Author:
Title: ZAP COMIX No. 1 * Charles Plymell 1st Printing
Place Published:
Publisher:Apex Novelties
Date Published: November, 1967
Description: CGC certified: FN (6.0). Cream to off-white pages. Grader notes: Light soiling on cover; light staining to cover; moderate finger bends on cover; moderate spine stress lines to cover.

CGC Census: 137 graded copies (134 Universal, 2 Qualified, 1 Signature Series).

GPAnalysis: No equivalent reported sales in this grade. A 5.5 sold for $2040 in 6/19; a 6.5 sold for $1440 in 4/23.

Credits: Robert Crumb story, cover and art. Charles Plymell edition. First printing with correct issue points as noted in Jay Kennedy's Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide: "Has a $.25 cover price and says 'Printed by Charles Plymell' on the back cover." The Action Comics #1 of the underground. "Don Donohue... got all jazzed about putting out Zap Comix. As I recall, he traded his hi-fi to this small-time printer, Charles Plymell, in exchange for printing the first issue. Plymell, an older hipster from Wichita, owned a small press., a Multi-Lith 1250. Soon after that Donohue bought the press and learned how to run it himself. Many of the early underground comics were printed by him on that thing.... We folded and stapled all 5,000 copies [of Zap #1] ourselves, and took them out to sell on the streets. – R. Crumb, The Complete Crumb Comics Vol. 4 [Fantagraphics: 1989]. Note that while Crumb specifies a print run of 5000 copies, Plymell gives the print run as 1500.______________________________________________________________

A limited edition of ten hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a few dozen softcovers. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with obscure facts, gags, bon mots. Softcovers are $40, deluxe hardcovers with dust jackets and limitation plates are $200. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Summer 2024 Comic Book sale. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Find out why PBA is the new fan-fave of funnybook fiends. "This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books... Priceless." – R. Crumb. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Coming Soon: The DC Universe Collection Part 3: The Golden Age (August 2024) and Weird Tales and Amazing Stories: The PBA Pulp Sale (September 2024). Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com to get on the notifications list.