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Author:
Title: NEW ADVENTURE COMICS No. 12
Place Published:
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Nicholson Publishing Co. Inc.]
Date Published: January, 1937
Description: CGC certified: Poor (0.5). Grader's notes: "Spine of cover completely split & re-attached with tape; tape cover; tape interior cover; wrong back cover; heavy staining to cover." Cream to off-white pages. Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.

GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. Lowest-graded sale is a 2.5 that sold for $1225 in 6/22.

Overstreet: "Federal Men by Siegel & Shuster continues; Jor-L mentioned; Whitney Ellsworth covers begin." CGC Census: 10 graded copies (8 Universal, 2 Restored). Gerber Photo-Journal Guide Scarcity Index: 8 ("Rare: 11-20 copies").

Credits: Cover: Whitney Ellsworth. Scripts: Homer Fleming, Richard Speed, Whitney Ellsworth, Russell Cole, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Ed Beckwith, Boody Rogers, Tom Cooper, Leo O'Mealia, Bill Patrick, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Vin Sullivan, Leroy Smith, Tom Hickey, Richard Matheson, Dick Ryan, Creig Flessel, Ed Beckwith, Merna Gamble, Ellis Edwards, Bill Carney, Jerry Siegel. Art: Homer Fleming, Richard Speed, Whitney Ellsworth, Russell Cole, Alex Lovy, Bill Patrick, Sven Elven, Munson Paddock, Boody Rogers, Tom Cooper, Leo O'Mealia, Henry Kiefer, Vin Sullivan, Leroy Smith, Tom Hickey, Richard Matheson, Dick Ryan, Creig Flessel, Merna Gamble, Ellis Edwards, Bill Carney, Joe Shuster.Superman's Pop Prototype? "Not many people know that a Jor-El character, who would later be rewritten to be Superman's father, made an early tryout appearance in what was then New Adventure Comics #12. In January 1937 (one year before Action Comics #1 hit the newsstands), New Adventure Comics featured the story called 'Federal Men'. Set in the year 3000, this story featured both Jor-El (called simply 'an alien') and a futuristic detective. The story was written and drawn by a young creative team called Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster." — Blaise Tassone, "Superman's Other Books: The Overlooked Keys, Part 3." GoCollect.com, May 25, 2018.

Tapped by Taschen: The DC Universe Collection copy of New Adventure Comics #12 is illustrated in Taschen's 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking (p. 13), captioned: "New Comics began its three-issue transformation into Adventure with this cover by Ellsworth, who had started out as a 'ghost' on the 'Dumb Dora' and 'Tillie the Toiler' newspaper strips before joining National's staff. Ellsworth would later become DC's editorial director and its first Hollywood-based producer."****************************************
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.