Commando Comics #5 - Production Defect or a Remarkable Coincidence? 0

[Phill the Governor]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone was familiar with this issue, Commando Comics #5. Canadian book published by Bell Features in 1943.

One copy was picked up raw with pages 21-28 cut out. The other copy was cracked out of a voldemort case with a label note reading: "11th, 12th, 13th, 14th page missing". The goal was to marry the missing pages and make one complete book.

 

Well to my surprise when I cracked out the one copy, it wasn't missing pages 11-14, it also had story pages  21-28 cut out - in the same exact way.

What I'm more concerned about is what are the chances a scarce book like this has a similar defect? According to GCD the pages missing are story pages. So I'm guessing either there was some really cool stuff on those pages that kids cut right out - or perhaps there was something else going on on the day the book was published?

Thanks in advance for any insight you may be able to share.

[Readcomix]

1 hour ago, Phill the Governor said:

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone was familiar with this issue, Commando Comics #5. Canadian book published by Bell Features in 1943.

One copy was picked up raw with pages 21-28 cut out. The other copy was cracked out of a voldemort case with a label note reading: "11th, 12th, 13th, 14th page missing". The goal was to marry the missing pages and make one complete book.

 

Well to my surprise when I cracked out the one copy, it wasn't missing pages 11-14, it also had story pages  21-28 cut out - in the same exact way.

What I'm more concerned about is what are the chances a scarce book like this has a similar defect? According to GCD the pages missing are story pages. So I'm guessing either there was some really cool stuff on those pages that kids cut right out - or perhaps there was something else going on on the day the book was published?

Thanks in advance for any insight you may be able to share.

Anyone recall Ivan Kocmarek's board handle? This is a question for him.

[jpepx78]

 

I don't think it is a printing defect. I think those missing pages correspond to missing centerfolds for both books since the books should have 60 total pages. I found a pic of the inside front cover for Commando 5 and there is a form for free comic character sweater crests. Don't pay attention to the politically incorrect cartoon.

Since you needed 12 coupons from the centerfold to get one crest, I can imagine there might be many missing or cut-out centerfolds for books that had the coupon. i couldn't find a pic of the centerfold but a raw intact copy of Commando 5 was sold on the boards in 2016. Maybe someone could post the missing pages.

 

[Phill the Governor]

17 hours ago, jpepx78 said:

 

I don't think it is a printing defect. I think those missing pages correspond to missing centerfolds for both books since the books should have 60 total pages. I found a pic of the inside front cover for Commando 5 and there is a form for free comic character sweater crests. Don't pay attention to the politically incorrect cartoon.

Since you needed 12 coupons from the centerfold to get one crest, I can imagine there might be many missing or cut-out centerfolds for books that had the coupon. i couldn't find a pic of the centerfold but a raw intact copy of Commando 5 was sold on the boards in 2016. Maybe someone could post the missing pages.

 

Zing! The answer was in plain sight. Thank you!

[sarvajnatman]

I agree with everyone that this accounting of the missing centre pages of Commando 5 due to the necessity to cut coupons out of those centre pages is a plausible inference but, in the end, I think it is a faulty one. The only coupons that could be cut out in this issue are the ones on the inside front cover and on both sides of the back cover. There are no coupons in the centrespread. In the graphic of the centrespread from the Canadian Library and Archives copy of the book below you can see that the comic has one staple and that it is barely through the centrespread pages. What appears to be the remainder of pages that have been cut out are actually what I call 'page tags' and these were sometimes the result of Bell Features manufacturing process. They often show up in complete Bell Features books. I also attach a picture of same part of the book from the Canadian Library and Archives copy where you can see in their complete copy of the book that the page tags are there. What is missing in your copies of Commando 5 are the two centrewraps, which are the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th folios (or full pages, front and back) of the book. My theory would be that either, over the decades, these precariously attached wraps worked their way out or weren't properly caught at all by that staple.