Auctions: comic books published by United Features Syndicate

Captain and the Kids (1949-1955 United Features) 22 GD 2.0

Stories and art by Rudolph Dirks and others. Mama, the Inspector and most of all the Captain bear the brunt of Hans and Fritz's mean-spirited pranks, but the Kids always get it in the end. Asked to pose for a portrait, the boys substitute monkeys instead, and Mama is not amused. When the Captain's brother Felix visits from the Klondike, Hans and Fritz immediately steal his hot-air balloon, leading to a chase across the seas. Finally catching up to them in the Arctic, the family encounters hostile locals and peeved polar bears. The Captain and the Kids; Gold! Gold! Nothing But gold!; Treasure of the North, Chapter I; Treasure of the North, Chapter II. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Comics on Parade (1938) 1 Coverless

Comic is complete other than being coverless. First wrap and two center wraps detached.

Stories and art by Hal Foster, Al Capp, Ernie Bushmiller, Bill Conselman, Charlie Plumb, Bernard Dibble, Fred Methot, Rudolph Dirks, Harry Lee, Winfield Meggs, Becky Sharp, Laverne Harding, Harry O'Neill, H. E. Homan, Dudley T. Fisher Jr., Robert Dickey, R. M. Brinkerhoff, J. Carver Pusey, Paul Berdanier, Frank Owen and Raeburn Van Buren. Sometimes listed as Comics on Parade Vol. 1 #1. Early in the transformation of comic strips to comic books, United Features Syndicate published Comics on Parade as a showcase for its most popular strips, including Tarzan, Li'l Abner and Nancy. This issue features the debut comic-strip adventures of Tarzan (by future Prince Valiant artist Hal Foster), Al Capp's Li'l Abner, and Raeburn Van Buren's Abbie and Slats. In the latter, country spinster Abbie meets her orphaned cousin Aubrey for the first time. She knows he's a city boy, but she's not prepared for the rough-and-tumble teen who calls himself "Slats." Shipwrecked on the African coast, the infant son of Lord Greystoke is raised by great apes to become Tarzan. Plus an illustrated biography of screen legend James Cagney. Terrific cover features a parade-float's worth of classic 1930s comic-strip characters, the familiar mingling with the forgotten. Danny; Abbie an' Slats; The Captain and the Kids; Tarzan of the Apes; Wayne Webster of Waverly Prep; Roads of Romance; Jest di-Jest; Cynical Susie; Broncho Bill; Looy Dot Dope; Colonel Wowser; How to Make It; For Junior Readers; Joe Jinks; Fritzi Ritz; Billy Make Believe; Mr. and Mrs. Beans; Bucky and His Pals; Little Mary Mixup; Benny; Opportunity Knox; If You Want to Know; Ella Cinders; Danny Dingle; Dub Dabs; Li'l Abner; Jasper. 64 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Sparkler Comics (1941 2nd Series) 96 FR/GD 1.5

4.5" Cumulative spine split. Centerfold detached at one staple. Chew.

Cover by Ernie Bushmiller. Stories and art by Ernie Bushmiller, Rudolph Dirks, Charlie Plumb, Fred Fox and Ernest G. Osborne. United's anthology featured reprints of early comic strips, including Ella Cinders, Captain and the Kids and Nancy. Ella and Patches learn that Chiffon Velvette is covering up the murder of her fiance. But all is not as it seems on the dude ranch. When the Captain tries to slide down a drainpipe to go play cards, the Kids have him right where they want him. The Family Workshop; Nancy; Ferd'nand; Captain and the Kids; Ella Cinders. 32 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.