ACTION & MYSTERY - I'VE GOT 'EM COVERED... ~ Comics Live Updates

Before we begin, just a brief explanation about my absence from blogging (aside from minor layout amendments to some old posts) for the last couple of months. Had a few health and family care concerns to contend with, which have distracted my attention and sapped my energy and enthusiasm for writing anything new. Matters still not fully resolved, but I've forced myself to write the following short post before you all start thinking I've fallen off the twig. So here goes...

Regular readers may recall a post I published some years back about a baby who was born five years after his mother's death. I first read a reprint of the Simon & Kirby comic strip account of it in Black Magic #2, back in 1974, and a couple of years ago a commenter informed me that there'd been another, two-page version of the tale related in The House Of Mystery #196 in 1971. I recently decided I'd like to read it, but baulked at paying any of the rather hefty asking-prices that some issues are listed at on eBay - from as little as £20 to as high as £245 depending on condition.

Had it been a comic I really desired, I'd have bought a lower-priced copy, but I really only wanted to satisfy my curiosity about the two-page tale and couldn't justify to myself spending anything over a few quid on a mag that wasn't crying out to me to own, a Neal Adams cover not withstanding. So I bought a coverless copy for a mere £1.75 just so that I could read the two-pager. Then I decided to replace the missing cover just to make the mag more presentable, so sourced an image of the front cover online.

There were also glimpses of the ads on the interior and back covers, and was fortunate enough to own a Superboy issue with those same ads, which luckily required some minor repair to the cover, meaning I could justify carefully remove it for scanning. I printed out the front cover of HOM on glossy photo paper, attached it to a print-out of the Superboy cover, re-scanned it and printed it on high-quality white paper. Had to play around with it to get it more or less the right size, but the end result was a complete issue with cover, though obviously my 'facsimile' isn't quite as sharp or as vibrant as an original.

A few years back I also acquired a coverless issue of Action Comics #352, which was a bit tatty and in need of 'tarting up'. I've since replaced it with a better condition copy, but was loath to simply discard its predecessor. So I scanned the exterior and interior cover of the better copy, printed it out, then restored and repaired the tatty incarnation, resulting in a complete and acceptable condition reading copy.

I've included photos for your consideration, as well as the two-page tale which prompted me to buy The House Of Mystery issue. Feel free to let me know what you think, and if you'd like to remind yourselves of the Simon & Kirby version of the tale, you can do so by clicking this link.