Auctions: comic books July 1971

Air Pirates Funnies (1971) 1 CGC 9.4

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4346757002

Controversial parody discontinued due to Disney lawsuit. The Air Pirates were a group of cartoonists who created two issues of an underground comic called Air Pirates Funnies in 1971, leading to a famous lawsuit by The Walt Disney Company. Founded by Dan O'Neill, the group also included Shary Flenniken, Bobby London, Gary Hallgren, and Ted Richards. The collective shared a common interest in the styles of past masters of the comic strip: Flenniken emulated George McManus's Bringing Up Father in her Trots and Bonnie comics, London's strip Dirty Duck paid homage to the styles of E.C. Segar's Thimble Theater and George Herriman's Krazy Kat, and Richards' Dopin' Dan was similar to Mort Walker's Beetle Bailey. The original Air Pirates were a gang of Mickey Mouse antagonists of the 1930s; O'Neill regarded Mickey Mouse as a symbol of conformist hypocrisy in American culture, and therefore a ripe target for satire. The first issue of Air Pirates Funnies was dated July 1971, and the second issue dated August. Both were published under the Hell Comics imprint, and were distributed through Ron Turner's Last Gasp publishing company. The lead stories in both issues, created by O'Neill and Hallgren, focused on Walt Disney characters, most notably from Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse newspaper strip, with the Disney characters engaging in adult behaviors such as sex and drug consumption. O'Neill insisted it would dilute the parody to change the names of the characters, so his adventurous mouse character was called "Mickey" Cover price $0.50.

Fantastic Four (1961 1st Series) 112 CGC 8.0

Paper: White

Label #4388997012

"Battle of the Behemoths!" Guest-starring the Hulk. Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by John Buscema. Inks by Joe Sinnott. Cover by John Buscema and Frank Giacoia. One of the landmark FF issues of the bronze age! And an outstanding cover too! The Thing has been a one-man wrecking crew in tearing up the city over the past several hours! And Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, and New York's finest are helpless to stop him! But now...enter the Hulk! Wow! The Green Goliath and the blue-eyed idol of millions battle from cover to cover until only one man is left standing! It's clobberin' time! Cameo appearances by Agatha Harkness, Alicia Masters, Franklin, and J. Jonah Jameson. (Notes: This issue was reprinted in Hulk vs. Thing 1 (1999). The Hulk and the Thing previously fought one another in Fantastic Four (1st series) 25 and 26. The powerful pair battle again in Marvel Feature (1st series) 11 and one more time in Giant-Size Super-Stars 1.) 36 pages, full color. Cover price $0.15.

Fantastic Four (1961 1st Series) 112 FN 6.0

"Battle of the Behemoths!" Guest-starring the Hulk. Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by John Buscema. Inks by Joe Sinnott. Cover by John Buscema and Frank Giacoia. One of the landmark FF issues of the bronze age! And an outstanding cover too! The Thing has been a one-man wrecking crew in tearing up the city over the past several hours! And Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, and New York's finest are helpless to stop him! But now...enter the Hulk! Wow! The Green Goliath and the blue-eyed idol of millions battle from cover to cover until only one man is left standing! It's clobberin' time! Cameo appearances by Agatha Harkness, Alicia Masters, Franklin, and J. Jonah Jameson. (Notes: This issue was reprinted in Hulk vs. Thing 1 (1999). The Hulk and the Thing previously fought one another in Fantastic Four (1st series) 25 and 26. The powerful pair battle again in Marvel Feature (1st series) 11 and one more time in Giant-Size Super-Stars 1.) 36 pages, full color. Cover price $0.15.

Fantastic Four (1961 1st Series) 112 CGC 4.5

Paper: Off white to white

Slab: See item notes

Back of slab is cracked.

Label #4031289018

"Battle of the Behemoths!" Guest-starring the Hulk. Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by John Buscema. Inks by Joe Sinnott. Cover by John Buscema and Frank Giacoia. One of the landmark FF issues of the bronze age! And an outstanding cover too! The Thing has been a one-man wrecking crew in tearing up the city over the past several hours! And Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, and New York's finest are helpless to stop him! But now...enter the Hulk! Wow! The Green Goliath and the blue-eyed idol of millions battle from cover to cover until only one man is left standing! It's clobberin' time! Cameo appearances by Agatha Harkness, Alicia Masters, Franklin, and J. Jonah Jameson. (Notes: This issue was reprinted in Hulk vs. Thing 1 (1999). The Hulk and the Thing previously fought one another in Fantastic Four (1st series) 25 and 26. The powerful pair battle again in Marvel Feature (1st series) 11 and one more time in Giant-Size Super-Stars 1.) 36 pages, full color. Cover price $0.15.