*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: This is a strange one from the Bute Collection. Back in 1941, 50 cents would have bought this mammoth tome. Its 324 pages contained various Fawcett comics published in their entirety minus covers. It was in fact the first of 7 such seasonal giants published in the 1940s. The contents comprise New Captain Marvel Adventures #3, Bulletman #2, Whiz Comics #21, Wow Comics #3 and Master Comics #18, all from 1941, so you get Captain Marvel, Spy Smasher, Mr Scarlet, Minuteman, Bulletman & Bulletgirl and loads of other heroes and villains including Sivana and Hitler. Originally thought to be unsold rebound copies, the current thinking is that they were extra copies from the original print runs set aside specifically for these festive treats. This is a decent copy with strong binding and an intact spine. Surplus glue can be seen along the inside spines front and back, but all of the few copies we have seen online appear to be the same. The cover has bright, vivid colours and the back cover has a great ad for Whiz Comics in full colour featuring Captain Nazi. Page quality is pretty good; one or two taped tears and/or missing corner margins, but nothing horrible. You probably won’t get many chances to pick up this ‘Giant Xmas Gift For Every Boy And Girl’! High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: XMAS COMICS #1 VG £800