Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Ace Periodicals, harvey kurtzman

Harvey Kurtzman's Early Superheroics in Four Favorites, at Auction

Four Favorites is an underappreciated Ace Periodicals series that ranged from superheroes to horror, and included Harvey Kurtzman's early work.

Published Thu, 30 May 2024 13:48:08 -0500

by Mark Seifert

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Article Summary

Explore Harvey Kurtzman's first full pencils in Four Favorites #8 and the striking #10 cover.
Discover the rarity and collectibility of Ace Periodicals' Four Favorites series.
Uncover a mix of superhero, horror, and humor within Four Favorites' 32-issue run.
Appreciate the works of comic legends like L.B. Cole, Rudy Palais, and others in the series.

Ace Periodicals' Four Favorites title was a similar concept to Fox's Big 3, DC Comics' All-Star Comics and All-Winners Comics. It was an anthology series that featured some of the publisher's most popular characters that ran for 32 issues from 1941 to 1947. This started out as including the superheroics of Magno and Davey, Vulcan, Lightning and The Raven. The lineup changed frequently as characters such as The Flag, Captain Courageous and the Unknown Soldier were soon swapped into the lineup, and eventually, the nature of the series evolved as the fortunes of the comic book industry changed. For example, Four Favorites #21 introduced the crime/mystery/horror narrator The Unknown (perhaps later to become known as the similar horror character Fate in Hand of Fate). The last three issues of the title had a teen humor theme.

But the Four Favorites title is a perfect storm of collector appeal — a bunch of stand-out covers and some utterly ridiculous CGC census numbers throughout the series. Adding to the appeal is the early work by Harvey Kurtzman here. His first known full pencils were in Four Favorites #8, and that brutal cover on Four Favorites #10 is likely Kurtzman pencils as well. Though it's only 32 issues, this is not an easy series to complete. There's a chance to pick up 23 of those 32 issues of the Ace Periodicals' Four Favorites title up for auction in the 2024 May 30 Adventures in the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40261 at Heritage Auctions.

Beyond the early Kurtzman work, Four Favorites includes several covers with particular collector appeal. Issue #1 and issue #11 feature the Four Favorite heroes punching and kicking Hitler, for example (and Mussolini and Hirohito in the case of issue #11). Issue #6 and issue #9 are just well-executed classics. Overall, the series includes contributions from legends like Kurtzman, L. B. Cole, Rudy Palais, Jim Mooney, and Al Camy, among others. An incredibly underappreciated and tough series, There's a chance to pick up 23 of those 32 issues of the Ace Periodicals' Four Favorites title up for auction in the 2024 May 30 Adventures in the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40261 at Heritage Auctions.