Auctions: comic books published by Columbia Comics Group

Big Shot Comics (1940) 27 CGC 6.5

Paper: Off white

Label #1497202002

Cover by Ogden Whitney. Stories and art by Boody Rogers, Gardner Fox, Ham Fisher, Ray McGill, Bart Tumey, Mart Bailey, Alfred Andriola, J. P. McEvoy, John Striebel, and Ogden Whitney. Big Shot featured reprints of McNaught Syndicate humor and adventure strips, alongside original characters like Skyman and The Face. After super-powered baby Halfpint strikes Senator Fiddlestring, the politician's words all come out backwards, and Sparky Watts must remedy the situation without making it worse. Rocky Ryan goes deep behind enemy lines in the heart of Asia to save Betty, a US agent. En route to Hollywood to make a movie, Joe gets out of a sticky situation when Knobby pulls some strings. Interestingly, while the Charlie Chan comic strip was discontinued at this time (as WWII began), Columbia continued running the strip reprints in Big Shot. Escape; Skyman; Sparky Watts; Captain Devildog; Joe Palooka; The Cloak; Kid Komics; Rocky Ryan; Dixie Dugan; Charlie Chan; The Face. 56 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.

Joe Palooka (1942 Columbia) 4 PR 0.5

INCOMPLETE. Centerfold missing, interrupts art and story.

Cover by Ham Fisher. Stories and art by Ham Fisher. Columbia Comics presents the first comic-book collection of the classic Joe Palooka comic strip, about the adventures of a good-hearted boxer. This issue reprints the WWII strips in which Joe enlists in the military and infiltrates Nazi-held Europe before the Normandy Invasion. Introduction by Ham Fisher offers some behind-the-scenes info on Joe Palooka's entry into the war, and the response to the strip from Free France. Plus a vintage ad for a book on how to identify warplanes from the ground, a hot topic on the home front during WWII. Also featuring a vintage ad for the Glow in the Dark Necktie ("Girls Can't Resist!"). Final issue of the series. 52 pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.10.