DETECTIVE COMICS #8 * Classic Creig Flessel Cover

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Author:
Title: DETECTIVE COMICS No. 8
Place Published:
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: October, 1937
Description: CGC certified: Good- (1.8): Restored (C-3). Grader's notes: "Detached centerfold; detached cover; worn/ ragged / tape centerfold; color touch on spine; moderate staining cover; moderate tape interior cover; piece added with tape spine C-3". Cream to off-white pages. Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.

GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A Restored 2.0 (SP) sold for $2032 in 2006). For comparison purposes, an unrestored 1.5 sold for $2700 in 8/22.

Overstreet: "Mr. Chang cover; classic cover." CGC Census: 34 graded copies (25 Universal, 2 Conserved, 7 Restored). Gerber Photo-Journal Guide Scarcity Index: 7 ("Scarce: 21-50 copies").

Credits: Cover: Creig Flessel. Scripts: Creig Flessel?, Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely), Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Vin Sullivan, Russell Cole (credited as Alger), Jerry Siegel (credited as Jerome Siegel), Homer Fleming (credited as H. Fleming). Art: Creig Flessel (credited as Fless), Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely), Sven Elven, Tom Hickey, Russell Cole (credited as Alger), Joe Shuster, Homer Fleming (credited as H. Fleming).Tapped by Taschen: The DC Universe Collection copy of Detective Comics #6 is given a full-page illustration in Taschen's 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking (page 34). Creig Flessel's cover, depicting an Asian chap greedily fondling a cache of pearls, was recycled almost a decade later by an uncredited artist (generally believed to be Flessel himself) for the cover of Green Publishing Co.'s Atomic Comics #1 (January 1946). See lots 157-164 in this sale for Atomic Comics and a fistful of other DC-derivative mags.

More About the Major: "Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson was born on January 7, 1890, in the mountains of Greeneville, Tennessee.... [His] military career began in the U.S. Cavalry in January of 1912. He was stationed on the Mexican border, under the command of John J. Pershing, chasing bandits. He went to the Philippines in 1915, commanding a troop of African American Buffalo soldiers. Seeing firsthand the prejudice his men endured, he was determined to train them into a first-rate machine-gun troop. His troop broke world records in machine-gun readiness, and in doing so earned Wheeler-Nicholson the ill will of his biased commanding officer. It would not be the last time his idealism would cause clashes with superior officers." — Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, "The Major Who Made Comics," Famous First Edition: New Fun #1, C-63. DC: 2019 (unpaginated).****************************************
The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION comprises over 40,000 comic books, encompassing every single DC comic published for retail sale from 1934 to 2014. The collection was amassed by British music producer Ian Levine over the course of several decades, and it's been hailed as the single greatest collecting accomplishment in comic book history. This collection served as the basis for former DC Comics president Paul Levitz's monumental book 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking, published by Taschen in 2017. PBA is proud to present this epic collection in a series of themed sales, including The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION Part 3: The GOLDEN AGE, coming this summer. To join the DC Universe Collection notifications list, contact pba@pbagalleries.com.

Enjoying PBA's DC Universe Collection: Pre-Hero, Ashcans and Oddities sale? A very small number of softcover and limited edition hardcover auction catalogues are available for purchase. The catalogues are fully illustrated, thoroughly researched, and make excellent reference works for DC diehards. To order a copy, or to inquire about consignment opportunities, contact Ivan Briggs, PBA's Director of Comics: ivan@pbagalleries.com.