COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Atom and Hawkman 39 Universal
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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OFF-WHITE TO WHITE
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Pedigree:
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John G. Fantucchio
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Certification #:
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0345459001
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Owner:
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Mississippi Mudcats
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Issue #39 marks the beginning of the Atom and Hawkman run, which lasts for seven issues and continues the Atom numbering. In the issue, the Halls and Ray are on vacation in Mexico City where they are told a prophecy that wings will come between them. Shayera goes shopping alone, while Carter and Ray take a helicopter to see Mayan ruins where they rescue a boy from a trained puma. The animal was set upon him by the descendant of an ancient high priest because he had dared to stop an animal sacrifice. This priest, Tekla, has sent his followers into a dangerous mine to seek the Silver Vulture, an artifact which is a supposed harbinger of evil for the tribe. Katar stops them, and Atom enters the mine instead. He finds the statue, but it releases gases that cause him to hate all winged creatures. When he leaves the mine, he knocks out Hawkman, and the priest gets the Vulture. Shayera is summoned to help, but is captured by Tekla, anesthetized, and dressed as a reincarnation of his high priestess. When her husband sees her, he fails to recognize her. Hawkman sends a vulture to bring Ray back, but Atom kills the bird. Atom then returns to the village with Miguel, the boy he had helped rescue earlier, and once there, a lightning bolt restores his senses. He frees Hawkman, Hawkgirl frees herself, and they overcome the Mayans while the Silver Vulture melts on the sacrificial pyre.
Our 9.8 copy of this issue comes from the John Fantucchio Collection and is the single highest graded example in the census. Fantucchio was a well-known artist in '60s fandom, drawing covers for RBCC and the Comic Buyers Guide (including the #1 cover), and even worked as an illustrator for the CIA from 1963 to 1988. During this time he amassed full runs of Marvel, DC, Gold Key, Charlton, ACG and Dell, among others, keeping them locked away and untouched, which resulted in uniformly high grades and near perfect cover inks. After his passing in 2016, the family auctioned the collection through Comiclink. Even though the books have no distinctive markings, many were CGC graded.
We acquired the book from the August 2020 ComicLink Auction.
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