Battle-Front Comic 10 Cent Atlas - Vol 1 No 39 Mar 1956 Scarce FS For Sale

Please note I will be listing over 100 issues of different War related comics from the Golden Era - all 10 cent comics.All comics will be protected with cardboard for protection from rough shipping.

Basic identification

• Title: Battlefront
• Issue: #39
• Cover date: March 1956
• Publisher: Atlas Comics
• Cover price: 10¢
• Format: 32-page, full-color comic
• Series run: #1–48, from 1952 through 1957
• Cover artist: John Severin
• Interior artists: Gene Colan, Bob Forgione, Dick Ayers, Robert Q. Sale, and Syd Shores.

What\'s inside

This is an anthology rather than a continuing superhero story. The issue contains several independent war stories:

1. “Hit and Run!” — art by Gene Colan
3. “On Flanders\' Fields!” — art by Dick Ayers
4. “The Marksman!” — art by Robert Q. Sale
5. “Men Without Masters” — a “Fight for Freedom!” story, with art by Syd Shores
6. “Besieged!” — a two-page text story.

One interesting feature is that Atlas wasn\'t restricting these stories to a single war. The title could jump between different historical conflicts and military situations, which was typical of 1950s war anthologies.

That cover

Your copy has a very striking John Severin cover. Severin was particularly well suited to war comics because of his detailed, gritty draftsmanship. The cover shows an American infantryman advancing through a devastated town while firing his rifle, with another soldier behind him.

The large lettering — “BATTLE FRONT” — is very much the aggressive, pulp-like visual style Atlas used for its war titles.

The cover also advertises “Hit and Run!”, which is one of the stories inside. The speech balloons give it a particularly dramatic 1950s war-comic feel:

“HEADS UP, JOE! THIS TOWN IS CRAWLIN\' WITH SNIPERS!”

and

“YOU\'RE TELLIN\' ME!”

The “Approved by the Comics Code Authority” seal is also visible at upper right. The Comics Code had been introduced in 1954, so this issue comes from the period when publishers were adapting their war and horror material to the new restrictions.

Why this issue is historically interesting

Battlefront was one of a large group of war comics published by Atlas during the Korean War era. Atlas had an extensive line of military titles, including Battle, Battle Action, Battleground, Combat, Combat Kelly, Marines in Action, Navy Combat, and others.

Although the Korean War had ended in 1953, war comics remained extremely popular in the mid-1950s. Battlefront continued until issue #48 in August 1957.

This makes #39 a good example of the late-Atlas war-comic era.

The artists are a big attraction

This issue has an unusually strong group of Atlas artists.

Gene Colan would later become one of Marvel\'s most important artists, famous especially for Daredevil, Tomb of Dracula, and Iron Man. Here you\'re seeing him considerably earlier in his career.

Dick Ayers became one of Marvel\'s major Silver Age artists and was especially associated with war comics. He would eventually draw Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos.

Syd Shores was another important veteran who had worked for Timely/Marvel going back to the Golden Age and was known for his dynamic action work.

And John Severin, who drew your cover, had an especially strong reputation for historical and military subjects. His work on EC\'s war comics is also highly regarded.

So, from a collecting standpoint, the artistic pedigree of this issue is quite good.

Your particular copy

From your photograph, I can see:

• The cover is complete.
• There is noticeable general surface wear and soiling.
• The upper and lower edges show some wear.
• There appears to be creasing/wear around the corners.
• The cover has some waviness/handling wear.
• I don\'t see an obvious major piece missing from the cover.
• The photograph alone isn\'t sufficient to determine whether the staples are tight or whether there are interior defects.

I would not assign a precise CGC/Overstreet grade from this one photograph, but it appears to be a collectible lower-to-mid-grade copy rather than a high-grade example.

For comparison, current dealer listings show #39 in GD/VG 3.0 around $24, while a 6.5 copy has been listed around $105. Those are asking/listing prices rather than proof of what copies actually sell for, so they shouldn\'t be treated as a firm market value.

One important publishing detail

Although collectors generally call this an Atlas Comics book, the publishing history is a little more complicated. The indicia publisher for Battlefront was Postal Publications, Inc., while the comic carried the Atlas brand. The Grand Comics Database records #39 as a March 1956 issue.

This is part of the reason you\'ll sometimes see these books described as “Atlas (Marvel)” in comic databases. Atlas was the company operating immediately before the Marvel Comics name became dominant.

In short: your comic is a genuine 1956 Atlas war comic, Battlefront #39, with a John Severin cover and interior work by several artists who would become important figures in the Marvel/Atlas and war-comics tradition. It\'s a nice representative example of the gritty pre-Marvel 1950s war-comic era.

My estimate of your copy

Estimated grade: VG 4.0

What I see on the front cover:

• Very strong, bright color for a 1956 comic.
• The cover is complete with no obvious missing pieces.
• There is a noticeable crease/wrinkle at the upper-right corner.
• Some edge wear and corner wear are present.
• There are several light-to-moderate handling/reading creases.
• The right edge shows some wear, but I don\'t see major tearing.
• The overall cover presents quite well despite the defects.
• The spine appears reasonably intact from what can be seen in the photograph.
• Small tear to front cover.

Thank you for looking.All items will be packaged carefully for protection from moisture and rough handling.
CherokeeFarm Books is a family owned on-line bookstore offering books since 2003. We provide a quality product with minimal condition issues, for a reasonable price, and shipped within 24 hours of purchase and payment. Unless specified we do not sell ex-library books. Customers can expect expert packaging to protect from moisture and rough shipper handling. We offer a diversity of books at fair market prices with quick shipping. If a customer is not satisfied, we will work to make the deal work. Most of our items will provide the ability to make a reasonable offer and all offers are considered. Thank you for your visit to our store.

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