THE COMIC READER AND ON THE DRAWING BOARD BY DR. JERRY BAILS: THE FIRST 25 ISSUES

Description

THE COMIC READER and ON THE DRAWING BOARD 1 to 25 by Dr. Jerry Bails is an absolutely essential part of the library of every comic book fan, collector, and convention goer -- regardless of age. In the Spring of 1961, Dr. Bails penned a fateful column named ON THE DRAWING BOARD within the pages of his ground-breaking fanzine ALTER-EGO 1. In the same way that TV GUIDE provided previews for its readers of what was up-and-coming on their TV screens, ON THE DRAWING BOARD provided previews for comic readers about what comic books were up-and-coming to their local newsstands. His column was an immediate hit that inspired a second installment in ALTER-EGO 2, a third in THE COMICOLLECTOR 1, and the column earned the distinction of its own standalone newsletter with 4. By issue 8, the publication was re-named THE COMIC READER, the name it was best known by through the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, and, even to this day, in posterity. Now, for the first time, these first twenty-five issues of ON THE DRAWING BOARD and THE COMIC READER are reprinted in one volume. Courtesy of Dr. Jerry Bails’ widow, Mrs. Jean Bails, and the Estate of Dr. Jerry G. Bails, all twenty-five issues are reprinted in their entirety, which represents the complete run published by Dr. Bails from 1961 to 1964, at which time he turned his editorship over to Glen Johnson with 26. As an added bonus, and little-known among collectors, Dr. Bails also published special “extra” editions of THE COMIC READER within the pages of other fanzines such as SUPER-HERO, MASQUERADER, THE ROCKET’S BLAST, and THE COMICOLLECTOR, and these eight special editions, each with all-new (at the time) content are also included in this book, bringing the total number of installments published by Dr. Bails to thirty-three, all of which are reprinted here. Each issue was selected from the best-known available copies from the meticulously-assembled archives of collector J. Ballmann, who has performed extensive restoration of the pages and who has written relevant commentary for all thirty-three issues that provides historical context to what was going on in the world of comic collecting at the time. These rare and now impossible-to-find publications are filled with letters by such luminaries as Stan Lee, Gardner Fox, Julius Schwartz, Roy Thomas, Bill Harris, Joe Kubert, Marv Wolfman, and include perhaps the only published letter by Marvel Secretary Judy Walsh, who announced in 1962 the upcoming arrival of Iron Man to the world for the first time. Also included are the first reviews of such iconic comics as FANTASTIC FOUR 1, THE INCREDIBLE HULK 1, X-MEN 1, and so many more, reviews that were untainted by nostalgia (since the characters were brand new) and with absolutely no idea of just how popular these characters would become. Equally as fascinating are the many ads by the dealers and collectors of the early 1960s, including ads by a young high school student named Howard Rogofsky who was selling comics such as AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1 and FANTASTIC FOUR 1 for just $1.00 each! Dr. Bails’ super-heroic run of THE COMIC READER is a breathtaking time capsule that transports readers into the nascent world of comic collecting as it was just beginning -- and as it was happening -- and produces a narrative from the thoughts and words of that very first generation of comic book fans as they discuss the indexing and pricing of comic books, as they search out those hard-to-find issues and try to complete their collections, as they successfully persuade comic companies to return Hawkman and Captain America to the newsstands, as they brainstorm ways to stage the first comic book convention, and, most importantly, as they get to know one another. With this book, the opportunity has now arrived for the latest generation of comic book fans to get to know that very first generation of fans who started it all, and, especially, the leader of those fans: the venerable Dr. Jerry Bails! Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (June 11, 2022)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 242 pages

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 51

Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.43 pounds

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.55 x 11 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #775,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #10,726 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels

#10,726 in Superhero Comics & Graphic Novels:

Customer Reviews: 5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 6 ratings