June (Summer) 2012

THE
BIG
LITTLE
TIMES
®
__________________________________________________
SUMMER EDITION
BIG LITTLE BOOK COLLECTOR’S CLUB
P.O. BOX 1242
DANVILLE, CALIFORNIA 94526
JUNE 2012
_______________________________________________________________________________________
JANE ARDEN AND THE VANISHED PRINCESS
WHITMAN BETTER LITTLE BOOK #1498 (1938)
BUCK ROGERS IN THE WAR WITH THE PLANT VENUS
WHITMAN BETTER LITTLE BOOK #1437 (1938)
Back
Front
Cover
Cover
Beginning this year, the Big Little Book Club is publishing
its Big Little Times newsletter on a semi-annual basis. The issue
is larger than previous issues. It contains more articles and lots more
collecting information for Club Members to read and enjoy.
The next issue will be in December
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For this issue, Jon Swartz, Member #1287, has written an extensive
article on the Buck Rogers Big Little Books and the many collectibles that
were produced during the heyday of the comic strip and radio program.
The history of the character, which began in 1928, reveals that he has
never fully lost his appeal to subsequent generations. The pictures of
premiums that accompany the article are from Jon’s extensive collection
of Buck Rogers ephemera.
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Walt Needham, Member #1102, has been a popular contributor of BLT
articles for nearly 20 years. His carefully researched articles provide
details that most collectors don’t know about the characters in the Big
Little Books. In this issue Walt takes us on a journey through the world
of Jane Arden, one of the earliest comic strip characters who exemplified
the changing role of women in the American Society. Although Jane
appeared in just one BLB, her comic book life lasted for many decades
– from 1927 through 1968. For those who remember the strip, they will
recall the wonderful paper doll cut-outs in the Sunday edition of the
strip.
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Very few BLB collectors have seen or heard about BLB cards. Jeff
Kepley, Member #1337, provides an article telling about those very rare
cards that were given away to buyers of BLBs in 1937.
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Thanks to all who have made contributions to this issue of The Big Little
Times.
LARRY LOWERY
Editor
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AMAZING STORIES, AUGUST 1928
The issue that introduced Buck Rogers to the world.
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BUCK ROGERS
INTERPLANETARY MULTI-MEDIA HERO
by
Jon D. Swartz (Member #1287)
In 1928 Philip Francis Nowlan, a Philadelphia newspaperman, wrote the
first science fiction story about his interplanetary hero, Anthony Rogers
(later renamed “Buck” after western star Buck Jones). This initial story,
“Armageddon 2419 A. D.,” appeared in the first American pulp magazine
devoted exclusively to science fiction, Amazing Stories (August issue).
While exploring an abandoned mine, Rogers – a twenty-nine-year-old
former officer in the United States Army Air Corps – falls into a coma after
exposure to leaking radioactive gas and finally wakes up – the only survivor
of the exploring party -- in the twenty-fifth century. The sequel to this initial
story, “The Airlords of Han,” appeared in the March 1929 issue of Amazing
Stories. Other stories followed. A comic strip was created in 1929, and
radio programs (offering Buck Rogers premiums), Big Little Books, comic
books, a movie serial, hardcover and paperback books, a feature film,
many advertising promotions, games, and – finally – two television series,
followed. But Buck was even more successful in the area of toys. In 1934
Daisy began manufacturing BR rocket pistols, and that same year the Louis
Marx company introduced a toy rocket ship. The first rocket pistol was made
from heavy-gauge blued gun steel with nickel-plated trimmings. It made a
loud “zap” when fired, and was nine and a half inches in length. It looked
like the weapon shown in the daily and Sunday comic strips and sold for
50 cents. Costing only 5 cents to make, it was the toy “hit” of 1934. Buck
Rogers was well on his way to becoming the first interplanetary multi-media
hero!
Comic Strip
The first comic strip about Rogers, titled “Buck Rogers 2429 A.D.,” appeared
in newspapers on January 7, 1929 – written by Nowlan and drawn by Richard
(Dick) W. Calkins, an Army Air Force pilot during World War I and a lieutenant
in the Air Force Reserve. At first, the strip’s title was updated each year to keep
500 years difference in time from the present up to date. Eventually, the title
became simply “Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century A.D.” The first series
ran through 1933, with the strips numbered from 1 through 1560, The second
series began in 1934 and ran through 1936. The third series began in 1937 and
the fourth in 1939. In the strip Rogers battled his mortal enemy and rival, Killer
Kane, on land and sea and in space. Kane’s ambition was to conquer the world
and lure Wilma Deering away from Buck. The strip was the first to deal with
science fiction themes in an entertaining manner, and it was very successful.
.
BUCK ROGERS NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIP
Early dailies.
A RECENT MODEL OF THE BUCK ROGERS XZ-38 DISINTEGRATOR RAY PISTOL BY DAISY
Rocket Pistols were first offered by Daisy in 1934.
Cream of Wheat gave them as a premium in 1935.
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Radio Programs
“Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” was an early adventure program based on
the newspaper comic strip – and the first science fiction series on radio. This
15-minute program was broadcast from 1932 to 1936, with brief reincarnations
in 1939, 1940, and finally, during 1946-1947. It was a science fiction thriller
featuring the interplanetary adventures of Rogers, who had been in suspended
animation, but awoke hundreds of years in the future.
In addition to the many futuristic devices that were a regular feature of the program,
the brilliant scientist Dr. Huer provided fantastic new inventions that were often
an important part of the storylines. The first actor to portray Buck was Curtis
Arnall, followed by Carl Frank, Matt Crowley, and John Larkin. Buck’s companion
in most of his adventures, Wilma Deering, was played by Adele Ronson and then
by Virginia Vass; Edgar Stehli played Dr. Huer. The announcers were Fred Uttal,
Paul Douglas, and Kenny Williams. Several premiums were awarded during
the program’s run, and today some of these are quite valuable.
MATTHEW CROWLEY AS CAPTAIN BUCK ROGERS IN A CREAM OF WHEAT PREMIUM.
Photos on back show Black Barney, Killer Kane, Ardala, Lieutenant Wilma Deering, and Willie
(1936)
PREMIUMS - BUCK ROGERS SOLAR SCOUTS RADIO CLUB (1936)
(Interior pages in club manual)
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Buck Rogers Premiums/Toys
There have been many Buck Rogers premiums and toys offered, first by the
sponsors of the Buck Rogers radio programs. In its second year on the air, the
radio show was sponsored by Cocomalt, a food drink, and a book premium of
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was offered. This premium can be found in two
editions, each with a different Cocomalt ad on the back cover. The content of the
book was also used for a Tarzan Ice Cream premium titled Buck Rogers, a shorter
version of the BLB with the illustrations arranged out of order.
In the next few years these early premiums were followed by a flood of other
Buck Rogers premiums and toys: Buck Rogers Cocomalt Map of the Solar
System (1933), Buck Rogers Pistol (1934), Buck Rogers Helmet (1934), Buck
Rogers Rocket Ship (1934), Buck Rogers Pop-Up Books (1935), Buck Rogers
Paint Book (1935), Buck Rogers Space Suit (1935), Buck Rogers Disintegrator
Pistol (1936), and many, many more.
REISSUE OF BUCK ROGERS SPACESHIP
(Martians Invade Jupiter, 1942)
BUCK ROGERS
HALLOWEEN CANDY BUCKET (1980)
Over the years the
Buck Rogers name
has been used on
literally
hundreds
of premiums and
toys (see the several
illustrations included
in these pages for
some examples).
BUCK ROGERS PIN
BUCK ROGERS FIGURE
COLLECTIBLE BUCK ROGERS STAMPS
PUBLISHED WITH SUNDAY STRIPS (1940s)
TWO TOOTSIE TOY BUCK ROGERS ROCKET SHIPS (1930s)
BUCK ROGERS COCOMALT MAP OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (1933)
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NEWSPAPER PREMIUM ILLUSTRATION (1930s)
Set of six Rocketship Balsa Wood Models sold in stores or as newspaper premiums.
AD FOR A BUCK ROGERS CASTER SET FOR MAKING BR FIGURES
Set was first offered in 1934
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BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY ORIGIN PREMIUM
Offered by Kellogg’s (1933)
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COVER AND BACK OF BUCK ROGERS SOLAR SCOUTS PREMIUM
(Cream of Wheat, 1936)
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Big Little Books
Like other popular newspaper comics of
the day, Buck Rogers was reprinted as
Big Little Books by Whitman, using text
adaptations of the daily strips. The strips
were numbered in sequence, but none
of the BLBs contain content from the
first year of the daily newspaper strip.
Indeed, the earliest storyline appeared in
Whitman’s second Buck Rogers BLB in
the form of a hard cover and a 3-color
soft cover version, Buck Rogers in the
City Below the Sea (#765). The story
tells of the sunken city of Atlantis. In
this BLB Buck and Wilma meet Killer
Kane and Ardala Valmar, his female
accomplice, for the first time.
Full-color
Soft Cover
Version
Standard
Hard Cover
With only a slight gap in the storyline,
The Adventures of Buck Rogers (#4057)
was published in 1934 as a Big Big Book.
The content continues with newspaper
strips 817 through 909. The title page
reads “The Story of Buck Rogers on
the Planetoid Eros”. The plot involves
Buck’s adventures on Saturn’s moons,
with the kings of the moons competing
for leadership.
Dr. Huer, Buck’s
scientist friend, resolves the problem by
becoming the emperor of the planetoids.
In 1934 Buck Rogers on the Moons
of Saturn (#1143) was published,
reproducing newspaper strips #910
through #1050 that were originally
published in 1931-1932. The story
tells of an attempt by the Titanians to
dethrone Dr. Huer, who deputizes Buck
and Wilma to put down the uprising.
Kane and Ardala also become involved.
The new inventions introduced in the
story add to the pleasure of reading this
BLB.
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The next BLB in storyline sequence was titled
simply Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (#742).
The story is from newspaper strips published
in 1932-1933, and the content is the last to
be written from Buck’s viewpoint: “Wilma
and I had captured the arch-criminals Killer
Kane and Ardala, and we were now speeding
towards New York with our prisoners in tow.”
The story concerns a race of tiny men called
Asterites who have come to explore Earth.
Their actions hinder Buck and lead to Kane’s
escape – although they eventually help Buck
recapture him.
Big Big Book
#4057
Three-color
Soft Cover
Version
Standard
Hard Cover
The next BLB in storyline order was Buck
Rogers and the Depth Men of Jupiter (#1169).
The content is from daily newspaper strips 1395
through 1514, published in 1933. In pursuit of
Kane and Ardala, Buck, Wilma, and Dr. Huer
rocket to Jupiter and become involved in a war
between the Woofs, who live on the surface of
the planet, and the Depth Men, who live at the
bottom of valleys ten thousand miles deep. Dr.
Huer sends Buck in a special pressurized suit to
the depths of Jupiter to confer with the Depth
Men. Buck is captured and studied. The story
ends with Buck barely escaping from the world
of the Depth Men.
Buck Rogers and the Doom Comet (#1178)
depicts the start of the second strip series,
series #2 beginning with numbers 1 through 90,
published in 1934. Speeding away from their
Um-Yani adventure on Jupiter, Dr. Huer
hears from the president of Earth that a
comet has been sighted that will collide with the
home planet. As a result, the population is in
hysterics. Kane arrives in time to cause more
trouble, and in the end Buck, Wilma, and Dr.
Huer watch from a spaceship as the Earth’s
moon is pulled from its orbit and the Earth
is inundated with tidal waves and massive
destruction. The comet does not hit the planet,
however, and Buck and Wilma return to Earth
to see what remains of civilization.
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Killer Kane shows up again in Buck
Rogers and the Planetoid Plot (#1197),
reproduced from the newspaper series #2
(numbers 241 through 339), published in
1934-1935. This was the last BLB published
by Whitman. From his headquarters on the
planetoid Kan-ar, Kane plots to land the
small planetoid on Earth, in order to cause
massive destruction.
Buck and his
friends foil this plan and capture Kane.
The story ends with our heroes barely
escaping death in a runaway rocket ship. Phil
Nowlan’s name is misspelled on the title
page. At the time The Planetoid Plot sequence
appeared in the newspapers, 1935, Cream
of Wheat began sponsorship of the BR
radio program. This sponsorship lasted
until May 1936, when the slow was dropped
from the airwaves.
The next book in storyline sequence
was Buck Rogers in the War with the
Planet Venus, a Better Little Book (#1437).
The title page reads “Buck Rogers in the
Interplanetary War with the Planet
Venus”, and its content is taken from the
beginning of the newspaper strip series
#3, numbered 1 through 100, published in
1937. This BLB starts with an invasion of
Earth by millions of Venusians, is filled with
complex battle strategies, during which
Wilma is captured, and ends only when the
Venusians are forced to retreat from Earth.
The next Better Little Book was Buck
Rogers Versus the Fiend of Space (#1409),
taken from the newspaper series #3,
numbers 331 through 444, and originally
published in 1938. Mechanical robots
begin abducting Earth’s best scientific
minds, and Dr. Huer is one of the targets. Is
Kane behind the plot? Will Buck be able to
save Dr. Huer and the other scientists? With
the help of The Wokkie, a small elephantlike creature, Buck prevails.
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Buck Rogers in the Overturned World
(#1474) came next, reprinting the strips from
series #3, strips 445 through 630, originally
published in 1938. This is the only BR book
with the Flip-It feature that allows the reader
to view a mini-story when the book’s pages
are turned rapidly with the thumb. In the
main story a Wokkie has his trunk damaged
after being stung by a bee. The Wokkie’s
ability to sniff out Wing Bat Wu leads Buck
to this particular evildoer’s whereabouts. A
disguised Buck infiltrates the enemy defenses, ans he saves Earth from a reversal of its
climates.
The last BLB was Buck Rogers and the Super-Dwarf of Space (#1490), taken from the
newspaper series #4, strips 1 through 138,
originally published in 1939-1940. This is
the only All-Pictures Buck Rogers BLB. After running a Martian blockade, Buck’s ship
is disabled and is drawn outside the solar
system where he encounters a derelict spaceship with only one person aboard, Amora.
She and Buck save a tiny, dwarf-like man
named Bycepps from imprisonment. Then,
together, they all save a planet that has been
overrun by its enemies.
A BUCK ROGERS “COMET SOCKER” TOY (1935)
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Comic Books
In 1940 Famous Funnies issued the first Buck Rogers comic books, and
the run lasted until 1943. The first five issues reprinted artist Rick Yager’s
Sunday storylines. Under its own BR series, Famous Funnies published BR
material from daily and Sunday strips as well as some of its own original
stories. The strip reached its artistic peak when Frank Frazetta took over the
cover art with issue #209. The final issue of this run was dated July 1955.
Toby Press published three issues of BR from January 1951 to June 1951.
Gold Key/Whitman produced their own BR comic books from October 1964
until May 1982, describing them as “movie adaptations/movie editions.”
Finally, in 1990-1991, TSR, Inc. produced ten issues of a BR comic book,
described as a “comics module.”
BUCK ROGERS POP-UP BOOKS
A Giant Movie Edition comic book adaptation of the BR movie was published
in 1979 by Marvel Comics. Then Gold Key and Whitman Comics took over,
continuing their numbering from the 1964 single issue. The Giant Movie
Edition was the same as issues #2-4 published by Gold Key. Sixteen issues
of the Gold Key/Whitman run were issued. Then TSR published a 10-issue
series based on their Buck Rogers XXVC Game from 1990 to 1991.
In 2009, Dynamite Entertainment began a monthly comic book version of
Buck Rogers by writer Scott Beatty and artist Carlos Rafael, with the first issue released in May 2009.
WHITMAN BIG BIG BOOK (1934)
BUCK ROGERS REPRINT COMIC BOOK
Eternity Comics (September 1989)
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Hardcover/Paperback Books
Movie Serial/Feature Film
In addition to the several BR books listed in the Bibliography, there have been
a number of other hardcover/paperback books over the years, including pop-up
books as mentioned earlier. The first such book, published in 1934, was The
Pop-up Buck Rogers in a Dangerous Mission and had a single pop-up in its
center, showing Buck and Wilma in a rocket ship. The book is 64 pages and
4” x 5” x 1.2” in size. A second pop-up book was published in 1935 by Blue
Ribbon Press, titled The Pop-up Buck Rogers in Strange Adventures in the Spider Ship. It was 24 pages with outside dimensions of 8” x 9 1/4” x 3/8” and
contained three pop-ups.
In 1939 Universal Pictures produced Buck Rogers, a movie serial in 12 chapters.
Larry (Buster) Crabbe played Buck, with Constance Moore as Wilma and Jackie
Moran as Buddy. Other featured actors were C. Montague Shaw (Dr. Huer), Henry
Brandon (Captain Laska), Anthony Warde (Killer Kane), Philson Ahn (Saturian
Prince Tallen), William Gould (Air Marshall Kragg), and Jack Mulhall (Captain
Rankin). The plot focused upon an underground revolution that was trying to overthrow the regime of President Killer Kane. Buck sided with the revolutionaries,
battling the Robot Battalion and the Zuggs (low intelligence humanoids who obeyed
their robot leaders), and penetrated Kane’s defenses with the help of a space colony
on Saturn. The spaceship battle in the final chapter (“War of the Planets”) was one
of the most spectacular shown in movies of the time. The serial was re-released
in edited versions in 1953 as Planet Outlaws for theatrical release, and in 1965 as
Destination Saturn for telecast as a television movie.
Other BR hardbound books include Armageddon 2419 A.D. (Avalon, 1962)
and Wings Over Tomorrow (Wildside Press, 2005), both by Nowlan; and Buck
Rogers: A Life in the Future (TSR, Inc., 1995) by Martin Caidin
(containing a reprint of the 1933 32-page premium, Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth
Century). Dell Publishing issued two BR books in 1978-1979, both written by
Addison Steele and both based on teleplays from the TV series. Buck Rogers in
the 25th Century was the first and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: That Man
on Beta was the second. There was also a Buck Rogers Fotonovel that contained
500 color photos from the BR movie, a series of four “annuals” (1981-1984), a
color/activity book, another pop-up book, a Little Golden Book illustrated by
Kurt Schaffenberger (a Captain Marvel and Superman comic book artist), and a
48-page children’s book from Golden Press by Carole and Robert Pierce. Some
of these are listed in the Bibliography.
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Television Series
The first Buck Rogers television series aired on Saturday evenings on ABC. Kem
Dibbs played Buck the initial season, beginning on April 15, 1950; and Robert
Pastene starred the second season. Lou Prentis played Wilma, Harry Southern
played Dr. Huer, and Harry Kingston was the evil Black Barney. The final episode
of this brief series was telecast on January 30, 1951. Most of these actors are
unknown today.
Then, in 1979-1981, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century appeared in another TV
series, this one produced by Universal Studios. In addition, the feature-length
pilot episode for the series was released as a theatrical film several months before
the series aired. The film and series were developed by Glen A. Larson, based
upon the original characters, but with Buck an American astronaut in 1987. In
this version Buck is launched on a deep space probe, but his rocket is blown out
of trajectory and he is frozen for 500 years, returning to Earth in the Twenty-Fifth
Century. The cast consisted of Gil Gerard as Rogers, Erin Gray as Wilma, Tim
O’Connor as Dr. Huer, Pamela Hensley as Princess Ardala, Wilfrid Hyde-White
as Dr. Goodfellow, Thom Christopher as Hawk, Jay Garner as Admiral Asimov,
and Mel Blanc supplied the voice of Twiki, the robot. Glen Larson wrote some
of the early episodes, and there were many guest stars, including a 71-year-old
Buster Crabbe as an aging brigadier. DVDs of the complete Universal series are
still available to the public.
The popularity of the TV series led to the revival of the Buck Rogers
newspaper strip, daily and Sunday, drawn by Gray Morrow and written
by Jim Lawrence. The strip ran from September 9, 1979 until October 26,
1980, and was later reprinted in its entirety, with the Sunday strips in color,
in a large trade edition paperback.
EPISODE GUIDE FOR THE 1979-1981 BUCK ROGERS TV SERIES ON NBC (1980s)
MacDONALD’s/COCA COLA TV POSTER
TV-RELATED COMIC BOOK
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Some of the Creative People Associated with Buck Rogers
John Flint Dille: In a sense Dille was the one who made it all happen. In the late
1920s he was president of the National Newspaper Syndicate of America and had
been thinking about adding a futuristic comic strip to his lineup of strips. When
Philip Nowlan came to him and presented his ideas for such a strip, Dille liked
Nowlan’s idea well enough to assign a Syndicate cartoonist (Calkins) to do a
sample strip. The rest, to coin a phrase, is comic strip history!
Philip Francis Nowlan (1888 - 1940): From his boyhood Nowlan was a fan of
the stories of Jules Verne. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania,
where he played football and acted in university shows, Nowlan worked as a
newspaper columnist. He moved to the Philadelphia suburb of Bala Cynwyd
and created and wrote the Buck Rogers comic strip. He also wrote several other
stories for the science fiction magazines as well as the posthumously published
mystery, The Girl from Nowhere. He was married to Theresa Marie Junker,
daughter of a Philadelphia baker, and they had ten children – four girls and six
boys.
Richard W. Calkins (1895 - 1962): A cartoonist for the National Newspaper
Syndicate of America, “Dick” Calkins had been a pilot in the Army Air Force
during World War I, was a lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve and co-creator of
Skyroads (an airplane adventure strip), when he was asked to do the artwork on
the new Buck Rogers strip. Calkins drew the strip for many years, taking over its
direction when Nowlan died in 1940.
Curtis Arnall (1898 - 1964): In addition to acting, Arnall had many different jobs
during his life. He was at times a cowboy, broker, fisherman, Coast Guardsman,
and telegrapher. Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he appeared in local theater,
including roles at the Pasedena Playhouse. In addition to playing Buck Rogers
on the radio, he was Red Davis (and later was the first Pepper Young) and had
roles on several other serials, including Just Plain Bill and One Man’s Family.
Rick Yager (1909 - 1995): Richard Sidney Yager was an artist most famous
for his work on the Buck Rogers comic strip. Yager was hired by the National
Newspaper Syndicate in 1933 to work on the Sunday Buck Rogers page, thus
beginning a 25- year run in which he was to be the backbone of the strip. One of
his first contributions was a series of rocket ships that appeared in the last panel
of each page. Some of these designs would later be licensed by other companies
and made into Tootsietoy rocket ships and balsa wood construction kits that sold
by the tens of thousands during the Buck Rogers merchandising craze of the mid
1930s.
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Frank Frazetta: Frazetta (1928 - 2010) was an award-winning science fiction
and fantasy artist, noted for his work in comic books, comic strips, magazines,
paperback book covers, dust jackets, paintings, posters, and other media. He
and his wife Eleanor had four sons. A recipient of the Award of Merit from the
Society of Illustrators, he was the subject of a 2003 documentary.
Martin Caidin (1927 - 1997) was a pilot, an author, and an expert on aviation
and aeronautics. He wrote many books including Marooned, Black Thursday,
Thunderbolt, Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38, and A Torch to the Enemy. In
addition, he wrote more than 1,000 magazine articles and countless screenplays.
He created the Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman for television and
also established his own company to promote aeronautical subjects for young
people.
Richard A. Lupoff: Dick Lupoff, born in 1935, has been a critic and historian
of popular culture for many years. His books include Edgar Rice Burroughs:
Master of Adventure (1965), Lovecraft’s Book (1985), and The Great American
Paperback (2001). In addition, he is a science fiction and mystery novelist.
Addison E. Steele was one of Lupoff’s pseudonyms.
Larry (Buster) Crabbe (1908 - 1983): In 1933 Crabbe starred in King of the
Jungle as Kaspa, the Lion Man. Publicity for this film emphasized his having
won the 1932 Olympic 400-meter freestyle swimming championship. In 1933
Crabbe starred in Tarzan the Fearless, released as both a feature and a serial.
Just prior to the film’s release Crabbe married his college sweetheart, and they
subsequently had two daughters and a son. Paramount put him in a number of
Zane Grey westerns, then Universal gave him the lead in two very successful
science fiction serials (Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon). He was active on TV in the
1950s, and during 1956-1957 had the title role in the adventure series, Captain
Gallant and The Foreign Legion.
Constance Moore (1919 - 2005): A band vocalist and radio singer, Moore entered
films after starring on Broadway in 1942. In addition to the Buck Rogers serial,
she appeared in many movies of the late 1930s and 1940s. Later in her career
she co-starred with Robert Young in the TV series Window on Main Street (19611962).
Kem Dibbs (1917 - 1996): Dibbs, who starred in the 1950 - 1951 television
version of Buck Rogers, died at the age of 78 on March 28 in Rancho Mirage,
California. This ABC series lasted only nine months, and Dibbs was replaced by
another actor before the show ended. Dibbs went on to appear on many other
TV programs, including Batman, Rawhide, Studio One, and Playhouse 90, and in
such movies as The Ten Commandments, Paths of Glory, Party Girl, and Abbott
and Costello Meet the Mummy.
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Adele Ronson (1906 - 2000): Actress-singer Ronson was also a radio announcer.
In addition to playing Wilma Deering on the Buck Rogers program, she appeared
on such radio programs as John’s Other Wife, The Coty Playgirl, The Eno Crime
Club, We Love and Learn, The Gibson Family, Meyer the Buyer, and Show Boat.
Glen A. Larson: Glen Albert Larson, born in 1937 in Los Angeles, California
-- a former singer and song writer -- is a television producer and writer, best
known as the creator of the TV series The Fall Guy, Knight Rider, Magnum, P. I.,
and Battlestar Galactica. Larson re-used some of the sets, props, costumes, and
effects work from Galactica to create the science fiction series Buck Rogers in
1979. The feature-length pilot episode was released as a theatrical film in March
1979 and grossed $21 million in North America alone.
Gil Gerard: Gerard was born January 23, 1943, in Little Rock, Arkansas. His
father was a salesman, his mother a college instructor. He married his third wife,
actress Connie Selleca, in 1979 (divorced, 1987); and they had a son, Gib. He has
acted in movies as well as television. He also writes poetry.
Erin Gray: Gray was born on January 7, 1950 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She graduated
from Pacific Palisades High School and then briefly attended UCLA, focusing on
math. She has also acted in movies as well as television. Her second marriage
was to Richard Hissong in 1991. Their daughter Samantha plays Buck Rogers’
girlfriend, Maddy, in the pilot episode of James Cawley’s Buck Rogers Begins
Internet video series. Gray and Gerard reunited in 2009 for this series, playing
the characters’ parents in the pilot episode.
Mel Blanc (1908 - 1989): Melvin Jerome Blanc began as a musician, playing
with various bands in the Northwest. He made his radio debut in 1927. In 1937
he signed a contract with Warner Brothers, for whom he was to perform the
voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and countless other animated
characters. Blanc later worked for Hanna-Barbera’s TV cartoons. He earned the
nickname “The Man of a Thousand Voices” and is regarded as one of the most
influential people in the voice-acting industry. He voiced the robot Twiki on the
Buck Rogers TV series during 1979-1981.
Gray Morrow (1934 - 2001): Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Morrow is best
known as the art director of Spiderman between 1967 and 1970 and as illustrator
of the syndicated Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Prince Valiant comic strips,
among others.
James Lawrence: Lawrence has written fiction extensively for both children and
adults in a variety of media: books, magazine articles, film and radio scripts, and
comic strips. His radio credits include weekly scripts for Sergeant Preston of the
Yukon, The Green Hornet, and Sky King. In addition to Buck Rogers, he has
written for newspaper comic strips such as Dallas, Joe Palooka, Captain Easy,
and Friday Foster.
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AD FOR NEW BUCK ROGERS PRODUCTS
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BUCK ROGERS COCOMALT BLB
PREMIUM - 1933
Arrived in a box with a letter from
Buck Rogers.
BUCK ROGERS COMIC STRIP
REPRINT BOOKS
The Collected Works of Buck Rogers
Chelsea House Publishers 1969
Editor Robert Dille
Intro by Ray Bradbury
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Buck Rogers Complete Newspaper
Dailies Hermes Press 2009
Editor Ron Goulart
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News from the Buck Rogers Website
A Buck Rogers website exists on the Internet and reports that new Buck Rogers
board games and a chess set are in development. Based on the 20s -30s style of
Buck Rogers, a “Modar’s Gauntlet” is available now. In addition, Retro A Go
Go is developing high-end Belt Buckles, Key Chains, Card Cases, Embroidered
Patches, and more. ZICA Toys has announced an all new, highly articulated
1/9th scale line of action figures based on the television movie and series, Buck
Rogers In The 25th Century. Dynamic Forces has launched another comic book
vision of Buck Rogers. Cawley Entertainment Company and Retro Film Studios
announces an Internet Series For Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. Go Hero
has brought back a full scale, sparking-popping replica of the 1930s Atomic
Disintegrator, originally released by Daisy. Flint Dille (grandson of John F.
Dille) wrote, “When Steve Forde showed me the Go Hero collectible figures
he was developing, I was amazed! They’re great. They set the benchmark for
the quality we want with all of the Buck Rogers products we’ll be releasing.”
ReelArt Studios is creating a 50’s style statue. Hermes Press is releasing every
Buck Rogers Daily and Sunday Comic strip in a series of books that started in late
2008. It has also been reported that the entire comic strip canon will be available
in one pristine quality presentation.
Bibliography
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies,
6 Volumes, 2008-2012 Neshannock, PN: Hermes Press, 2009.
Caidin, Martin. Buck Rogers: A Life in the Future. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR,
1995.
DeLong, Thomas A. Radio Stars. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1996.
Dille, Robert C. (Ed.). The Collected Works of Buck Rogers in
25th Century. NY: Chelsea House, 1969.
the
Goulart, Ron. “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.: The 60th Anniversary of a
Special SF Hero.” In Amazing Stories (September, 1988), pp. 87-95.
Harmon, Jim. The Great Radio Heroes. NY: Doubleday, 1967.
Harmon, Jim and Donald Gint. The Great Movie Serials. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1972.
Lowery, Lawrence F. (ed.). The Big Little Times, Volume VI, Number 4, July-August,
1987.
Concluding Remarks
It certainly seems that Buck Rogers has not been forgotten, especially if one
believes all that is posted on the Buck Rogers Website. In fact, it looks as if he
may be poised for yet another comeback. We should all be thankful if this is the
case. Interplanetary multi-media Buck has been with us too long to be ignored
now that the exploration of space is actually taking place.
On the other hand, it seems the Cawley Entertainment Company/Retro Films
Studio project, Buck Rogers Begins, may be stalled and may not even be finished.
The show was set to star Bobby Quinn Rice of Star Trek: New Voyages (Phase
II) fame as a young Buck Rogers and Samantha Gray Hissong as Madison Gale,
Buck’s love interest. Apparently, the necessary funding has not been raised to
produce the new TV series. Buck Rogers Begins was off to a good start, however,
as Cawley and company were working with The Dille Family Trust (who still
hold the rights to the Buck Rogers character), and even the original stars of the
1980s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV series, Gil Gerard and Erin Gray, had
been cast as Buck’s parents.
32
Lowery, Lawrence F. The Golden Age of Big Little Books. Danville, CA:
Educational Research and Applications LLC, 2007.
Nowlan, Philip Francis. Armageddon 2419 A.D. NY: Avalon Books, 1962.
Nowlan, Philip Francis. Wings Over Tomorrow. Rockville, MD: Wildside
Press, 2005.
Reinehr, R. C. & Jon D. Swartz. The A to Z of Old-Time Radio. Lanham, MD:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.
Swartz, Jon D. & Robert C. Reinehr. Handbook of Old-Time Radio: A
Comprehensive Guide to Golden Age Radio Listening and Collecting.
Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1993.
Weinberg, Robert. A Biographical Dictionary of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists. NY: Greenwood Press, 1988.
33
WHITMAN LETTER March 3, 1939_____________________________________________________
THE COLLECTOR’S CORNER
Collectors seldom get to see or learn about the decisions made behind the scenes
of producing a product. Reading correspondence between a publisher and author
or artist provides some insight into the workings that underpin a product.
In past issues of the BLT, some correspondence has been reproduced - most
notably the letters between Whitman and Disney concerning the first Mickey
Mouse BLB.
Bob Barrett, Member #860, sent information concerning correspondence
between the Whitman Publishing Company and artist John Coleman Burroughs
regarding a never published Better Little Book for which John Coleman
Burroughs did the illustrations and for which he was paid.
The agreement was for JCB to illustrate a manuscript for a BLB titled The Two
Gun Kid and the Bad Land Raiders. The plan got underway in March of 1939,
just after the change in the BLB logo from Big Little Book to Better Little Book.
With Bob’s permission, the sequence of the correspondence is reproduced on the
following pages. You can see the progress of the plan, the amount paid to an
artist in those days. But no one knows why this completed BLB never went to
press. It is also not known who wrote the Western story or the number of pages
intended for the book.
JCBs relationship with Whitman began at the start of the Better Little Book
era (1939-1949). He illustrated several BLBs and BLB covers (e.g., John
Carter of Mars #1402, Charlie Chan, Villainy on the High Seas #1424, The
Shadow and the Ghost Makers #1495). He also did two BLBs besides the Two Gun
Kid that were never completed: Tarzan and Tantor (the narrative might not have
been long enough to fill a BLB) and Captain Marvel (a legal battle between the
Superman publisher and the Captain Marvel publisher brought this work to an
end before publication).
BURROUGHS LETTER March 12, 1939
________
The sequence of the following letters is interesting. It begins on March 3, 1939
with Whitman’s invitation to JCB to illustrate the manuscript. JCB accepts
the invitation, and Whitman sends panels in which to do the illustrations and
offers $250 for the work. On May 6, 1939 JCB sends the finished work. Whitman
acknowledges receipt and sends the agreed upon payment.
34
35
WHITMAN LETTER March 16, 1939___________________________________________________
BURROUGHS LETTER May 6, 1939__________________________________________________
WHITMAN LETTER May 11, 1939______________________________________________________
BURROUGHS LETTER May 6, 1939__________________________________________________
36
37
•
•
•
•
In 1938 the Dell Publishing Company worked with Whitman to publish the
Famous Feature Stories book. It contained stories about Whitman’s licensed
characters. The story lines were written by Whitman free-lance authors and the
illustrations were captioned pictures adapted from the Big Little Book format.
The copy I showed in the Golden Age of Big Little Books had a back cover that
repeated the picture on the front cover. Recently it was discovered that some
copies of the book have an ad on the back cover. This suggests that the book
underwent a second printing and that the ad is a way to tell one printing from
another.
•
•
One of the more popular Mickey Mouse BLBs is Mickey Mouse in the
Blaggard Castle. The story line and illustrations were adapted from the 1932 daily
comic strip done by Floyd Gottfredson. The story tells about Mickey and his friend
Horace Horsecollar when they visit the Castle and meet Professor Ecks,
Doublex and Triplex, three brothers who are mad scientists engaged in testing a
new hypnotic ray gun. They are not sure if it will work and state “If our ray is
shorter than an X-Ray, your brain will be hypnotized. . . but if it isn’t, then it will
be an X-Ray! and your brain, instead of being hypnotized, will be burned!”
This claim about X-Rays in the strip scared some young readers so much so
that Dr. Rubin G. Alley of the Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania wrote to the Disney Studio to complain that the story was
frightening his patients. Gottfredson and others working on the strip issued a
personal apology to the doctor, complete with specially drawn Mickey Mouse art.
FAMOUS FEATURE STORIES
Back Cover - First Printing
The letter reads “Dear Doc:
I’m awfully sorry you had
trouble on account of my adventures in the comic strip.
Of course I know X-Rays
can’t hurt you, but Horace
didn’t know it and the professors are all crazy, so they
didn’t! Do you see? So I hope
you’ll show this letter to the
little boy who was scared,
and tell him that when anything gets wrong with me, the
first thing I do is go to a hospital. And then I do whatever
the doctor tells me. ‘Cause
doctors always know best.
Your Pal, Mickey Mouse.”
FAMOUS FEATURE STORIES
Back Cover - Second Printing
•
•
•
Whitman’s transition books appeared in 1938. A
transition book is one that was published at the time
Whitman changed its patented logo and phrase “Big
Little Book” to “Better Little Book.” Thus some
1938 BLB titles have variations in printing. Some
can be found with the Big Little Books logo and a
blacked out logo. Some have a blacked out logo and
a Better Little Book logo. Some have variations in
their ads at the back of the book (e.g., Smitty Goes
Native has at least 5 variations). All these variations
appeared in the first 1400 series (1938). When the
variations were described and listed in an issue of
the BLT, it was speculated that more variations in
this 1400 series might be discovered. And one was
discovered earlier this year - Flash Gordon in the
Water World of Mongo.
38
The art and lettering style matches those of the “Blaggard Castle” story. It seems
a sure bet that this apology was bound to calm the nerves of the doctor’s young
patients, specially since it came straight from Mickey Mouse!
NEWLY DISCOVERED
TRANSITION BOOK
This apology letter was recently offered through a Hake’s Americana and
Collectibles Auction.
39
•
•
•
•
For many years, Jim Blackledge, Member #565, and I have been tracking down
BLB-related items published in other countries. Although Argentina and Brazil
reproduced many different Whitman titles, most translations are of Disney books
- mainly Mickey Mouse.
Recently Jim found one translated into German and published in Germany. I
found one in Italian and published in Italy. Others have been found in Danish and
published in Denmark. A box set of Wee Little Books were discovered in Great
Britain. Here are examples of our most recent finds.
•
•
Other foreign items that some BLB collectors like to add to their collections are
the Great Britain air raid books for kids. These books are about the size of the
Whitman Penny Books. The British called them Better Little Books. They were
published by Raphael Tuck and Sons Ltd. during the years of the German blitz
of England. A purpose for the books was to give youngsters something “to read
during air-raids to take their minds off things.”
Tuck published dozens of these little books, 3 1/2” x 2 1/2”, 32 pages plus a full
color cover illustration, and staples at the side.. There is an ad on the back cover.
Some of these little books contain factual information (many are based upon
military subjects that were highly relevant during the early 1940s), most contain
fiction, and others feature biographies of historical figures. The interior contains
6 black and white illustrations scattered within the text.
TRANSLATED BLB - DENMARK
TRANSLATED BLB - GERMANY
TRANSLATED BLB - ITALY
TRANSLATED BLB - HOLLAND
TRANSLATED BLB - ITALY
The Blitz (the German word for “lightning”) was the sustained strategic bombing
of Britain and Northern Ireland by Nazi Germany at the start of WWII. It took
place between September 7, 1940 and May 10, 1941. London, was bombed by
the Luftwaffe for 57 consecutive nights. More than one million London houses
were destroyed or damaged, and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, almost
half of them in London. The city centre of Coventry was almost completely destroyed in one night raid. The population hid in subways and other shelters during the bombings. It was common for the children to read the Better Little Books
in the shelters. The bombing did not achieve its intended goals of demoralizing
the British into surrender or significantly damaging their war economy. In fact,
the eight months of bombing never seriously hampered British production and
its war industries continued to operate and expand.
After the successful Allied landing in Europe, the Germans launched the first V-1
rocket bomb on London. It continued sending more than 100 a day into southeast
England for a total of 9,521 V-1 bombs before the war ended.
The British Better Little Books are historically interesting and highly collectible. You can see a nice collection of them on the Deke Wilson (Member #1010)
website: www.dekescollection.net
TRANSLATED BLB - BRAZIL
TRANSLATED BLB - SPAIN
40
BOX SET OF WEE LITTLE BOOKS
GREAT BRITAIN
41
LETTERS
•
I have been a BLB Club member for some 28 years, and although I have not (yet)
had the pleasure of meeting you personally, I feel a sense of kinship respect for
your work, and good fellowship that is difficult to describe, but deeply felt.
I want to thank you for the effort you have sustained over all these years to bring
enjoyment to me, and to all BLB Club members. The quality of your research,
your obvious delight when uncovering new “discoveries”, your unique ability
to integrate knowledge of the story lines and artists into the cultural context of
the period over which the books were produced - all these aspects provided a
“richness” to BLB Club membership that helped to make collecting BLBs such
a joyful activity.
I’m very glad that the Club was not dissolved at year end of 2011. It may be a
small organization, but my intuition tells me it has made a big impact on those of
us fortunate enough to have discovered the many pleasures of membership
BOB HEWITT
Member #221
Thank you, Bob, for your nice comments. And thanks to the several hundred Club
members who also wrote and gave thanks for the continuation of the Club and its
newsletter.
•
•
•
I am pleased that the BLB Club is continuing. Through its newsletter, The
Big Little Times, and its publications, The Golden Age of Big Little Books and
The Collector’s Guide to Big Little Books, we have been able to store in our
Americana portion of our library more information on Western, Whitman, and
the BLBs than anywhere else. Who knows what persons in the future will want
to research an interesting part of American history (the 1930s and 1940s) to say
something about it to future generations. This legacy is important and would
be lost forever if just stored in the memories of those who experienced it. Such
important writings are what libraries are all about – to store and preserve
historical information and other knowledge. As a librarian, I
appreciate such work and am pleased that some collectors, like yourself, take the
time to write about the materials that you collect. The typical “picture books” and
“price guides” do not add to historical knowledge. Thanks again, for continuing a
Club that provides knowledge about its collectibles.
AMY PEARSON
Librarian
42
•
•
Having trouble identifying the “paper spine” variety of the Moon Mullins
and Kayo BLB (GW26a) and the “hard cover spine” version, (GW26c). The
spines of all copies I have seen to date have a thin piece of board backing them.
However, since the “board” is considerably thinner than the boards of the front
and back covers, it may be giving them the appearance of a paper spine. The
spines are not as stiff as later hard cover spine books (like Moon Mullins and the
Plushbottom Twins, which has the usual backing thickness of the covers).
Is it possible that these lighter-board spines might be categorized as the “paper
spine” variety, and the “hard cover spine” would be something that I haven’t
yet encountered??....or do copies exist that are truly paper spines without any
stiffening behind them? Does the light-weight stiffener mean it’s a “hard cover
spine”?
JOHN PANSMITH
Member #810
You have asked some good questions, John. My thoughts about the differences
in spines on early BLBs are speculations based upon the many copies of those
books that have passed through my hands. Each time I get a BLB, I compare it
to the copy I have in my basic collection. This procedure has led to discoveries
of differences.
When the paper spines were first noticed, I wrote an article about them in the
Big Little Times – Volume 5, Number 6. For some of those early BLBs there may
have been 3 spine variations (no cardboard, thin cardboard, thick cardboard).
But I’ve never found 3 variations for any one title. And for the first Dick Tracy
BLB, I’ve never found one with a reenforced spine. This does not mean that one
does not exist.
What I called “paper spine” was for books that had no cardboard in the spine
–they are really just the cover paper with no stiffening. I have 11 titles with paper
spines. They are the first 11 BLBs published by Whitman.
For the hard cover I did not differentiate between “thin” cardboard and the
later “thick” cardboard. I have the same 11 titles with cardboard in the spines
(some thin and some thick). I assumed that the thin cardboard was Whitman’s
test to see if it would work OK. Whitman eventually ended up with the thicker
cardboard spine.
I am sure that Whitman discovered early on that
the spine ripped easily. Today it is hard to find
these titles with unripped spines.
Hope this clarifies my interpretation of what was
taking place in those early days of developing
BLBs.
43
PLEASE, DON’T EVER DO THIS!
JANE ARDEN
FEARLESS GIRL REPORTER
AND THE MOST
BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE NEWSPAPER WORLD1
by
Walt Needham (Member #1102)
Although little recognized today, Jane Arden was one of the most robust of the
comic heroines to appear in newspapers and the BLB format. While there was
only one Jane Arden Better Little Book published, she had an exceptionally
long newspaper run. She was among the first major comic characters to become
involved in World War II plots. She was featured on radio and in the movies.
She appeared for years as a paper doll on a Sunday page with many cut-out
fashions sized to fit her various poses. Because the newspaper media supported
two characters identified as Jane Arden in the 1960s, her career ended as a nurse
or an employee of a small western town newspaper in the 1800s.
Being a reporter Jane has been described on occasion as a Lois Lane-type.
However; this is not an accurate comparison. Jane was without a Superman or
even a Clark Kent. She seldom needed a male to rescue her. Jane was similar to
Brenda Starr in personality. Brenda appeared in newspaper comics several years
later.
Jane Arden was more popular in Canada and Australia than in the United States.
Possibly this was due to this strip’s early use of WWII themes. Canada felt the
effects of the war more directly as its freighters were torpedoed before America’s
vessels became Germany’s targets. People living in previously English colonies
had close ties with those who were enduring the nightly bombing of the mother
cities.
Another reason for its popularity in general was the production of numerous Jane
Arden paper dolls and costumes. The girls of that era enjoyed seeing the styles
of the times while the boys liked seeing the attractive Jane in her underwear. Its
many years of newspaper publication allowed for massive collections of dolls and
clothing. An example of a 1930s Jane Arden and her collection of sports outfits
can be found in Trina Robbins (4) book on paper dolls. Even now newspaper Jane
Arden dolls and costumes are popular sales items on EBay.
The Jane Arden newspaper strip itself ran for over forty years, beginning in 1927
and ending in 1968 (2). It was created for the Register and Tribune Syndicate. It
was first written by Monte Barrett and drawn by Frank Ellis. At first its plots were
quite insipid, the stories emphasizing romance more than adventure. The drawing
was far from dynamic as well. Significant changes occurred in the 1930s when
new artists were added. It was expanded from a daily to include a Sunday page
with a separate story. Added was a side panel with Jane Arden paper dolls and
clothing appropriate to her current adventure. Readers would send in their own
suggestions as to clothing design. Their names were printed along with the outfits.
Jane Arden also included a Lena Pry topper, featuring a character that was true to
her Dickensonian name.
Barrett died in 1949 and Walt Graham took over the scripting until 1968. There
were many artists to follow when Frank Ellis left, most notable being Russell
Ross. Ross gave the characters his individual style as well as added new ones,
such as Tubby, an office boy, abducted from the comics, Flying to Fame and
Slim and Tubby (3). Others were gradually added to the cast: Honey Chile and
Police Inspector Murphy (4). By this time Jane was well established as a
reporter/adventurer. When Ross left in 1955, he was followed by Jim Seed,
William Hargis, and Bob Schoenke. As the newspaper str ip drew to an end, Jane
shared it with a cowboy hero of the Old West.
44
JANE ARDEN PAPER DOLLS
45
As noted earlier, Jane Arden and the Vanished Princess was the only Better
Little Book in which Jane appeared. Published in 1938, the original writer,
Monte Barrett, furnished the plot, but the illustrator was now Russell Ross, the
second artist who drew her newspaper adventures. The plot no longer involved
gangsters but was concerned with international events.
Tania, the lovely princess of
Anderia, disappeared and unless she
returned in time for her coronation,
her country would be placed
under the rule of the evil Grand
Duke.
Because of her striking
resemblance
to
the
princess,
Prime Minister, Count Moritz,
recruits Jane to travel to Anderia to help prevent this from
happening and to take Tania’s place if
necessary. Wolfe and Sloane, spies
working for the Grand Duke, kidnap
not only the princess but Jane and her
friends. Jane concocts a plot to free
them all.
There is a subplot consisting of an intrigue involving the Anderian spies who are
trying to help Jane. The princess who had been kept a prisoner is located and she is
freed in time to thwart the Grand Duke’s false coronation. Jane supplies the proof
of the Prime Minister’s treason.
EXAMPLES OF THE JANE ARDEN COMIC STRIP
Jane’s adventures could be found in other media as well. A radio show, The
Adventures of Jane Arden (2), was first broadcast in June 1938 from New York on
WTZ. Several months later it moved to the Blue Network. Although termed by
Dunning (1) as a soap opera instead of adventure program, it seemed to involve
more detection than soap bubbles. For example, although most of the programs
are lost, one was titled Murder in the Elevator. Each serialized episode ran for
15 minutes and was heard every weekday at 10:15 AM. Jane was played by Ruth
Yorke, a veteran radio actor who had been awarded the title role in Marie, the
Little French Princess. Radio buffs recognize this program to be the first daytime
soap opera aired on CBS. The Adventures of Jane Arden, sponsored by Ward
Baking left the air in June of 1939.
Rosella Towne starred in the movie, The
Adventures of Jane Arden, released in 1939.
Apparently Warner Brothers intended it to
be the first of a series of films but this was
not to be.
The movie trailer is available on You-Tube
(Just Google The Adventures of Jane Arden),
but the film itself is hard-to-find. The plot is
domestic rather than foreign.
Jane
leaves her reporter job to go undercover,
pretending to be a jewel thief in order to
bring a gang of real jewel smugglers to
justice. However, her identity becomes
known and she is often in danger. In the
film, Jane is given a romantic partner,
Ed Towes, who is played by William
Gargan.
STILLS FROM THE FILM THE ADVENTURES OF JANE ARDEN
46
47
Was there either a real or fictional character that inspired the creation of Jane
Arden? Several possibilities have been suggested: Nellie Bly was a spunky news
reporter employed by the Hearst chain who went around the world; Beatrice Fairfax, pen name of real journalist, Marie Manning, was well known at the turn of the
century. The Film Producers had turned Beatrice into a movie heroine. Although
Miss Manning’s real job was giving advice to the lovelorn, Beatrice became a
reporter/adventurer, solving crimes in
1916 with the 15-chapter Beatrice
Fairfax serial. Mary McGrory, a
Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist who
was on Nixon’s hate list because of
her work in the Watergate scandal,
lists Jane Arden as her inspiration for
becoming a reporter (2).
Reprints of the Jane Arden newspaper
strips appeared in comic books, starting with Famous Funnies #2 which
was published in September of 1934
(2).
MARY McGRORY
After Issue #35, the reprints were moved to Feature Funnies #1 which began in
1937. The magazine was later changed to Feature Comics. Crack Comics #1 to
#25, also had an Arden presence. Jane had her own comic for two issues in the
United States. On the other hand, Australia Atlas Publication gave Jane her own
magazine for 29 issues. Jane Arden coloring books were also for sale.
In her last newspaper appearances Jane “time-traveled” to the 19th Century
American West, teaming up with a cowboy that Bob Schoecke had created earlier.
The comic was called Laredo and Jane, Jane this time worked for a frontier town
newspaper. This lasted until 1968.
As the Jane Arden newspaper comic wound down, Auden Publishers issued a
group of books for young people with a heroine named Jane Arden. Apparently
the name “Jane Arden” has not been copywrited or some arrangement was made
with the Register and Tribune Syndicate for its use.
This Jane was not the old Jane Arden pursuing a second career as a middle aged
woman. She was a young, sophisticated nurse whose author borrowed from the
titles of the highly successful Cherry Ames series books. They included Jane
Arden Student Nurse, Jane Arden Registered Nurse, Jane Arden Head Nurse, Jane
Arden Space Nurse, Jane Arden Staff Nurse, Jane Arden’s Home Coming, and
Jane Arden Surgery Nurse. Written by Kathleen Harris as romances, they began
in the 1950s and continued to the 1960s. They were first published in hard cover,
and were successful enough to be reprinted in paperback. However, they did not
reach the popularity of Jane Arden in her prime or the Cherry Ames epics.
Perhaps there is no need for a Jane Arden, Reporter. Many of today’s real women
reporters have her characteristics. Improved equal opportunities for men and
women do not make her position a novelty. She has disappeared as an entity but
she is present in many of today’s media heroines,
JANE ARDEN COMIC BOOK
JANE ARDEN COMIC BOOK
BOOK: CHERRY AMES SERIES
JANE ARDEN COLORING BOOK
48
49
References
1. Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio.
New York: Oxford University Press.
2. Author Unknown. (ND). Jane Arden (Comics). Wikipedia
3/29/2012 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Arden_
CLASSIFIED ADS
BLB ITEMS WANTED
BLB ITEMS FOR SALE
BRITISH AIR RAID BOOKLETS
Retrieved on
Pre-1941 Tuck and Sons Publishers
32-page format
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Very Good/Fine
Book has number
written on cover
$10.00
3. Goulart, Ron. (1990). The Encyclopedia of American Comics. New York:
Facts on File, Inc.
4. Robbins, Trina (1987). Paper Dolls from the Comics. Forestville, CA: Eclipse
Comics.
David Livingston
Very Good/Fine
Book has number
written on cover
$10.00
5. Author Unknown.
(ND). Don Markstein’s Toonopedia: Jane Arden.
Retrieved on 4/6/2012 at http://toonopedia.com/janearden.htm
Sir Francis Drake
Fine
Book has number
written on cover
$12.00
The tory of Canada
Fine
Book has number
written on cover
$12.00
BOOKLETS FOR SALE
TheStory of South Africa
Fine
Book has number
wirtten on cover
$12.00
The Tuck Air-raid booklets shown in
the next column are hard to get in Great
Britain and rare to find in the U.S.
Please add $1.50 for shipping for any
number of Air-raid booklets purchased.
LARGER AIR RAID BOOKLETS
16-page + cover format
Send payment to:
Larry Lowery
P.O. Box 1242
Danville, CA 94526
[email protected]
(925) 837-2086
When Jungle Drums Beat!
Fine
$15.00
Secrets of the Manor
Fine
$15.00
Rainbow Island
Fine
$15.00
MIGHTY MIDGET AIR RAID BOOKLET
32-page format
The Red Flash
Very Good
Date stamped on cover
$15.00
50
51
BIG LITTLE BOOK
PROMOTIONAL CARDS
by
Jeff Kepley
Non-sport card collector and BLB Club member #1337
Working with Stephen Slesinger, Inc., the Whitman Publishing Company
produced and distributed Big Little Book cards in 1937 to promote certain titles
in the Big Little Book 1100 Series. These cards were similar to the popular
Goudey baseball cards of the 1930’s. On one side of each card there is a full
color illustration taken from a Big Little Book (BLB) being promoted, and on the
other side is part of the story, rewritten to motivate the reader into buying more
Big Little Books.
The cards were numbered sequentially but divided into seven sets (series).
There were 32 cards per set and each featured a different character:
Flash Gordon (#1 - #32)
Tom Mix (#97 - #128)
Dick Tracy (#33 - #64)
G-Man (#129 - #160)
Dan Dunn (#193 - #224)
In 1937, the press run for BLBs was 1,000,000 copies. Some titles had more
than one press run. It is unknown what the press run was for the BLB cards,
but knowing how hard it is to find BLB cards it would be a safe guess to say
it was a fraction of what the press run was for a BLB. It is also unknown how
many complete sets (all 224 cards) there is out there among collectors. To see a
complete set of all 224 cards, refer to the Golden Age of Big Little Books,
pages 340 through 346. The last 2 sets (Buck Jones and Dan Dunn) have been
reported to be very difficult to find. Also the popularity of collecting Flash
Gordon, Dick Tracy and Popeye makes these sets very hard to come by.
The first set was adapted from the Flash Gordon and the Tournaments of
Mongo Big Little Book, and the BLB was adapted from the Flash
Gordon Sunday pages, strips #48 through #65 beginning December 2, 1934 and
ending April 21, 1935. This is the third story line in the Flash Gordon Sunday
feature. The story begins with Flash, Dale and Zarkov enjoying the hospitality of
Vulcan, ruler of the Hawkmen. When Ming captures Vulcan and the Hawkmen,
Flash agrees to save them by entering a “Tournament of Death,” a sequence of
challenges in which the participant emerges alive or is killed.
Front and Back of Card #1
The size of each card is 2-3/8” x 2-7/8”. The cards were available at the “Five
and Dime” stores that sold BLBs (such as Woolworths and Kress).
These cards were printed in linear strips, eight cards to each strip and four strips to
a set (there were no wrappers for these cards). Cards on a strip could be separated
along perforations and distributed individually. One card was given to a customer
for each Big Little Book that was prchased.
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Popeye (#65 - #96)
Buck Jones (#161 - #192)
Front and Back of Card #2
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The second set was adapted from the Dick Tracy in Chains of Crime Big Little
Book. This BLB was adapted from the daily strip beginning May 26, 1935 and
ending August 3, 1935. The story begins when Mary Steele opens a hot dog
stand and hires Toby Townley to be her cashier. Toby skims the nightly cash
deposits to bet at the horse track. Toby is in cahoots with a crooked bank teller
named Mark Masters. After Masters is killed by Bookie Joe, Dick Tracy arrests
Toby. Charges against Toby are dropped because of Mary’s help in the case.
The fourth set was adapted from the Tom Mix in the Fighting Cowboy Big Little
Book. This BLB was the first of five Tom Mix BLBs prepared specially for the
Whitman BLB format. The story tells about troubles in a small town called Snake
Prairie. This town becomes engulfed in a feud, and it is governed by unscrupulous
politicians. Tom rides into town, makes some quick enemies by exposing a card
cheat, then proceeds to clean up the town and save it from an Indian attack.
Front and Back of Card #99
Front and Back of Card #34
The third set was adapted from the Popeye Sees the Sea Big Little Book. The
content of this BLB was written specially for the BLB format by Popeye’s creator
Elzie Crisler Segar. This story tells how Popeye finds and rescues a kidnapped
sailor.
Front and Back of Card #65
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The fifth set was adapted from the G-Man Vs. the Red X Big Little Book. This
BLB story is the classic “FBI against the gangsters” story. The lead in the story is
G-Man Tod Morgan, son of the District Chief. When Morgan’s father and his boss
are murdered by poisoning, he is assigned to find the killer. His leads take him to
the home of the Emperor, who Morgan believes is the Red X. Evidence against the
Emperor is difficult to obtain. Finally with the help of a hidden microphone and
camera, the FBI has enough evidence to arrest the Red X and his men.
Front and Back of Card #129
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Unknown at this time is the source for the Buck Jones sixth set of cards. None of
the 4 Big Little Books in the 1100 series match the story line or artwork displayed
in the 32 cards. In this story Buck thwarts the unscrupulous doings of a notorious
cattleman and saves the ranch of a beautiful woman from an illegal takeover.
For youngsters in the Depression Era, Big Little Books were the forerunner to
comic books. The first series of Whitman Big Little Books was the 700 series,
which covered the years 1932 to 1934. The Big Little Books that these 224
promotional cards were based on were from the 1100 series. This was the
second series of Whitman Big Little Books. The 1100 series covered the years
1934 to 1936. The first 1400 series was published from 1937 to mid-1938.
Lowery in his Collector’s Guide to Big Little Books considers these series to
be the Golden Age of Big Little Books. There are 254 titles in the Golden Age.
Whitman went on to do five more 1400 series lasting until 1949. Lowery
considers them to be the Silver Age of Big Little Books (now called Better Little
Books).. The Silver Age is comprised of 295 Better Little Books.
Whitman next published a BLB TV series of 6 titles in 1958. In 1967-9, Whitman resurrected the original Big Little Book logo with 35 hard cover books.
The hardcover books gave way to 37 soft cover books before Whitman
ended with its last endeavor with the Big Little Book format in the mid-1980s.
Front and Back of Card #161
If you are interested in card collecting, you might enjoy subscribing to: Wrapper
2020 Farmington Lakes Dr. #15 Oswego, IL 60543, [email protected].
The seventh series was adapted from the Dan Dunn on the Trail of the
Counterfeiters Big Little Book. The contents of this BLB was derived from
a 1936 daily strip story line. The story begins as Dunn lays out plans to
capture the Chinese smuggler, Wu Fang. Dunn learns that Wu Fang has teamed
with Ace Bart, a notorious counterfeiter. Babs, an orphan was kidnapped by
the counterfeiters. Dunn, with the help of a Northwest Mounted Policeman,
captures Wu Fang and gives him a truth serum, and Fang then reveals the
where about of the counterfeiters. Armed with the information from Wu Fang,
Dunn rescues Babs and successfully rounds up the counterfeiters.
Front and Back of Card #206
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EXAMPLES OF
UNCUT BLB CARD STRIPS
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FOR SALE
If you missed getting a copy of the
BLT 30-year INDEX, you might want
to contact Walt Needham, Member
#1102. He has made some extra
copies for his friends. Contact him at:
[email protected].
Pre-WWII Newspaper Paper Doll Cut-Outs
$1.00 each plus shipping
If interested, contact Larry Lowery
P.O. Box 1242, Danville, CA 94526
(925) 837-2086
[email protected]
THE BLT 30-YEAR INDEX
BIG
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The
LITTLE TIMES© is published twice a year on a June/December semiannual subscription basis by the Educational Research and Applications LLC.
It is one of several publications produced for The
Big
Little
Book Club.
The Club and its publications are devoted to people who research, collect, or are
just enthusiastic about Big Little Books© and similar books.
The BLB Club maintains a website: biglittlebooks.com
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Correspondence can be sent to: BLB Club, P.O. Box 1242, Danville, CA 94526
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Contents of this publication: ©ERA, LLC 2012, all rights reserved.
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Subscription rates: $15.00 per year US
$20.00 per year Canada
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