Fawcett. July, 1946. VF- (7.5). Tiny dings at spine ends and top corner. Spine not rolled, but not 100% flat either – it has just the slightest curvature, perhaps the thickness of a dime. The bottom edge slopes noticably – miscut at the bindery? Right edge shows no signs of trimming, with centerfold page edge protruding slightly past the surrounding pages. Off-white pages, touch of yellowing to edges. Cover pencils by C.C. Beck, inks by Pete Costanza. Scripting by Otto Binder and Bill Woolfolk. Artists unidentified.

Abe Lincoln removes a slave's shackles in a public service announcement acknowledging Juneteenth. A sop, perhaps, to readers offended by the recently-discontinued character of Steamboat? According to C.C. Beck, "Steamboat was created to capture the affection of negro readers. Unfortunately, he offended them instead and was unceremoniously killed off after a delegation of blacks visited the editor's office protesting because he was a servant, because he had huge lips and kinky hair and because he spoke in a dialect." – C.C. Beck interview by Tom Heintjes, Hogan's Alley.

A limited edition of 100 softcover and 15 hardcover catalogues are available. Over 200 pages, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcovers $40, dust-jacketed hardcover with limitation plate $200. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com or call 415-989-2665

R. Crumb says, "I found [PBA's catalogue] so interesting that I am saving it for the texts that accompany the comics which were put up for auction. This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books. I especially enjoyed the reviews of the post-war horror comics. Great. Priceless."

Consignments welcome for PBA's Spring 2021 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com or call 415-989-2665