Thrilling Adventures In Stamps presents, The Pony Express

Westerns were so popular in the Golden and Silver ages, that not even Thrilling Adventures in Stamps could overlook their appeal. So, taking a cue from the USPS' stamp commemorating the Pony Express, they cooked up the following four-page yarn drawn by Ed Goldfarb and inked by Bob Baer:






Of course, The Pony Express came and went before the American Civil War even began, so the 1870's Colt Peacemakers everyone is waving around are a little anachronistic...but not really any worse than their 1950's- vintage Hollywood Western wear.

And speaking of vintage Western wear :



I had a lot of distractions this week, so I'm going to extend this theme into next week as well. Look for upcoming posts featuring Annie Oakley, The Lone Ranger, and a short, EC yarn drawn by Jack Davis.

Happy Trails!

The True History of Baseball in Four Pages. SUCK IT, KEN BURNS!!!

So, you want to learn about the history of Baseball, eh? Well, there's no reason to sit through all 23 agonizing hours of Ken Burns' documentary "Baseball". Not when Thrilling Adventures in Stamps can teach you all about it in four, glorious pages. Who knew that our national pasttime was a complete lie? A hoax perpetrated by The Man? Well, Ken Burns probably does, he did a lot of research on that stuff. But, hey. I just saved myself 22 hours and 57 minutes by reading this piece of stamp-inspired magic:

More Stamps- Tales From The Post Office!

This second tale from Stamps Comics reads more like an old EC horror comic, right down to the ironic fate of its protagonist. Enjoy "Gyorgy Dozsa and the Throne of Fire", drawn by Ed Goldfarb and Inked by Bob Baer.

Weirdest Cross-Collectible EVER!! Thrilling Adventures in Stamps #1

Okay, comics go where the market is. There have always been licensing deals to produce comic books about cartoon characters, movie heroes, toy lines, video games (remember Atari Force?) collectible card card games, Role-Playing games...

Well, the good folks over at Youthful Publishing weren't ones to miss out on a trend the young people were all talking about- philately. Ah, ahem. That means stamp collecting, not the other thing.

Anyway, some genius thought that using historical postage stamps from around the world as a springboard for comics stories was a great idea. And to be fair, this series managed to last 8 issues over the course of 3 years- at 15 cents an issue! I mean, this ain't World's Finest here, people! And the publishers thought of everything; they've even marked off where to punch holes in your comic so you can store it in a 3-ring binder!

I found this little gem from 1951 over the weekend while hunting for more material. The comics shop I found this in had TWO copies of this comic. One was in great shape and was priced at $20. Since your Mild-Mannered Reporter is nothing if not thrifty, I bought the far less expensive, rat-chewed copy with yellowed pages that looked like the first cousin of a pirate treasure map. But hey, how many issues of Stamps Comics do YOU own??

Reprinted below for you edification is the introduction and the first story "George Rogers Clark, Hero of Vincennes"