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Post Your FOUR COLOR Comic Covers Here
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What are the odds that every cover to Four Color Series I and II can get posted in this thread  

24 members have voted

  1. 1. What are the odds that every cover to Four Color Series I and II can get posted in this thread

    • choice1
      10
    • choice2
      7


3,789 posts in this topic

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2020 at 8:17 PM, kaculler said:

This one arrived in the mail today. I'd almost given up hope after tracking went dark for three weeks, but it arrived safely. Some packages are seeing lots of delays with the current health crisis.

fc44.jpg

Not only delays, I have seen packages come with more damage than I have seen in all my years shipping. Luckily no comics were damaged. I did have a couple of graded pennies that were run straight over and both cases cracked. I have no idea what's going on with package care, but it's not the same for sure.

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On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2020 at 4:24 PM, Bullet123 said:

Hi all fellow Four Color collectors. I have been absent from these boards for a number of years as I took a hiatus from collecting as I put four kids through college and that took both a lot of my spare time and spare money. Our recent covid-19 sequestering has given me the impetus to get organized and start collecting them all over again. I have updated my registry set and sorted out all of my doubles. I currently have 70 raw issues and 180 CGC graded issues that are doubles that I am looking to swap with fellow collectors for my missing issues. Many of my cgc issue doubles are either tied for highest grade or second highest. If you have any higher grade issues that you would part with because condition is not one of your main criteria, I would love to chat and swap some books with you. I promise that you will come out on the better end of any swap that we do as for me it is more important to fill a hole than come out on top in the swap. I have been looking through the thread and thank you to all who have posted. Feel free to reach out. I look forward to hopefully hearing from some of you.   Thanks

I sent you a message Jim. Maybe we can work out something on some books. Glad to see you back.

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On ‎5‎/‎17‎/‎2020 at 2:21 PM, Sqeggs said:

At one point, wasn't there also a Ben Casey that you thought might be missing FC 1329?

 

On ‎5‎/‎17‎/‎2020 at 2:22 PM, Sqeggs said:

Welcome back!

Yes I do. I have a decent copy, around 6.0, but not good enough to get graded. It's a really tough book as so many of the missing issues are. Great to see you back. I wondered what happened to you!

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On to # 391 - Uncle Wiggily. Much more enjoyable than the Woody. The first story was engaging, the art welcoming and the characters pleasant. Sure, Eenie Q. Wolverine cornered the market for fresh eggs ahead of Easter but Wiggily and the other woodland creatures managed to trick him and save Easter for everyone. The character help each other, are not mean (they go deliver one basket to Wolverine at the end of the story even), and are of general good nature. Still, it's a case of two worlds. The second story was more pedestrian. GCD attributes both stories to the same artist, Bill Weaver. I do not believe that the same artist did both stories. The first story artist's style is distinctive enough that we cannot mistake the second story's art for his. Don't know what happened in the index. Maybe I am wrong.

1157166684_FC391.thumb.jpg.2ebcbde95978193f04ee0b68613d02e3.jpg

Gathering the troops -

16248181_FC391-EasterEggs.thumb.jpg.9912cc969ea4e186a4b2a8d3c85f0f27.jpg

for decorating in a well orchestrated 2/3rd splash - 

528424726_FC391-EasterEggsDecorating.thumb.jpg.d76d2f849299f34d9c3c055c2900d9fb.jpg

 

 

Edited by Scrooge
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# 392 - Silver, second issue. Maybe it is because it is only the second issue of a longish run but the stories are fresh, not repetitive and definitely gorgeously illustrated. Of course, once we are past the first intro page, we get into captioned action. This allows the art to shine through clear and clean. This is the quintessential type of issue that makes collecting the Four Color run one of the most fun found in comics. I love Hi-Yo Silver, probably the best series in the sub-set of animal driven comics.

Sam Savitt cover. Corresponds to one of the interior stories -

1564253627_FC392.thumb.jpg.5d114c04142d0d68e209a412e84c5a30.jpg

I am a sucker for purple prose: "Here the grass was scanty, and the spice of sagebrush tingled in their nostrils." 

1381358257_FC392-Sagebrush.jpg.eddc4b4145d66d862d1f3d8b7721ee62.jpg

Resting away from a grass fire -

1650308520_FC392-Peering.jpg.d28763df5e910d8dd922729909c53fbc.jpg

Despite not being geared to great composition given the style used, this page holds together very well - Best panel: second tier, right panel.

1277709181_FC392-Page.thumb.jpg.37d5e1d5d0fe2b4f8b3f6ef6ac44d995.jpg

And who does not like baby Silver discovering ice for the first time -

1513833544_FC392-OnIce.jpg.7ca3f2a038fd83aefb2e0d7ff9d41f7f.jpg

 

 

 

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# 393 - Bugs Bunny. This is a nice issue, well rounded with 3 enjoyable stories. 1 with Porky and 2 with Elmer.

1730101327_FC393.thumb.jpg.740ab68b4d0615998a1a35bb14d99c7a.jpg

The first story ends up taking place mostly in a gum factory after crooks use gumballs to help them escape after robberies. Perfect set up for great factory backgrounds and gum gags, including these two, playing with the comic form nicely -

330705269_FC393-Help.jpg.d84198dc9d6be02ead9aa572733aa292.jpg

1926216727_FC393-Stutter.thumb.jpg.0109d6a78518a9fc4c31078a3934deb7.jpg

Here's the second story's 1/3rd splash. Elmer plants a variety of carrots that makes whomever eats end agreeable. Of course, eventually Bugs figures it out, fakes it and finally Elmer eats some in the typical ending reversal. Loved the pool gag set-up with the tunnel and also coloring worked really great for the dyeing gag, well executed.

543069498_FC393-SecondStorySplash.thumb.jpg.53e20db17242f7307597071ffcfbbd65.jpg

354324998_FC393-PoolGag1.thumb.jpg.bdb2d287086e4487eb74f8168318262f.jpg

1861975765_FC393-PoolGag2.jpg.d1494f87bfb2e054f81faa864de64276.jpg

In the final story, Bugs diverts Elmer's oil rig … to devastating effects. No one is a winner in that story with neither profiting from the oil.

1685241237_FC393-Gusher.jpg.5a45b7672dcaa9b3e77593bc68083a93.jpg

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24 minutes ago, Scrooge said:

# 393 - Bugs Bunny. This is a nice issue, well rounded with 3 enjoyable stories. 1 with Porky and 2 with Elmer.

1730101327_FC393.thumb.jpg.740ab68b4d0615998a1a35bb14d99c7a.jpg

The first story ends up taking place mostly in a gum factory after crooks use gumballs to help them escape after robberies. Perfect set up for great factory backgrounds and gum gags, including these two, playing with the comic form nicely -

330705269_FC393-Help.jpg.d84198dc9d6be02ead9aa572733aa292.jpg

1926216727_FC393-Stutter.thumb.jpg.0109d6a78518a9fc4c31078a3934deb7.jpg

Here's the second story's 1/3rd splash. Elmer plants a variety of carrots that makes whomever eats end agreeable. Of course, eventually Bugs figures it out, fakes it and finally Elmer eats some in the typical ending reversal. Loved the pool gag set-up with the tunnel and also coloring worked really great for the dyeing gag, well executed.

543069498_FC393-SecondStorySplash.thumb.jpg.53e20db17242f7307597071ffcfbbd65.jpg

354324998_FC393-PoolGag1.thumb.jpg.bdb2d287086e4487eb74f8168318262f.jpg

1861975765_FC393-PoolGag2.jpg.d1494f87bfb2e054f81faa864de64276.jpg

In the final story, Bugs diverts Elmer's oil rig … to devastating effects. No one is a winner in that story with neither profiting from the oil.

1685241237_FC393-Gusher.jpg.5a45b7672dcaa9b3e77593bc68083a93.jpg

Some nice stories in a lot of these. Especially the early to mid 40's Warner's Four Color issues (Frozen Kingdom, Haunted Mountains, etc).

Thanks for posting the interiors. 

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# 394 - Donald Duck in Malayalaya, a non-Barks issue except for the cover - After a 10-pager in WDCS 113 in 1950 (2 years earlier), this is Bradbury's second work with DD, US and the nephews (he did assorted MM, Goofy, Grandma Duck, Gus … prior as well) before working in the DD series later on. So, early in his stint on these ducks, I was impressed how well on model his work is. Bradbury is excellent and experienced anyway but seeing how well he works with the characters was impressive. The long story from the cover is scripted by Del Connell. It does some things well and others not. I liked the first half of the story where Scrooge is defeated by his bravado (that a man his age can find a job, any job within 2 hours … he does not) forcing him to give DD a job. After a manager quits in the rubber plantation, in goes DD to face adversity, a stroke of bad luck turns into success … until the final page. The plantation part of the story is the weakest, probably because it is a little rushed. The second shorter story is fine, well structured but DD ends up with the upper hand and not the nephews. I rooted for the little guys.

155859934_FC394.thumb.jpg.628708eb8e82e7c2e5a33b5a6eac1736.jpg

Good characterization and delineation of Scrooge -

1941169412_FC394-Scallawags.jpg.80755aa7db6291324f850f4227456611.jpg

The usual ending where DD can grab the defeat in the jaws of victory -

1401772979_FC394-EvenStephen.thumb.jpg.2dab2716326e2cbb6a81647791dce608.jpg

The nephews from the shorter story wherein they aim to trick DD into buying a TV set (24-inch at that) -

413736321_FC394-TV.thumb.jpg.a9bc06cf4f044fdbe69240463f44a37d.jpg

 

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# 395 - Zane Grey's Forlorn River. Behind another Sam Savitt cover, we find a full-length adaptation of Forlorn River illustrated per GCD by Bob Jenney with Al McWilliams (who according to Dave Saunders was Bob's best man in 1940). I am most familiar with Jenney's work from his long standing Cisco Kid assignment. Never flashy, Jenney had a full 30-year comics career, starting at DC and Centaur in 1939 and working in the industry at least until 1969 and illustrating elsewhere after that. The story carries this issue, not the art. Jenney has a soft style, nothing is crisp: not the art, nor the story-telling. So, if the story is not interesting, the reading experience suffers. How's the story? Okay. Ben Ide is framed into being believed a cattle rustler and only his paramour and his two friends: Nevada and Modoc, believe him innocent. Meaning, his own father believes him crooked with no evidence! That's a stretch in the story (maybe it is better supported in the book and the adaptation dropped the ball). Of course, since both Modoc and Nevada have nebulous criminal histories only hinted at, it's not hard to believe that Ben suffers from it. Nevertheless, while busy earning a living capturing wild horses, Ben is being accused of rustling. He decides to bust one of the real rustling crew and make them admit that they are working for his accuser, thereby restoring his reputation. After finally successfully capturing them, he gets sidetracked by his white whale, California Red, a prized wild stallion. He releases the rustling gang he tracked for most of the issue to trap the horse!! Thankfully, they get recaptured and still welch on the true criminal mastermind. Fisticuffs ensue and just when it looks like Ben will have to kill Ben Lesser, Nevada does the shooting. Then pronto he rides off afraid that this will have his criminal past catch up to him. Ben stays and enjoys his victory: Lesser dead, California Red captured, Ina in his arms, reconciled with his dad, an all around happy ending … except for Nevada. We will know the fate of Nevada as the Four Color series adapts the sequel to Forlorn River, Nevada, as Four Color # 412 (published in August when this one is published in May).

Cover - That's California Red being captured by Ben.

719169000_FC395.thumb.jpg.3615a6497b0fe7b5e7f3a503737c24de.jpg

Intro -

2104616150_FC395-Intro.thumb.jpg.1ab0ade2edcdaf07289081976d4a7397.jpg

Nevad and Ben ambushing the rustlers' gang -

2105833695_FC395-Ambush.thumb.jpg.7453f4ba04beead90cf61832ea91f205.jpg

Running them down to the law -

1572367865_FC395-Captured.thumb.jpg.d5967b3fa6e1ce31be1fb17dab7b7b51.jpg

 

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# 396 - Tales of the Texas Rangers. Ah, how great are the GCD and Jerry Bails' Bailsprojects.com So much invaluable information at our fingertips. The publication of Tales of the Texas Rangers is a corker. It starts with this FC plus another one then shifts to its own series then comes back to the FC fold with # 648 and that's covering the Radio incarnation of the property. The comic series then continues again with a free standing series with # 11 but this time pertaining to the TV version of Tales of the Texas Rangers until # 20 at which points it folds BACK one more time to the FC series for two final issues # 961 & 1021 which makes these issues 21 and 22 of the entire run. Wow.

This first issue stays close to the radio version wherein all stories take place in current time and the show highlights real cases with a focus on how forensics help with the cases. GCD credits Tom Cooke for the art. I am only familiar with his work on Rodeo Rick in Western Comics for DC, though that was a feature that had many hands over the years: Howie Post, Jimmy Thomson, Jack Lehti, Don Cameron, Ramona Fradon, Ed Smalle, Jerry Grandenetti, Gene Colan, Frank Giacoia, Sy Barry, Sid Greene and in the middle of all that Tom Cooke.

Tom Cooke, after some work on the Gene Autry comic strip around this time period, eventually gets his own feature: Drift Marlo but has to quit in 1965 due to a brain injury.

471686864_FC396.thumb.jpg.7ad9b2915aca5118f39b3902b6316844.jpg

Compared to Bob Jenney, Cooke's action is more crisp, his settings effectively sparse, he adds enough elements to augment the page without overwhelming clarity. In this small sequence, thanks to good staging, I felt more excitement than in all of # 395 -

963518640_FC396-CarCrash.thumb.jpg.73abddae2e84d4565db58af3b4d2d17a.jpg

Same with these two panels, more drama than Jenney put in the Zane Grey's adaptation -

126717308_FC396-Jacefindsitsmark.jpg.ee777613d1e5548770c871d5d150fd67.jpg

Here we can see the focus on forensics -

1907700942_FC396-CSI.thumb.jpg.8b7d96f2054911a133a316a4e3cb7d00.jpg

In the second story, crooks come back to see their take submerged in a now flooded area and the ranger goes under cover to recover the loot and arrest the last crook. Since this is the inside back cover, we get to see Cooke's art in B&W for these underwater scenes -

1603305911_FC396-IBC.thumb.jpg.71d2fc3d2c45f3b9b79773efdcabb120.jpg

You might note in the GCD that the indexer mentions ears as a tip to spot Cooke's art. Check out the ear in the middle panel of the forensics page above to see how distinctive the ear is. It's not quite an ear but wait until you see this one and yes, it's recognizable -

2000736397_FC396-ear.jpg.30a1d9f3b2376f3c578f9e0ef02452ef.jpg

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3 minutes ago, damonwad said:

Great FC reviews, Michaël.  Only 900 or so to go.

 

lol … well, no. They do help by forcing me to have a more focused reading experience.

# 397 - Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. This is the third of the four issues within the FC series. The rest of the run is free standing lasting a total of 29 issues into 1959. Another radio / TV adaptation, though this issue is in between the 2 TV incarnations of the series so it's really tied to the radio show. The premise is simple: a law man ranging on patrol in the wilds of the Yukon with his trusty partner: Yukon King. The issue provides 3 short stories, all by Du Bois and Giolitti. I love Giolitti's work on Tonto. It is well drawn here but it lacks a little pizzazz comparatively, probably because of the monotony of the wilderness depicted. Still solid art by an artist who delivered above and beyond for Dell. I liked the first story the most because of the hook: we meet an orphan who relocates to a mean uncle's shop and we sympathize with his predicament along with Sgt. Preston and King. Midway through the story, he gets shot and we are told he died! The rug has been swept under our feet. Of course, we later learn that he survived (it is a Dell comic, a Good Comic so he cannot be dead) but it got me going for a while. The third story sees Sgt. Preston rescued from an avalanche by a con man and he will have to arrest him in the second part of the story despite the debt he owes the criminal, a task he completes with unerring duty.

Mo Gollub cover -

2141495369_FC397.thumb.jpg.a3bd466ba94c2bee4ff800bff2a57c22.jpg

Second story panels -

657936494_FC397-Blizzard.thumb.jpg.54b5f2383ef3d665bbf07c9a854de3aa.jpg

Yukon King is designed to draw in the young audience so he gets a lot of spotlight, which is more easily achieved in a comic than on a radio show -

752853999_FC397-YukonKing.thumb.jpg.2834ec215230768864bfaa4568f3a57f.jpg

Here we see Preston and Yukon King interact - here and above, you see how careful and fine Giolitti's lines are and how fluid the story is.

111493448_FC397-Tracking.thumb.jpg.a23765a24c9539968d7d0f36d93b13af.jpg

Still, at other times, Giolitti provides striking light choices in a Dell comics -

282571404_FC397-Portraits.thumb.jpg.0fdf1f5e4a8a393ee0249fe470a11826.jpg

 

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# 399 - Porky Pig. Same crew on this book as was on the Bugs (# 393): Ralph Heimdahl on cover, John Carey and Tony Strobl on interiors. Strobl does the long story and Carey everything else. The stories are serviceable with the second one completely forgettable.

19614897_FC399.thumb.jpg.ae9118bef05e48da27fe9a59307e4d95.jpg

In the first story, Cicero must collect rare plants. Bugs sends him and Porky to a remote area and while collecting plants, the pair finds this lost gold mine (cover theme) and start a gold rush … to what turns out to be an old burrow from Bugs, and no gold mine. They get run out of town without the plants they collected and Cicero is left to collect mundane plants from a nearby empty field. The twist is that since other kids all collected the same rare plants, the mundane variety Cicero collected stood out and he still won first prize at school. The mine discovery is below -

975456746_FC399-LostGoldMine.thumb.jpg.db699d19310de1637dcd8f532328caba.jpg

I enjoyed the third and final story when Porky's second choice for a pup for adoption for Cicero's birthday ends up being a great Dane! Hilarity ensues. A nice romp based on gags mostly -

1647349614_FC399-NewPuppy.thumb.jpg.9e9ff2ac95e04d634e15a933563d2bc9.jpg

 

1609353192_FC399-Woof.thumb.jpg.8c4ad60876e07c8303f47a94273b0640.jpg

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# 400 - Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.

Second in the Four Color set of 3 before the series spin off for issues # 4 to 11. All covers by Al McWilliams. Interiors on 1-3 by McWilliams, 4-8 by Jack Lehti and 9-11 by Frank Thorne.

The star of the issue is obviously Al McWilliams. We catch McWilliams at a crucial point in his career as within a few months he made the jump to syndication with Twin Earths. The writer on that feature was none other that Oscar LeBeck, appropriately enough as we deal with a Dell comics here. The art in this issue showcases that McWilliams was ready for the big leagues, a position he sustained for a couple of decades on multiple strips, either as assistant or on the masthead. The similar milieu between Tom Corbett and Twin Earths allow for neat comparison between this issue and the art early in the Twin Earths run. 

The issue is one long story; that always helps. After being assigned a non-cherry training trip on a liner, the boys grumble but fate changes all of that. Pirates board, steal the cargo and take the passengers to work on mines on Mercury. The boys manage to escape, send a distress signal and get rescued and transported back to the academy … where, to their dismay, they are treated as pariahs since, in the eyes of the other boys, they abandoned crew and guests from the liner. This is just a ruse so they can pretend to resign from the academy and quickly be recruited for a rescue mission (don't ask why they had to seemingly resign in order to do that, it makes no sense but maybe they needed it to pad the story page count). Once they get to Mercury, they quickly make contact with the pirates, locate the mines and help a breakout. Everyone is safe and sound and the boys come back to the academy to well-deserved acclaim. All in all, what you would expect for a juvenile adventure story from a property that spanned radio, TV, comics and books.

1847875584_FC400.thumb.jpg.eb281f409aeabd19a5d6b549516315b7.jpg

McWilliams earned his full page rate on this book. I never felt cheated while reading the story. Let's have a look at how well he portrayed space ship interiors -

Grease buckets - not all boys are thrilled with this duty -

58307543_FC400-GreaseBuckets.thumb.jpg.3d344b3ed642bce254282bc80c855977.jpg

The coloring on the radar screen is great, the pink and yellow make the scene work. Another example of how coloring in these Dell issues work to support the story.

1085188285_FC400-RadarRoom.thumb.jpg.bbeee761b25aa548f72163051c3a0606.jpg

The old Dot and Dash System across the a million miles -

584219541_FC400-DotandDash.thumb.jpg.d0851452f0d4dc1d3bac1460f7af8da6.jpg

He did not just illustrate space ship interiors. I could have spent a few more panels inside this tavern on Mercury -

1639405201_FC400-MercuryTavern.thumb.jpg.b2953b796fdec269c10237e64b24c297.jpg

For comparison, I pulled a few panels from the first sequence of Twin Earths in the dailies (I have most of the run, it's available places online) - Notice the similarity in tech displayed.

These are from consecutive dailies. Yes, one dresses very smartly to get on space ships!

548285764_FC400-TwinEarths-019.thumb.jpg.7a04203e7d2e485f83f8fb9c964dfa8d.jpg

1664217154_FC400-TwinEarths-020.thumb.jpg.63af119cfad36e152bfbf23103d475c1.jpg

513021820_FC400-TwinEarths-021.thumb.jpg.0dd7eec566de7f698fb7244c8952e9b0.jpg

Here's from the third sequence -

331599136_FC400-TwinEarths-03-034.thumb.jpg.171781b2a875c6c4e24db0d743c81106.jpg

And here's a complete strip from the first sequence - McWilliams was ready.

2116173934_FC400-TwinEarths-029.thumb.jpg.3cf41001ecd6c5b5889710636181bc3d.jpg

The Tom Corbett - Space Cadet property is good fun so when David offered a set of the 8 Grosset & Dunlap books a few years back on the boards, I grabbed them. Interior illustration by Louis Glanzman. Not sure who did the covers. Glanzman also, maybe?

1530100516_FC400-GrossandDunlapSet.thumb.jpg.bdc6708ac2fd46896d064136fda44239.jpg

 

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42 minutes ago, Scrooge said:

# 400 - Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.

Second in the Four Color set of 3 before the series spin off for issues # 4 to 11. All covers by Al McWilliams. Interiors on 1-3 by McWilliams, 4-8 by Jack Lehti and 9-11 by Frank Thorne.

The star of the issue is obviously Al McWilliams. We catch McWilliams at a crucial point in his career as within a few months he made the jump to syndication with Twin Earths. The writer on that feature was none other that Oscar LeBeck, appropriately enough as we deal with a Dell comics here. The art in this issue showcases that McWilliams was ready for the big leagues, a position he sustained for a couple of decades on multiple strips, either as assistant or on the masthead. The similar milieu between Tom Corbett and Twin Earths allow for neat comparison between this issue and the art early in the Twin Earths run. 

The issue is one long story; that always helps. After being assigned a non-cherry training trip on a liner, the boys grumble but fate changes all of that. Pirates board, steal the cargo and take the passengers to work on mines on Mercury. The boys manage to escape, send a distress signal and get rescued and transported back to the academy … where, to their dismay, they are treated as pariahs since, in the eyes of the other boys, they abandoned crew and guests from the liner. This is just a ruse so they can pretend to resign from the academy and quickly be recruited for a rescue mission (don't ask why they had to seemingly resign in order to do that, it makes no sense but maybe they needed it to pad the story page count). Once they get to Mercury, they quickly make contact with the pirates, locate the mines and help a breakout. Everyone is safe and sound and the boys come back to the academy to well-deserved acclaim. All in all, what you would expect for a juvenile adventure story from a property that spanned radio, TV, comics and books.

1847875584_FC400.thumb.jpg.eb281f409aeabd19a5d6b549516315b7.jpg

 

I really should track down a few issues of Tom Corbett some time, as far as I know it's the closest thing to a Golden Age Robert Heinlein comic we ever got, even if by most accounts all he did was take the check for the right to the name and run...

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