Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: blue beetle, mystery men comics

Blue Beetle and the Legacy of the Mystery Men, Up for Auction

Published Mon, 01 Nov 2021 11:34:09 -0500

Victor Fox's Mystery Men Comics has an underrated place in the pantheon of historically important Golden Age comic book series. In addition to the 1939 debut and development of the Blue Beetle, the series features very early work by a number of important creators, like Will Eisner, George Tuska, Dick Briefer, Bob Powell and others. Perhaps most notably, artist Lou Fine is one of the most important and influential artists of the Golden Age of comics. A creator who made his mark on characters ranging from Black Condor and the Ray to Uncle Sam and the Spirit, Fine was an artist that others of his generation admired. Fellow Golden Age legend Joe Simon called him his favorite artist, and noted, "He was also Jack Kirby's favorite artist. I know that Jack was a fan of and greatly influenced by Fine's work". Comics featuring Fine's covers are highly sought after on that basis alone, and virtually all the comics he worked on have historical importance for many other reasons as well. There's a nice group of tough and important issues of Mystery Men Comics up for auction in the 2021 October 31-November 1 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122144 at Heritage Auctions.

In 2017, legendary collector and historian Jon Berk told Bleeding Cool about his love of Fox Features comics like Mystery Men Comics and others, as well as the difficulty in obtaining some of them:

My favorite cover is Mystery Men Comics #3. From there it triggered my interest in obtaining other Fox books, especially those by Lou Fine. I obtained most of the runs. ("Runs" are a dwindling commodity) However, I was able to put together the Fox runs. Some Church Fox books do not exist.) Slowly, with the help from some of the larger personas in the hobby, I was able to go beyond the runs, and collect the smaller runs like Science Comics. If I could not find the Church copy I would focus on the Larson copies. It took a while to put the Wonderworlds together (but I did).

Storing the books was done with mylites, acid free boards and "shurlocks". I kept everything in a room with a dehumidifier. "The Comic Room". The Fox books are special and were the ones I focused on. These books even beat out my Centaur and "pre-Centaurs" addiction. Blame it on the Fox cover artists.

A spectacular and important run of comics featuring Blue Beetle and other historic material along with covers by Lou Fine and a stand-out group of artists, there's a nice group of tough and important issues of Mystery Men Comics up for auction in the 2021 October 31-November 1 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122144 at Heritage Auctions.

Mystery Men Comics #4 (Fox, 1939) CGC FR 1.0 Off-white to white pages. Captain Savage begins. Lou Fine human sacrifice cover. Bob Powell, George Tuska, and Dick Briefer art. CGC notes, "Spine of cover completely split and re-attached with tape. Cover detached." Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $360. CGC census 10/21: 1 in 1.0, 15 higher.

Mystery Men Comics #5 (Fox, 1939) CGC GD- 1.8 Cream to off-white pages. Green Mask cover by Lou Fine. Dick Briefer, Klaus Nordling, George Tuska, and Bob Powell art. Text story by Will Eisner. Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $360. CGC census 10/21: 1 in 1.8, 20 higher.

Mystery Men Comics #6 (Fox, 1940) CGC Apparent GD/VG 3.0 Slight (C-1) Off-white pages. Blue Beetle and Green Mask appearances. George Tuska cover and art. Bob Powell, Dick Briefer, and Klaus Nordling art. CGC notes, "Restoration includes: small amount of glue on cover." Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $303.

Mystery Men Comics #15 (Fox, 1940) CBCS GD/VG 3.0 Cream to off-white pages. Blue Beetle cover. Green Mask, The Lynx, and Rex Dexter of Mars appearances. George Tuska and Bob Powell art. CBCS notes, "Cover and centerfold detached." Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $161; VG 4.0 value = $322.