The Publisher's COVER PROOF To The First DC Treasury Comic, The Scarce 1st Rudolph From 1972!

This massive production item is in a brand-new polybag with costly treasury-sized backing-board and will be securely packed for shipping, with plenty of protective packaging material, and we combine shipping, so each additional art piece you add will only increase your shipping cost by fifty cents, which is a great value; Extra regular size comics add just twenty cents apiece to your total.  Simply contact us after you're done selecting which ones you want, and we'll send you an overall invoice with the discounted combined shipping.

This is from the JACK ADLER COLLECTION.  The ORIGINAL COVER PROOF, also known as the UNTRIMMED FINAL TEST COVER, to this landmark yuletide favorite.  Even taller than the already-big published version!  It's implied as number C-20, as it precedes the ones that started their numbering with #C-21.  Featuring great depictions of the iconic displays and festivities and good cheer associated with Christmas, including lots of great images of Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.  Even the 'mass-produced' published version of this holiday treasure is seldom seen, but when one does surface, it's usually in beat-up condition, not lovely shape like this one-of-a-kind production item.  Such a gigantic book for a mere dollar and the printed version featured big colorful tales including Christmas themes of course!  When compared to mere comic-size items it's an imposing treasury-size format; See it pictured next to regular-size comics!   These cult-classic characters such as Santa Claus and the red-nosed reindeer are iconic in cultures around the globe, so they'll always be historic, as well as nostalgic to countless Americans.  Overall, this landmark piece is in amazing condition with no obvious flaws.  It's a massive 14" tall and a full 10" wide (and that's folded, double that, if opened out!), so it will be sent in a bigger box.

FRESH AND BRIGHT COLORFUL GRAPHICS, ~IT'S LIKE A TRIP BACK TO MY YOUTH IN THE EARLY SEVENTIES!

WE HAVE MANY OTHER UNCOMMON MARVEL AND DC SUPERHERO COLLECTABLE ITEMS ON EBAY NOW! 

Interesting DC artifacts showcasing legends of the medium never go out of style, and there are legions of fans of vintage Christmas-themed ephemera, particularly of such a cherished era, so they always make for unique investments.  This hails from a renowned collection of comic art, retained for decades by one of the more prolific talents of the twentieth century, Jack Adler, who sold it to me, and then of course I kept it additional years as part of my personal collection, so this is the FIRST TIME it's ever reached the market...It doesn't get much better than this!   

This important production piece WILL find a new home, as the asking price is low and there is NO RESERVE! 

This historic item is a real find, in any condition, but it's even more awesome with such a bright clean appearance.  See the enlarged photographs, which show both the front and the opposite side.  I regret I wasn't able to get decent pictures, as I'm no photographer and it's too huge to fit on the scanner.

  We are also now offering many great old comics and related toys, plus comic-art; And we'll be offering hundreds of other vintage comics in the next few months.  Check out our ebay items regularly!

 This is a great item to have, especially if you like great forty-year old collectibles or vintage proofs and Approval cover-art.  A lot has happened with these childhood favorite characters in the past few decades since this was used to help create history, leading to all the plethora of Ltd Collectors' Editions and Famous First Ed's to follow. 

 This would be a great addition to most fan's collections.  These cool treasury editions from the original series in the seventies are always in demand, whether they are the DC Limited Collector's Editions or the similar 'Famous First Editions', but the actual publisher's proofs are virtually never seen in the market, it's a once-in-a-lifetime event, like this! 

 

Many of you have read about this significant find in C.B.M. and C.B.G. and Alter Ego
(Comic Book Marketplace #85 and Comics Buyer's Guide #'s 1399, 1402, 1414, etc.)   Jack Adler worked through all the major periods of the comics: Golden-Age, Silver-Age, and Bronze-Age.  He even colored the plates for the very first golden-age comic, the landmark introduction of Superman, in Action Comics #1, when he was but a youth in 1938!  He graduated from high school at the age of fifteen, and quickly earned his degree in Fine Art.  He continued his freelance work, including work for the comics and the fashion industry, and eventually became DC Comics' premiere colorist, on staff from the early '50's through the mid '80's, and was head of the art department for much of his tenure.  He became proficient at sculpting, pencilling, inking, painting, and photography. He pioneered the washtone/graytone effect which became so popular on the DC "Big Five" war titles. Plus, he inked many '50's, '60's, and '70's comic covers as well. Moreover, he also developed the "3-D" process used on the Batman 3-D and Superman 3-D comics in 1953; --so we're talking about a top contributor to DC history.     During the summer of 2004, the living legend himself, Jack Adler, (thought by some to have passed away years ago), at the urgings of his kind family, made his very first public appearance, at the San Diego Comic-Con. He was honored Thursday afternoon at the massive annual convention with the Inkpot Award For Excellence for Outstanding Achievement In Comic Art, and a rousing standing ovation from the many onlookers at the panel of Golden-Age and Silver-Age Greats, hosted by Mark Evanier (of course!)  Besides just Mr. Adler, other noteworthy members on the entertaining and informative panel were Tom Gill (RIP), Sid Jacobson, Gene Colan, Frank Springer, Harry Harrison, and Frank Bolle.  On Friday at the Comic Con, there was a one-on-one panel, with just Mark Evanier and Jack Adler, titled "Spotlight On Jack Adler", and many questions were answered for the crowd of audience members, who were kept entertained by the charismatic and respected living legend.  It is amazing how many great names were hired on or got their start in the industry by him.  He also explained how he invented the 3-D image technology popularly used in Viewmasters, but was unable to get the deserved patent, as the film itself had been patented, (but not in a similar 3D format, so he got burned, as viewmaster was able to capitalize on his invention freely!)  Plus, the method that made integrating photo cover and line-drawn cover art easily into a single cover image was also pioneered by this influential innovator.  (The technology was supposed to be kept a secret, but was leaked immediately by a DC exec!)   Julius Shwartz had told him "don't tell me about it, just do it", and when it worked, it worked, and was immediately utilized, as the articulate and charming Adler related.  As an accomplished photographer, he created covers using photographs he had taken of his own grandchildren, producing his own copies of Shazam #2 and #6, which were displayed on an overhead projector to the glee of many enthralled listeners.  The picture of Captain Marvel, sitting reading to the innocent youths, was actually of Jack Adler reading to his grandkids.  (These same grandkids were present at the panel, and turned out to be pleasant, gracious, and kind adults.)  Moreover, he highly touted the art skills of good friends Neal Adams and Joe Kubert, (relating entertaining stories, of course!)  He helped Kubert set up his now legendary School Of Comic Book Art. Once the school was set up, he was supposed to head the school, but had to back out, as he couldn't bring himself to move to New Jersey!   You could write a book on the contributions Mr. Adler has made to the medium many of us know and love.  Mr. Adler passed away in the summer of 2011, at the age of 93.   Back in the "good ole days", DC normally burned or discarded such production art once the comic went to print. Fortunately, during the period of 1967 to 1974, this award-winning artist pulled aside many prime examples, representing each step of the comic-making process. Nevertheless, there's an extremely small amount of these that were saved, considering the volume that was produced in those days. It is estimated that out of 840,000 pieces created for the production process over that time period, only about 4,000 or so survived, thanks to Jack Adler; ~A miniscule pecentage of less than one half of one percent.    This is the actual Cover Proof for the cult-classic comic. The editorial and creative staff reviewed it and approved it for use, to make sure there were no errors or needed improvements, before the actual related book hit the press.   Back in the late eighties, in Texas, Mr. Adler's grandson sold the bulk of his entire collection in one fell swoop. Then, years later, it changed hands again, with the vast majority of the load still untouched... Eventually, after lengthy negotiations, longtime friend and colleague Randy Tusha and myself were able to acquire the whole load, except for the horror, from the Southern California art collector who possessed this landmark find since 1997. The horror genre was obtained after an additional three and a half years of wrangling, and they too are now finding their way into the hands of the true fans, who will preserve and cherish them the right way.  Eventually, I bought out the remainder of Mr. Adler's trove, so even is favorite pieces are now hitting the market, after all these long decades.  For additional information regarding this popular pedigree, check out the lengthy color article on the Adler Collection in the September 2001 issue of Comic Book Marketplace (which is still available from us in another ebay auction) as well as Alter Ego #56 (with a feature interview with Adler, as well as with a few of the great talents he influenced, Joe Kubert, Neal Adams, and Howard Stern.)  Additional cover art can now be found by checking the other Key Comics ebay auctions (User ID: keycomics). Bid aggressively, as such items are typically one-of-a-kind, and pre-1980 DC production pieces as a whole are notoriously rare.   A signed & embossed cardstock Certificate Of Authenticity is included, forever guaranteeing the provenance of each piece from this major historic discovery. Adler's collection of DC's old Approval Covers and Untrimmed Final Test Covers are brilliant and glossy, (obviously very well preserved), and they are even a bit larger than the published items large size; since they were part of the editorial process they can include tack-holes, indentations from a paper clip, staple-holes, chips, pencil notations, tape, and/or edge wear. (This one somehow avoided such detractors!) I hope that the weak, shadowy, low-resolution photos will still convey that this is a great looking showpiece, which would be especially impressive framed. Note: all colors are actually rich and uniform, and extremely bold thoughout!    We have listed this piece of American Pop Culture History at a low price and there is NO RESERVE.  

NO, we don't have doubles of these vintage collectable production art items, so buy aggressively, because once it's gone, IT'S GONE! 

 See Our Other Ebay Listings Regularly; --we're selling '30's - '70's now, and we'll be listing more old comics & artwork soon!

This is perfect for the fan who prefers to own the rarest items, that nobody else gets to possess.

*  WELL PRESERVED PEDIGREE COVER ART *

We are strict graders, prompt shippers & secure packagers, expect to be pleased.

BUY IT NOW PRICE IS LOW AND THERE IS NO RESERVE!

This auction includes: 

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER #1 UNTRIMMED FINAL TEST COVER, THE PUBLISHER'S ACTUAL COVER PROOF, TO THE FAMOUS TREASURY EDITION, (AKA: LIMITED COLLECTOR'S EDITION # C - 20), WITH CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY.

THE DC LIMITED COLLECTOR'S EDITION TREASURY WITH SANTA, RUDOLPH, AND EVEN THE GUNMETAL GREY ROCKET SHIP AS SEEN ON THE FRONT COVER.

Over-sized (10 1/8th x 14 inch),full-color outer full-wrap, but inner portions black & white, includes indicia.  Nothing has been cut out or written upon.

TERRIFIC CONDITION!

USED TO PROOF THE COVER TO THE MILESTONE COLLECTOR'S ITEM SUPER-SIZE DEBUT ISSUE.

This Proof To A Coveted Cult-Classic Treasury Is Ideal For The Advanced Collector Or Any Expert Fan Of Christmas Ephemera.

GREAT PROOF-ART TO THE RARE SPECIAL ISSUE THAT WAS RELEASED DURING THE ORIGINAL HEYDAY OF THE 'WORLD'S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES' TOYS AND GAMES AND PREMIUMS, INCLUDING THE HOT MEGO ACTION-FIGURES AND OTHER RELATED TIE-INS FOR DC COMICS. 

Copyrighted by National Periodical Publications in 1972. 

After all these decades, this looks like it has barely aged!  

KEY COMICS is a Power(GOLD)Seller and CBM Market Reporter and Authorized CGC Member Dealer that has specialized in Mail-Order Comics & Collectibles for well over twenty years;
Buy with confidence. 

We accept PayPal; checks/MO. Inquire if you have other payment-method preferences as we can often accomodate.
BUY IT NOW, ~ AND DON'T REGRET LOSING IT, LATER!

* * SATISFACTION GUARANTEED * *

14-Day Return Privilege

This is the real deal: Expect to be pleased.

Payment due within 10 days of auction close.
Please Include $10 for fast Priority-Mail delivery (boxed securely) within the USA.  Please contact us for current International rates, or with any questions. WIN MORE KEY COMICS AUCTIONS AND SAVE: Additional toys add $2.00 apiece to the shipping costs.  (Plus any extra Insurance desired.) 

KEY COMICS IS ALWAYS DEALING IN OLD COMICS & TOYS & ART!
('30's to '70's)

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