Auctions: comic books April 1955

GI Joe (1951 Ziff Davis) 38 GD 2.0

Water damage.

Painted cover by Clarence Doore. Stories and art by Dan De Carlo, Rudy Lapick, Vic Martin, and Ernie Schroeder. Neither a tie-in with the later toy line/cartoon nor a grim war comic, this first-gen GI Joe focused on lighthearted tales of military life. The Yardbirds, featuring Pvts. Windy and Whitey, was straight-up comedy of the Beetle Bailey/Sad Sack variety. "Ready-Money Reilly" thinks his pal's new comic strip is the perfect thing to help sell his base newspaper, but no one expects the strip to become a national craze. Pvt. Windy tries to sneak away from a training exercise to go on a date, in a story by future Archie legend Dan De Carlo. Joe tells some Korean kids another fairy tale, a wacky military-themed version of Jack and the Beanstalk with art by Mike Suchorsky. Painted cover with bondage elements by Clarence Doore. Army Chuckles; Johnny-Come-Lately; The Yardbirds: The Great Escape; Private Jokes; Adventures in Wonderland; Dear Gertrude; Khaki Humor; Beautiful Benny of Company B. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Mad (1952 EC) 22 VG- 3.5

Water damage.

"The Child!", art by Bill Elder; A humorous look at Bill's early life with some supposed early scribblings of his. "The Boy!", art by Bill Elder; Humorous bio of Bill's childhood, through photos supposedly showing his early artwork. "The Young Artist!", art by Bill Elder; Humorous look at Bill's early career, with photos of various items he supposedly painted. "The Commercial Artist!", art by Bill Elder; Humorous look at Bill's commercial art career, with samples of fake advertisements. "The Old Pro!", script by Harvey Kurtzman, art by Bill Elder; Melvin is captured during a bank robbery and continually digs his way out of jail. "Senility!", art by Bill Elder; A few of Bill's most recent drawings, showing a regression to his earliest form. 36 pgs., full color. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.

Strange Tales (1951 1st Series) 35 GD/VG 3.0

Centerfold detached at one staple. Water damage.

Cover pencils by Carl Burgos, inks by Sol Brodsky. Danger Signal, art by Joe Sinnott; A boy playing with toy trains saves his train engineer father. My Friend Koogelle text story. The Man In the Bottle!, art by Ed Winiarski; A man gets suckered into releasing a tiny prisoner in a bottle due to promises of wealth. The Target, art by John Romita; A young boy has his interest in space travel discouraged by his parents. The Character, art by Dick Ayers. Freddie's Face, art by Art Peddy; A man's ugly face begins to look handsome as he does good deeds. 36 pgs. $0.10. Cover price $0.10.