Vintage Comic Rack

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Terresa Cherrie

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Aug 3, 2024, 4:48:11 PM8/3/24

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Updated some of the books in my spinner rack today. A few are double stacked. Many of these are popular small keys. Some of the ?why? books are either signed, I have original art from or hold a special place in my collection. 47 total books in a 40 slot spinner. I have had this spinner about 4 years. Secret Wars 3 was the first comic I bought and it was off a spinner rack at a 7-11

I've got some spinner related oddball items from the 90's, like a set of unused monthly inserts for the Marvel "Tower of Power" retailer promotion. Basically, Marvel sent participating shops an enormous cardboard spinner rack (some assembly required) to display certain Marvel books. It was designed so that the art decorating the rack could be switched out from month to month, so as to highlight new titles. I'm not sure how long the program went on, but I think only a few months. I don't have the actual Tower (I wonder if any remain), but I did get a large shipping flat from a shuttering comic store about 10 years ago that was labeled as and indeed held a set of the monthly inserts, which are full color on punch-out tagboard stock. I will add pictures to this post as soon as I can of this unusual ephemera.

It's a large spinner rack topper for (late 80's, early 90's) Comic Images Marvel T-Shirts. Unfortunately, there was no character art on it, limiting its eye appeal greatly, but it must be one of the very last of these to exist, and one of a limited number in the first place, for whatever that's worth. (Will also add a picture of this for "fun".) The actual Marvel T-Shirts it advertised/held, on the other hand, are highly collectible, even used. Check your closets. Heck, check the label of the one you're wearing!

I note that this topic has lain fallow for quite awhile, but I wanted to check in to see if there is more knowledge concerning the Spinner Rack and its history.

I used to own a non-branded, no-signage spinner rack, but I don't think it was necessarily for comics. Found it in the trash behind a convenience store, brought it home, cleaned it up nicely and the comics fit quite well, but the pockets were *deep* - could hold about 30-40 comics in each. Sold it when I was 13 (along with the bulk of my comics at the time).

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, both Borders and one of the mall booksellers (B.Dalton or Waldenbooks, I'm not sure which) had a particle-board and plexiglass spinner rack that kept the comics in very nice shape while in the rack. The cover was against the plexiglass, leaned forward like in the old racks, but no wires to allow kids to bend the comics over while looking through them. At any rate, I'd *love* to find one of those.

Further, I've been restoring general comic rack signage for several years now (not just spinner racks), but haven't had an opportunity to create a full website just yet, as I'd like to impart to readers their history. Biggest issue is finding information on the first spinners. Comics Racks were sold cheaply to newsstands and other outlets during the golden age, and I expect that spinners came about in the 1950s - but the question is when, and who did it first? Here are some of my restorations (before & after photos):

Grease is the way to go with the bearing, but you have to be careful to clean it up a lot if you're going to use the rack on carpet as pictured. You don't want any grease getting away from you. The other culprit may be contact surfaces. This is something that would require you to disassemble the rack from the post and stand. It's a job I'd do in a workshop/garage/driveway. I'd recommend inspecting all of the components that contact each other or rub against each other and cleaning them or perhaps polishing those with wear (using metal polishing compound). To lubricate these contact areas, you might be able to use a dry silicone/graphite or Teflon lubricant. DuPont makes a Teflon Non-Stick Dry-Film Lubricant in a squeeze bottle, which you could apply to the affected areas with QTips. Same with, say, 3-IN-ONE Dry Lube. Make sure it's dry to the touch before bringing it back in.

After that, take the balls out of the bearing well. I'd clean up all of the components, making sure to remove all grease and dirt, inspect all of the bearing balls and replacing any that are mishapen or worn out-of-round. Then, pack the bearing well with grease, grease up the bearing balls and put them back into the well (this can require some patience to fit them all back in with the slippery grease). Clean up the outside, reassemble, spin it for awhile with some weight on it, re-clean any areas with squeeze out and Bob's your uncle.

Okay, here's what I came up with. I used as much original art as I could resource and kept the period to around 1968-1972, which is when this rack topper was first made. I did one with blue as an added color (when silkscreening onto steel - which is what's necessary to reproduce these faithfully - that adds another entire screen and increases cost of reproducing it) and one with only the original colors. Let me know what you think!

If anyone wants a large TIF version, let me know and I'll set up my DropBox for guests to come get them.

UPDATE - Jughead's ears were bothering me. I realized that I'd used original art from the cover of Archie's Pal, Jughead #59, which was from 1960. Looking at an almost identical Jughead facial expression from years later (Archie's Pal Jughead #101), I realized that they had not exaggerated his ears like this on anything resembling a regular basis. The old cover had Archie and Jughead's faces taking up more than 1/3 of the cover, so I think this may have factored into the artist (Samm Schwartz) having added more detail than necessary. Here are the new signs again with normal ears for Jughead.

Back before the Internet came announcing to everyone the next story arcs coming months in advance and listing, from the comfort of our home or the convenience of our phone, all of the comics available, there was the drug store comic rack. Odds are most of the Old School comic aficionados found their first bit of Marvel or DC gold on one of those metal, wire racks with built in slots to house each comic and display their glorious cover art. If you were going to get a comic book back in the sixties, this was the place. Of course, some grocery stores and department stores carried them in their magazine section, but there were no comic shops.

I still miss those days. Maybe it was the innocence of childhood or the simplicity of the times, but there was just something about catching the rack full of new comics before everyone else had a chance to devour its imaginative goodness. There was a sense of urgency when you knew it was time for the rack to be filled with the new comics. It was as though this was your only chance to peer into your favorite worlds and live the adventures of characters that were like family to you. No, in an age where the comic fanboy can get on the internet and see the spoilers for what lies ahead and even catch some comic books laid out online, what is missed is that moment of discovery as if planting your flag on new, uncharted worlds. Before long, young fans will never know the joy of holding a comic in their hands and possessing entry into realities unknown. And most will never know that loving journey into the unknown as I did; romancing the rack.

I think some of the other members have been looking for spinner racks. Just came across this one on ebay when i was just digging around. Not much time on the listing though. They don't have all of it, but someone may still be interested.

I looked around on Google and it seems as if there are a number of companies that manufacture and sell spinner racks today. Of course, I'd rather have the original with the "Hey Kids Comics" sign, but a new one might be cool anyhow.

Jeff, that looks way too cool! I was recently in a comic shop while on vacation and they had one in the back of the store loaded up with books. I thought about asking him how much he'd want for it, but didn't.

Once I got it home and read it, I was enthralled by the story and art produced by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, who both had a hand in writing and drawing this comic. I had never heard of these guys, but they told a fun story with very serviceable artwork. I could see their influences, certainly Jack and Frank, who they dedicated the book to, but also it had an underground look and feel to the story which I liked a lot.

I give this comic a rating of five (5) out of five (5) Legion Flight Rings! It started the whole back and white comic market back in 1984 and went on to make Eastman and Laird millions of dollars. The original comic series lasted for ten years and there were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons, as well as, Teenage Mutant Ninja figures for years and years! There were even live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles acts at Disney World. Quite a lasting accomplishment for one slightly larger format comic book sitting at the bottom of a comic book rack in 1984!

I worked in a music store in 1990, and one of my jobs was refilling the spinner rack when new comics arrived. (I had experience, after all.) I had to tear the covers off the old comics and trash the books. The covers were returned to the publisher for credit.

\nComic racks, an essential fixture for collectors and retailers alike, offer a specialized solution for displaying a variety of comic-related merchandise. These units are not only functional but also enhance the visual appeal of the space they occupy. Constructed from durable materials, comic racks ensure a stable and enduring presence in any setting.\n