Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: fantastic comics, lou fine, victor fox

The Story Behind Fantastic Comics' Most Famous Cover, Up for Auction

Published Sat, 17 Jul 2021 19:31:14 -0500

A great cover can have a tremendous impact on the value of a vintage comic book. This is not the first time we've noted that here, and it won't be the last. The cover of Fantastic Comics #3 by artist Lou Fine and published by Victor Fox makes that issue one of the most sought-after comic books of the Golden Age. It's a beautifully rendered and detailed cover by one of the best artists of the Golden Age on a rare issue of a historically important series. But the Fantastic Comics series overall has a number of other great covers by Lou Fine and others, and excellent stories by the likes of Alex Blum, Don Rico, and Fletcher Hanks, among others. And more to the point, the story that inspired that incredible Fantastic Comics #3 robot cover by Lou Fine is not in that issue at all — it's in Fantastic Comics #4. While there's no copy of the fabled issue #3 in this particular auction, there's a chance to get a copy of issue #4 and other tough issues of the historically important Fantastic Comics series up for auction in this week's 2021 July 18-19 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122129 from Heritage Auctions.

Fantastic Comics #4 (Fox, 1940) interior Samson story.

Whether the issue #4 Samson story or the issue #3 Lou Fine cover that it matches ran out of order — or just as likely Fine simply wanted a spark of inspiration for his assignment and nobody cared much beyond that, we might never know. But it's interesting to note that the interior story is a worthy source of that famous cover. The Fantastic Comics #4 "The Giant Robots of Kilgor" story is tentatively credited to Will Eisner with artwork by Alex Blum.

The villain of the tale, a mad scientist named Kilgor, has convinced a dictator to fund his factory to create an army of seemingly indestructible giant red robots. Kilgor then double-crosses the dictator and directs his army of 5,000 giant robots to conquer the world. Samson is able to stop the robot army with the help of another scientist named Professor Brun (and it's worth noting here that the corporation that Victor Fox entered the comic book field with was called Bruns Publications).

The Fantastic Comics series is full of important and well-crafted covers and material including the Samson feature itself and the likes of Fletcher Hanks' Stardust. There's a chance to get a copy of issue #4 and other tough issues of the historically important Fantastic Comics series up for auction in this week's 2021 July 18-19 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122129 from Heritage Auctions.

: Fantastic Comics #5 (Fox, 1940)

: Fantastic Comics #4 (Fox, 1940)

: Fantastic Comics #2 (Fox, 1940)

: Fantastic Comics #1 (Fox, 1939)

Fantastic Comics #1 (Fox, 1939) CGC FR 1.0 Cream to off-white pages. Gerber rates this comic a "7" ("scarce") on its Scarcity Index. Origin and first appearance of Samson. Lou Fine cover. Alex Blum and Don Rico art. CGC notes, "Cover and first wrap re-attached with tape. Cover and first wrap detached. Tape on cover and interior cover." Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $784. CGC census 7/21: 2 in 1.0, 29 higher.
Fantastic Comics #2 (Fox, 1940) CGC FR 1.0 Cream to off-white pages. The Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books rates this an "8" ("rare") in its Scarcity Index. Lou Fine Samson cover. Alex Blum, Fletcher Hanks, and Henry Kiefer art. CGC notes, "Spine of cover completely split and re-attached with tape. Tape on interior cover." Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $337. CGC census 6/21: 1 in 1.0, 17 higher.
Fantastic Comics #4 (Fox, 1940) CGC GD+ 2.5 Cream to off-white pages. Gerber rates this comic a "7" ("scarce") on its Scarcity Index. Samson cover by Lou Fine. Art by George Tuska, Alex Blum, Hank Fletcher, and Don Rico. Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $326. CGC census 7/21: 2 in 2.5, 14 higher.
Fantastic Comics #5 (Fox, 1940) CGC PR 0.5 Cream to off-white pages. Gerber rates this comic a "7" ("scarce") in its Scarcity Index. Samson cover by Lou Fine. Art by Henry Kiefer, Fletcher Hanks, Alex Blum, Don Rico, and George Tuska. Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $423. CGC census 7/21: 1 in 0.5, 19 higher.
Fantastic Comics #6 (Fox, 1940) CGC GD/VG 3.0 Off-white to white pages. Joe Simon bondage/torture cover featuring Samson. Alex Blum, Don Rico, and Fletcher Hanks art. Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $300; VG 4.0 value = $600. CGC census 7/21: 2 in 3.0, 12 higher.
Fantastic Comics #8 Incomplete (Fox, 1940) CGC PR 0.5 Off-white pages. Bondage/skull/torture cover. Alex Blum, Don Rico, Henry Kiefer, George Tuska (as Lance Ferguson), and Fletcher Hanks art. CGC notes, "Centerfold missing, bottom right piece out of page 10-32 and back cover, affects story. Very small amount of dried glue on cover. Incomplete". Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $219. CGC census 6/21: 1 in 0.5, 13 higher.
Fantastic Comics #9 (Fox, 1940) CGC GD+ 2.5 Slightly brittle pages. Chuck Cuidera bondage cover. Alex Blum, Hank Fletcher, George Tuska (as Lance Ferguson), and Henry Kiefer art. Reads "July 1940" on the indicia. Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $165. CGC census 7/21: 1 in 2.5, 15 higher.
Fantastic Comics #10 (Fox, 1940) CGC GD/VG 3.0 Cream to off-white pages. Gerber rates this comic a "7" or "scarce" on its scarcity index. Alex Blum and Henry Kiefer art. Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $165; VG 4.0 value = $330. CGC census 7/21: 3 in 3.0, 9 higher.
Fantastic Comics #14 (Fox, 1941) CBCS Conserved VG- 3.5 Off-white to white pages. First appearance of Skull Charter. Samson cover. Henry Kiefer, Fletcher Hanks, and Don Rico art. CBCS notes, "Amateur Conservation Include: Tear Seal to cover with glue." Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $135; VG 4.0 value = $270.
Fantastic Comics #15 (Fox, 1941) CBCS GD 2.0 Off-white to white pages. Don Rico, Henry Kiefer, and Fletcher Hanks art. CBCS notes, "Cover completely split and reattached with one long piece of tape." Overstreet 2020 GD 2.0 value = $135.
Fantastic Comics #16 (Fox, 1941) CGC VG 4.0 Cream to off-white pages. Don Rico, Hank Fletcher, and Henry Kiefer art. Overstreet 2020 VG 4.0 value = $270. CGC census 7/21: 1 in 4.0, 5 higher.