[OtherEric]

So, I just got an old comic that had a half-page ad for Prize and Headline comics.  Only it wasn't from the Prize group, it was Adventure 85 from DC!  This is the second old DC I've found recently that had an ad for a non-DC book; I got a copy of More Fun 124 a couple months ago that had a full page ad for the Kilroys on the inside back cover.  I know this wasn't that common- I may not have a huge precode DC collection but it's not like my precode Marvel collection which I can count on my fingers.  Has anybody else seen this before?  Ads for related products show up now and then but ads for other companies books is really unusual.

Oh, and on a completely different subject related to the Adventure 85:  Simon & Kirby had stopped drawing Manhunter at this point, but the GCD credits Kirby as writer.  Is this just a wild guess by somebody, or did Kirby do writing for stories he wasn't drawing but were from his shop at this point? 

[JonTheScanner]

I've seen ads for ACGs and Prize comics in DCs before. I don't recall seeing other companies.

[Yoc]

Jim or Ed Love can better explain these things Eric.  There was something to do with a son-in-law running Prize so they'd do each other favours. 
I believe there's a Timely ad in a Silver Streak or vice versa very early on too.

-Foggy Yoc

[phabox]

Its amazing how closely many of the Golden Age publishers were linked together.

I believe one of the founders of MLJ worked as an accountant for Timely and at one point even tried 'headhunting' Simon and Kirby.

Of course nearly 20 years later S&K did wind up at the company formerly known as MLJ when they did The Fly and Private Strong for Archie Comics.

-Nigel

[boox909]

Its amazing how closely many of the Golden Age publishers were linked together.

I believe one of the founders of MLJ worked as an accountant for Timely and at one point even tried 'headhunting' Simon and Kirby.

Of course nearly 20 years later S&K did wind up at the company formerly known as MLJ when they did The Fly and Private Strong for Archie Comics.

-Nigel

Hi Nigel!

Joe Simon did share the story that Goldwater tried to recruit himself & Kirby from Timely -- IN FRONT of Martin Goodman! :-) That had to be a hoot...

The source for this info is from the recent Captain America #600, "My Bulletin Board -- by Joe Simon".

B. 

[darkmark]

Kirby very possibly was the writer of that issue of Adventure.  One writer detective in the know (Rich Morrissey?) asserted that the first two Captain America issues without Kirby art were drawn from Kirby scripts.  So it's not impossible...actually, more possible than the Timely sitch...that another artist took over Jack's script and drew it in a pinch.

[Ed Love]

I noticed that Prize Ad as well. Don't recall what book I was looking through, but it was a surprise seeing the ad for Yank & Doodle in a DC book!

I don't really know all that much about the way the companies overlap and the many individuals that worked there and the inter-company politics. I like reading about the creators, the artists and writers, but the rest, the accountants, payroll clerks... My eyes glaze over usually within five minutes reading that kind of material. A few nuggets will stick out with me or a specific case when looking into something concerning the characters, it usually starts at the character level for me. Some of how they did business and the ramifications today seem byzantine such as the studios providing packages for different companies and characters traveling from one to another, sometimes with a name change, sometimes not. Of all characters why does Dan Hastings get published by almost every company not DC or Timely? I can understand Phantom Lady ending up at 3 different companies, but Dan Hastings?

[darkmark]

That's because certain characters were produced by shops and tended to move around when the shops did.  In addition to Dan Hastings, there was Lucky Coyne, Little Nemo, and even Bob Phantom before the last became an MLJ costumed hero.

[phabox]

Often a creator would take a character with him when he moved from one company to another.

George Brenner and 'The Clock' being a good example.

-Nigel

[Ed Love]

Oh, I know that. It makes tracking copyrights a bit interesting. Just that of all characters, Dan Hastings? No one outside of a small subset of comic fandom would have any idea today who that character is, yet he sure got around back in the day.

Anyone have a scan of the earlier Bob Phantom btw? Other than his name and a reference to him, I've never seen any real info on the character and strip that I almost consider him more mythical than real.

[John C]

A classic example of a "wrong company" ad page has got to be the Mechanix Illustrated piece with Captain Marvel standing by.  I think I've seen it turn up in more than a few non-Fawcett books, and is often billed on eBay as a Captain Marvel appearance.  Which it is, I suppose...

[boox909]

That's because certain characters were produced by shops and tended to move around when the shops did.  In addition to Dan Hastings, there was Lucky Coyne, Little Nemo, and even Bob Phantom before the last became an MLJ costumed hero.

A friend of mine told me about an ongoing conversation regarding Dan Hastings in an apa called PEEPS.


We are fortunate to have a number of his appearances here on GA-UK.

B. 

[Yoc]

Marvel Mystery Comics #2's ifc has an ad for Silver Streak Comics #1.
Both books were produced by the same comics packager so it makes some sense.
Lots of cross pollination in the golden age.

-Yoc