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Author:
Title: NEW BOOK OF COMICS No. 2
Place Published:
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Nicholson Publishing Co. Inc.]
Date Published: Spring, 1938
Description: CGC certified: VG (4.0). Grader's notes: "Detached cover; light creasing to cover." Off-white to white pages. Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.

GPAnalysis: A 4.0 sold for $1854 in 4/22.

Overstreet: "Contains reprints More Fun #15 & 16; reprints Dr. Occult in costume (a Superman prototype), and Calling All Cars (4 pgs.) by Siegel & Shuster." CGC Census: 35 graded copies (30 Universal, 1 Qualified, 4 Restored). Gerber Photo-Journal Guide Scarcity Index: 8 ("Rare: 11-20 copies").

Credits: Cover: Various. Scripts: Russell Cole, W.C. Brigham?, Vin Sullivan, Jerry Siegel, Tom Cooper, Raymond Perry, Sven Elven?, Homer Fleming, Whitney Ellsworth, Ken Fitch, Bill Patrick, Rose MacKune, Alex Lovy?, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Creig Flessel?, Merna Gamble, Charles Dickens, Ellis Edwards. Art: Russell Cole, W.C. Brigham, Vin Sullivan, Joe Shuster, Tom Cooper, Raymond Perry, Creig Flessel, Sven Elven, Homer Fleming, Whitney Ellsworth, Clem Gretter, Bill Patrick, Alex Lovy, Munson Paddock, Merna Gamble, Ellis Edwards."New Book" Minutia: "This comic has no indicia or any other information to indicate its official publisher or date. It was most likely published by Nicholson Publishing Co., Inc., which has been publishing More Fun Comics and New Comics for the past year and a quarter, starting approximately with the issues reprinted herein. However, the "Spring 1938" publication date arguably aligns with the March-April and May 1938 cover-dated issues published by A.I. Menin, rec. Nicholson Publishing Co., Inc. while Nicholson Pub. Co., Inc. was in bankruptcy. The relationship between the publication of this issue and the bankruptcy proceedings and purchase of Nicholson's titles by Detective Comics, Inc. is unclear.

"The book consists of reprints of the outermost wraps of More Fun Comics #v2#3 [15] and #v2#4 (16) (with the latter nested inside the former), followed by the outermost wraps of New Comics #v1#11. This is *not* a rebinding, as some ads have been changed, the "It's a Dern Lie" feature on the final page of New Comics #v1#11 has been moved and replaced by an ad, and a feature from New Fun #v2#3 [15] appears in the middle of the #v2#4 (16) section.

"The inside front and back covers of this issue are completely blank, and the cover is made of a stiffer tagboard than the usual cover stock. Also, at the border between those two issues is a wrap with outer pages from #v2#3 [15] and inner pages from #v2#4 (16), clear proof that the originally printed signatures were not just rebound. Oddly, the inner break in the New Comics #v1#11 quire does not line up with the feature boundary, splicing a page off of each of the adjacent features." — Grand Comics Database.****************************************
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.