By 1942 the magician-hero was already a familiar pulp archetype — Mandrake had been doing it in newspapers since 1934, and Fawcett's Ibis the Invincible, introduced in the company's flagship Whiz Comics in 1940, was the publisher's contribution to the form. Ibis was a four-thousand-year-old Egyptian prince named Amentep, awakened in the modern world, paired with his resurrected love Princess Taia, and equipped with the Ibistick — a wand that did, more or less, whatever the script required. The cover of this issue places the two of them inside a tomb, lit in rich orange and yellow, Taia robed and Amentep in scarlet, mid-confrontation.
What makes this Mighty Midget editorially relevant rather than ancillary is the contents: thirty-four pages reprinting Ibis's origin from his original Whiz Comics debut, which makes the pocket edition a useful secondary source for Ibis collectors and Golden Age magician-hero completists. Samuel E. Lowe & Co. produced the line under Fawcett license; The Big Store Co. distributed this copy as a children's apparel giveaway, and the rear cover preserves both the merchant overprint and the War Bonds and Stamps cachet.
Solid mid-grade with notable color retention — the orange and yellow grounds remain rich, title block and figures sharply rendered. Light edge wear along the left side, minor spine roll, a light crease at the lower-left corner. No inscriptions or tears on the front panel. Estimated raw VG to VG/FN.
Complete, unrestored, original wraps.
Part of a trio of Mighty Midget #11 issues from the same wartime giveaway run — see also the Captain Marvel Jr. and Bulletman & Bulletgirl copies.
By 1942 the magician-hero was already a familiar pulp archetype — Mandrake had been doing it in newspapers since 1934, and Fawcett's Ibis the Invincible, introduced in the company's flagship Whiz Comics in 1940, was the publisher's contribution to the form. Ibis was a four-thousand-year-old Egyptian prince named Amentep, awakened in the modern world, paired with his resurrected love Princess Taia, and equipped with the Ibistick — a wand that did, more or less, whatever the script required. The cover of this issue places the two of them inside a tomb, lit in rich orange and yellow, Taia robed and Amentep in scarlet, mid-confrontation.
What makes this Mighty Midget editorially relevant rather than ancillary is the contents: thirty-four pages reprinting Ibis's origin from his original Whiz Comics debut, which makes the pocket edition a useful secondary source for Ibis collectors and Golden Age magician-hero completists. Samuel E. Lowe & Co. produced the line under Fawcett license; The Big Store Co. distributed this copy as a children's apparel giveaway, and the rear cover preserves both the merchant overprint and the War Bonds and Stamps cachet.
Solid mid-grade with notable color retention — the orange and yellow grounds remain rich, title block and figures sharply rendered. Light edge wear along the left side, minor spine roll, a light crease at the lower-left corner. No inscriptions or tears on the front panel. Estimated raw VG to VG/FN.
Complete, unrestored, original wraps.
Part of a trio of Mighty Midget #11 issues from the same wartime giveaway run — see also the Captain Marvel Jr. and Bulletman & Bulletgirl copies.
