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Post by electricmastro on Aug 11, 2019 23:04:01 GMT -5
My personal favorites include:
Ace Comics: Lightning Comics (1940), Super-Mystery Comics (1940), Four Favorites (1941)
Centaur Comics: Amazing Mystery Funnies (1938), Keen Detective Funnies (1938), Amazing-Man Comics (1939)
Fawcett Comics: Master Comics (1940), Whiz Comics (1940), Bulletman (1941), Captain Marvel Adventures (1941), Spy Smasher (1941), Wow Comics (1941), Captain Marvel, Jr. (1942), Captain Midnight (1942), The Marvel Family (1945), Mary Marvel (1945)
Fiction House: Fight Comics (1940), Planet Comics (1940)
Fox Comics: Blue Beetle (1939), Mystery Men Comics (1939), Wonderworld Comics (1939), Phantom Lady (1947)
Harvey Comics: Speed Comics (1939), Green Hornet Comics (1942), All New Comics (1944), Black Cat Comics (1946)
Holyoke Publishing: Captain Aero Comics (1941), Cat-Man Comics (1941), Suspense Comics (1943)
Lev Gleason Publications: Silver Streak Comics (1939), Daredevil Comics (1941), Boy Comics (1942)
MLJ Comics/Archie Comics: Top-Notch Comics (1939), Shield-Wizard Comics (1940), Pep Comics (1940), Zip Comics (1940), Black Hood Comics (1943)
National Allied Publications, Inc./All-American Publications/DC Comics: Detective Comics (1937), Action Comics (1938), Adventure Comics (1938), Superman (1939), All-Star Comics (1940), Batman (1940), Flash Comics (1940), Green Lantern (1941), World's Finest Comics (1941), Wonder Woman (1942)
Nedor Comics: Exciting Comics (1940), Thrilling Comics (1940), America's Best Comics (1942), The Black Terror (1942), Wonder Comics (1944)
Novelty Press: Blue Bolt (1940), Target Comics (1940)
Prize Publications: Prize Comics (1940), Headline Comics (1943)
Quality Comics: Smash Comics (1939), Police Comics (1941), Plastic Man (1943)
Timely Comics/Marvel Comics: Marvel Mystery Comics (1939), The Human Torch (1940), Mystic Comics (1940), All Winners Comics (1941), Captain America Comics (1941), Sub-Mariner Comics (1941), USA Comics (1941), Blonde Phantom (1946)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2019 1:28:15 GMT -5
My Number One Golden Age Book is Novelty Press (1940) Blue Bolt ... because the logo is so cool (one of my favorites) and easy to spot anywhere in the Comic Book Store.  My Grandfather had a nice collection of them and I read about half of them until my cousin beat me to it. He had them until 1993 and sold them afterwards. |
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Post by Duragizer on Aug 12, 2019 2:11:50 GMT -5
Probably the Siegel & Shuster Superman stories. I haven't delved too deeply into Golden Age comics.
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on Aug 12, 2019 8:02:33 GMT -5
Boy Comics, of course!
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Post by Cei-U! on Aug 12, 2019 8:10:12 GMT -5
Since researching my book, my list of favorite Golden Age titles has changed significantly. it now includes Daredevil Comics and Boy Comics (both Gleason), Supersnipe Comics (Street & Smith), Fairy Tale Parade (Dell), Hopalong Cassidy (Fawcett), Jingle Jangle Comics (Eastern Color), Prize Comics (Crestwood), Big Shot (Columbia), and Joker Comics (Timely) in addition to such long-time faves as Walt Disney's Comics & Stories (Dell), Captain Marvel Adventures (Fawcett), Batman (DC), All-Star Comics (All-American), and anything by Walt Kelly or Simon & Kirby. My experience has been that the era's best comics fall outside the super-hero genre and tend to be aimed at younger readers.
Cei-U!
I summon the fresh perspective!
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Post by brutalis on Aug 12, 2019 8:12:22 GMT -5
I don't have any Golden Age comics other than some reprints.
I do have the Treasury edition of Golden Age Flash comics #1. Some AC comics western reprints of Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, Bob Steele and The Durango Kid. and various Marvel Westerns of Kid Colt, Rawhide Kid and Two-Gun kid printed during the 60's/70;s which are reprints of the 40's/50's. Love me those Westerns! And my recent foray into Walt Kelly reprints.
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Post by MWGallaher on Aug 12, 2019 8:28:58 GMT -5
I read a lot of public domain Golden Age comics online, and I'm mostly drawn to the more bizarre series where absolutely bonkers ideas inexplicably found their way into print.
Things like the Sorceress of Zoom, from Fox's Weird Comics, a malicious (usually) queen of a city that materializes in a flying cloud, and who transforms one of her enemies into a fire hydrant.
Or The Hand, from Harvey's Speed Comics, a (sometimes) giant hand apparently unconnected to a body (except when it is suggested that it really is connected to an invisible man).
Or Zanzibar, from Fox's Mystery Men Comics (and elsewhere), a fez-wearing magician who appeared in abrupt, outlandish 4-pagers.
Or Sgt. Spook from Novelty's Blue Bolt, initially a Spectre-like ghost crimefighter who later started acting as the police force for a town full of ghosts!
And good ol' Fantoma and Stardust the Super Wizard from Fiction House, the insane creations of the legendary Fletcher Hanks.
In the more conventional superhero realm, I get a big kick out of the early installments of The Atom from All-American Comics. Despite the crude art, these are actually quite engaging little tales.
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Post by tarkintino on Aug 12, 2019 9:00:37 GMT -5
In no particular order...
Early Detective Comics: When Batman was still himself, and not turned into another hero more for brand than character, which would happen soon enough in the 40s.
Captain America: Many tend to forget that the wartime Cap comic was quite serious and brutal, even when he (and Bucky) were not fighting the Axis powers. Like early Superman, who had his dark moments of actually thinking some villains "had it coming to them," this Cap was not going to moralize over the worst of the worst.
A good number of EC's line: Shock SuspenStories, MAD, Tales from the Crypt, Weird Fantasy, The Vault of Horror, Weird Science-Fantasy, Two-Fisted Tales, etc. Arguably the strongest, most consistent volume of company output of any Golden Age publisher, and that's without even going into their deep well of talents which made that possible.
Dell's Four Color: A catch-all of great artists and licensed characters from nearly every source. Their endless film & TV adaptations that would set the stage for bigger companies (eventually) all trying their hand at that special category of comic, although rarely with the same level of care or appeal.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,878
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Post by shaxper on Aug 12, 2019 9:35:01 GMT -5
Barks duck stories. Superhero-wise, Siegel and Bailey's Spectre. The Golden Age is definitely my biggest blind spot as a comic enthusiast. I'd spend more time delving into it if there wasn't so much amazing stuff from other eras constantly calling my attention.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2019 10:33:25 GMT -5
The Golden Age is definitely my biggest blind spot as a comic enthusiast. For me alone, both Golden and Silver Age of Comics are my two biggest eras of Comic Book History ... I'm not a fan of the Bronze Age and above. Earlier the better. The reason for that I was working from 1980 to 2007 and rarely look at Comic Books during that time frame. After 2007 ... I spent most of my time with Dynamite Comics because DC and Marvel did not hold me any interest at all. For the record, I'm reading only DC Archives and Marvel Masterworks and have over 100 plus of these volumes to my disposal. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 12, 2019 11:01:58 GMT -5
Blackhawk
The Marvel Family books
Plastic Man
The Spirit
Airboy
Anything Simon & Kirby
Barks Ducks,
Superman & Batman
Wonder Woman
Anything Lou Fine
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Post by beccabear67 on Aug 12, 2019 12:01:10 GMT -5
I'm more into certain artists before anything else, then character and last the company. For me the highlights of the golden age in no particular would be Mac Raboy Captain Marvel Jr., George Evans on Fiction House (Lost World and Tiger Man) and E.C. comics, Matt Baker and Joe Kubert at St. John, '40s Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny Dells, and Pogo (pre-political), Frank Frazetta and Bob Powell at M.E. (and Frazetta covers on Famous Funnies). Fran Hopper Camilla and Gale Allen for Fiction House's Jungle and Planet Comics, anything by Maurice Whitman (Ghost Squadron in Wings Comics), Kurt Schaffenberger Marvel Family, Bill Everett Sub-Mariner (and Namora), The Alex 'Xela' Schomburg airbrush covers for Standard/Better, Wally Wood and Joe Orlando at Fox, Avon and E.C., and Kurtzman at Marvel (various 1 pagers)and E.C., Basil Wolverton at Marvel and Fawcett (Space Hawk, Powerhouse Pepper and various 1 and 1/2 pagers), Alex Toth Green Lantern, Sheldon Moldoff Hawkman, Joe Shuster Superman and Slam Bradley, Jack Cole Plastic Man, anything by Lou Fine, Al Willamson E.C., the lone Kewpies comic Will Eisner published, Reed Crandall on Doll Man and Blackhawk.
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Post by MDG on Aug 12, 2019 13:05:34 GMT -5
I'm more into certain artists before anything else, then character and last the company.... I'd probably go artist, company, character. I'm pretty content looking at nice pages by Meskin, Fine, Baker, etc. out of context. I'd like to read the post war Spirits I've missed, and more Plas and Midnight by Cole, but I don't think I'd get anything more out of reading, say, a hundred Crandall Blackhawk stories than I got out of the half-dozen or so I've seen. But, except for some favorites, I can get along with a sampling of full stories.
The exception is probably Charles Biro: ever since I read an article about him in Bill Spicer's Fanfare, I've wanted to do a deep dive into Boy and Daredevil, but haven't seen any "popular price" reprints.
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zilch
Full Member
Posts: 244
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Post by zilch on Aug 12, 2019 14:18:54 GMT -5
Hop Harrigan
Red, White and Blue
Johnny Everyman (calling Mr. Morrison!!)
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Aug 12, 2019 14:34:41 GMT -5
Cole's Plastic Man is my favorite super hero comic ever, some days.
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