Heading: 1st Standard-Sized Comic Book
Author:
Title: NEW COMICS No. 1
Place Published:
Publisher:DC [Indicia: National Allied Newspaper Syndicate Inc.]
Date Published: December, 1935
Description: CGC certified: Poor (0.5): Restored (C-1). Grader's notes: "Missing interior part/page/wrap page(s) 11-13 affects story; missing interior part/page/wrap page(s) 20-25 affects story; missing interior part/page/wrap page(s) 28-32 affects story; tape spine; small amount of glue on multi wrap & interior spine." Light tan to off-white pages. Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.

GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. Lowest-graded Restored sale is a 4.0 (A-3) that sold for $2629 in 2017. For comparison purposes, an unrestored 1.0 sold for $650 in 2017.

Overstreet: "Billy the Kid, Sagebrush 'n' Cactus, Jibby Jones, Needles, the Vikings, Sir Loin of Beef, Now When I Was a Boy, and other 1-2 page strips; 2 pages Walt Kelly art (1st); Sheldon Mayer art (1st); Vincent Sullivan cover (1st)." CGC Census: 20 graded copies (9 Universal, 1 Qualified, 10 Restored). Gerber Photo-Journal Guide Scarcity Index: 7 ("Scarce: 21-50 copies").

Credits: Cover: Vin Sullivan. Scripts: Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Leo O'Mealia, R. G. Leffingwell, Whitney Ellsworth, Sheldon Mayer, Joe Archibald, Al Stahl, Bo Brown, A. D. Kiefer, Stan Randall, Ellis Edwards, Jonathan Swift?, Matt Curzon, Emma McKean, Dave Ruth, Tom Cooper, Joe Archibald, Vin Sullivan, Clem Gretter, R. H. Livingstone. Art: Leo O'Mealia, R. G. Leffingwell, Whitney Ellsworth, R. H. Livingstone, Sheldon Mayer, Joe Archibald, Al Stahl, Bo Brown, Tom Cooper, Henry Kiefer, Stan Randall, Ellis Edwards, Walt Kelly, Matt Curzon, Emma McKean, Dave Ruth, Joe Archibald, Jon Blummer, Vin Sullivan, Clem Gretter, Rafael Astarita.Tapped by Taschen: The DC Universe Collection copy of New Comics #1 is illustrated in Taschen's 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking (page 26), with the following commentary: "With the publication of its second title in 1935, DC continued to grow, adding some 40,000 more issues in the next 75 years."

Something New: "Adventure Comics began its nearly 50-year run in December 1935 under the title New Comics, which was only the second comic book series published by National Allied Publications, now DC Comics. The series was retitled New Adventure Comics with its 12th issue in January 1937. Issue #32 (November 1938) saw the title changed again to Adventure Comics, which would remain the book's name for the duration of its existence.
"Originally a humor series, it evolved into a serious adventure series, which helped give it a focus distinct from its sister title New Fun/More Fun and prompted its own title change to New Adventure. New Comics also pioneered the half-tabloid-size that would soon become the standard size for American comic books. It was followed almost immediately by New Fun, which switched to the new size when it became More Fun Comics." — 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.