My copies of Famous Funnies

Famous Funnies is generally considered to be the first true comic book. While there were a few publications before the title launched in 1934, many were given away (as promotional material in, say, department stores), had different publishing formats, or were available somewhere other than a newsstand. Famous Funnies sold alongside magazines at newsstands, cost 10 cents per monthly issue, featured some original material (to go along with newspaper strip reprints), and looked like what we now think of as a comic book. It's an extremely important title in this history of the medium. Buck Rogers, for example, had his first comic book appearance in issue #3.

A few weeks ago, I was browsing eBay's category for Platinum-age comics (which generally runs until 1938 and the introduction of Superman). I'd love to one day own a book with the Yellow Kid in it, so sometimes I hopelessly search eBay to see if one shows up at an affordable price. I was surprised to see that someone had listed a near-complete run of Famous Funnies, including the first issue from 1934. Many of the books were in good shape for their age.

Any excitement at seeing a collection like this go up for sale has to be tinged with a bit of regret, right? Because it almost certainly means that the original collector - someone who amassed an historic collection - had passed away. It also means that 215 issues, which until then had sat in a box, in numerical order, were going to be broken up, probably forever. I'm sure there are complete runs of this book out there, and possibly even a few that will be kept complete forever, but it's tough to think that a lot of work and dedication on the part of one collector was being undone.

I don't have a particular affinity for the title beyond its historic significance, but I decided to place a few bids on some books in the 20-60 range, because really, how could I not? This was a comic that launched an entire medium!

I never expected to win any of the books, and I was outbid on most that I was trying for. But when you list over 200 books for sale at the same time, it limits just how much one person can spend and, I imagine, drives the price down a bit. And, honestly, Famous Funnies probably isn't a title that many people are out there searching for anymore. So maybe I got lucky, because I won issues 40, 44 and 46.

Once I got the books in, I took some pictures, mostly of #40, which is the book I wanted over all others.

As you might imagine, the reason I was trying for #40 is because WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS COVER?! I know that funny animal comics were popular in the early years, but this is downright morbid. Yes, this was a November issue and yes, I know that turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving dinners in real life, but I never really expected it to be portrayed in this manner. Is this cover supposed to be funny? Did Depression-era kids laugh when they saw it on the newsstand? Did it convince them to part with their dimes? Famous Funnies was a successful series, so I guess so.

The interiors contained mostly reprinted newspaper strips, some of them trimmed to remove recap material in an effort to make the stories flow more smoothly. Some of the humor was dated, or period specific, or, well, a bit culturally insensitive, but there were also jokes that still landed over 80 years later.

Wait. My dog has a coat for when it gets cold. Are you mocking me, pre-WWII cartoonist?

There were only a few ads in this book, most notably right at the front of the book and on the back cover.

Here's some Buck Rogers! Not much else from these books has made it into the 21st century. I suppose Buck Rogers is a bit of an anachronism himself these days.

One strip that shows up a few times in the different issues I bought is "Napoleon", about the cartoonist's Irish Wolfhound dog. It feels a lot like current and recent comic strips about dogs. I really like the art.

Ah, here's your Thanksgiving humor.

Like many Golden Age comics, Famous Funnies also employs a text piece or two in each issue. Whether the old explanation is true in this case - that comics had these to justify a space in the magazine section - I'm not sure.

Here's the inside back cover. Other than advertising a handgun (yow), it's amazing to me how you still see versions of this ad up until at least the 1980s.

And the back cover ad is for...another gun!

Here's the cover to issue 46. I like the joke. Also, is "Wahoo" the inspiration for the Cleveland Indians recently-discontinued mascot?

Is it okay that I laughed at this strip? If not, I'm deeply sorry.

Heck! I love this Buck Rogers panel. Look at this thing.

"Look, person who lost everything in the Great Depression! It's a rich, spoiled cat!"

Issue 40 was published in 1937, which, you may realize, is a year BEFORE the debut of Superman from what would become DC Comics. This blows my mind. The fact that I have a few issues from this storied run is a bit surreal...I never thought I'd get the chance. Now, whenever I die, some random person on the Super-Internet can bemoan that these issues are changing hands once again. It's fun to have 'em for a while.