Space Comics: The I.W. Reprints

Space Comics: The I.W. ReprintsThe story of I. W Publications is fascinating. In the late 1950s, when the comic world went into a slump, Israel Waldman hit on the idea of buying up storage facilities and physical materials of defunct comic companies. With the letterpress plates in hand, he started to churn out cheap reprints of comics from these (and other companies). It was done without regard to intellectual property rights, and of course most of his books were entirely illegal

The story of I.W Publications is fascinating. In the late 1950s, when the comic world went into a slump, Israel Waldman hit on the idea of buying up storage facilities and physical materials of defunct comic companies. With the letterpress plates in hand, he started to churn out cheap reprints of comics from these (and other companies). It was done without regard to intellectual property rights, and of course most of his books were entirely illegal - - but since most of the companies were no longer around, that didn't bother him much. In 1958, and again in 1963-64, Waldman produced a total of 332 issues covering 118 different titles. The numbering was erratic, the contents didn't always match the cover, and the quality varied widely. Interestingly, I.W. did produce one original comic (Marty Mouse, 1958) and many of the books had original covers by well-respected artists of the day. The I.W. Reprints (aka Super Comics) are pooh-poohed by some collectors today, but the true comic fan and historian see them as a part of history, alternative versions of stories Ð and for the reprinter today, with most of the books now in the public domain, occasionally better versions of stories than we can find in their original form.
This exciting book brings together the one-shot (and two-shot) science-fiction series published by I.W. Publications --- interplanetary battles, amazing aliens, rocket ships and damsels in distress fighting with ray guns! The titles include: Jet Power #1-2, Mon O' Mars, Planet Comics #1 & #8, Space Mysteries #1 & #9, and Strange Worlds #5.

THE PUBLICATION OF THIS BOOK (AND MANY MORE) IS ONLY DUE TO THE SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF PAUL ALLEN