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ow pgs; only one higher
Lou Fine cover; Tuska, Nordling art
Allentown Copy
The incredible cover by Golden Age maestro Lou Fine is reason enough to want to acquire this rollicking anthology collection from the anything goes days of the industry. Names like George Tuska, Fred Schwab, Charles Sultan, and others may be lost to the rigors of time, but these stalwarts, workhorses if you will, had broad shoulders, who helped support and build the comic book from a disposable mindless quick fix of entertainment, into the monolith of pop culture it is today. The true spirit of American hard work and gumption that went into the early days of comics is truly a fascinating and admirable tale. Although the anonymous parade of also-ran heroes that dominated the comics before superbeings arrived are a dime a dozen, the thrills, spills, and chills presented in these relics are nothing to be scoffed at, there’s more fun packed in these pages than modern day readers can imagine. Long live the Golden Age!


It is hard to believe that there is another copy of this issue higher up on the census, making this the standalone second-best copy known to the hobby, and boy oh boy, does the Lou Fine illustration look amazing. The reds and yellows on this cover are so hot you should be glad there’s a CGC case to protect your fingers from melting off. Nary a mark is visible to the naked eye, as the passage of time has held no sway over the condition of this Allentown Pedigree copy of a Golden Age treasure. To a certain stripe of collector, this comic is like catnip, we will just stand back and watch the fun come auction time.


Overstreet Guide 2019 NM- (9.2) value = $2,000.



Artists Information

Louis Kenneth Fine was born in New York. He studied at the Grand Central Art School and Pratt Institute. He was partially crippled by childhood polio and longed to be an illustrator. Among his major influences were Dean Cornwell, J.C. Leyendecker, and Heinrich Kley. Fine joined the Eisner-Iger comic shop in 1938 and soon was drawing for the Fiction House and Fox lines on such features as 'Wilton of the West', 'The Count of Monte Cristo', and 'The Flame'. Within a short time he became one of their best artists. He drew parts of the 'Jumbo' and 'Sheena' comics, and he also produced several adventure comics. Between 1939 and 1943, he worked for the Arnold's Quality Comics group. He produced 'Black Condor', 'Stormy Foster' and several issues of 'Uncle Sam'. From early on, Fine's specialty was covers, and he turned out dozens of them. Lou Fine left the comic book industry in 1944 and moved into drawing Sunday advertising strips for the funnies. On his advertising work, he cooperated extensively with Don Komisarow. Together, they created characters like 'Charlie McCarthy' and 'Mr. Coffee Nerves' for Chase and Sanborn Coffee, and 'Sam Spade' for Wildroot Cream Oil. They also made 'The Thropp Family' for Liberty magazine, using the combined signature of Donlou (scripts by Lawrence Lariar). Next, Fine drew two newspaper strips, 'Adam Ames', and 'Peter Scratch', about a tough private eye who lived with his mother. Fine died in 1971 and according to Will Eisner, he was one of the greatest draftsmen ever.

George Tuska who used a variety of pen names including Carl Larson, was an American comic book and newspaper comic strip artist best known for his 1940s work on various Captain Marvel titles and the crime fiction series Crime Does Not Pay and for his 1960s work illustrating Iron Man and other Marvel Comics characters. He also drew the DC Comics newspaper comic strip The World's Greatest Superheroes from 1978–1982.