Comments on: Scott’s Classic Comics Corner: Affordable 50s Gems

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:37:53 +0000

Thanks for the kind words, Dub. When Brian asked me to hop aboard the CSBG train, I wasn’t sure that a) I’d be able to contribute weekly and that b) there was actually an audience for this kind of thing. I’m glad that I was wrong on both bounts.

mcclam – you’re right about those later Gleason issues. You can often find good stuff for well under $1. I’d say the same goes for some Hillman’s Real Clue Crime Stories – some great art and stories. Later issues of Ace’s Crime Must Pay the Penalty are quite readily avaible on the cheap – but it’s not quite as strong, from what I’ve seen.

By: Dan Bailey

Dan Bailey — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:13:37 +0000

Maybe that’s just a cigarette holder that looks like a gun, which would explain the smoke coming out of the end.

Yeah, that’s it.

By: Craig B.

Craig B. — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:56:26 +0000

I’m no expert on guns, but wouldn’t you burn your fingertips if you were holding the barrel of a revolver as the Cisco Kid is doing on that cover on the left? Ouch.

By: mrclam

mrclam — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:49:45 +0000

Well, the heyday was in the 40′s, but I think Crime Does Not Pay fits the bill. For my money, the quality approaches EC in terms of writing, and sometimes even with the art. Mint copies will set you back, but there are plenty of cheap, beat-up copies available on eBay and the like. I never paid more than $10 for an issue and I must have close to a dozen now.

CDNP is highly, highly recommended for those of you that like your comics sleazy and violent. Seduction of the Innocent makes a (little) more sense after seeing these gems featuring little kids stabbed, women burned alive, and every conceivable form of torture and killing. Great covers, better insides, a great value all-around.

One choice cover features a crook robbing a blind news vendor.
Crook: Pennies?! Take your lousy pennies! (He throws them into the blind man’s face)
Blind Man: Thanks, Mister. You got a kind heart–the rotten kind!

By: Dan Bailey

Dan Bailey — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:42:54 +0000

>>As a fan of Owen Fitzgerald’s work in the 50s,

Ah — Owen Fitzgerald. I don’t know his work at all, but I’ve been intrigued by him ever since Scott Shaw! mentioned in a Classic Comics Forum post a couple of years ago that he was from Arkansas, my home state, which to my knowledge can’t be said of very many comics creators.

By: Dan Bailey

Dan Bailey — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:27:36 +0000

I don’t ever look at ’50s stuff, simply because of the price. Accordingly, I was quite pleased to find, via Lone Star, a copy of the first (I think the 2 that came out a few years later were reprints), 1953-or-so DELL FOUR-COLOR COMICS adaptation of the movie RHUBARB as an Xmas gift for my gf, who has no real use for comics but does love (a) cats, (b) baseball & (c) that flick (the titular character is a cat who inherits a ballteam). Cost: maybe $4 in serviceable condition.

Oldest comic I’ve ever bought, I’m sure … I’ve only ever owned a couple of comics from the ’50s, period.

By: DubipR

DubipR — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:01:40 +0000

Scott, you’re becoming one of my favorite writers for this here blog. In September, I bought 30 of the 46 issues of My Friend Irma for rather cheap prices, ranging from $8 to $14 per issue. As a fan of Owen Fitzgerald’s work in the 50s, I wanted to own more of his work without breaking my wallet. The Racket Squad you mentioned looks great, something to look for in the future.