Wham-O Giant Comics

This one-shot by Wham-O, the manufacturer of Frisbees and Hula Hoops was great fun in its 14" x 21" super-oversized format and wraparound cover. Ads boasted that this special was packed with "adventure, mystery, science fiction, fun, and cartoons" — and they were right. The only themes that seem to be missing are Westerns and Sports.

Kids loved it, because this comic had more stories than regular comic issues, some even lasting three giant pages (about 12 regular comic pages worth), but the retailers had a hard time displaying it properly. Laying it flay on a counter was the only solution for many, since it didn’t fit in a regular spinner rack, and wouldn’t stand up properly with the larger coloring and hardcover books. This took up valuable display space at the local five-and-dime, where every square inch of display space counted.

Subscriptions were offered, but subsequent issues never appeared. Wally Wood had the lead-off story about Radian, the Atomic Hercules, and was the only artist/writer to have two stories appear in the book. Looking back now, some of the characters seem to range from faint copies to blatant rip-offs of other established comic book and cartoon stars. Due to its unwieldy size, it is hard to find in better conditions, and without a crease across the middle ofthe book. All in all, the comic can be rated as a mild success for its attempts to change comic book publishing formats, but was nevertheless a commercial failure.

Jump to issue:

#1

Apr 1967

Cover: $0.98

W: Wallace Wood, W.T. Vinson, Shean, John Stanley, Ned, Ward Kimball · A: Wallace Wood, Lou Fine, Andre LeBlanc, Spike Steffenhagen, Mike Arens, Dennis Ellefson, Ernie Colón, Marvin Stein, John Ushler, Sururi Gümen, Marvin Stevens, George Wilhelms, Warren Tufts, W.T. Vinson, Willie Ito, Shean, John Stanley, Ned, Ward Kimball

1st appearance of Radian (Gilman Graves); Oversized oversize 14 X 21

1 copy for $16.30