long forgotten by its aging accumulator. Most recently, I found a
series of eight tiny “secret origin” comics of Aquaman, Batman, the
Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Justice League of America, Superman
and Wonder Woman. These 16-page booklets consisted of a cover, 14
pages of story and a back cover advertisement for a DC Super Heroes
Collector Album. The miniature comics are 4-1/4" tall and 2-3/4"
wide. I couldn’t remember anything about the booklets or how they
came into my possession. That’s why we have the Internet, my
Facebook page, and the comics mailing lists of which I am a member.
The Leaf Candy Company, one of several names the company has used
in its long history, produced “Comicbook Candy” in the early 1980s.
Each package of candy was wrapped with one of these secret origins
comics. I had a set because I sold this item in my Cosmic Comics
store in 1981. Alas, I didn’t keep an entire box or even an empty
box. Just the comic books.
Where did I get this item? Unique among the other comics shops in
the Cleveland area, I had accounts with distributors other than the
usual direct market outfits. While it’s possible I got the candy
from one of those direct market outfits, it’s also possible I got
it from one of those other distributors. Sadly, I don’t remember
which vendor supplied me with the candy, its retail price or what
kind of candy came with this comics. In my defense, it was 30 years
ago and, over the decade-plus I owned and ran Cosmic Comics, I
carried tens of thousands of comic books and other products.
The Grand Comics Database has indexed these “secret origin” comic
books, though some credits are less than certain. Since I plan to
sell my set - as a set - and since there was some interest in the
books on my Facebook page and elsewhere, I’ll be writing about them
over the next couple weeks. Look for the next entry tomorrow and
new ones as I can squeeze them into the mix.
© 2012 Tony Isabella
Hi, Tony --
ReplyDeleteI believe that I wrote the Flash and Wonder Woman stories in this set.
Bob
Tony- Did I do any of those? I remember doing several PSAs thru Marvel and DC and some similar stuff for Disney, but these things sorta kinda ring a bell.
ReplyDeleteI had some similar Marvel comics, which featured Spider-Man, Captain America, Hulk, and (I think) Spider-Woman, circa 1981. I THINK they came with a stick of gum, like baseball cards did. (Do baseball cards come that way anymore?)
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoyed the Marvel ones, I would've preferred the DC ones MUCH more! Man, I wish they'd put schtuff like this out nowadays! :)
ReplyDeleteI've picked up a few of the Leaf minicomics over the years. Most if not all of 'em must have made their way to me in trades or random acquisition, however, because even though they date to a time when I was still making many of my comic-book purchases at a newsagent in my old hometown that sold magazines, sweets, and cigars I can't for the life of me remember what the candy that came with these looked or tasted like. (It's a little weird that apparently nobody can.)
Anyway, I wanted to add that much of the lettering on the display case you show here, and the logo of the "Collector's Album" that it hypes, is pretty obviously the work of the legendary Gaspar Saladino.