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FRONT COVER BACK COVER VOLUME XXVIII, NUMBER 3 BIG LITTLE BOOK COLLECTOR’S CLUB SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 P.O. BOX 1242 Danville, California 94526

VOLUME XXVIII, NUMBER 3 BIG LITTLE BOOK … BLT 2009.pdf · detail. All will be of great ... taken from two of Fawcett’s monthly comic books, Whiz Comics and Master Comics;

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Page 1: VOLUME XXVIII, NUMBER 3 BIG LITTLE BOOK … BLT 2009.pdf · detail. All will be of great ... taken from two of Fawcett’s monthly comic books, Whiz Comics and Master Comics;

FRONT COVER

BACK COVER

VOLUME XXVIII, NUMBER 3 BIG LITTLE BOOK COLLECTOR’S CLUB SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009P.O. BOX 1242

Danville, California 94526

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BILTMORE HOTEL OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA 1-800-522-6600 TELL THEM YOU ARE WITH THE COMIC BOOK SHOW TO GET THE DISCOUNTED RATE !!

3

The Oklahoma Alliance of Fans (OAF) Show will take place in October. There will be comics,

Big Little Books, and other nostalgia for sale. I’ll be there, and I hope some Club Members will be attending. For those

who can make it, October 9 and 10, I’ll hold a BLB Club Meeting on the lovely Biltmore Hotel premises where this wonderful Show will be held.

The time for the meeting will be on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. After the meeting, perhaps we can all go to lunch together. If you plan to attend, I’d appreciate it if you would drop me an e-mail or card to let me know. Eight members have already let me know that they will attend the meeting.

Way back in Volume XI, Number 6 (1992) Bernie McCarty wrote an article for the BLT on the Fawcett Mighty Midget Comic Books, and in Volume XXIV, Number 5 (2005) I wrote one on Fawcett’s Dime Action books. In this issue, Jon Swartz provides us with more information about the Fawcett products. These four BLB-type books have been well covered in our newsletter.

Also in this issue, Robert Barrett introduces us to H. J. Ward, and artist whose work was used for a cover of a Lone Ranger Big Little Book.

Once in a while the BLT contains an article about a BLB Club Member. In this issue, cartoonist Bob Weber is featured. The article is written by his friend and BLB Club Member Walt Needham.

The picture at the right is of a very new and unusual BLB item. I’ll not tell you more about it at this time, but in the next issue this item and others like it will be described in detail. All will be of great interest to Club Members. And Members who attend the OAF Show will get a preview of them.

LARRY LOWERY Editor

4 5

FAWCETT PUBLICATIONSHOWING ITS MORE POPULAR CHARACTERS

The FAWCETT DIME ACTION BOOKS®

byJon D. Swartz (Member #287)

The Fawcett Publishing Company of Greenwich, Connecticut entered the Big Little Book field in 1941 with four titles. The characters for these books —Captain Marvel, Bulletman, Minute-Man, and Spy Smasher — were taken from two of Fawcett’s monthly comic books, Whiz Comics and Master Comics; and all four of them also appeared in their own titles, although all but Captain Marvel were for relatively short runs.

These books were 192 pages in length, 4” x 5 1/2” x 5/8” in size, and had four-color soft board covers with glued bindings. The cover i l lustrat ions were based on previously published comic book covers. Because they sold for 10¢, Fawcett called them Dime Action Books. They were very similar to Dell’s Fast-Action Story Books, which had been published in 1936-1943. There has been speculation that Fawcett entered the field because of the success of the Fast-Action books.

Bulletman and Minute-Man came from Fawcett’s Master Comics while Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher were featured in the company’s Whiz Comics. The inside front and back covers of all the Dime Action Books had ads for Fawcett comic books, and some of their comics are mentioned in the stories. Dime Action Books resembled traditional BLBs in many respects, and they are hard to find today, especially in good condition.

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Bulletman and the Return of Mr. Murder

Bulletman was the second major superhero to star in Master Comics, replacing Master-Man in issue #7. Bulletman was himself knocked out of the lead story (and off the cover) by Captain Marvel, Jr. — who teamed up with him to defeat Captain Nazi — but continued to appear in the comic book until September 1949 (Issue #106).

In Bulletman and the Return of Mr. Murder (although Bulletman and Bulletgirl is the title on the book’s cover) the duo of Jim Barr and Susan Kent fight the gigantic “Mr. Murder, Purveyor of Eternity,” who kills just for the sake of killing.

In the story he declares open season on all doctors because “they cure people faster than I can kill them off!”

Mr. Murder captures Susan and takes her to his castle on a deserted island. He wants her to become Mrs. Murder and have little Murders to follow after him. Bulletman frees Susan, apprehends the fleeing Mr. Murder, and knocks him into the Pacific Ocean. Bulletman then discovers that Mr. Murder and his gang worked for “a mad dog European dictator.”

Inconsistencies in the story include having a thug biting Bulletman’s ear—even though Bulletman’s gravity helmet is described as filling “snugly over Bulletman’s head and around his ears” and is so pictured in the illustrations.

LITTLE BIG SHOT PUBLICITY STILL, 1935

Captain Marvel and the Return of the Scorpion

Captain Marvel was Fawcett’s most popular character, appearing in several of its comic books on a regular basis and starring in a 12-chapter Republic Pictures movie serial in 1941.

This Dime Action story was created as a sequel to the serial. It seems that The Scorpion was not really killed in the climax of the serial.

In this follow-up story The Scorpion and his gang capture Billy, the scien-tist John Malcolm, and two of their friends—Betty and Whitey—and take them to Siam where The Scorpion has made a deal with the native chieftain Rahman Bar, to deliver them for human sacrifice. As a reward, The Scorpion is to receive a local deposit of radium worth millions. Billy changes to Cap-tain Marvel several times in order to save his friends. In the end, Captain Marvel routs the natives, survives an acid-gun, and yanks The Scorpion’s hood off—exposing him as a racketeer who had invaded the natives’ temple before. Once they see who The Scorpion really is, the angry natives throw him off a cliff.

TOM TYLER as CAPTAIN MARVEL - 1941 Serial

TOM TYLER SAVES Louise Currie - 1941 Serial T

76 98

Minute-Man and the Mystery of the Spy Ring

In the book Army private Jack Weston (alias Minute-Man, the One Man Army) is confronted by Illyria, “Queen of All Spies,” who is attempting to steal America’s secret new metal, thelium, and sell it to a foreign power. Illyria has “a thirty room apartment on Park Avenue, a country house on hundreds of gorgeous acres in Southhampton, a private yacht, a fleet of motor cars, and servants—servants ev-erywhere.” Thelium, invented by an elderly scientist named Thorg-erson, is described as lighter than aluminum, stronger than steel, and bulletproof.

The “Red, White, and Blue Man” captures Illyria and her gang, but she escapes by drugging Minute-Man and leaving him in her place in a jail cell He escapes and pursues her as she flees with Thorgerson to force him to tell her the thelium formula before killing him. As she and her accomplice, Count Resnoff, attempt to leave the country aboard The Yankee Clipper, Minute-Man arrives and stops the Clipper before it can take off. The Count is captured and the formula recovered, but the Queen of All Spies escapes (“I’ll be seeing you, and when I do, I’ll be the one to laugh.”). Illyria, who resembles The Dragon Lady from Terry and the Pirates, was described in some Fawcett comic books as “a Nazi spy mistress.” Inconsistencies in the story include having Weston alone in a jail cell, dressed only in his shorts, but escaping as Minute-Man in his complete uniform.

Minute-Man was Fawcett’s major patriotic superhero, its answer to Timely’s (later Marvel’s) Captain America and MLJ’s The Shield.

Spy Smasher and the Red Death

Spy Smasher (later Crime Smasher) also had a movie serial that featured his exploits. This serial, Spy Smasher, was made in 1942 by Republic Pictures and starred Kane Richmond, an actor who portrayed several other BLB heroes in movie serials during the 1940s (e.g., Brick Bradford and The Shadow).

In Spy Smasher and the Red Death members of the underworld discover that Spy Smasher is actually playboy Alan Armstrong and the Red Death decides to get rid of him. (“Spy Smasher is really Alan Armstrong. Kill Armstrong and there will be no Spy Smasher.”).

Attempts to assassinate Armstrong by the Red Death’s gang fail, however, and Spy Smasher uses his famed gyrosub to capture one of the Red Death’s henchmen and trace the Red Death to his water tower headquarters atop an old warehouse.

The Red Death plans to split Spy Smasher’s skull with an ax as he enters the tower, but Spy Smasher tricks the Super Spy and captures him. Alan Armstrong’s girl friend, Eve Corby, and her father, chief of Naval Intelligence Admiral Corby, also appear in the story.

In the comic book Spy Smasher #2, the Red Death and his gang committed atrocities for the Father-land. He started his crime spree in the U. S. by killing a prominent general at a meeting of military leaders. He, himself, was later appar-ently killed when globes containing a deadly gas were broken while he was in a fight with Spy Smasher. Spy Smasher escaped this en-counter, but the plane in which he and the Red Death were flying crashed into waters overlooked by the Statue of Liberty.

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Artists/Writers

The writer of the Captain Marvel book was Otto Binder (1911-1974), the youngest of six children born into a family that had emigrated from Austria. The family settled in Chicago in 1922 during a period when science fiction was becoming popular in the pulps, and this type of literature “enthralled Otto and his brother Earl.” The two began writing in partnership and sold their first story, “The First Martian,” to Amazing Stories in 1930; it finally saw publication in 1932 under the pen-name “Eando Binder” (“E” and “O” Binder). Some authorities list Bill Parker, one of the Captain Marvel writers, as the author of this book, but Parker left Fawcett on October 15, 1940 (for National Guard duty) and did not return until November 1945 when he by-passed the company’s comic books to work on Fawcett’s magazines). There is little doubt that this was Binder’s first writing assignment at Fawcett—and led to his 12-year writing career with the company.

During his time with Fawcett, Binder worked mainly on Captain Marvel (1941 to 1953), writing “986 stories out of 1,743” or over half the entire Marvel Family saga. He helped create such characters as Mary Marvel, Uncle Dudley, Mr. Tawky Tawny, Black Adam, and Mr. Mind — as well as Dr. Sivana’s “evil progeny, Sivana Jr. and Georgia Sivana.” His first script for a Captain Marvel comic book was “Captain Marvel Saves the King” in Captain Marvel Adventures #9 (dated April 1942).

C. C. Beck (1910-1989) was the principal artist on Captain Marvel at Fawcett and the principal artist on this Dime Action Book featuring the hero, although at least one other Fawcett artist also contributed. This artist was Marc Swayze, who later stated, in a tribute to Beck: “One of the first projects Beck and I joined forces on was “Captain Marvel and the Return of The Scorpion” (the book’s format being that of a Big Little Book). It apparently had a deadline of yesterday because Beck and I worked evenings and a weekend to finish it. It was the beginning of a 48-year friendship.”

While it is not known conclusively, it is reasonable to assume that since Fawcett assigned Beck, Swayze, and Binder to the Captain Marvel book, the principal artists/writers for the other three books would be the men who wrote/drew these heroes on a regular basis. During 1941 these men were artists Phil Bard (aka Oliver Ashford) (Minute-Man), Jack Binder (Bulletman), Austin Briggs (Spy Smasher), Charles Sultan (Minute-Man, Spy Smasher, Bulletman), Mac Raboy (Bulletman), and the principal writer was Otto Binder. Since Sultan worked on the comic books of all four of these Fawcett characters, it is reasonable to suppose that he was involved in these Dime Action Books. Furthermore, although Binder only spoke of his work on the Captain Marvel book, he may have written the others. Mac Raboy mainly did cover illustrations, his artwork is distinctive, and it doesn’t look like his work in any of these books — although it is possible he did the Bulletman cover art.TOAST TO THE GOLDEN AGE

L-to-R: JACK BINDER, C.C. BECK, OTTO BINDER

OTTO BINDER, drawn by C. C. BECKMARC SWAYZE

CAPTAIN MARVEL and C. C. BECKC. C. BECK

12 13

Conclusions

While some reference books state the Dime Action stories were adapted from ones in the character’s regular comics, this is not true. Instead, the stories were new ones based on the characters. The plots of these books — with the possible exception of the Captain Marvel title — have been criticized as being illogical and inconsistent, with espionage elements clumsily superimposed onto common gangster themes — perhaps due to the approach of America’s entry into World War II.

According to Fawcett historian Dan Fabrizio, in a very informative article in the 2001 Fawcett Companion, all the Dime Action books are scarce today with the Captain Marvel and Minute-Man titles the hardest to find. Moreover, depending upon condition, current prices for each of these 10¢ books are in the $50 to $500 range. The entire series of four books has been sold for more than $2000.

During 1942-1943, nineteen 36-page booklets (including covers) called Mighty Midget Comics were published in three sets by the Samuel Lowe Publishing Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Lowe had worked for Whitman during the period the first BLBs were developed and subsequently headed his own company. These Mighty Midget Comics featured Fawcett superheroes and other comic characters. Each book was about 4” x 5” in size and because such a size is close to that of traditional BLBs, many popular culture authorities feel they qualify as peripheral BLB collector’s items.

Bibliography

Bails, Jerry and Hames Ware (eds.). The Who’s Who of American Comic Books, Volumes 1-4. Detroit, MI: Bails, 1973-1976.

Hamerlinck, P. C. (ed.). Fawcett Companion. Raleigh, NC: Two/Morrows Publishing, 2001.

Harmon, Jim and Donald F. Glut. The Great Movie Serials. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1972.

Lowery, Lawrence F. The Golden Age of Big Little Books. Danville, CA: Educational Research and Applications LLC, 2007

Overstreet, Robert M. The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. NY: Gemstone Publishing, 2000.

Steranko, Jim. The Steranko History of Comics 2. Reading, PA: Super-graphics, 1972.

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H. J. WARD: UNLIKELY BIG LITTLE BOOK COVER ARTIST

by Robert R. Barrett, Member #860

One of the fun things about collecting, no matter what it is that you collect, is finding out new information about what ever it is that is one’s passion. My own particular passion, when it comes to Big/Better Little Books, is Tarzan and the Lone Ranger.

For decades the cover artist for The Lone Ranger and the Menace of Murder Valley has been recorded as by Robert R. Weisman. And why not? After all he is credited on the title page as the illustrator and the back cover painting is signed with a capital “W.” Added to this is the fact that Dave Holland, in his excellent book, From Out of the Past: A Pictorial History of The Lone Ranger, The Holland House, 1988, credits the painting that graces the cover of the Big Little Book as being by Robert Weisman, writing that “Robert Weisman adapted historical images of the cowboy and his lariat into a gloriously romanticized painting for a Big Little Book cover. It became the official image of ‘The Lone Ranger.’”

The truth of the matter is that Robert Weisman did not paint this cover, nor was it painted for the Big Little Book cover. The Lone Ranger Magazine debuted with a cover date of April 1937, published by Trojan Publishing Corp., with a cover painting by Kidd, an artist of which little to nothing is known.

By the second issue, cover dated May 1937, the cover art was by H. J. Ward. Ward was to paint the covers for seven of the eight issues of the magazine that were published. It is an interesting side-note that the Trojan Publishing Corp., was owned by Harry Donenfeld, whose chief editor was Frank Armer (and perhaps minor equity holder in some of Donenfeld’s companies), Culture/Tro-jan Publishing Companies, besides The Lone Ranger Magazine, also published Spicy Detective, Spicy Mystery, Spicy Adventure, and Spicy Western. H. J.. Ward produced an impressive number of covers for these Spicy pulps. One might reasonably wonder why Ward was asked to produce paintings for The Lone Ranger Magazine.

Hugh Joseph Ward was born on March 8, 1909 in South Philadelphia, the youngest of eight children. A tall, thin man, Ward became a heavy smoker. He studied at the Philadelphia College of Art and began his professional career doing line drawings for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He soon found himself painting covers for the pulps and appears to have done little or no other work. Ward’s wife, Viola, posed for many of the covers that he painted for the Spicy titles. He passed away at the young age of 35, on February 7, 1945, from a tumor in his lung, no doubt brought on by his heavy smoking.

George W. Trendle, owner of radio station WXYZ and The Lone Ranger, kept a firm hand on the products devised for his popular character. No doubt he found himself impressed with Ward’s cover paintings for The Lone Ranger Magazine. In June of 1938 Trendle entered into an agreement with King Features to produce a newspaper strip featuring the Lone Ranger, however, talks for the new strip began as early as mid-1937. Trendle, as with anything licensed and bearing the Lone Ranger name and image, had to approve of the drawings for the new strip even before King Features saw them. In preparation for the Lone Ranger newspaper strip, Trendle and King contracted with H. J. Ward to produce a black and white painting that was, ostensibly, going to be used to advertise the new strip. Ward kept a record book in which he recorded the date, who his client was, price he was paid, as well as the subject of the painting. For the painting in question, Ward recorded in his record book for 1937:

“LONE RANGER (radio job) King-Trendle Broadcasting Corp. - June 15 - $85 - “Black & White Full Length – Ranger and Silver.”

The painting Ward recorded, depicted the Lone Ranger astride Silver, right arm raised and holding a coiled lasso. The first use of the painting was as a full page newspaper advertisement for the Lone Ranger newspaper strip. One such was the September 11, 1938 issue of the Sunday Chicago Herald and Examiner. The painting went on to become the first iconic image of The Lone Ranger, featured on give-away pictures, games, and other premiums and licensed products. Although almost a fourth of it was cropped, it also was published as the cover art for the 1938 Whitman Big Little Book, The Lone Ranger and the Menace of Murder Valley.

H. J. WARD

1939 GIVE-AWAY OF THE SECOND WARD

LONE RANGER PAINTING THAT BECAME THE SECOND ICONIC IMAGE

1940 COLOR GIVE-AWAY OF THE PAINTING THAT WAS A

BOND BREAD ITEM

1938 COLOR GIVE-AWAY USING THE BLACK AND WHITE PAINTING

THAT WAS USED FOR THE BLB COVER (It is mounted on a wood tile)

1938 7-UP BLACK AND WHITE

PERSONALIZED GIVE-AWAY

1716

THE BLB THE WARD PAINTING

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18 19

Between 1937 and 1944 (only a year before he passed away) Ward painted sixteen paintings depicting the Lone Ranger, seven for The Lone Ranger Magazine, and another seven for George W. Trendle. All of the paintings commissioned by Trendle, with the exception of one which Ward noted in his record book as “Not Repro,” were eventually used as give-away pictures for reporters and fans. One of these paintings, painted in 1938, subject: “Silver Running,” was to become the second iconic image of the Lone Ranger, used from 1939 well into the 1950s (although the later ones had some changes incorporated). With the exception of the one used for the Big Little Book cover, Ward was paid $125 for each of the others.

While the original painting used on the Big Little Book was painted in black and white, several of the reproductions used for premiums were colored, but none of these seem to duplicate the coloring used on the BLB cover. It could be speculated that Robert Weisman colored the black and white photograph given to Whitman by Trendle. There may, however, be another answer as to who colored the cover. In the late 1930s Gerald Gregg, an artist working for the Western Printing and Lithographing Company, one day happened to watch a man using an airbrush to re-touch photographs. Intrigued Gregg asked Russell Stone, then Western’s art director, to allow him to try the technique. Soon Gregg was utilizing the airbrush for covers of Big Little Books. Eventually, when Western began producing paperbacks for Dell, Gregg used the airbrush to produce covers for these paper bound books. Could Gregg have used the airbrush on the picture used for the cover of The Lone Ranger and the Menace of Murder Valley? Probably no one will ever know, but it is an intriguing speculation. At least Hugh Joseph Ward will finally be acknowledged as the cover artist for this particular Big Little Book.

Sources:

1. Ward, H. J., Record Books, 1937-1944. 2. Holland, Dave, From Out of the Past: A Pictorial History of the Lone Ranger, Holland House, 1988. 3. Hake, Ted, Official Price Guide to Pop Culture Memorabilia: 150 Years of Character Toys & Collectibles, House of Collectibles, 2008. 4. Mechem, Neil, “Damsels in Distress: The Art of H. J. Ward,” Pulp Tales No. 2, 2000. 5. Lyles, William H., Putting Dell on the Map: A History of the Dell Paperbacks, Greenwood Press, 1983. 6. Wilson, Buck (pseudonym of Gaylord Dubois), The Lone Ranger and the Menace of Murder Valley, Whitman Publishing Co., 1938.

WARD’S FIRST COVER FOR

The Lone Ranger Magazine May 1937

WARD COVER FOR

THE FIRST ISSUE OF Spicy Western Stories

Portrait of a Club Member

BOB WEBERBIG LIT TLE BOOK CLUB MEMBER #1193, CARTOONIST,

and ALL-AROUND GOOD GUY

by Walt Needham (Member #1102)

Once you meet Bob Weber you will never forget him. Physically he is a very imposing man, tall, with white hair combed in pompadour style, and possessing an ever ready smile. However especially most memorable is his personality which is outgoing, enthusiastic, filled with good humor, and crowned with a broad knowledge of popular culture, especially cartooning and movies. He has a scholar’s knowledge of big little books and can usually come up with a personal story of many of the artists who created them.

Born in Baltimore in 1934, Bob was raised by his parents along with five brothers and two sisters. He began drawing early in life, his work appearing in various school publications over the years. By the time he was 13 Bob had decided to become a cartoonist. Financial pressures and the need to make a living insured that his was not an easy path, however. He learned his craft as he drew single panel cartoons for industrial journals and magazines that offered their readers a quick laugh. He was able to sell gags to established cartoonists and began to develop a reputation in the field. He traveled between Baltimore and New York his time spent both holding down industrial jobs and attempting to become established as a cartoonist. During this time he attended New York’s famed School of Visual Arts.

Bob credits cartoonist Orlando Busino for encouraging him, along with his wife’s support, to move his family to New York on a permanent basis. Bob and Orlando have developed an active and close friendship that endures today. Dick Cavelli provided his first job as a full-time cartoonist, Bob being employed as Cavelli’s assistant. Subsequently he, Busino, and Cavelli moved to Connecticut where they could enjoy country life but still be close to New York. Cartoonists at that time made their rounds, hoping to sell their work to the various magazine editors who were located there.

In 1965 King Features published Bob’s first comic strip, Moose Miller, a “family” comic which appeared both daily and on Sundays throughout the country. Moose at that time was a good natured but lazy chap who imposed on his neighbors, and avoided employment in a variety of creative ways. Moose has become increasingly likeable and more devoted to his spouse over the years, the name of the strip being changed in 1998 to Moose & Molly. It is remarkably traditional in many ways. Molly wears an apron for example and is imperious to new fashions. Moose and Molly have a loyal, heart-warming and accepting relationship between them although their families present various transient difficulties. At times, the plot of the comic will illustrate their affection for each other rather than provide a gag. Bob’s friends often find their names in Moose & Molly under surprising circumstances.

2120

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Bob always gives his readers their monies-worth with many background objects and new characters, drawn in the early “big foot” style. Doing this lately has been made more difficult as newspapers have been reducing the size of their comics. Bob has adapted to this in a creative way by using fewer panels to tell his story. Moose and Molly has remarkable newspaper longevity, lasting for well over 40 years. Readers are devoted to his efforts and when an editor has tried to drop the strip to limit the number of comics or add a new strip, this decision has often been over-ruled by a barrage of letters from Moose’s fans. Moose and Molly has become literally one of a kind.

Although Moose and Molly continues, in 1987 Bob collaborated with his son, Bob Jr., in creating the extremely successful Slylock Fox and Comics for Kids. It is also syndicated by King Features. This strip consists of puzzles, riddles, and even drawing lessons that appeal to a wide range of ages. In 2006 Wikipedia estimated that it reached over 30 million readers. It has won awards for its educational merits from USA Today and Best of the Net.

Bob is very much a teacher, this being an activity which he enjoys so much that at times he feels that he should not receive a gratuity. He often “forgets” to cash those checks he receives in payment. He has taught cartooning at the Smithsonian Institute and continues to give cartooning classes at various schools and libraries. At present Bob divides his time between Connecticut, Arizona, and Maryland. Besides at his drawing desk and in the classroom, you can find him at Sons of the Desert (Laurel & Hardy) meetings, slapstick festivals, old-time radio gatherings, and film conventions.

2322 24 25

COLLECTOR’S CORNERLaurie Powers is a writer with a blog (www.lauriepowerswildwest.blogspot.com) and a website (www.pulpwriter.com). Her blog includes articles, and recently she reviewed the new Dream City book in which BLBs and comic characters play an important part. Laurie has written many reviews and books.

One of Laurie’s books, Pulp Writer, has special interest to collectors in our Club. Her grandfather, Paul S. Powers, was a free-lance writer during the 1930s. He wrote many Western tales for pulp magazines. Some of those tales were adapted by Saalfield and published as Little Big Books and Jumbo Books.

Under the name Ward Stevens, Paul S. Powers wrote The Ranger and the Cowboy, Buckskin and Bullets, Desert Justice, and Spook Riders on the Overland. The characters in these stories were big names in the pulps: Sonny Tabor, Kid Wolf, and Freckles Malone. A look at the cover illustration of a Street and Smiths Wild West Weekly, clearly told you who were the featured characters.

Powers also wrote western novelettes for Thrilling Western, Popular Western, and Weird Tales.

• • •

Jerry O’Hara, Member #1315, recently put up for sale a Tim Tyler BLB that was released as a sample for sales purposes. It tells the retailer how much the books cost wholesale in quantity units. Sample books have shown up from time to time with retail information attached. They are a very scarce BLB collectible.

• • •

Ken Ladd, Member #1172, sent a note and a picture saying that “not only did Henry Vallely draw fine pictures for many Big Little Books, but he drew pictures for painting/coloring books as well.”

Ken has the Whitman Lone Ranger Paint Book that was drawn by Vallely. On the first page it says “Drawings by H. E. Vallely”. The book has a 1940 copyright date.

LAURIE’S BOOK

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26 27

2928

HIGH GRADE BLBs FOR SALELarry Johnston 4171 Pepper Avenue, Yorba Linda, CA 92886

[email protected] (714) 345-6111

Shipping is $5 or free on orders of 3 books or more. Insurance is extra.

NOTE: This listing is exclusive for BLB Club Members, but hurry if you want any items because after September 15, the list will go out to a public auction.

Larry Johnston 4171 Pepper Avenue, Yorba Linda, CA [email protected]

(714) 345-6111Shipping is $5 or free on orders of 3 books or more. Insurance is extra.

NOTE: This listing is exclusive for BLB Club Members, but hurry if you want any items because after September 15, the list will go out to a public auction.

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FOR SALE

Over 10,000 comic books 1930-1990

Disney items

Almost all Dell Disney Comics and Stories

from 1940-1990s

Carl Barks lithographs wholesale

Still have some Chronicle books left + 1400 series BLBs

in FINE to NEAR MINT

Send want lists toJERRY JURMAN (Member #362)

75 Parkway DriveSyosset, NY 11791

WANTED

Collector buys tickets for network radio and TV show

broadcasts, previews, and tapings 1925-1975.

Send e-mail to [email protected] for a prompt reply.

RICK PAYNE (Member #1300)974 Ridge Crest Dr.

Gahanna, Ohio 43230

FOR SALE

BLBs recently found stored for decades in an old trunk. Many in VF

to NM condition.

Send email request [email protected] I’ll return an attached list.

STEVE ROBINSON (Member #840)

CLASSIFIED ADSFOR SALE

Over 150 BLBs and related items. Most are FN to MT. Many rare, very rare, and scarce books. Pictures upon

request.For list send SASE to:

BRYAN CAMPBELL (Member #977)709 Brookside PlaceColwich, KS 67030

or call 1-316-796-0650 evenings pleaseor by internet:

[email protected]

ART FOR SALE

Western art from the cowboy artist

Member #1165 at

www.etsy.comthen put in CM Okerwall in search.

Happy Trails to all BLB Lovers.

CONRAD OKERWALL (Member #1165)[email protected]

WANTED

High grade 3-color softcoverBig Little Books

Also 4-color versionsin FINE condition

320 page Paint books

576 page hard cover Mother Goose

LARRY JOHNSTON (Member #681)[email protected]

or(714) 345-6111

WANTED

Fast Action books Dick Tracy and the Frozen Bullet GangFlash Gordon and the Ape Men of Mor

SaalfieldChandu the Magician

All books to be FINE or BETTER

JACK SWORD (Member #200)(310) 937-2232

[email protected]

WANTED

Children’s items and other neat, different, unique,

odd, curios, strange, odd ball, weird, wonderful, items from the New York

Worlds Fair of 1939.Lamps, lunch boxes, 3-D, radios, etc.

Must be in nice condition.Save this ad.

Call

ANDREW MARTIN (Member #567)202-726-3995

Or e-mail: [email protected] and good hunting!

WANTED

In VFN or BETTER condition.

Bugs Bunny #1435 Whitman All Pictures BLBMickey Mouse and Pluto #16

Dell Fast Action bookThe Practical Pig #1095

Disney hard cover

DICK HOFFMAN (Member #223)348 Walnut Lane

Youngstown, NY 14174(716) 745-9534

30 31

CLASSIFIED ADSFOR SALE

7 mags Astounding S.F. 1950(before analog)

Good to VGMarch, May, July, August, October,

November, DecemberNew Stories: Heinlein Bush,

Paul AndersonFirst article on Dianetics,

Ron Hubbard. Best offer over $4.00 ea.

$5.00 postage.

BOB WILDERMAN (Member #946)11814 Beckett Fall

Florissant, MO 63033

FOR SALE

Four Big Little Books: Lone Ranger GW241 #1465

GOOD $10.00; Mandrake the Magician SW10 #1431

FAIR $10.00; Buck Rogers SW13 #1437

FAIR $15.00; Vic Sands SW199 #1455

VERY GOOD $25.00 plus postage on each.

All 4 for $50.00 plus postage.

Contact:lostumbo@comcast .net

or call(301) 983-9066

WANTED

Looking forBuck Jones items

MELBOURNE ROBISON (Member #125)3825 Wagoneer

Reno, Nevada 84507