(Stock Image)
SOLD ON: Tuesday, 12/15/2020 8:31 PM
This auction has ended.
PUBLISHER: Centaur
COMMENTS: ow/white pgs; only 1 higher
SCARCE! 1st appearance Fantom of the Fair (7/39); Paul Gustavson cover/art
Atlantic City Copy
Highest Graded
Read Description ▼
ow/white pgs; only 1 higher
SCARCE! 1st appearance Fantom of the Fair (7/39); Paul Gustavson cover/art
Atlantic City Copy
Highest Graded
Amazing Mystery Funnies Vol. 2, #7 is a vital comic from the Golden Age, with Centaur Publications rushing out the first appearance of The Fantom of the Fair as one of the first superheroes to emerge in the wake of Action #1. (Centaur was also busy with the Masked Marvel and The Arrow, while the Fantom showed up on the newsstands alongside DC's Sandman and The Flame from Fox Publications.) This issue of Amazing Mystery Funnies is also a vital pop-culture curio for the Fantom's unique role as guardian of the 1939 New York World's Fair. The hero even has a "Crime Tracking Televisor" that allows him to watch over the event from his subterranean headquarters connected to a network of tunnels beneath the Fair. (DC Comics, of course, had also taken advantage of World's Fair fever by introducing the Sandman in New York World's Fair Comics #1.) The Fantom would go on to adventures beyond the scope of Flushing Meadows Park, but this is the first thrilling appearance for a true trailblazer in comics history. This vital book is a showcase for great art, too. Fantom creator Paul Gustavson claims that classic cover, while the interior features epic work from future Golden Age legends Bill Everett and Carl Burgos.
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Artists Information
Bill Everett was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner, as well as co-creating Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. Everett fell into comics almost by accident in the industry's earliest days, creating the character Amazing-Man for Centaur Publications in 1939. That same year saw Everett contributing the first Sub-Mariner story for Marvel Mystery Comics #1, the very first book from Timely Comics (which would eventually become Marvel Comics). Sub-Mariner would prove to be one of Timely's earliest hits, and Everett would continue drawing Namor's adventures until 1949. In the '50s, Everett would continue working for what was now Atlas Comics on numerous titles, occasionally reviving Sub-Mariner. With the explosion of the Marvel Age in the '60s, Everett joined Stan Lee in co-creating and drawing the first issue of Daredevil. He also found regular work contributing to Tales to Astonish and Strange Tales. The Sub-Mariner would return again in Tales to Astonish #85, continuing there (and then in his own title) with sporadic contributions from Everett. Bill Everett died suddenly at the age of 55 in 1973.
Carl Burgos, born Max Finkelstein is an american comic book and advertising artist who famously created the Human Torch for Marvel Comics #1. Burgos continued working throughout the Golden Age of comics as well as pursuing a career in commercial and advertising art. Carl's most notable works include the aforementioned Human Torch and Captain America comics.