Monday, March 11, 2019

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: The Waffle Iron Effect!


Here is the image displayed by Lone Star Comics (aka mycomicshop.com) for REAL SCREEN COMICS # 125 (DC Comics, Cover Date: December, 1958) on its website! 


Notice the TAIL of Fauntleroy Fox!  Doesn't it look like Crawford Crow PRESSED IT IN A WAFFLE IRON, before being caught hiding in Foxie's magic hat? 

Indeed. all brown areas of our fox's fur, (face, feet, and tail) exhibit this odd coloring quirk!  

I had every reason to expect that when I recently ordered REAL SCREEN COMICS # 125 from Lone Star Comics that there would be some... er, "waffling" on Foxie's part on the cover of the actual item as well!  

But, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a solid-brown fox tail... no waffling here!  

My actual copy of REAL SCREEN COMICS # 125, received  from Lone Star Comics!
        
See?  


I've seen plenty of online comic book cover images (and used plenty of them at this Blog), but none have ever offered this sort of "coloring/textural" disparity with the actual comic!  


I have no explanation beyond offering that... (Ahem!) ...Therein lies a TAIL!  


6 comments:

Debbie Anne said...

It's kind of like when you look at old TV shows and sometimes busy patterns would have a funny effect of looking like wavy lines going through them. (It's hard to explain). The camera or scanner isn't picking up the colors on Foxy right, and it created that wafflie effect. I wish I could explain it better, but I don't know the technical terms.

Joe Torcivia said...

I know what you mean, Deb, but can’t quite find the proper words to describe it.

Since no other issue of REAL SCREEN or FOX AND CROW offered by Lone Star Comics exhibits this particular quirk, I’ll assume it’s not related to their scanner(s) – figuring that most, if not all, images of comic titles with these characters were created and uploaded at or around the same general time, and on the same equipment.

Yet, my copy, which post-dates the creation of the online image because this issue was not in stock for a long while until I bought it last month, does not exhibit the “Waffle Iron Effect” to the naked eye,nor (as seen in this post) when processed by my scanner.

Perhaps my copy, and the copy originally used for Lone Star’s scan were from two different print runs? That’s the only thing I could think of that might account for it?

Anyone have any other thoughts on why?

top_cat_james said...

Selections From Joe's First Draft:

*Kids appreciated that these were not syrupy comics - Indeed, they sold like hotcakes !

*Upon first glance, Crow seems to be grabbing for the comic's title. Perhaps Fox could then retort, "Leggo my Eggo!"...er, "logo"!

*Oh well--Guess the mysterious texture will just have to remain an unsolved griddle!

Joe Torcivia said...

Very good, TCJ – even anticipating my eventually employing the phrase “Griddle me this!” somewhere in the Comments Section… Oh, wait… I just did, but only because you inspired me to!

And, as for the “comic’s title logo physically existing somewhere above the action”, they did that at least once too – somewhere in HERE!

Achille Talon said...

This looks strangely familiar. I couldn't tell you where else I've seen this exact pattern in print, but I know I have. Dang.

Joe Torcivia said...

If anything, Achille, it resembles other comics I’ve seen colored by an inferior process, as would be the case with Charlton Comics – especially if you look at them really closely, or blow the images up!

But, DC did not use inferior processing. They presumably used World Color Press, in Sparta, Illinois as did most major publishers until around the early ‘80s.

Western Publishing’s Dell and Gold Key Comics were printed at Western’s own plant in Poughkeepsie, NY, but their quality was always first rate.

Charlton used its own presses, in Derby, Connecticut, as well – but they were used for all sorts of things and were not specifically designed or utilized for comics! It often showed!