Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Alex Schomburg, golden age, Harvey Comics

The War-Era Horror of Alex Schomburg's All-New Comics #8, at Auction

Published Sun, 03 Jul 2022 10:18:10 -0500

Suspense Comics #3 is one of the most infamous Alex Schomburg covers ever published, and it's a theme that Schomburg would use from time to time during the Golden Age. Terrific Comics #5 and All-New Comics #8 are Schomburg covers with similar themes. These Nazi/Bondage/Horror/War covers wrap up the terrors of that era in a way that was done in pop culture during many other eras of American history as well. It's interesting that such covers are so notorious that they are highly sought-after by collectors because such things are a hook into understanding how history works. Of the three covers mentioned, far fewer graded copies of All New Comics #8 have traded hands in recent times, but there's an All-New Comics #8 (Family Comics/Harvey Publications, 1944) CGC GD+ 2.5 Cream to off-white pages up for auction in the 2022 July 3-4 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122227 from Heritage Auctions.

All-New Comics #8 Alex Schomburg cover (Family Comics/Harvey Publications, 1944)

Superheroes with various kinds of fire-based power were practically their own category in the Golden Age. Marvel/Timely's Human Torch and his sidekick Toro are the most famous of these, of course, but there's also Fox Feature's the Flame, MLJ's Fireball, Centaur's Fireman, Quality's Wildfire, Nedor's Pyroman, and numerous others. Schomburg played his part in helping to popularize the Human Torch with spectacular covers on Marvel Mystery Comics and Human Torch Comics. Perhaps best known for his early pulp covers and his beautifully detailed artwork for Marvel/Timely covers on titles like Marvel Mystery Comics, Captain America Comics, Human Torch, and many others, Schomburg's work for other publishers has also become highly sought-after by collectors. But the Human Torch is not the only firey superhero character that Schomburg provided covers for. He also created Pyroman covers for Startling Comics and America's Best Comics, and covers featuring Red Blazer and Sparky for Harvey's All-New Comics.

The Red Blazer first appeared in Harvey's Pocket Comics #1 in 1941. The character got his flaming, flying powers from exposure to Astro-Pyro Radiation from traveling above Earth's Heaviside Layer (a layer of Earth's ionosphere) in a spaceship. In this context, Red Blazer's origin story is similar to the Silver Age Human Torch's origin as part of the Fantastic Four over 20 years later. Red Blazer's sidekick Sparky came along in All-New Comics #5.

Interesting, Suspense Comics #3, Terrific Comics #5, and All-New Comics #8 were all published in 1944. All-New Comics #8 is Schomburg's stand-out cover of that series, and one of his notorious covers of the era. It's a very tough comic book to get, but there's an All-New Comics #8 (Family Comics/Harvey Publications, 1944) CGC GD+ 2.5 Cream to off-white pages up for auction in the 2022 July 3-4 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122227 from Heritage Auctions.

All-New Comics #8 (Family Comics/Harvey Publications, 1944) CGC GD+ 2.5 Cream to off-white pages. Shock Gibson appearance. Alex Schomburg cover. Joe Kubert and Bob Powell art. CGC notes, "Cover detached. Tape on interior cover." Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $168. CGC census 6/22: 1 in 2.5, 6 higher.