Top 10 most Influential and Historically Important GA Books 2 2

[szav]

Or top 10 to 20 or more... whatever you like.  Don't care about scarcity or FMV whatsoever for the purpose of this discussion.  I'm curious about long time collectors/dealers opinions on which are the most important GA comics in terms of influence on the industry, the hobby, our culture at large.  Don't want to rank your list because that's too hard? No biggie...just call it your 10 most important in no particular order.  

Don't consider myself having been into GA collecting long enough, or to be well versed enough in the history to put together a good list myself.  There's some books that stand out to me, but I'd love to see lists from people who have been at it for decades, because I'm wondering if I'm missing anything.

Here's a few books I'd expect to see on a list like this... Action 1, Crime Suspense Stories 22, Young Romance 1, Eeerie 1, Mad #1, and so forth...

Don't wanna do a full list? fine....just add 1 or a few books that no ones talked about yet, and a brief write up on why you think it should be considered among the most important or influential books.

 

Edited March 18, 2019 by szav

[IngelsFan]

Great topic for a thread. I’m going to go with just a few off the top of my head, most of which might not be Top 10, but in terms of historical significance should be Top 25 at least.

-All Star Comics 3. Definitely Top 10. First time a team of established superheroes formed a super team.

-Adventures Into the Unknown 1. First continuously published horror comic, essentially ushering in the precode era.

-Marvel Comics 1. First superhero with flame powers: the Human Torch (incarnations in the GA and SA, inspired others such as Pyroman). First aquatic superhero: the Sub-Mariner (led to Hydroman, Aquaman, etc).

-Feature Comics 27. First shrinking superhero: Doll Man. Still owned by DC and paved the way for the Atom and Ant-Man

[PeterPark]

Pep 22, Crime Does Not Pay 22, and probably whatever EC horror book is most responsible for their horror runs...vault of horror 12? Or first crypt keeper? I'm not sure myself...but teen humor, huge-selling crime and popular horror seem important to me.

[sagii]

I'll play  I'll stick with 10 (easier  )

Action 1 

Detective 27

All Star 8

Pep 22

Detective 38 (started a golden age superhero staple  )

All Star 3

Detective Picture Stories 1 (1st comic devoted to a theme)

Walt Disney's Comics & Stories 1

Planet Comics 1 (Sci Fi influencer)

Marvel Comics 1

 

[circumstances]

Motion Pictures Funnies Weekly - First Sub-mariner, by the great Bill Everett.

Whichever New Fun or More Fun has the first Dr. Occult by Siegel and Shuster.

[OtherEric]

Will chime in with the one book I own that makes a case for the list... Mad #1.  It had an absolutely massive impact both within and outside of comics.

[aardvark88]

More Fun #14 with Superman prototype in color.

[Primetime]

Marvel Mystery #9 - 1st battle (Torch vs. Subby) between two superheroes in a comic book. Goodman wildness at it's finest. 

[miraclemet]

7 hours ago, Primetime said:

Marvel Mystery #9 - 1st battle (Torch vs. Subby) between two superheroes in a comic book. Goodman wildness at it's finest. 

Didn't the fight start in MM8?

I was going to say Marvel Mystery #8, first crossover of characters creating a "shared universe" across multiple titles/characters. It was the first comic that created a model that is still used today. 

[lpsunburst]

Here are my 10.

Action 1 - Duh

Detective 27 - Although really an extension of the pulp heros, it defined the mold for the terrestrial every-man hero and all that followed

All Star 8 - Chicks rule!

Pep 22 - AA starts the whole teen humor genre

Famous Funnies 1- it established the comic book as a viable commercial medium, without it you dont have the rest of the list

Wonder 1 - The Fox book, established the principal that characters are intellectual property, if DC had lost the suit the industry may have died out from a lack of creativity, we would just have seen endless variations on Superman

Eerie 1 - PCH was born

Walt Disney's Comics & Stories 1

Planet Comics 1- Without it do we ever get EC?

Marvel Comics 1 - Of all on the list, this one probably has the most relevance to the consumer market today

[miraclemet]

Again, focusing on creating models that are in use today

 

All Star 3. The onset of the team. There were occasional team-ups before this. And even some team titles (of characters who only existed in the team format). All Star 3 took existing IP title heroes from multiple books and put them in a shared ongoing story and title. 

[Marty Mann]

A very interesting  and informative thread.  Makes me look back at what I bought...and why?

Marty

[Black_Adam]

Crime Suspenstories #22 - The centerpiece of the Senate Committee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency and the cover that spearheaded the movement for a comic code while at the same time sounding the death knell for the Golden Age (and the coming dawn of the Silver Age).

 

[aardvark88]

Loonie Tunes Merry Melodies #1 first Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny in comics leading to long runs and more TV animated heroes in comics (after Mickey Mouse #1 though). Oversized b/w #5 Tarzan leading to a long run and more sword and sorcery titles a kin to Korak, Conan, Kazar (Marvel Comics #1), Savage Sword Conan, and Savage Tales mag.

[telerites]

Whiz Comics #2 (not counting the ashcans since he wasn't Marvel in those). 

Reasons:

Intimidated DC so much to sue which took years to finally silence Cap,

Didn't Cap outsell Supes for a while?,

Led to a family of similar characters (Mary, Jr., the Lieutenants, Tawny, Uncle),

The greatest superhero serial (imo) and awesome poster art that along with it,

A great anti-villain in Black Adam (first true counter anti-villain (exact opposite of the hero)?  Long before Bizzaro.

A Monster Society of Evil (was this the first villainous super-group?)

A 24 chapter serialized storyline (first? and had to be the longest).

Lots of toys, Cap-based advertising (like Daisy BB), story and fun books, etc.

And I am not even a Cap collector or real enthusiast but I have to give the Big Red Cheese.

[fifties]

I would suggest Fight Against Crime #20.  Not that it had influence back then, but because if there is an iconic PCH book to be had along with EC's CSS 22 in the current collecting arena, this book would have to qualify.

[szav]

14 hours ago, IngelsFan said:

Feature Comics 27. First shrinking superhero: Doll Man. Still owned by DC and paved the way for the Atom and Ant-Man

Great stuff from everyone so far...this sort of suggestion fits right in with what I’m looking for as it’s not a book I’d have even thought of previously.  Thanks!

[Primetime]

5 hours ago, miraclemet said:

Didn't the fight start in MM8?

I was going to say Marvel Mystery #8, first crossover of characters creating a "shared universe" across multiple titles/characters. It was the first comic that created a model that is still used today. 

It was brewing as early as issue 7 but the main event and cover wasn’t til the 9. 

[Shrevvy]

6 hours ago, miraclemet said:

Didn't the fight start in MM8?

I was going to say Marvel Mystery #8, first crossover of characters creating a "shared universe" across multiple titles/characters. It was the first comic that created a model that is still used today. 

I thought the first crossover was Pep #4/Top Notch #5 with The Shield and The Wizard. Both of those were May 1940 while MM #8 was June 1940. The Pep/Top Notch story ran through multiple issues and features of both titles.

[miraclemet]

6 minutes ago, Shrevvy said:

I thought the first crossover was Pep #4/Top Notch #5 with The Shield and The Wizard. Both of those were May 1940 while MM #8 was June 1940. The Pep/Top Notch story ran through multiple issues and features of both titles.

Look at that!  You are right!