Jan. 30
When we contemplate a memorable old comic book, the first thing that
comes to mind is its cover, and that was no accident. Publishers
realized fairly quickly that if they spent a little extra to hire a
good cover artist, they could fill the insides with mediocrity and
still make a sizable profit — that all it took was a striking cover to
entice thousands of kids to fork over their dimes.
Even
today, covers drive the collectors’ market. Apart from number-one
issues and first appearances, the strength of a comic book’s cover is
the first consideration in determining its value. Indeed, it is now
common practice to entomb the book between slabs of sealed plastic —
with only the cover visible — as if the interior pages’ sole purpose was
to provide a place to secure the staples.
In order to
locate the best possible examples, collectors from around the world
have been enlisted to share their rare and valuable comic books. The
scores of cover artists represented include Carl Barks, Charles Biro,
Dick Briefer, L.B. Cole, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Will Eisner, Bill
Everett, Lou Fine, Walt Kelly, Jack Kirby, Mac Raboy, and Alex
Schomburg. Every comic book genre will be explored, from superhero to
detective to Western to funny animal.
Majestic, iconic, chaotic, or downright weird, a classic comic book cover has an undeniable appeal, and Action! Mystery! Thrills!
celebrates in spades this unique cultural icon. The covers will be
printed full-sized on glossy paper to most faithfully replicate the
originals, and arranged chronologically to give the reader a sense of
the sweeping trends and stylistic developments throughout the medium’s
first decade, as inexorable waves of dazzling imagery battled monthly
for newsstand attention. 240 pages of full-color comics
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