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The boy with the most comics in America....Supersnipe Lives On
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105 posts in this topic

SUPERSNIPE LIVES ON IN ALL OF US

 

For those of you that don’t know me, I’m Comicdey…the “boy with the most comic books in America. Well, not really, that title was held by another collector who purchased the Edgar Church run from Chuck at Mile High comics back in the day. I missed out on purchasing those books around 20 years ago when they were listed in the CBG. He had already sold a couple, and had made a deal to slowly sell the remainders to the same purchaser. Now they are all in slabs and spread across the collector world…..and funny enough, not all of them are highest grade.. So I had to build my own run over time, and although it’s not a NM run, there are a few gems in the collection, but not a single Church copy. I’ve had years of searching before the internet and ebay so the collection was painstakingly pulled together. Now with the world so close together, you can pull together a run within a short period in mid grade, although there are a few issues that are highly desirable and command multiples of guide, and there are other issues that I would consider much harder to find, although none are impossible by any means. Supersnipe was popular among Golden Age collectors back in the day, and he’s fallen off the radar of many collectors as the younger generation takes hold of the hobby. I consider Supersnipe to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of it’s time.

 

Supersnipe is the quintessential parody comic that spoofed all the superheroes of the day with humor and story telling that kids could relate to. He started out in the Shadow comics and was drawn by George Marcoux. The main characters name is Koppy McFad (copy the fad….ie parody). Supersnipe is a boy in a man’s superhero body, saving America from Nazi’s, spy’s, common criminals and Alien forces, usually by getting into extreme trouble with his family, law enforcement, and the general public…including his grandpa. He had a few partners in crime that were inventive and fun, and there were some very interesting additional features within the tile such as Little Nemo in Slumberland, Huck Finn, Bobby Crusoe, Ulysses Q. Wacky, and numerous other short features. Supersnipe ran into Doc Savage a few times, and would read comics to gain insights in how to plan his adventures to save the nation. He faced off with Hitler, the Devil himself and many other individuals throughout history. Always winning but ending up getting spanked by someone. It was a common theme.

 

I’ll quick quote what was written in How to Draw for the Comics about him as an artist.

 

“George Marcoux: Creator of “Supersnipe” and Illustrator of the Horatio Alger and Other Stories.

 

George Marcoux started out by doing one cartoon a week for the Waterbury , a newspaper in Waterbury, Conn. He held this job for two years. Then he worked on the animated cartoons, but stopped it all to enlist in the first World War. Returned from the War and, being disabled, he was unable to get started in his art again. However, when 1927 rolled around he drew one of the country’s leading comic strips and continued doing this for four years. He also sold cartoons to Collier’s and the old Life magazine, and Parent’s Magazine, and did a lot of illustrating for advertisers.

 

In 1935 he started his own comic strip entitled “Toddy,” which ran in more than fifty newspapers. He continued this until 1938, when he was taken ill. In the fall of 1939, he started working for Street & Smith, illustrating our first comic book, and he has continued working for Street & Smith ever since, as well as doing considerable freelance work on the side. George Marcoux urges every boy and girl to figure on five or six years of study before even thinking of getting into the big money. He says a good rule to follow is “learn to draw first, and then become a specialist”.”

 

I’m planning on posting all appearance of supersnipe in this thread, along with a few splash pages, maybe a story, and other miscellaneous historical anecdotes. It’ll take me a little while to do this, so please allow me to do it without too much banter as I’d like for this thread to be a self sustained image fest of supersnipe in all his glory. If you learn something from the thread, or see an image you like, great, if not, move along….it’s a title that drew me into the Golden age over 30 years ago, and continues to make me smile. Remember that comics can be fun….and this title is high on my recommended list for those that want to read and enjoy some true Golden Age adventures.

 

Maybe there’s another “boy with the most comics in America” waiting to find this title to enjoy.

 

Note that I had to buy the Army & Navy Comics that precedeeded Supersnipe's first appearances as I'm a continuity freak (his first appearance in that Title is in #5 and Supersnipe's first appearance is in Shadow V2#3. Supersnipe did not appear in issues 1-4 of Army & Navy although they are a jewel of history in themselves with Private Rook battling Hitler on numerous occasions.

 

Thanks for looking and now on with the show in chronological order from 1941 through 1949.

 

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Please post a favorite story or two - I'm sure I'm not alone in never having had the pleasure of reading one.

 

I was unaware that Supersnipe originally appeared in the Shadow Comic, but I will admit that except for coveting the famous issue #8 I never really paid much attention to the title. I look forward to remedying that by following this thread.

 

Is Doc Savage #9 a really tough book to find - or have you just not gotten around to upgrading?

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And we had a little bit of artistic fun come out with How to Draw for the comics as a non dated 1942 book....and then on to 1943 with supersnipe V1#7 and the Shadow V2 #10...his last appearance in that title. Supersnipe only appeared once in supermagician, and each copy of how to draw for the comics comes with it's own history with most copies drawn in by kids to striving artists. I have a Canadian 15 cent overprint and U.S. edition shown here.

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Please post a favorite story or two - I'm sure I'm not alone in never having had the pleasure of reading one.

 

I was unaware that Supersnipe originally appeared in the Shadow Comic, but I will admit that except for coveting the famous issue #8 I never really paid much attention to the title. I look forward to remedying that by following this thread.

 

Is Doc Savage #9 a really tough book to find - or have you just not gotten around to upgrading?

 

Once I post all the images, I will post a few stories and other esoteric interior images. As far as Doc Savage goes, I have a slabbed 6.0 of the book, but I needed a reader copy. I have a few slabs of other issues, some in higher grade, some not. For example I have the Penn copy of Army & Navy #5. I have duplicates in many cases, but not all by any means.

 

Ok, on with the show.....

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Awesome cover on that Shadow V.2 #10!

 

Thanks, I agree. Now we come upon the infamous Gerber no Show V2 #1 issue and then the V2 #1 Shark cover which is actually V2 #2 on the indicia.

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Volume 4 #9 and Volume 4 #10 were the first supersnipe issues I ever owned as I found them "coverless" in the early 80's for 10 cents each. These two were some of the hardest to track down, let alone in grade for a very long time. Just a tidbit of knowledge from searching these out. V4 # 12 happens to be the Crippen Copy and Volume 5 #1 is the last appearance of Supersnipe that I'm aware of in the Golden Era of comics.

 

Thanks for watching, this collection has been a labor of love for many years. I've been meaning to share them for a long time, and finally took the time.

 

With the end, I guess it's time to show the first comic book appearance splash from The Shadow V2 #3.

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Not all the stories were great, but they were all enjoyable, and many were downright funny. I've grabbed a few interior images from different coverless or cover loose copies so I could share a bit more.

 

First is the Supersnipe Splash from Army & Navy #5, the pre-cursor book to Supersnipe having his own title.

 

The second image is the splash from Doc Savage V1 #9.....

 

Then the advertisement for How to Draw for the comics on the back cover interior.

 

Supersnipe definately enjoyed his comics

 

And a classic pose from the interior of the cover of Supersnipe V1 #6 the first issue in the title run.

 

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Supersnipe got a few ideas from the "pink beetle in V1 #6

 

The second image is why none of our GA comics are in NM condition.

 

Supersnipe meets doc savage in V1 #7 and he's not happy

 

Classic Hitler in Hell from the coveted V1 #8 issue

 

And some "found" art from a copy of how to draw for the comics

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And then there's Fred Hembeck....

 

He did a great cover reproduction for me....and even took a few photos for me along the way....or at least his wife did.....thanks to them again. Highly recommended for those that enjoy his style...and who doesn't.

 

Feel free to post up your supersnipe comics, images, original art, sketches, etc. I've only seen one original page years ago, and George Hageneur (sp?) beat me out for it on ebay. I've also seen one original supersnipe sketch to "billy" if I recall that looked to be on 8 1/2 x 11. I'll post up those images once I find them again...I know I have them somewhere. There was a Rocket Blast and Comics with supersnipe on the cover (black and white) that I don't have and I'm sure a few other esoteric items out there. I'm planning on scanning the first supersnipe image that I ever saw from a price guide that made me want V1 #8 back around 1975. I believe the guide said it was only $8 in NM (and it wasn't even the overstreet guide)

 

Thanks again for indulging me...I've enjoyed showing the collection, although not all my best copies as my scanner doesn't do a slab justice. I may post some of the duplicates down the road, but this has been fun....and I'm done, unless I think of something else to post.

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