skull #01 head before tail
skull #01 head before tail
Rip Off Press March 1970
Legendary underground series inspired by the EC horror comics of the ’50s. Features great contributions from Greg Irons, Dave Sheridan, Jack Jackson, Fred Schrier and Rory Hayes.
Legend has it that there are three printings of this comic book, all by Rip Off Press and all with 50-cent cover prices. The first two printings both have a printing glitch on page 17, where the word “decadence” is partially blocked out. The 1st and 2nd printings are differentiated by the horizontal alignment of printed images on the interior pages. The alignment of the 1st printing is bad, with artwork bleeding off the edges of the paper on several pages in the 20-29 page range. The 2nd printing alignment is much better, with no artwork being close to bleeding off the edges.
There is also supposed to be a height difference between the 1st and 2nd printing, but I have not found the traditional measurements reliable. All of my 1st printings are 10 1/4 inches tall, exactly half way between the 10 1/8 inches and the 10 3/8 inches that are supposed to differentiate the 1st and 2nd printings, according to Fogel. Meanwhile, I have 2nd printings that are either 10 1/8 or 10 3/8 inches tall. It appears to me that the print alignment issue is the best way to determine whether it’s a 1st or a 2nd.
The 3rd printing does not have the printing glitch on page 17 (the word “decadence” is not partially blocked out). Unfortunately, I have since sold my 3rd printing, so I can’t show the fixed glitch, but I do still have the cover scan.
COMIC CREATORS: Greg Irons – 1-10 • Dave Sheridan – 11-18 • Jack Jackson – 19-26 • Fred Schrier – 27-34 • Rory Hayes – 35-36
skull #01 head before tail
