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Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Bell Features, canadian comics
Dr. Doom and Brewster's Millions in Unusual Adventure #52, at Auction
Obscure 1949 Bell Features comic book Unusual Adventures #52 features an adaptation of Brewster's Millions and a master criminologist named Dr. Doom.
Article Summary
- Rare 1949 Canadian comic issue spotlights a unique Dr. Doom incarnation as a master criminologist.
- Unusual Adventures #52 reprints a classic Brewster's Millions adaptation that fuses a classic story's charm with comic storytelling.
- An obscure yet fascinating example of Bell Features from this era.
The infamous Marvel villain Dr. Doom was far from the first comic book character to use that name. Dell's The Comics #5 ran International Spy featuring Doctor Doom in 1937. Victor Fox introduced his Dr. Doom in Science Comics #1 (1940). We recently discussed Canadian comic book publisher Al Rucker Productions' 1946 release of the Weekender v2 #1, which featured Gus Ricca's iconic Dr. Doom cover. That particular Dr. Doom first appeared in Chesler's Yankee Comics #1 (1941). In 1945, Curtis introduced a master criminologist named Dr. Doom in Young King Cole #2, and that version ended up in Bell Features' Unusual Adventures #52 in 1949. There's a VG/FN condition copy of this interesting and obscure comic up for auction in the 2025 March 13 Canadian Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40290 at Heritage Auctions.
In addition to that particular Dr. Doom story from Criminals on the Run v4 #6 , Unusual Adventures #52 also reprints a Young King Cole story from that same issue that adapts Brewster's Millions. Originally a 1902 novel written by George Barr McCutcheon, this famous story was adapted into a play in 1906, and 15 films and counting from 1914 to 2024. The most famous of these was the 1995 version starring Richard Pryor. There has even been TV adaptations of the story ranging an Adventures of Superman episode Olsen's Millions in 1955 to an animated Punky Brewster version, Punky's Millions in 1986. The now-familiar plot sets someone up to receive a large inheritance on the condition that $1 million (and much more, in some versions) can be spent in a short period of time.
The cover of Unusual Adventures #52 re-uses the cover of Criminals on the Run V5#1. The combination of Dr. Doom and Brewster's Millions plus the relative rarity of Canadian releases from this era as compared to their U.S. counterparts makes this obscure Bell Features comic a fascinating example of Canadian comic book publishing of that era, and there's a VG/FN copy up for auction at the 2025 March 13 Canadian Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40290.
Affiliates of Bleeding Cool buy from and/or consign to Heritage Auctions.
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