While "researching" a recent Nexus Graphica, I had reason to look through my collection of Comics Of Unusual Size. This set of the big and small and odd of comicdom offers many gems. Deciding that I really should share some of these largely forgotten and sometime rare pieces, I’m taking you through a tour of the more interesting selections.
Now for a more mainstream selection. In the seventies and eighties, digest-sized comics were all the rage. These 4.75 in. x 6.5 in. perfect bound collections usually contained minuscule, often poorly reproduced reprints. Gold Key with its extensive library of licensed properties was an early adopter of the format.
Click on images for full sized versions.
Golden Comics Digest No. 9 (1970) and No. 48 (1976)
Beginning in 1970, Golden Comics Digest ran for 48 issues concluding with a volume of Lone Ranger, Tonto, and Silver stories. Golden Comics Digest No. 9 featured tales of Tarzan, Korak, and Brothers of the Spear. This particular collection included the complete Russ Manning adaptation of Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. Manning also contributed to the volume’s other offerings.
From Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Russ Manning
(Golden Comics Digest No. 9, 1970)
Other issues of the Golden Comics Digest focused on Gold Key’s various cartoon licenses, Little Lulu, Turok, and others.
Mystery Comics Digest No. 6 (1972) and No. 23 (1975)
Running for only 26 issues between 1972-1975, Gold Key’s Mystery Comics Digest reprinted many excellent stories from their mystery/suspense/fantasy/science fiction anthologies Ripley’s Believe or Not, The Twilight Zone, and Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery in a three issue rotating schedule.
From "The Shield of Medusa" (Mystery Comics Digest No. 6, 1972)