during a typo edit which accounts for the "blank" a few clicks back, so i repost: Back in 1971 while still a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at an early Thanksgiving Creationcon in New York City I used to fly in for on a regular basis an older gent was wandering around looking tired and lost. He had some very old newspaper Sunday sections rolled up tucked under this armpit. I called out to him, asking him if he wished to take a load off, rest on a chair behind my table. He said sure, sat down, we proceeded to converse. I asked him what he was doing at this comics show as he looked to be in his 80s. I was struck such an older guy was at such a comics show. He replied he had seen a TV newscast on this thing called a comic book convention which said to "bring your #1 comic books in to sell for big bucks" something to that effect. So there he came in with his #1 comics, but he sid no one wanted to buy them. i replied, what do you have? I would be interested.... So, he unfolds his roll of vintage news print and I was treated to seeing the first Yellow Kid, first Katzenjammer Kids, first Happy Hooligan, first Little Nemo, etc etc - I no longer remember the others in the stack right this sec. He also had a few original newspaper dailies with him for sale. On the spot I paid his asking price of $50 each for a 1915 George Herriman Baron Bean, a 1935 Noel Sickles Scorchy Smith, a 1927 Walt McDougall Radio Buggs. They were my very first early newspaper strip original art pieces. Comics Heaven knew no bounds back in those days of daZe. I was blown away as we made arrangements for me to come out to his house that night which was in a town called Upper Gloustcher (sp) New Jersey across the river from Philly PA. Dealer room closed at 7 PM, i then had my very first adventure with Grand Central Station, figuring out a train to Philly, then a bus across the river in to New Jersey, then a cab to his house, which turned out to be a huge three story run-down type mansion on top of a small hill as I remember it. I knocked on the door, it was 10 PM by this point, Ernie ushered me in, saying he had almost given up on my showing up - and he proceeded to begin my education in to early comics in America. He was very impressed a young 19 year old such as myself was interested in comics as early as he as showing me. Before we both knew it, the sun was coming up, it was 7 AM or so, I am exclaiming I need to get back to NYC to guard my table of comics, we part company, me vowing to making it back to this veritable Comics Mecca. On my way out the door, again saying how he was so impressed a "youngster" such as myself enjoyed the older stuff as much as the then "newer" comics, gave me Yellow Kid Sunday strips #1 #2 #4 - his TRIPLICATES - as a gift, saying to me to keep the spirit of this earlier comics heritage alive as he did not know how much longer he was going to last. Ernie McGee had been born in 1884, had begun "serious" comics collecting in 1914 age 20, how his comics collecting passions had alienated him from his former wife as well as two daughters. More on Ernie & his collecting coming up shortly if people are interested (or not) as he was the earliest comics collector I ever met, and I have talked with many thousands of "old timers" no longer with us below is the photo spread on Ernie collecting comics from a General Motors magazine titled Friends from 1964 with its cover pictured above. There are others on his collecting yet to sort out amongst my research files.
  7. Oh yes, i see i spaced typing in original "art." not newspaper tear sheets Ernie Mcgee KNEW all these old timers. He began collecting in 1914 age 20. His original art he got from the cartoonists. He knew George Herriman as just one example. I have uncovered my McGee file of over 400 letters he sent other early collectors wherin he explains all sorts of arcane comics lore. Am scanning a few of them right now to post. The first one to be posted in on the 1959 Comic Art in America by Stephen Becker book - letter written circa 1963.
  8. using that thought pattern statistics then there is the comparison Bill Pmade of 1921 re the first three Bringing Up Father comic books selling 2.5 million copies and mid 1940s sales of Captain Marvel being a million per. America's population grew tremendousluy due to immigration in the 20s and 30s. Sales figures factoring in population growth is something methinks Bill did not take in to account. I know I did not last night till you posted this tid bit.
  9. Back in 1971 while still a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at an early Thanksgiving Creationcon in New York City I used to fly in for on a regular basis an older gent was wandering around looking tired and lost. He had some very old newspaper Sunday sections rolled up tucked under this armpit. I called out to him, asking him if he wished to take a load off, rest on a chair behind my table. He said sure, sat down, we proceeded to converse. I asked him what he was doing at this comics show as he looked to be in his 80s. I was struck such an older guy was at such a comics show. He replied he had seen a TV newscast on this thing called a comic book convention which said to "bring your #1 comic books in to sell for big bucks" something to that effect. So there he came in with his #1 comics, but he sid no one wanted to buy them. i replied, what do you have? I would be interested.... So, he unfolds his roll of vintage news print and I was treated to seeing the first Yellow Kid, first Katzenjammer Kids, first Happy Hooligan, first Little Nemo, etc etc - I no longer remember the others in the stack right this sec. He also had a few original newspaper dailies with him for sale. On the spot I paid his asking price of $50 each for a 1915 George Herriman Baron Bean, a 1935 Noel Sickles Scorchy Smith, a 1927 Walt McDougall Radio Buggs. They were my very first early newspaper strip original art pieces. Comics Heaven knew no bounds back in those days of daZe. I was blown away as we made arrangements for me to come out to his house that night which was in a town called Upper Gloustcher (sp) New Jersey across the water from Philadelphia, PA. Dealer room closed at 7 PM, i then had my very first adventure with Grand Central Station, figuring out a train to Philly, then a bus across the river in to New Jersey, then a cab to his house, which turned out to be a huge three story run-down type mansion on top of a small hill as I remember it. I knocked on the door, it was 10 PM by this point, Ernie ushered me in, saying he had almost given up on my showing up - and he proceeded to begin my education in to early comics in America. He was very impressed a young 19 year old such as myself was interested in comics as early as he as showing me. Before we both knew it, the sun was coming up, it was 7 AM or so, I am exclaiming I need to get back to NYC to guard my table of comics, we part company, me vowing to making it back to this veritable Comics Mecca. On my way out the door, again saying how he was so impressed a "youngster" such as myself enjoyed the older stuff as much as the then "newer" comics, gave me Yellow Kid Sunday strips #1 #2 #4 - his TRIPLICATES - as a gift, saying to me to keep the spirit of this earlier comics heritage alive as he did not know how much longer he was going to last. Ernie McGee had been born in 1884, had begun "serious" comics collecting in 1914 age 20, how his comics collecting passions had alienated him from his former wife as well as two daughters. More on Ernie & his collecting coming up shortly if people are interested (or not) as he was the earliest comics collector I ever met, and I have talked with many thousands of "old timers" no longer with us below is the photo spread on Ernie collecting comics from a General Motors magazine titled Friends from 1964 with its cover pictured above. There are others on his collecting yet to sort out amongst my research files.
  10. Actually, the sales records I have stipulate WD C&S topped out at 4.3 million per issue. Looney Tunes topped out at 3 million per. Please keep in mind back in the day the majority of Dell's sales came from subscriptions. They had a super "deal" package of a year's worth of ten monthly issues for ten bucks. Lots of grandma's who saw lists like the Catechetical Guild page I posted yesterday read that stuff - and bought LOTS of Dell subscriptions for their grandkids.....
  11. Inside this American News Trade Journal v3 #2 Feb 1921 is the below advert for EmBee Publishing's large size comic books. George McManus and Rudolph Block Jr were 50-50 partners in this publishing effort making George McManus an early "self" publisher of his own comic strip Bringing Up Father. Note the top caption says over 2.5 million copies had been sold referencing the (un-named) Cupples & Leon black and white series. Based on the date of this issue, only the first three BUF issues had been published by then which saw multiple reprintings of #1 #2 #3. They are very common.
  12. Here is a double page spread from a Kable News-Gram newsletter which went out to periodical retailers. I have a few dozen Kable News-Grams. There are other ones centering on Martin Goodman which are even more fun to look at.
  13. I saw a couple of them a month or so ago while sorting files. Hopefully thru this week end they will resurrect. They are interesting, of sorts. Those guys in Minneapolis sure had a skewed view of what was acceptable for a comic book. As if ALL comic books just had to be for kids, the concept of adults reading them alien
  14. I wonder if any of the Catechetical Guild's lists of approved comics have survived? Even more interesting would be lists of their not approved books. yes, they have. Some where I also have some of these lists of approved as well as not approved comic books. The approved lists contain mostly Dell Comics as one might expect what with the Walt Disney stuff, the Warner Bros Looney Tunes characters, etc. Hopefully more of my Catechetical Guild files turn up. Seems to me the folks at the previous incarnation of Sparkle City originally turned up all that stuff. I bought at the "back story" files years ago when hardly any one was concerned with such mundane stuff. Others bought up the actual comic books, some of the titles going for bigger bucks than I was prepared to spend. I agree with my friend Craig Yoe's assessment regarding Carl Barks, John Stanley, being two of the greatest creators of comics who ever lived.
  15. It's a neat book, and I agree, historically significant. I have 3 copies at present... a solid 3.0 copy with white pages, and 2 other copies each missing a couple of pages IIRC. Of course, I've had them for years... unfortunately significance and saleability are two differet things! Show people Spider-man or Superman and they ooh and ahh... show them Buster Brown and they look at you like you're crazy! I totally agree regarding "saleability" which has never been the thrust of any of the comics business history I have been involved with when building first the Platinum section nor its "Victorian" era expansion beginning more than a decade and a half ago. During the 15 years I was more hands on involved with the Overstreet indexing, I was under constant pressure to raise prices of items each year. I objected, so they took over more of that aspect. It is, after all, a "price" guide, not really a serious scholarly journal of any sort. All I have ever been about is expanding the consciousness of the evolution of the American comic book which the facts demonstrate begins in America in Sept 1842 which began for me quite unexpectedly when I first read the Gersham Legman 1946 article back in 1998 I have referenced previously. Back in the late 90s I transcribed all of the comics references in the journal Legman appeared in which began with a 1941 query from August Derleth and went on from there. I have all that and more on a DVD I have been searching for as I continue to sort out my research files. Once located, will post here or some where else. It is fascinating reading I put out on to the net in the late 90s on to a couple internet zines which no longer exist though might be locatable via more extensive "way back" google type searches. One can easily see where Amazing Fantasy 15 is supplanting most of the earlier "Golden Age" comic books except for Action 1, Tec 27, and "maybe" Marvel Comics #1 though based on market reporting AF 15 is already ahead of the "investment" game regarding MC #1. To me the money aspect is near meaningless. It is the proper historical contexts the earlier comic books exist, that "life" did not begin with Funnies On Parade/Famous Funnies #1 in 1933/34, which runs my wagon, even though I have made my living for over 40 years buying and selling comic books. "Demand" regarding how much any given artifact is worth means little when placing all the comic books in the proper context historical time line. This is where there was a disconnect earlier in this thread of sorts when guys like Bill Ponsetti were referring to present day popularity of a Superman or a Spider-Man and I did not pick up on their concept which led to flames erupting. Such is the nature of email communication.