Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: golden age, Liberty Comics

The Rare Mysteries of 1946's Liberty Comics #14, up for Auction

In which the elusive Liberty Comics #14 gives us a hook into understanding the sometimes murky world of the comic book industry of its era.

Published Sun, 09 Jul 2023 16:32:10 -0500

by Mark Seifert

Comments

The title Liberty Comics from Green Publishing Company is an uncommon series with unusual origins. The first three issues of the series (numbering #10-15 but skipping #13) are composed largely of reprints of MLJ/Archie material, while issue #14 contains material meant for the Rural Home Publications title Red Circle Comics. None of the Liberty Comics series is particularly easy to get, and the Liberty Comics #12 CGC 9.6 Edgar Church / Mile High copy sold for $13,800 in 2021. While the copy on offer here is raw, issue #14 is also a tough get, with only four copies on the CGC census. But you have a shot at getting a raw copy of Liberty Comics #14 (Green Publishing Co., 1946) Condition: Apparent GD up for auction in the 2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions.

Liberty Comics publisher Green Publishing Co's output appears to be entirely clustered around two years, 1946 and 1957, and — aside from the covers — is largely of reprints of material from other comic book publishers. The most famous title in its meager output is Atomic Comics which was launched about three months after the U.S. used atomic bombs in WWII. While the MLJ/Archie reprints are likely essentially bootlegs, the Red Circle Comics material is easier to explain. Rural Home Publications had run afoul of War Production Board guidelines involving paper allocations the prior year, with the company subsequently ceasing operations and its publisher, Lindsey L. Baird, sentenced to 60 days in jail. It would appear that the contents of Liberty Comics #14 were meant for Red Circle Comics #5.

It seems likely that Liberty Comics publisher Green Publishing Co. was also toeing the line of WPB guidelines, accounting for its very brief involvement in WWII-era comic books. A little digging reveals that Green Publishing Co. has a relationship to another publisher named Chicago Nite Life News — another company with a brief involvement in comic book publishing in 1945. The two publishers share an address and ownership and/or control. A 1945 obituary for Norman Korneman, magazine and book editor of Green Publishing Co., identifies his father David Korneman as the President of Chicago Nite Life News, while a 1947 notice about paper shortages identifies David Korneman as the President of Green Publishing Co. of New York City. The elder Korneman testified before a Senate Subcommittee on Newsprint and Paper Shortages about Post-WWII newsprint shortages that had persisted after the war for a variety of reasons.

This gives us a likely clue about what's going on with the brief comic book involvement of both Green Publishing Co., and Chicago Nite Life News. Chicago Nite Life News had run afoul of War Production Board paper quotas in 1945 due to involvement with notorious comic book publisher Victor Fox:

Permission to continue distribution of two comic magazines, Ribtickler and Book All Comics, was refused by the War Production Board's Appeals Board, it was announced by WPB on June 22. The magazines had been printed in violation Of order L-244 which limits the paper tonnage that can be used to print magazines and periodicals.

The decision, WPB said, may set up a precedent for cases involving many millions Of copies Of comic and detective magazines that have been printed in violation of paper quota regulations. The Appeals Board held that the "evidence at hearing failed to support claim of severe hardship other than what was apparently self-imposed". The appeal was filed by Belmont Books, Inc., and Giant Books, Inc. Victor S. Fox is president of both corporations. The two comic magazines Ribtickler and Book of All Comics were published under the imprint of Chicago Nite Life News. Inc., 250 West Broadway, New York N, Y. , which has used paper greatly in excess of its quota.

The company that printed Ribtickler and Book of All Comics used, for the account of Chicago Nite Life News. 234 tons of paper in March 1945, whereas the consumption quota of Chicago Nite Life News. Inc., under Order L-244 is only 3.8 tons per quarter.

This combined with David Korneman's 1947 Senate testimony about paper shortages points to the notion that Korneman was adroit at understanding the ins and outs of paper brokerage issues of the era and was able to leverage his expertise to obtain paper for his companies and use it to his advantage or on behalf of other publishers. Korneman's 1947 Senate testimony is worth your time. He informs the Senate Subcommittee that he had been a publisher of comic books and "detective stories", and then proceeds to outline how he conducted business with paper brokers and paper mills for newsprint throughout 1946 — exactly the time of Green Publishing Co's first stint in the comic book business, publishing Liberty Comics among others. Korneman also appeared to be a familiar figure to others testifying before the Subcommittee. It's a historically fascinating exchange.

This is all an understudied moment in comic book industry history, and the elusive Liberty Comics #14 gives us a hook into helping to understand it. There's a copy of a historically interesting artifact of this era in Liberty Comics #14 (Green Publishing Co., 1946) Condition: Apparent GD up for auction in the 2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions. If you've never bid at Heritage Auctions before, you can get further information by checking out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.