Vintage Classics Illustrated Junior comic book published by Famous Authors, Ltd., which was a division of Gilberton Company, Inc. or Gilberton Publications. This is The Enchanted Fish comic book, No. 539 (Number 539), with 15 cents price on cover, dated on the inside June 1957. We think this is a first edition of this comic. The listing on the back cover of other comic books available in the series ends with the next comic in this series, No. 540 The Tinder-Box (HRN #540). But on half of the inside front cover there is an ad announcing, "Coming Next Month, The Tinder-Box" with a description of that comic. So we believe that the publisher added comic No. 540 The Tinder-Box to the list on the back cover even though this was a first edition of The Enchanted Fish, comic No. 539. This book is not a new reprint (there is no UPC block on this book).

All the Classics Illustrated and Classics Illustrated Junior comic books we are listing came out of the same home where they were purchased as new items for their children in the 1950's and 1960's, so these are not recent reprints. The Classics Illustrated Junior comic books are generally in good/very good or acceptable reading condition but are definitely not mint, showing varying levels of age and wear which will be detailed. All were read and handled by children and thus show expected handling wear. All have interior pages which are browned at the edges, looking overall with an aged paper look, that is, the interior pages are not white as they would have been originally. All have an old comic book smell, not bad, but there if you go sniffing. Many have a child's name or initial noticeably written on the front cover in ink or crayon (and a few have more writing on the cover). For many the interior "connect the dots" illustration has been done or the interior coloring page has been colored.

This The Enchanted Fish comic is a good copy overall, but does have a child's first name written prominently on the cover in crayon with the first letter initial also written nearby in blue ink pen (see image). The connect the dots picture on half of the inside front cover has been completed in pencil. The coloring page on the inside back cover has been partially colored in pencil in a scribbling fashion (not always within the lines) mainly on the lady and dog, with a line drawing of the sun added to the picture and another long scribbled/curvy line/writing (probably about 40%+ of the picture has been colored). The comic does have usual age reading use/wear including on the front cover the impressions from the connect the dots picture done on the reverse side, general wrinkling/creasing/handling wear, bending/chipping wear/small tears along the top, bottom and right side edges, a lot of wear/paper wear/paper tearing along the left bound/stapled edge, a 5/8 inch long break along the bound side starting at the bottom edge, several small diagonal corner creases in the upper right corner, corner tip wear/chipping on both right corners, scuffing wear and crease/cracking lines in the front colors, etc. The back cover is overall somewhat dirty with similar creasing, wrinkling, handling wear, etc. You can see some impressions on the back cover from the pencil coloring on the inside back cover. The inside pages are clean but browned, with many having pin holes and small holes in the paper (we believe this is from how the paper was made/handled in printing). This copy includes two pages after the story illustrating and telling Aesop's Fables The Four Oxen and the Lion, followed by a page illustrating and telling The Queen of Hearts nursery rhyme, with an illustrated page The Animal World, The Armadillo on the reverse side.

This collectible comic book measures about 7 x 10 1/4 inches in size. Given that this is an old or vintage comic book, we do not know what kind of ink was used in the printing (and particularly, whether any lead based inks were used). As such, we will only sell this comic to adult collectors, it should be handled with care, and it should not be given to/handled by children due to concerns with lead exposure.

We have many other comic books listed separately for sale. If you wish to purchase more than one comic book, please e-mail us before placing the order since the shipping information has been inputted for a purchase of just one and will not calculate the savings you would get when purchasing more than one shipped together in the same package (we will need to handle this for you).

Please Note: Comic books must be shipped via U.S.P.S. First Class Mail Package rate; they cannot be shipped via U.S.P.S. Media Mail. The post office does not permit comic books to be shipped via Media Mail due to the advertising that many include in their books. Please choose First Class Mail Package rate shipping for this item (also known as First Class Mail Parcel rate). Thank you.