NEW FUN COMICS #6 BUY IT!

[jbcomicbox]

I see that Comiclink has a New Fun #6 up for auction.

 

Buy it!

 

I have a nice copy of #6, but just believe this book is so rare and important. I urge you lucky folk out there to take a plunge.

 

Buy it.

 

I know alot of folks are not into pre-hero DC or any pre-hero books. But this one has esoteria and importance built into it. Yes, it is different than most GA books that are focused on by the regular crowd. But this is an exception. Look outside the grouping of GA super hero stuff. These guys created Superman. Here is the first stepping stone to that path to Superman.

 

Yeah, you can get a lot of other stuff instead of this silly book.

 

Buy it.

 

I ultimately do not care if you pass up this opportunity but...(actually I do)...

 

Buy it.

 

 

 

 

New Fun was the inaugural title of the company which was soon to produce comicbook titles such as New Comics/New Adventure/Adventure Comics, Detective Comics, and, Action Comics, which featured the most significant comicbook character of all time- “Superman”. The series ran from February 1935 monthly for the first four issues then in August for the fifth issue and in October 1935 for the sixth issue. (The reincarnation as More Fun 7 did not take place until January 1936.)

 

 

At the time of its first issue (February 1935) the only other “comicbook” on the newsstand was Famous Funnies 7. Famous Funnies reprinted newspaper strips of the day.

New Fun represented the next step in the evolution of this entertainment medium in that the book contained original- not reprint-material. Actually, the idea of all original material had been tried in 1929 with the introduction of The Funnies by George Delacorte. Oversized like the Sunday funnies, the series never caught on.

 

New Fun went beyond the predecessor tabloid titles and presented original adventure strips as well as the traditional “funny pages”.

 

The features were diverse and an assortment of adventure and humor strips and horror/supernatural of “Dr. Occult, the Ghost Detective”.

It is within the last issue of New Fun that the seed of a character is found that was to cause the comicbook business to erupt into the lucrative industry it was to become in the 1940s. For the sixth issue (October 1935) ran a strip called “Dr. Occult the Ghost Detective” by Legar and Reuths. This was a pen name for two young men from Cleveland Ohio- Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. (This pen name was used because Siegel and Shuster had contributed another strip in this sixth issue, “Henri Duval”. It became a common practice among comic companies to use aliases for individuals who contributed more than one strip per title so to make it appear that their staff was large.) Dr. Occult, in one story arc, incorporated several elements that were the prototypal for “Superman”. For this reason, the historical importance and value of New Fun 6 can not be overestimated.

Dr. Occult in his first stories was kept busy fighting the vampire master. At this point the development of the character takes a short detour. Early in 1936 William Cook (National’s managing editor and story contributor) and John Mahon (National’s business manager) left National to form their own short-lived comic company, Comic Magazine Co. Their first title was The Comic Magazine. This title contained slight variations of continuing characters that were appearing in National’s titles. It has been hypothesized that these inventory stories served as payment for monies Cook and Mahon were owed by the financially strapped National. Anyway, in the first issue of this title (May 1936), Dr. Occult became, “Dr. Mystic, the Occult Detective”. (Note, in More Fun 11 (July 1936) he was “Dr. Occult, the Mystic Detective”.) In this story, he joins up with the Seven to battle the evil of Koth. This feature did not continue in the second issue of The Comic Magazine. However, the story continued without missing a beat in the fourteenth issue of More Fun (October 1936). As the story continues, Dr. Occult is given a uniform with a triangular chest emblem and a red cape so to fight Koth. After donning the uniform and cape, off he flies.... The elements of costume design were obviously influenced by the character which Siegel and Shuster had tried for years to get off the ground.

 

 

Sorry to have gone on so long, but my view on this book?

 

BUY IT!

 

 

(Part of this is from a old CBM article I did).....JB

[Ameri]

Beautiful run Here's the splash of the 5 and the contents

 

 

[AnkurJ]

I have a beater but I'm happy with it

[bluechip]

First vampire in comics

 

[AnkurJ]

The comiclink copy is very nice indeed. It will be interesting to see what it sells for.

[KirbyJack]

Wish I could

 

Buy It!

[Foxtrot70]

if I could afford it I would own a copy. Great write up sir.