Walter Gibson & Blackstone Launch Super-Magic Comics, Up for Auction

Harry Blackstone Sr. (1885-1965) was some of the well-known and profitable magicians of his or any period. At the age of 13, Blackstone was impressed by seeing legendary magician Harry Kellar carry out in Chicago in 1898.  Blackstone’s profession spanned greater than 4 a long time, throughout which he toured extensively all through the United States and Canada. He helped to popularize magic as an leisure type within the twentieth century, and he was very efficient at advertising and marketing himself with the assistance of Shadow creator Walter Gibson amongst others.  A magician himself, Gibson wrote extensively about magic, together with ghost-writing articles for Harry Houdini and Blackstone, and writing comics and a radio present based mostly on the fictional adventures of Blackstone.  It was Gibson who advised that Blackstone get into the comedian e book enterprise with Shadow writer Street & Smith, and the end result was Super-Magic Comics #1, quickly retitled Super-Magician Comics.  There’s a Super Magic Comics #1 (Street & Smith, 1941) Condition: Apparent GD+ and several other of problems with Super-Magician Comics plus a few of Marvel/Timely’s Blackstone the Magician up for public sale within the 2023 April Sept. 11 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122315 at Heritage Auctions.

In his 1985 e book The Blackstone Book of Magic & Illusion, Blackstone’s son, Harry Blackstone, Jr., described how the unique Street & Smith Blackstone comedian e book collection took place.  “Since the average run of a comic book was 200,000 copies in those days, Gibson made the proposition particularly attractive to the publishers by offering to have my father buy 50,000 of the press run at five cents per copy (the newsstand price for a comic book in the 1940s was ten cents). My father, in turn, would offer these comics as a premium to children at his matinees, and the theatre managers would pay half the newsstand price of the comics distributed for this promotion. For an additional nickel a ticket, the theatres’ business was increased and the books thus cost my father nothing. Gibson wrote the first issue on the train from Boston to New York, and the Street and Smith editors were delighted with the adventures he had concocted.”

While the youthful Blackstone’s e book asserts that the title change to Super-Magician Comics was “to put more emphasis on Blackstone”, it is doubtless that the primary Super-Magic Comics difficulty bumped into some objections from rival comedian e book publishers after that first difficulty.  Most notably, David McKay Company had been publishing a profitable month-to-month comedian e book collection titled Magic Comics, which featured extremely well-liked caricature magician Mandrake amongst different King Features Syndicate strips, since 1939.

It’s additionally value noting that Super-Magic Comics #1 contained a backup characteristic known as Rex King, Black Fury —  and there have been no fewer than three comedian options named Black Fury launched in early 1941.    Fantastic Comics #17 from writer Fox Feature Syndicate with a superhero character named Black Fury drawn by Dennis Neville hit newsstands round February 10, 1941.  Street & Smith’s Super-Magic Comics #1, debuted on newsstands round March 14, 1941.  And June Tarpé Mills‘ Black Fury caricature launched on March 31, 1941. While we won’t say for certain how subsequent issues might need performed out, Fox Feature Syndicate writer Victor Fox was infamous for authorized wrangling with rivals.  When Rex King returned in Super-Magician Comics #2, with a newsstand date of July 22, 1941, he had been renamed Rex King, Adventurer.  Black Fury was renamed Miss Fury on December 21, 1941.

Blackstone’s characteristic in Street & Smith’s Super-Magician Comics lasted till the March 1946 cover-dated difficulty, when a fictional magician known as Nigel Elliman was abruptly created to exchange him within the collection. Per a 1972 letter, Gibson states that he had a contract dispute with Street & Smith at the moment and “quit and went on the road with Blackstone the Magician for that season and part of the next,” which appears a probable cause for Blackstone’s exit from that writer.  What would comply with was a traditionally uncommon sequence of occasions for a comic book e book property of that period.

The very subsequent month, Blackstone, Master Magician Comics debuted from writer Vital Publications.  That collection lasted solely three points and was written by Gibson with paintings Elmer C. Stoner.  Vital Publications was run by Julien J. Proskauer, who was a magician himself greatest recognized for debunking fraudulent claims of mediums, and in addition the president of printing and publishing large William C. Popper & Co. Like Gibson, Proskauer appears to have had a number of ties to Blackstone.  There exists a signed contract between the three males for a proposed Blackstone’s Magic publication.  It additionally seems that William C. Popper & Co. revealed the 1945 Blackstone tour memento program e book with a canopy by legendary Captain Marvel comedian e book artist C.C. Beck. the 1946 tour program e book and how-to information known as Blackstone, World’s Master Magician, and the 1947 (additionally the 1948?) program e book, these final two with covers drawn by Elmer C. Stoner, the artist of the Vital Publications comedian collection.

But the Vital Publications comedian e book collection did not final very lengthy, regardless of Proskauer’s ongoing connections with each Blackstone and Gibson.  Blackstone comedian books subsequent flip up with Blackstone, the Magician Detective #1 from EC Comics. This collection lasted just one difficulty below EC, with the collection numbering persevering with with a Marvel/Timely collection for three further points. It has been advised that the EC Comics collection was minimize quick by the loss of life of founder M.C. Gaines that 12 months. This appears attainable and maybe doubtless, due to course, that would not have been the one course change made at EC Comics throughout this era.  Perhaps on level, the indicia of this difficulty names Gaines personally because the licensor, and never the publishing firm.

Notably, Proskauer had considerably uncommon enterprise ties with each Street & Smith and Timely, which could probably recommend that he had some hand within the destiny of the comedian title all through the interval.  Beyond the 1946 Vital Publications comedian collection and the William C. Popper & Co.-published objects, Vital Publications revealed at the very least two Blackstone comedian e book giveaways, in 1948 and 1949, one in all which additionally contains Timely-published materials.  Proskauer was within the Blackstone publishing enterprise all through this complete interval.

Meanwhile, Street & Smith’s Super-Magician Comics lasted for 9 points after Blackstone’s departure.  Two of the ultimate three points additionally featured legendary magician Houdini.  But Street & Smith was not fairly accomplished with magicians, subsequent giving common Super-Magician Comics backup character Red Dragon a second probability at his personal title.   The writer had launched the short-lived Red Dragon Comics quantity one in 1943 and briefly tried the title once more after the demise of Super-Magician Comics with the December-January 1947 difficulty.

A protracted-running collection with Golden Age collection that includes an essential Twentieth-century pop cultural phenomenon, there is a Super Magic Comics #1 (Street & Smith, 1941) Condition: Apparent GD+ and several other of problems with Super-Magician Comics plus a few of Marvel/Timely’s Blackstone the Magician up for public sale within the 2023 April Sept. 11 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122315 at Heritage Auctions.  If you have by no means bid at Heritage Auctions earlier than, you will get additional info, you may take a look at their FAQ on the bidding course of and associated issues.

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