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[darkmark]

This will probably never get posted, on account of I don't think anybody'll ever turn up a copy.  But TOPS COMICS was an experimental, LIFE Magazine-sized comic book started by Charlie Biro in the postwar years, with non-continuing character stories, something like the later EC's.  Reed Crandall was one of the artists featured therein.  I believe it ran all of two issues before Gleason pulled the plug on it.  It'll probably never turn up, but if it does, I want it!

[narfstar]

Life magazine or digest size?  Lev Gleason did several Tops Comics in digest size.  I have two of them one is posted here with Jack of Hearts.  Several are on ebay now but more than I can afford.
http://cgi.ebay.com/1944-Tops-Comics-RIP-RAIDER-2002-VF-Lev-Gleason_W0QQitemZ350044136658QQihZ022QQcategoryZ3974QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/1944-Tops-Comics-RED-BIRCH-2003-VF-NM-Lev-Gleason_W0QQitemZ370039009232QQihZ024QQcategoryZ3972QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/1944-Tops-Comics-JACK-Of-SPADES-2001-VF-Lev-Gleason_W0QQitemZ350044136277QQihZ022QQcategoryZ68QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-1944-Tops-Comics-DONT-BOTHER-2004-VF-Gleason_W0QQitemZ370039009124QQihZ024QQcategoryZ3972QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Aussie500]

l believe darkmark might be talking about the 1949 Tops which only had two issues and was magazine sized with 68 pages, being rare they go for a price most of us could never afford.

[Yoc]

Thanks for the info and covers Aussie!

[Aussie500]

Actually these ones were a bargain.
http://www.comiclink.com/itemdetail.asp?back=%2Fsubsection%2Easp%3Fid%3D1485%26pg%3D3&id=729272
http://www.comiclink.com/subsection.asp?id=1485&pg=3
There is already someone on the waitlist if the sale falls through, but you could always try and see if two fail to close the deal. Personally l think it is just an automatic thing they do when they are sold, but it was nice it was still available for us to see the photo's.



Seems comics aimed at adults were news back then, the publicity photo's from the above lot show Charles Biro reading from the premier issue of Tops during a radio show, or perhaps it was just that comics were more popular back then.

[John C]

Life magazine or digest size?  Lev Gleason did several Tops Comics in digest size.  I have two of them one is posted here with Jack of Hearts.

Is there a known connection between Gleason and the digest-sized Tops?  I also have a couple (also including Jack of Hearts), and don't see any evidence that Gleason was involved.  Was Consolidated a related company?

Oh, also, any idea whether this is the same Consolidated that put out Key and Lucky Comics?

[narfstar]

I do not know if they are connected other than the name.

[Aussie500]

Consolidated Book Publishers were a surrogate publisher during the wartime paper shortages, so they published the digest size Tops for Lev Gleason supposedly, they could have published them for someone else, that is about as far as l have gotten so far on the Consolidated story. l will eventually make a Consolidated section, l am not going to guarantee l am going to explain to much about the individual titles and how exactly they came to be published by Consolidated, that could take a lot of research to figure out.

[John C]

Thanks!  That's much more information than I've been able to find for myself.

[narfstar]

Aussie if you ever get the chance to do the research please pass it on.  I would love to know more about the various surrugate publishers.  I would love to know the story about how Witty Comics #2 and Lucky 7 seem to have switched covers.