Redartz: Hi folks! We have a quick double-shot for you today, two easy questions which may cause you to have some fun looking into the answers.
QUESTION 1: What is the oldest comic book you have in your collection (or, if you no longer have that collection , what WAS the oldest comic you ever owned?)
QUESTION 2: What is the oldest song, or piece of music, that anyone might find in your collection, Ipod, phone, or whatever? Does your musical interest begin in the 70's? The 50's? Or even earlier? Dust off those old 78 rpm's and let us know.
To start with, here's my answers:
1. The oldest comic in my collection is an issue of New Funnies featuring Woody Woodpecker from 1949. My oldest Archie: Laugh 61, 1954. Oldest DC: World's Finest 88, 1957. Oldest Marvel: Fantastic Four 21, 1963.
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| Laugh 61, Feb. 1954 |
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| New Funnies 154, Dec. 1949 |
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| World's Finest 88, June 1957 |
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| Fantastic Four 21, Dec. 1963 |
2. The oldest piece of music in my collection is a Gregorian Chant, composed most likely in the 15th century. In terms of more 'popular music,' I have the recording of "Rum and Coca Cola" by the Andrews Sisters from 1945. And yes, eclectic is my middle name (Red Eclectic Artz?).
And now it's your turn. Reach waaaaaay back into the back of your longbox, and the bottom of your record stack, and give us your answers!
18 comments:
I've had a VF copy of Fantastic Four 13 for many years, it was my oldest up until this last March where I got a 1958 copy of Worlds Finest (don't recall the ish number...).
I marveled at owning any comics on the newsstands during the Kennedy Administration, but I was now lucky enough to have one from ol' Ike's term. Simply amazing to me.
As for old records.., sheesh, I'd say my oldest is the German copy of 'With the Beatles', purchased back in 1973. To this day it's only one of two LPs issued internationally with the famous 'hi-hat' intro to 'All My Loving' (normally edited out of final versions). Not even the UK version of 'With The Beatles' boasts that. Granted, an added intro doesn't sound like much, but having grown up listening to it, it's always been odd to hear that track without that intro.
I have a few golden agers from WW 2 (Captain Aero, Daredevil, Captain Marvel Jr.). I thoroughly enjoy the politically incorrectness of these covers because (in my mind) the "desperate" covers represent the "desperate" situation the USA perceived itself in during WW 2.
My oldest piece of music is the sheet music to "That Naughty Waltz" published in 1920. My grandmother was playing it on the piano one day, in the 1970s. I liked it so she bought the sheet music and I learned to play it on the piano. Lots of emotional memories in that and I still have that sheet music (along with her hand-written recipe for Crepe Suzettes.)
Cheers, Joe
Oldest comic? Can't recall the exact year, but I bought an 1950s Dell Bugs Bunny comic a few years ago just to read it for fun, it wasn't in great shape, was only a few dollars.
For years, the oldest comic I had was Tales Of Suspense #56, which featured the 1st appearance of the Unicorn. When I was a kid, I thought he was a cool villain, so I made a point of seeking out this issue.
Meant to mention, Tales of Suspense #56 is cover dated August, 1964.
The oldest comic I ever had was an MC Gaines publication of Picture Stories from the Bible. I believe the one I had was copyright 1945.
The oldest Marvel I ever owned, to the best of my knowledge, was Avengers #1.
I have no good examples of old music to offer. You guys are far more interesting than me!
Doug
My oldest Marvel Comic currently is Amazing Spider-Man #25 (1965), which features the first appearance of the Spider-Slayer.
Oldest DC is Superboy #110 (1966). Just a random $2 buy at Half-Price Books last year. (Before that it was the amazing Batman #213 from 1969.
My oldest comic period is a Classics Illustrated version of "Hamlet" from 1952.
As for music that is harder. Do you mean when it was written or recorded? Clearly I have baroque and classical pieces written long before record devices existed, but recorded in the late 1930s. For pop music, probably re-issues of Buddy Holly and the Crickets from the late 1950s, and for jazz from that same period (1957) Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool
My oldest actual comic is a decrepit copy (is there any grade below "Poor"??) of Dell's TARZAN #24, from 1951. The only 10-cent comic in my collection. Of Marvel-- that would be Avengers #2 which was, I think, November-ish of 1963.
Music-- I've not really cataloged anything at all. I know I've some old 78's still lingering from my Mom & Dad's old accumulations. Definitely some lp's dating back to the 50's. Sheet music-- almost surely a couple of things printed in the 30's. Old sheet music is a staple of antique mall vendors. "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" springs to mind-- I may have finally had it laminated to prevent it crumbling to dust whenever I got it out. . .
HB
I have a Sensation Comics #58 from 1949 and an Avengers #5.
And Gregorian chants are pretty much the oldest music I have, too.
David_b- your German Beatles record is intriguing. I've never heard the version with the intro. Is the cover art the same as the UK?
Charlie- great story about your Grandmother and the sheet music. You don't often hear the Waltz described as " naughty"...
Dr. Oyola- recorded or written, either or both! We're pretty open ended here...
And that's a pretty good buy for Half Price Books! All our store seems to have is recent stock, with a small bin of older comics. Which tend to be priced well above 2 dollars...
HB- I like your description of your Tarzan comic. Fun to imagine a book that would require repair to qualify as "poor"!
Selenarch- Sensation 58- nice!
Interestingly enough, the oldest comics I've ever owned are two that I have now: Nick Fury #3 and Not Brand Ecch #9, both from the summer of 1968. I bought them both here in Zagreb about 5 years ago from a guy who sells comics - I think he in turn obtained them from the widow of an old comics fan who was clearing out her departed husband's possessions. Anyway, I paid the equivalent of about $5 for each of them - far more than I ever usually pay for single issues, but I just couldn't pass up the deal for 2 books that were probably on the spinner racks in the same month that I was born.
Otherwise, in my previous, original collection, the oldest comic I had was Daredevil #49 from early 1969 (and I'm not really sure how I came into possession of that one), and after that Red Wolf #1 from 1972 - I bought the whole run of that series for a pittance sometime in 1980.
The music question is trickier, as Osvaldo noted. But since you said it's open-ended than based on the criterion of oldest written pieces, I have a CD of Renaissance music somewhere in my collection (obviously, recorded some time in the late 20th century). The oldest recorded stuff I have either on CD or mp3 format consists of songs by blues legends Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith, and some jazz from Charlie Parker, all from the 1930s. The oldest physical phonorecords (to use the technical term) I ever remember having (or rather, my family having) were some 45s containing Croatian folk and pop songs that were probably made in the late '60s.
Hmmm, the oldest comic I remember (once) having would be Marvel Tales #79, a 1977 reprint of one of the famous "drug" issues of Amazing. I'm sure I had comics before that, but I can't recall any offhand. The oldest comic I still have? ... Probably some kind of Spidey stuff from the early 70s.
Oldest music ... well, I have some Elvis and Chuck Berry stuff from the 50s, but not originals. My parents had some old 45s of Kitty Wells; I'm not sure what year they're from.
1. The oldest comic I have in my collection is Black Terror #5 from 1942. I bought it at my LCS about 30 years ago for like $10.00. (And it's actually in very good condition). The reason I bought it was that it was reasonably prices and I didn't own any Golden-Age comics, and I wanted at least one in my collection. Plus, the first time I ever saw the character Black Terror was in my first copy of the Overstreet Price Guide, and I always thought he looked really cool.
The oldest Silver Age comic I had in my collection was Amazing Fantasy #15 from 1962, but I sold it along with the rest of my Spider-Man collection in 2013.
Currently the oldest Silver-Age comic I own is Daredevil #4 from 1964.
2. The oldest piece of music I personally have in my library is probably Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" from 1942. (I may have some older Christmas tunes, but I'm not sure).
A friend of my mother’s gave me a few comics she had as a child … they were ‘golden age’ …
I don’t have pics of them and probably should but … I know they have covers and are all together but nothing too wonderful … one is an ‘E.C.’-type horror comic, another is a Captain Marvel adventures where he is involved with the Korean war (I think), there is a funny animal comic with Hoppy the Marvel Bunny on the cover and another is an “Archie”-type comic…
I still have Amazing Spider-man #25 and Avengers #12 as well as numbers from #70 (or so) on up for those two title most part (until the 90s thats is… then ‘collecting’ became sporatic)
The oldest comic I own is Fantastic Four #78. Again, since I don't write anything down, I have no memory of how I acquired said issue. If you click on my name, it's posted as an album on my Google page thingy. The scans have been cleaned so they're not representative of the issue's condition.
Edo! I have the cassette box set of Robert Johnson recordings. I think I got that in the 80s. Again, don't write stuff down...
(You don't know how you move me
deconstruct me and consume me.
I'm all used up, I'm out of luck I am star struck
By something in your eyes
that is keeping my hope alive.
But I'm sick of myself when I look at you
something is beautiful and true.
World that's ugly and a lie
it's hard to even want to try.
I'm beginning to think
maybe you don't know.
I'll take a leave, the room to breathe
The choice to leave it
I'll throw away a chance at greatness just to make this
dream come into play
I don't know if I'll find a way
'Cause I'm sick of myself when I look at you
something is beautiful and true.
World that's ugly and a lie
it's hard to even want to try.
I'm beginning to think
maybe you don't know.
I'm beginning to think
maybe you don't know.
Something in your eyes
that is keeping my hope alive.
But I'm sick of myself when I look at you
something is beautiful and true.
World that's ugly and a lie
it's hard to even want to try.
I'm beginning to think
maybe you don't know.
I'm beginning to think
maybe you don't know).
PS: As a move to lower medical costs, scientists are working with medical personnel to make robots that "learn" while performing simple surgeries. Someday, you'll walk into a clinic, get a procedure done and walk back out!!! Mostly...
I think my oldest Marvel is Avengers #4 but I may have a Human Torch Strange Tales that came out first - I will have to check to be sure.
From DC I have Justice League 28. No idea what the story was - just remember the JLA with picket signs on the cover. Funny how goofy some covers were back then; I may have to post about that sometime.
But my absolute oldest is a Dick Tracy comic book that I think is from 1939. It was an insert to the Chicago Tribune back then.
Hard to say on oldest music ... perhaps something from Billie Holiday. Unless you count Tchaikovsky recorded much much later.
Great comments, group! We have a widely varied rainbow of comics and music represented here today. Thanks for sharing with us!
William- your "Black Terror " sounds very cool. Those Overstreet guides are quite useful for leafing through, and discovering vintage books like that.
RayAtl- excellent list of books! Any EC is a jewel for any collection. And those other comics are terrific as well. Any collectors would cherish them!
Marti- wow, Avengers 4 is one fine book to form the foundation of a collection. Dick Tracy is cool too, and an insert as well!
Also, glad to find another fan of "Lady Day"...
Oldest comic: Bringing up Father, a black and white collection of the comic strip, published in 1917.
Oldest DC Comic: Probably Flash #12 (December 1940) (I've got about 50 golden age comics).
Oldest Marvel: Avengers #3.
Oldest music (composition-wise): 11th Century choral works by Hildegarde von Bingam, performed by the Anonymous 4.
More relevant answer on music: Bob Dylan's 2nd album, The Beatles 1st album, both from 1963. For me, popular music really started with Dylan and the Beatles.
Terry in Virginia
I likewise have cds of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and the Beatles' Please Please Me, representing the oldest studio lps in my collection, although I also have a collection of Roy Orbison's early songs as well as, of all things, a Sons of the Pioneers collection. Composition-wise, I have various classical works from Gregorian Chants to works by Aaron Copland, Shostakovich and Yo Yo Ma. The first album I ever bought, btw, was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, purchased at the Navy Exchange at the Lemoore Naval Air Station in 1977, nearly 10 years after it had been released.
In my comics collection, the oldest is Fantastic Four #18, from 1963, featuring the first appearance of the Super Skrull. Not exactly in mint condition but it is intact and I got it relatively cheap -- can't remember how much, but I only have it because I happened to see it while perusing through a comics shop in New London, CT, about 20 years ago and the fact that it was under $10. The oldest non-reprint comic that I bought when it was new on the stands is a very battered Amazing Spider-Man #97, from which the cover and first two-pages have long disappeared. I used to have several comics older than that but my dad threw them out when my family moved from Long Beach, CA, to Salt Lake City in 1972. ASM 97 just happened to be the one I somehow held onto and still had when I took to building my collection back up as a 9 year old in SLC.
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