War Gods of the Deep - More Dell Movie Comics!

I wanted to get back to my "vintage" roots today and post on a Dell Movie Classic comic book from 1965, War Gods of the Deep!  The title alone is worth the price of admission (for this book in this condition, a few dollars).  But the book comes with a rather pleasant surprise...decent artwork in the interior.

The cover of the book has a great shot of Vincent Price, with a classic...well...Vincent Price look!  I never saw this movie, and I do not know the plot of the show.  However, if I just momentarily remain in my ignorance for the purposes of this post, I would guess that it was some sort of Atlantis meets surface-man sci-fi thriller.  Let's check it out on Wikipedia...shall we?

Sure enough, War Gods of the Deep concerned the discovery of a lost city under the sea off the coast of Cornwall.  The movie apparently was trying to capitalize on the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea type fantasy of the time...I suspect it was entertaining, but probably not that great!

Like I said though...the guy who drew the interior art here was pretty good.  Check out this splash page with Vincent Price.

Blogging here on Sundry Collectibles and at Disney Postcards on, you guessed it, Disney Postcards!

Until next time....

Dark Horse Conan the Barbarian

I have been on a "modern" comic book posting kick lately, so I will continue that trend today with a post on what is easily my favorite comic book being published today - Conan by Dark Horse comics.  This is the ONLY new comic that I buy (for reasons that I have elucidated in prior posts, but will reiterate here - most modern comics are just not very good!).  Dark Horse has created several Conan titles and a number of shorts since they first started publishing Conan books in February of 2004.

The original Dark Horse series had Cary Nord on art and Kurt Busiek faithfully adapting original Robert E. Howard stories for this book.  The scan I am showing here is the cover of the first compilation volume that collects issues zero through six of the title (and a little of issue seven).  And it is just fantastic work!  Even if you don't think you would like Conan...give this a try.  At a minimum you will get some quality entertainment, and maybe, you might just get sucked into the world of the Barbarian with a heart!

Conan represents to me the classic super hero...but with an old-school twist.  No tights, no wacky super powers (I don't have anything against that stuff...Conan just doesn't have them), and no "gray area".  That is, with Conan, I always get the feeling that he is right and just and true.  If you are not on his side...then prepare to meet with his blade!  He doesn't fool around.  And whatever job is put before him...he gets it done, one way or another!

Thanks to Robert E. Howard for such an awesome fantasy character and for Dark Horse's faithful rendering of him!

Until next time....

Blogging here on Sundry Collectibles and at Disney Postcards on, you guessed it, Disney Postcards!

Catwoman Dumb, Catwoman Awesome!

So, a few weeks ago a friend of mine who volunteers at a thrift store benefitting his church gave me a box of comic books that someone had brought in.  It was all from the early 90's.  There was some good stuff.  Batman & Grendel, some other Batman, etc.  Included in the pile was this:

So, I get it.  This sort of thing has been used to sell every product known to man since the beginning of time.  But it doesn't change the fact that it's dumb and boring and just shows an amazing lack of creativity.  "Let's see, what shall we put on the cover??....ummm...errr...oh!  I know!!"  OK..so she is essentially not clothed, the fan boys get excited and plunk down their $1.95.  Makes some sense, if you are trying to make money at the expense of quality, I guess.  The interior art is actually pretty good.  I didn't read the book so I cannot account for the story.  The series did run for 94 issues though, so that means something, maybe.  But it's still dumb.

Fast forward 9 years to 2003.  Darwyn Cooke's Catwoman:

Bam!  Much, much better!!  Not over the top or in your face.  Subtle, but still beautiful to look at.  Way, WAY more creative.  And...with this launch, he essentially redefined Selina Kyle.

Bravo Mr. Cooke...outstanding work!

Until next time...

Blogging here on Sundry Collectibles and at Disney Postcards on, you guessed it, Disney Postcards!

Disney Postcards New Blog!

For my 100th post, Sundry Collectibles is announcing a change in direction!

I have been thinking for a while now that I actually needed to start a seperate blog for some of my interests.  Not all of you after all want to hear my ramblings on airliner postcards, if all you are really interested in is Disney stuff.

So...from now on I am going to post all of my Disney Postcard related posts on, you guessed it, disneypostcards.com!  I have just put up my first post there, so check it out.

I am still trying to figure out what to do on the comic side, but expect to see a seperate comic blog as well.  I will continue to post here as well, using this for the truly "sundry" aspects of my collection.

Until next time...

The Rocketeer Adventures 2

I do not buy a lot of new comics these days.  There is good stuff out there, but to be frank I think most of it is a load of _______ (fill in the blank with your word of choice).  Comics have gotten to be stupidly dark, not entertaining and totally inappropriate for anyone under 18...in my humble opinion.

That said, there are a few diamonds in the rough.  One of them is IDW's series that basically is dedicated to honoring the work of Dave Stevens on Rocketeer.  Dave Stevens original Rocketeer work is a comic book masterpiece...each page worth lingering on and studying.  These new books try to capture the essence of those stories with new ones.

In this particular book, there is a beautifully done story with art by Sandy Plunkett, a visually stunning story called "Duckteer" with art by Sienkiewicz (!!), a Stan Sakai story with a more cartoonish style, and a fantastic pin-up by Art Adams.  (That's another thing...in my humble opinion, most modern comics go over the top with their portrayal of female characters...Dave Stevens knew how to draw women beautifully without being ridiculous).

And the cover is Darwyn Cooke!  All told...a great mag!

Until next time...

Sleeping Beauty - Nickel Tour #0594

I found this little gem on eBay the other day for a very reasonable price.  It was lumped in with a few other cards (one of which was another copy of the Huey, Dewey and Louie card that I featured a few posts back).  I was able to pick this up cheaply because it and the other Art Corner card had been pinned up on a bulletin board at some point and had a few pin holes in them.

Either way, I don't think I have never seen one of these for sale on ebay before, so I was happy to check this off of my list.  The work of a completist collector like myself is rarely if ever finished.  Finding rare stuff like this is one of the things that makes this hobby interesting!

Until next time...

D23 Radiator Springs Postcard

I recently received the fall 2012 copy of the Disneyland Fan magazine, Disney twenty three.  Another great magazine this quarter full of articles on all things Disney...including a brief but very interesting article by Marty Sklar on Ray Bradbury.  I was frankly unaware of Mr. Bradbury's involvement with Disney until reading this article.

But I digress.  The feature of the magazine was the newly revamped California Adventure park and specifically Cars Land and the new Buena Vista Street.  I have not had the chance to visit yet - I am headed there in October.  But...along with the magazine came this special Radiator Springs magnetic postcard issued for members of D23.

It's pretty much the same card that you will see on eBay...but I don't think the regular card is magnetic.  Not sure though.  Either way...a worthy addition to the shoe box (er....boxes)  that contain my collection!

Until next time...

Books About Comic Books

The American comic book has been around since the middle of the 19th century in one form or another. Of course, comics as we know them today, really had their origins in the 1930's when enterprising businessmen decided to reprint newspaper comics in booklet form and give them away as promotional items.  Well...the bottom line is that the history of comics is a rich an varied one, and many a book has been written on the subject.

Today I am going to feature one of...well, one of MANY...books about comic books that I have in my library.  It is called All in Color for a Dime, first published in 1970.  When I started collecting comics almost 30 years ago now, this was the book that people would refer to if you wanted a book on the history of the industry.  It was edited by Dick Lupoff and Don Thompson, both fixtures in the comics and sci-fi world of the day.  Don was the founding editor of the Comic's Buyer's Guide, while Dick is the author of many science fiction stories and was an editor for a number of Edgar Rice Burroughs short stories in the 1960's.

  

The book itself features chapters written by various collectors, creators and writers of comic books on the history of Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Popeye and the like.  These characters and others like them are the foundation of the Golden Age of comics.  The book also talks to publishers like M.C. Gaines, and publishing houses like Fiction House.  All in all it is a great look at the Golden Age...written at a time when the Silver Age had just drawn to a close.  There is even a chapter in the book by then future editor-in-chief of Marvel, Roy Thomas.

Many books on the topic have been written since...many good ones.  But this one remains one of the first and best.

Until next time...

Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-1959

Jane's is the recognized leader when it comes to information on military equipment.  Jane's All the World's Aircraft was founded in 1909 and first edited by Fred T. Jane.  These books are a lot of fun to look at...even if you are not particularly into aviation.  But if you are into aviation, they offer a complete index of all that has happened in aviation since the earliest days of powered flight.

Today' post features a copy of Jane's All the World's Aircraft from 1958-1959.  The thoroughness of these books is what makes them so fascinating.  There are countless aircraft presented here that most people, whether avid fans of aircraft or not, have probably never heard of.  

In the picture above is a page from the Bell Aircraft section featuring the Bell X-14.  This was a one off experimental Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft.  I actually saw this plane rotting in a field when I used to work at Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale, California.  It has since been salvaged and isnow located at the Ropkey Armor Museum in Indiana.  

Prior to cracking this book open today, I had never even heard gof the Breguet Type 763.  Looks like an interesting, albeit bulky passenger/cargo aircraft.  Sort of reminds me of the Boeing 377 that I posted on a while back.  

Finally...I wanted to comment on the "Airlines of the World" section.  When I saw this today, my initial thought was that it would make a great reference for the aviation postcard collector.  For example...looking at the page scanned here, I can see all of the aircraft that Air France had in it's fleet in 1959.  I suppose it is not unreasonable to expect that the company probably published postcards featuring these aircraft.  So, in a way, this section almost serves as a checklist for someone collecting vintage airline images.  

Until next time...

Joe Kubert 1926-2012

Sigh...my last post was not pleasant news in the postcard collecting front, and this one will honor Joe Kubert who passed away on Sunday August 12th, at the age of 85.  I have mentioned Kubert before in this blog.  He was a great artist with great talent.  He wanted to pass along his passion for craft...opening The Kubert School in 1976 to teach the next generation of artists.  He leaves behind a vast body of work...which was being added to very recently as he and his son Adam were working on a project for DC.

So, today, I wanted to feature one of my all time favorite Kubert created/drawn characters - The Enemy Ace.

Hans von Hammer is the Enemy Ace, a Fokker pilot in World War I, but later flying other aircraft in WWII as well.  The stories are all about his experience in the German Luftwaffe.  The stories are usually well told, and always well illustrated by Kubert.  Shown here is the cover and a couple interior pages from Star Spangles War Stories issue #149.  

All told...there are something like 20-30 issues (maybe more) of Enemy Ace stories...and I highly recommend them.  

Thanks for the great work Joe!

Until next time...

In Memory of Ken Eslick

Collectibles, when collected in isolation, are a bore.  That is...it's only fun to collect stuff if you share your collection with other people.  That's why I write this blog.  Some people you meet may share your passion, or you may be given an opportunity to educate other individuals about your area of knowledge...but ultimately, it is not about the things themselves, but the people.

Well...I learned today that Ken Eslick passed away suddenly this past week.  Ken was the author of the Disneyland Postcard blog...and the keeper of the only online reference site for Disneyland postcards, disneylandpostcards.net.  This hobby is a fairly small and tight knit one...and I am somewhat on the fringes.  Ken was not.  His website is, without question, the best reference on the subject beyond the Nickel Tour book.  I have referred to it on numerous occasions in this blog.  He put a lot of effort into it and was always ready to help a collector with answers to questions, or with spare cards to fill in their own collection.

So...I wanted to use this post today to offer my sincere condolences to his family and close friends.  I am very sorry for your loss.  

Until next time....

The Eiffel Tower by TWA

I have shown a number of airline postcards with actual aircraft on them, but the airlines published other postcards as well.  As you might expect, they would often advertise the destinations that their fleet was capable of carrying their passengers to.

 

Today's card is a Trans World Airlines card from sometime before 1952.  (The one cent postage for the card gives that away).  It's a linen card, not chrome, so it is probably a fair bit earlier than 1952 I suspect. The back of the card has a hint that the card may be from 1948, but that is just a guess.  Either way...this is a great view of the Eiffel tower taken from the Trocadéro, site of the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. 

Until next time...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Advanced Reading Copy

As I have discussed previously in my blog, an uncorrected proof (or advanced reading copy) is a copy of a book sent out to book buyers and reviewers to solicit interest prior to availability from the publisher. When the first Harry Potter book came out in America, the success of the book the year before in Britain was evident, but it was not clear whether or not the American audience would receive the book with similar enthusiasm.  Scholastic, the American publisher for Harry Potter, paid J.K. Rowling her first big check of $100,000 for the rights to publish the book in America.  The rest...as they say...is history!

The thing I like about this particular edition is that it tells you straight away how many copies of the first edition, first print run, of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone were published in the United States.  Scholastic printed 30,000 copies of the book for the first print run.  I don't know where things are at today exactly, but I think the hard back is on its 80th printing or so, and over 400 million copies of all Harry Potter books have been printed.  So...these are very early editions in what was to become the Harry Potter phenomenon!

Until next time...

Spin, Marty and Annette - Four Color 826

The Adventures of Spin and Marty was a serial in the 1950's that was part of the Mickey Mouse Club television show.  It featured two boys who were involved in various adventures at the Triple R ranch.  There were three different series of the serial, with the ever popular Mouseketeer Annette Funicello showing up in the second and third series.  This comic book is from 1957 and features Spin, Marty and Annette on the cover.

The fact that Annette Funicello is on the cover of this magazine will prove enough for most collectors.  But for a comic collector this book has an added bonus.  Inside we get treated to Dan Spiegle art!  Spiegle was great at these books, and while he may not have been the absolute best, he is, I think,  under appreciated.  His work speaks for itself...below are a couple of panels from this story.  His use of light an shadow, and the way he architected a page was outstanding.

The latest issue of the D23 Disney Fan Club magazine, Disney twenty three, has a lengthy article on Annette Funicello's history with Disney and talks about her battle with multiple sclerosis.  She was an iconic Disney actress in her time and is still loved by many, many fans today.

Until next time...

Vacationland Magazine 1961 - Flying Saucers

I have posted on the Flying Saucers at Disneyland before...so this post is an addendum to that one.  Recently I picked up a copy of Vacationland magazine from the summer of 1961.  As I have mentioned before, this magazine was started in 1957 as a promotional vehicle for Southern California tourism, but was published by Disneyland, so the focus was on attractions and news from the park.

Well, in the Summer of 1961, the Newsflash section of the magazine had an interesting article on the coming of the saucers.  What struck me is the comment that they have been "experimenting with the flying saucers in Northern California".  I can't say that I know where that work was done in Northern California...but it would be interesting to know!

Until next time...

Bound Comic Book Volumes - Captain America 201-225

Comic books are flimsy and can be a bit of a challenge to read if you are sitting anywhere other than in front of a flat table that you can lay them on.  That is actually my preferred way to read them...on a flat surface.  And while this is not really that big of a deal, it is probably the primary reason that some collectors, and many publishers of comics, choose to bind their comics into volumes for easier access and reading.  

I have several bound volumes in my collection, some I have had bound myself, some I have bought already bound.  Today, I am showing a volume that is made up of  Captain America issues 201-225...a veritable buffet of Jack Kirby artwork!!  

To be sure, bound volumes do sacrifice the "collectibility" of a comic.  Generally, for the purpose of valuation, the books are counted to be in a condition of VG, or 4.0 on a zero to ten scale.  But if you want to find a bunch of issues all in on place that will easily sit on your nightstand...this is the way to go.  And actually, these bound volumes represent a precursor to the American graphic novel....a longer story bound into book form.

Until next time...

Strange Tales Issue 134

Sundry Collectibles will be on vacation from July 30 through August 4th, so for the next few days I am going to pull a few items out of the archives and give a brief description of what they are and why I have them in my collection.

Saturday, August 4th.

What is it?:  Strange Tales issue 134 from July, 1965.

Why do I have it?:  Jack Kirby cover art featuring The Watcher, Wally Wood inking in the first story, and Steve Ditko art in the Dr. Strange story.  Need I say more??

Disneyland Postcard C-5 Conestoga Wagon

Sundry Collectibles will be on vacation from July 30 through August 4th, so for the next few days I am going to pull a few items out of the archives and give a brief description of what they are and why I have them in my collection.

Friday, August 3rd.

What is it?:  Disneyland Postcard C-5 with Stage Coach , Conestoga Wagon and the Mine Train.

Why do I have it?:  This is just a cool card!  It features three things that no longer exist at the park.  Taken today, this picture would have the Thunder Mountain Railroad in it.  

Topps The Empire Strikes Back trading cards

Sundry Collectibles will be on vacation from July 30 through August 4th, so for the next few days I am going to pull a few items out of the archives and give a brief description of what they are and why I have them in my collection.

Thursday, August 2nd.

What is it?:  Topps Empire Strikes Back trading cards from 1980

Why do I have it?:  I bought and traded these cards when I was kid and The Empire Strikes Back movie had just come out in the theater.  I remember seeing the movie eight times that summer...and I have seen it at least a hundred times since.  So...you might say I am a fan!

This, by the way, is a blue bordered card from the second series.  

Modern Library 154 Cyrano de Bergerac from 1929

Sundry Collectibles will be on vacation from July 30 through August 4th, so for the next few days I am going to pull a few items out of the archives and give a brief description of what they are and why I have them in my collection.

Wednesday, August 1st.

What is it?:  This is a first Modern Library edition of "Cyrano de Bergerac" from 1929

Why do I have it?:  Early Modern Library first editions are hard to come by, especially with the dust jacket.  This is a collection that I pretty much "let come to me"...in other words, I do not actively pursue these books, but when I see something like this one, I will pick it up if the price is right.  Oh...yes, it's a great book too!