Double Vision
The item above is a rather ancient looking Terrific comic I bought as a kid in January 1968, and below; A production stat of the cover in its original form for Tales to Astonish #58 - August, 1964. Art by Jack Kirby (who else!).
This is one of a pile of vintage gems that I rescued just before they were thrown into the trash, and certain landfill oblivion during a Marvel UK office move in the 1980s. I felt they were too special to be discarded at the time, and I still feel that way 40 years later. Some of them have discolored due to not being fixed properly, (they are photographic bromides after all), but their imperfections seem to somehow make them even more desirable. I wonder if there will ever be a collector’s market for production stats? I’d love to see a few turn up on Antiques Roadshow!
I’ll share a few more of these, but before then, as it’s American Mother’s Day over here, I’ll add a photo of me, sitting on my Mum’s lap, scrutinizing some kind of British childhood publication in the early 1960s.
I’m also reposting the following anecdote from a year ago, as a reminder that as much as my mother loathed comics, she stood up for me in one of my darkest hours as a teenage comic book collector. If she was still around, I’d really like to thank her for that. In other news, it’s kind of telling when all of your childhood photos are black & white. I guess I should be thankful it isn’t a Daguerreotype!
First up, The Power of WARLOCK!
Production Stat for The Incredible Hulk #2 - July, 1962. This is an interesting piece for the reason that it was pencilled by Jack Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko. Wish I had the actual cover art for this!
I always loved the art of Frank Robbins, and I vividly remember reading this on a caravan holiday in Essex, England in 1976, the hottest summer for more than 350 years! This stat is from: Adventure Into Fear - Morbius the Living Vampire #27 'Night of the Vampire Stalker!' (1975) Script: Doug Moench, Art: Frank Robbins, Inks: D. Fraser
And last but not least, a production stat that Jim Shooter signed for me when he visited the Marvel UK offices in 1985. Jim is the tall guy at the back!
L to R: Wilf Prigmore, John Tomlinson, Richard Starkings, Wendy King, Dave Hine, Kev Hopgood, James Hill, Mike Collins, Jeff Anderson, Jim Shooter, John Gatehouse, Tim Perkins, Stephen Baskerville, Ian Mennell, Simon Furman. (Thanks to John T for the roll call)
I posted a few more of these a while ago, HERE.
Another great post, Steve. Those production stats are definitely keepers.