MORE FUN COMICS #42 * Flessel Cover * Siegel & Shuster

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Author:
Title: MORE FUN COMICS No. 42
Place Published:
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics Inc.]
Date Published: April, 1939
Description: CGC certified: Good+ (2.5): Conserved. Grader's notes: "Moderate creasing to cover; moderate spine splits to cover; moderate staining to cover; staples replaced." Cream to off-white pages. Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.

GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A Restored 6.0 (SP) sold for $207 in 2012. For comparison purposes, a non-conserved 1.5 (Cosmic Aeroplane pedigree) sold for $1560 in 4/22.

CGC Census: 9 graded copies (7 Universal, 1 Qualified, 1 Restored). Gerber Photo-Journal Guide Scarcity Index: 6 ("Uncommon: 50-200 copies").

Credits: Cover: Creig Flessel. Scripts: Tom Hickey, Fred Schwab, Joe Donohoe, Jerry Siegel, Bob Jenney, Homer Fleming, Terry Gilkison, Bill Ely, Ken Browne, Bob Hirsch, Bernard Baily. Art: Tom Hickey, Fred Schwab, Joe Donohoe, Joe Shuster, Bob Jenney, Homer Fleming, Terry Gilkison, Bob Barton, Bill Ely, Ken Browne, Rusty Lehman, John Hampton, Bernard Baily.Crossed Swords and Supermen: By the time this mag hit the stands, Superman was a proven success and Batman's debut was one short month away. Soon, superheroes would take over More Fun, and the Golden Age of superheroes would be in full swing. Starting with this ish, the humor covers that dominated More Fun yielded to action-adventure imagery, a harbinger of the dawning age of heroes. It wasn't an easy transition, however. At first, publisher Harry Donenfeld lacked confidence in Superman's staying power — at least, until the sales reports for early Action Comics came in. "Donenfeld was initially repelled by the seemingly ridiculous fantasy of the character and ordered it never appear on the cover again. However, the property proved tremendously popular and profitable enough to change his mind by issue 7 to make 'Superman' the title's feature." — Wikipedia.
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