1949 "Dagwood Splits The Atom" Comic Book
In 1950 the A.C. Gilbert Company, world famous for their Erector Sets, produced a toy which was the first and the last of its kind. It was a gigantic set housed in a suitcase size box covered with fake red snake skin! This was the Gilbert Atomic Energy Laboratory. A paper form inside the box would provide the new owner with a minute sample of actual radioactive material. A slew of experiments were outlined in the voluminous owners manual. It was the top of the line toy for Gilbert selling for a whopping $50! But that didn't matter. Production stopped several months after its initial release. The Atomic Lab included several brochures, documents, and a manual. One of them was a 5" x 7" mini-comic called "Dagwood Splits The Atom". It was incredible, but the "stable" of characters from the immense King Features Syndicate were used to greatly simplify and justify atomic fission; i.e., The Bomb! Until recently I never knew that a larger 7" x 10" comic size of Dagwood Splits The Atom existed. Its content, including the covers are identical. This auction is for that larger size comic complete with its original mailer. Because of its high grade I was reluctant to spread out pages for scanning. I was able to get two pages without compromising its condition. Images of the front and rear covers of the comic are provided. Also, front and rear images of the original mailer are included. I would guess that since the mailer was never used that it originally belonged to someone from either Harvey Comics, or King Features. One additional point; the inside cover has a half-page black and white photograph of Chic Young (Creator of Blondie) and Joe Musial (one of the comic's authors). However, the photo centered on General Leslie Groves. General Groves had been the leader in charge of The Manhattan Project and oversaw the development of the Atomic Bomb at Los Alamos, NM. He also was responsible for over-seeing the design of Gilbert's Atomic Energy Lab! 10¼" x 7¼", 32pgs. Date Sold: Feb. 2010
Price Sold: $ 34
