South African Comic Books: April 2013

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Mimosa Batman 17

This is Batman 17, published by Mimosa (SA Magazine Co) +/- 1960.

Possibly as a money-saving exercise, these comics followed the Newsprint Series (see link below), as being printed in Digest-Sized.

The cover image is taken from a Batman comic panel (not featured in this issue).
It reprints the the following story from DC Comics' Batman 128 (1959):
"The Batman Baby"
Also reprinted is this story from DC Comics' Batman 125 (1959):
"The Secret Life of Bat-Hound"

Also reprinted is this story from DC Comics' Batman 127 (1959):
"The Second Life of Batman"
24 pages, glossy colour cover, black-and-white newsprint interior pages.
These titles were printed in a smaller size (165x109mm) compared to the original DC Comics title.
The printing reproduction from the original was very good quality.

Here is the cover of issue 17:

A.P. Du Toit

Andries Petrus Du Toit was a South African Cartoonist, active in the 1930s-1950s.

Appearing in Die Jongspan during the 1930s was a comic strip called "Knapsak and Klonkie", by A.P. Du Toit.

A Sample strip of "Knapsak en Klonkie in Mazimba Die Waterman" from Jeugland #2 (26 March 1947):

He produced 3 books based on these strips (featuring drawings and text):

Knapsak en Klonkie op die maan (Nasionale Pers, 1942)

Die Klawervier (AP Du Toit Ateljees, V&R Drukkery, Pretoria, 1946)

Knapsak en Klonkie in die land van die Tassieblaar (Nasionale Boekhandel, 1950)

Here are the covers:

In 1939 he published a children's comic book called "Ons Vriendjie" - probably the first of its kind in South Africa.

Other strips he produced for Jeugland:

Willem Wagter

Die Kampioen

Titles of his other strips:

Die Swart Ridder

Uilspeel en die Draak

Rep en Roer

Vuurherd Rympies

Tuesday, 23 April 2013

BP Walt Disney's 101 Dalmations

BP Service Stations distributed a line of Walt Disney reprint comics in South Africa in the early 1960s. This was around the same time as Mimosa Comics and Atlas Publications were producing reprints.

It was printed by SA Litho Co (the same company printing Mimosa Comics) in Cape Town, in 1963. As with the early Mimosa Newsprint stock titles, these titles were printed in smaller size (166x241mm) compared with the original title.

32 Pages, full colour, glossy cover, excellent print quality.

Cover and Dell Comics' Four Color Comics (Second Series) #1183 from 1961:

Inside Front Cover ad for the film, and Splash Page:

BP Back Cover ad:

Supercomix Wonder Woman 5

Thanks to Supercomix Collector Ravi for these great scans of Wonder Woman 5 of the South African reprint series.
Contact Me or Ravi if you have any Supercomix for sale:
NaidooRavie@elec.durban.gov.za

Cover of issue 5 and DC Comics' Original cover of Wonder Woman 263 from 1980:

Charles Kuhn Poster:

Zebra Publications Kongo Koot 4

Zebra Publications were the first to reprint DC Comics in 1954.
The English Titles were: Action Comics, Superman & World's Finest Comics
The Afrikaans translations were issued as " 'n Sebra Uitgawe ": Mantelman (Batman) and Kongo Koot (Congo Bill).

This is Kongo Koot 4 from December 1954. The cover image is taken from the splash page of the first story. It reprints and translates the following stories:
Kongo Koot: "Die Groot Katte" = Congo Bill: "The Big Cats" from Action Comics 148 (1950)
Manie Morgen: "Die Sigeuners van die Ruimtes!" = Tommy Tomorrow: "The Gypsies of Space" from Action Comics 148 (1950)
Volstroom Venter: "Elba Elsie se Wraak" = Full Steam Foley: "Shanghai Sheba's Revenge"

Cover of Kongo Koot 4 and DC Comic's original cover of Action Comics 148:

House ads for Mantelman 4, containing the stories:
Mantelman met Robbie Die Wonderkind: "Misdaad bo die Wolke!" = Batman & Robin: "Crime above the Clouds" from World's Finest Comics 47 (1950)
Die Groen Pyl: " 'n Swaard, 'n Geweer en 'n Pyl en Boog" = Green Arrow (unsure original story)

Back Cover ad for Kellog's collectable cards:

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Supercomix The Mighty Thor 8 (Second Series 1978)

Thanks to Supercomix Collector Ravi for these scans of the interior of The Mighty Thor 8 of the South African reprint series.
Contact Me or Ravi if you have any Supercomix for sale:
NaidooRavie@elec.durban.gov.za

Cover of Issue 8 (notice the Man-Monster figure was redrawn ... was he too scary?) and Marvel Comics' original cover of The Mighty Thor 231 from 1975:

House ads for Blondie, Hulk and Superman:

O.J. Simpson Poster:

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

Mimosa Batman 16

This is Batman 16, published by Mimosa (SA Magazine Co) +/- 1960.

Possibly as a money-saving exercise, these comics followed the Newsprint Series (see link below), as being printed in Digest-Sized.

It reprints the cover and the following story from DC Comics' Batman 135 (1960):
"The Menace of the Sky Creature"
Also reprinted is this story from Detective Comics 280 (1960):
"The Menace of the Atomic Man"
24 pages, glossy colour cover, black-and-white newsprint interior pages.
These titles were printed in a smaller size (165x109mm) compared to the original DC Comics title.
The printing reproduction from the original was very good quality.

Here is the cover of issue 16 and DC Comics' original cover:

Petrinovic Toys Mail Order ad:

Supercomix Superman 42

Thanks to Supercomix Collector Ravi for these great scans of Superman 42 of the South African reprint series.

Contact Me or Ravi if you have any Supercomix for sale:
NaidooRavie@elec.durban.gov.za

Interestingly the same cover was used for issue 9 of this series, but issue 42's cover is a much poorer reproduction. It looks like someone traced the image from the original cover art, redrawing it!

Cover and DC Comics' original cover of Superman 314 from 1977:

Priscilla Barnes Poster:

Tuesday, 2 April 2013

Johan van Niekerk

Johan van Niekerk created comic strips for the Afrikaans press in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. Many Thanks to Koos Papenfus for some of these strips.

"Die Olifante van Kalanga" by Doc Immelman and Johan van Niekerk from Huisgenoot 07/06/1963 and 21/06/1963:

"Uys Barnard en Die Verlore Broer" by Doc Immelman and Johan van Niekerk from Huisgenoot 11/10/1963:

"Uys Barnard en Die Diewe van Spookberg" by Doc Immelman and Johan van Niekerk from Huisgenoot 24/01/1964:

"Uys Barnard en Die Bankrowers" by Doc Immelman and Johan van Niekerk from Huisgenoot 20/03/1964:

"Uys Barnard en Die Krokodille van Oshipala" by Doc Immelman and Johan van Niekerk from Huisgenoot 21/08/1964:

"Uys Barnard en Die Saboteurs" by Doc Immelman and Johan van Niekerk from Huisgenoot 11/03/1966:

One of his most famous strips was "Fritz Bender", published in Die Huisgenoot in the 1960s. At a time when Spy series such as James Bond and Man from U.N.C.L.E. were the rage, Fritz Bender was South Africa's James Bond.

Some Fritz Bender strips:

Veldtog Pemba from Huisgenoot 09/09/1966:

Veldtog I.N.S.E.K. from Huisgenoot 30/09/1966 and 21/10/1966:

Veldtog Nkune from Huisgenoot 03/02/1967:

Veldtog Hai from Huisgenoot 28/07/1967:

Veldtog Kismet from Huisgenoot 13/10/1967; 03/11/1967:

Veldtog Goudvis from Huisgenoot 22/12/1967; 05/01/1968; 12/01/1968; 19/01/1968; 09/02/1968; 16/02/1968 & 26/01/1968:

Veldtog Onskuld from Huisgenoot 05/04/196812/04/1968; 26/04/1968; 03/05/1968; 10/05/1968; 24/05/1968; 07/06/1968; 14/06/1968; 21/06/1968; 28/06/1968; 05/07/1968 & 12/07/1968:

Veldtog Selfsug from Huisgenoot 26/07/1968; 02/08/1968; 09/08/1968; 16/08/1968; 24/08/1968; 06/09/1968; 27/09/1968; 04/10/1968; 11/10/1968 & 01/11/1968:

Veldtog Skaak from Huisgenoot 13/12/1968; 20/12/1968; 27/12/1968; 03/01/1969; 10/01/1969; 17/01/1969; 24/01/1969; 31/01/1969; 07/02/1969; 14/02/1969 and 21/02/1969:

Die Valk from Huisgenoot 07/03/1969; 14/03/1969; 21/03/1969; 28/03/1969; 11/04/1969 16/05/1969 & 23/05/1969:

He created "Burgerleer" for Die Burger in 1970. Cor Nortje wrote the comic strip "Sending vir 'n Voortvlugtige", which Johan illustrated, for Die Burger in 1970.

"Staatsgeheim BHC7" - by Johan van Niekerk & Meiring Fouche from Landbou Weekblad 14/04/1970 & 26/05/1970: