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Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Ace Periodicals, golden age
The Rare Superheroics, Horror and Crime of Four Favorites, at Auction
Four Favorites was an Ace Periodicals anthology title featuring a rotating cast of the publishers best characters.
Article Summary
- Explore the anthology series Four Favorites from Ace Periodicals, spanning 1941-1947.
- Witness the evolution of content from superheroes to teen humor in 32 issues.
- Discover collector-favorite covers and rare CGC census numbers 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. Though it's only 32 issues, this is not an easy series to complete. Incredibly, there's a chance to pick up several 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.
Four Favorites includes a number of 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 #11). Issue #6 and issue #20 are just well-executed classics. Overall, the series includes contributions from legends like Harvey Kurtzman, L. B. Cole, Rudy Palais, Jim Mooney, and Al Camy among others.
An underappreciated gem of a series, there's a chance to pick up several 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. If you've never bid at Heritage Auctions before, you can get further information, you can check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.
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