UPDATED: My Nominee for the "First Great Comic Collector" 12 12

[sfcityduck]

I just want to encourage everyone here to buy Greg Sadowski's "Brain Bats of Venus" book about Wolverton.  

https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Bats-Venus-Wolverton-1942-1952/dp/1683962141/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Brain+Bats&qid=1573195714&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&sr=8-1

It's a great book and Greg is a great guy.  He has kindly shared with me some of Wigransky's letters to Wolverton and I hope to incorporate information from those letters into my eventual article on Dave.  What I've seen so far includes some astounding info that until this year I would have thought unbelievable.  I've also tracked down some great info on Dave from the Jolson collecting community, and am now in contact with one of Dave's friends from the time period of 1963 until Dave's death.  I'm hoping this contact solves the mystery of when Dave stopped collecting comics (if he did). I may sound more than a bit obsessed by the Dave Wigransky story, but  the more I learn, the more I know this is a story that needs to be compiled and shared.  Dave was so far ahead of his time as a collector that it defies belief.  But so out of tune with the world, that it is heartrending.

[sfcityduck]

On 10/21/2019 at 10:17 PM, sfcityduck said:

Yep.  I'm re-thinking whether Simon & Kirby gave him the May 1947 cover posted at the beginning of this thread as thanks for his defense of comics (my assumption), or whether he just wrote them and asked for it.  I think it was the later because of the note by S&K is "Best Wishes and Good Luck" not thanks.

Turns out that Dave Wigransky went to NY in the Summer of 1948 and met with S&K on that trip.  That's probably when he got the S&K cover.  And that's after his article rebutting Wertham appeared.  So S&K did probably give the cover art to Dave as thanks for his defense of comics.

Edited November 13, 2019 by sfcityduck

[porcupine48]

Marking this to read through later.

[Hepcat]

On 3/8/2019 at 9:01 PM, sfcityduck said:

So here is a picture of Sidney David Wigransky, Jr., sitting in the comic book room he had in his parent's house in Washington, D.C.  At the time, his comic room housed around 5,000 to 6,000 comics or so, most of which he had bought off the stand.  This picture was taken in July of 1948:

There's a lot to learn from this photo.  

First, take a look at the easily identifiable comics.  They span in time from 1935 to 1948.  They cover a wide array of genres.  They are:

 * Famous Funnies 17 (Dec. 1935)

 * Whiz 15 (March 1941)

 * Stuntman 1 (April/May 1946)

 * True Crime Comics vol. 1, no. 2 (May 1947)

 * Powerhouse Pepper 2 (Spring 1948)

 * Two Gun Kid 1 (March 1948)

Second, look at the comic storage.  All of his comics are very neatly stacked and separated in their respective cubes.  Clearly, they are organized.  And this guy had a frigging comic book room in 1948!

Third, look at the comics themselves.  These aren't comics "showing too much love."  Instead, they are flat (unless "newsstand fresh"), with square corners, and aren't showing rips or creases.  

Fourth, look at him.  He's relatively young.  Only 14.  Yet, he is holding a copy of a comic from 1935 (13 years old) that is in really nice shape!  He clearly was not only pursuing back issues, he was pursuing really nice looking back issues!

In sum, this guy was a serious collector, with a serious collection, being kept in great shape.

Oh ... one other thing, the photo is obviously a professional photo.  This collector had already, at his obvious young age achieved a degree of fame that the news media was photographing him.  

As a point of fact, he was being photographed in connection with an article he'd written about comic collecting for a national publication (more on that later). 

The name "Sidney David Wigransky, Jr." still not ringing any bells?  Well, at that point in his life, he tended to go by the name "David Pace Wigransky," and that's the name under which he wrote the article for the national publication.

From now on, we'll call him "Dave."  

 

What?! How can he be considered a "great comic collector" when he didn't slab his comics? In fact it doesn't look as if he even bagged and boarded them!

 

[sfcityduck]

Work has been very hectic, so I've fallen a bit behind on my Dave Wigransky research.  But, he is too interesting a character and too important a topic to comic history to lose sight of.  Here's an example of why:  Below is the first page of a letter Dave sent Basil Wolverton.  Check it out.  What you'll see is that Dave's critique of how GA comics evolved in the 1940s back when this letter was written in 1948 is essentially the same critique of the evolution of GA comics in the 1940s that we see made by some of the most advanced collectors on this site:  The superhero comics of 1939-42 are superior to the superhero comics of the late 1940s because in the 1939-1942 time period the superhero comics were serious and dark, whereas by the late 1940s Superman is cavorting with Mr. Mxyztplk. 

And here's the kicker:  Dave was using the term "golden age" (or as he mistyped it "golden aga") to describe the 1939-1942 period back in 1948.  Makes you wonder if he used that term when talking to fans in the early 1960s, when the term came into vogue.

The more I read about Dave, the more I realize that he was not only the first "great comic collector," but really the first modern collector as well.  This letter presages the comic criticism and fan-pro relationships that were to come into full flower in the early 1960s.  It's a remarkable document.  If you want to read more about Dave and his relationship with Wolverton, and also read one of the best comic book biographies of all time, then RUN don't walk and pick up Greg Sadowski's book "Brain Bats of Venus"!  Here's the first page of a very remarkable letter:

Key points revealed by this letter about Dave:

* He had duplicate comics in his collection (and apparently was only willing to destroy the duplicates to use as graphics in his letter);

* He had a very high level relationship with a comic pro (Wolverton), that included sharing critiques and opinions on comics;

* He was engaging in the kind of comic analysis that Scott McCloud views as serious comic criticism;

* He has an extensive knowledge of the evolution of comics from the late 1930s to late 1940s, including the storylines of a diverse array of books from Superman to the Shadow to Powerhouse Pepper to Mighty Mouse.

* He was using the term "golden age" to describe the 1939-1942 time period;

* His knowledge of Wolverton's output is incredibly impressive, showing familiarity not just with Powerhouse Pepper and Spacehawk, but also obscure works like Dauntless Dawson and FlipFlap.  He even knew how many times those obscure features appeared, as well as the publishing history of Powerhouse Pepper.

*  He visited Timely in the Summer of 1948 and spoke to Timely personnel about the comic business in some amount of detail; and

* He was not a fan of Timely's teen output.

It's amazing that so much information is revealed by this one page.  

Edited February 26, 2020 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

Frankly, its learning new stuff like this that keeps the wonder of collecting alive for me.  Learning history that's new to me, about old comics I'd never heard of before, stuff like that make comic collecting a joyous onion with new layers of discovery always available.  Ok, maybe "joyous onion" is a stupid phrase, but its the best I got right now.

Bonus points for whoever can identify the comics those panels are cut from.

Edited February 26, 2020 by sfcityduck

[waaaghboss]

4 hours ago, sfcityduck said:

Frankly, its learning new stuff like this that keeps the wonder of collecting alive for me.  Learning history that's new to me, about old comics I'd never heard of before, stuff like that make comic collecting a joyous onion with new layers of discovery always available.  Ok, maybe "joyous onion" is a stupid phrase, but its the best I got right now.

Bonus points for whoever can identify the comics those panels are cut from.

 

 

I may have cheated

 

Superman 16.

 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by waaaghboss

[Marty Mann]

On 3/8/2019 at 9:10 PM, sfcityduck said:

But, the article in the national publication is not the first time that the name "David Pace Wigransky" popped up in connection with the comic book world.  

The first such reference I can find to Dave is in Pep Comics no. 60 (March 1947), over a year earlier.  Dave had joined the "Shield G-Man Club" and entered a contest.

And he won!

There can be no doubt that Dave loved comics and their characters!

 

I believe his prize was the same as mine, a copy of PEP COMICS #62. Truly a surprise to see this page from PEP #60

posted.  Haven't looked at my copy in years...such a big day for me when I picked it up.

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by Marty Mann

[sfcityduck]

On 2/26/2020 at 1:37 PM, Marty Mann said:

I believe his prize was the same as mine, a copy of PEP COMICS #62. Truly a surprise to see this page from PEP #60

posted.  Haven't looked at my copy in years...such a big day for me when I picked it up.

 

Marty,

Are you Saying you won this contest?  Are you listed in the winners? (No need to reveal your real name)

[Marty Mann]

10 hours ago, sfcityduck said:

Marty,

Are you Saying you won this contest?  Are you listed in the winners? (No need to reveal your real name)

YES...I am one of the winners listed on the page.

Marty

Edited February 29, 2020 by Marty Mann

[Chicago Boy]

On 2/26/2020 at 3:00 PM, waaaghboss said:

 

 

I may have cheated

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Superman 16.

 

 

 

 

Superman is such a  D 

Edited February 29, 2020 by Chicago Boy

[path4play]

3 hours ago, Marty Mann said:

YES...I am one of the winners listed on the page.

Marty

Awesome cool connections going on here.

[sfcityduck]

12 hours ago, Marty Mann said:

YES...I am one of the winners listed on the page.

Marty

That is truly super cool!

[Randall Dowling]

12 hours ago, Marty Mann said:

YES...I am one of the winners listed on the page.

Marty

I love this thread!  

[40sJohn]

I just stumbled onto this thread while doing a search for Bangzoom's original thread and was thoroughly captivated by this story and how it was revealed post by post.

@sfcityduck well done on this work. 

One note, the story of Ernie Gerber ripping off the mom doesn't surprise me after listening to Jay Maybruck's interview with V. Zurzolo many years ago.  While he gave the comic world an incredible resource with the guides, Gerber seems to have been a really crappy person. 

Edited March 16, 2020 by 40sJohn

[sfcityduck]

4 hours ago, 40sJohn said:

I just stumbled onto this thread while doing a search for Bangzoom's original thread and was thoroughly captivated by this story and how it was revealed post by post.

@sfcityduck well done on this work. 

One note, the story of Ernie Gerber ripping off the mom doesn't surprise me after listening to Jay Maybruck's interview with V. Zurzolo many years ago.  While he gave the comic world an incredible resource with the guides, Gerber seems to have been a really crappy person. 

To be clear, the story you are referring to was not about Dave Wigransky's mother but, I believe, concerned allegations related to a West Coast collector's wife.

[40sJohn]

20 hours ago, sfcityduck said:

To be clear, the story you are referring to was not about Dave Wigransky's mother but, I believe, concerned allegations related to a West Coast collector's wife.

Yes, thanks for that, I may have gotten that mixed up.  Again, great job of bringing this subject and Dave's story to us.  

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 2/29/2020 at 6:33 AM, Marty Mann said:

YES...I am one of the winners listed on the page.

Marty

Wait...are you saying that Marty Mann is just a screen name?  Why would anyone just use a screen name here?  We're all buddies... 

[Cat-Man_America]

4 hours ago, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Wait...are you saying that Marty Mann is just a screen name?  Why would anyone just use a screen name here?  We're all buddies... 

It's the chatroom paparazzi.  They're everywhere!  

[Tri-Color Brian]

9 minutes ago, Cat-Man_America said:

It's the chatroom paparazzi.  They're everywhere!  

Well, I figured it out.  His real name is Mildred...