Hey everyone! Welcome back to another Fabulous Find. This month I’ll be taking a look at a fanzine from the Spring of 1969. So without further ado, I present Capt. Biljo Comics #1. The fanzine was written, drawn and published by Biljo White. It’s only sixteen (16) pages long and it contains a single, twelve (12) page story entitled; Capt. Biljo Goes To A Comic Convention.
Biljo of course also provided the cover. Take a look:
For those who might not know, Bill White was a firefighter in Missouri and an amateur cartoonist. He might have been Batman’s biggest fan during the early sixties and was the founder and publisher of the fanzine; Batmania.
He created the comic book character, Capt. Biljo, in his own image and even referred to himself, and was known throughout early comic book fandom, as Capt. Biljo.
And as the title says, the story is about an imaged visit to a comic book character by White’s alter ego. A great sight gag is shown on the cover as Capt. Biljo arrives at the convention, surrounded by other fans dressed as their favorite comic book characters and no one recognizes the good Capt.
The story itself begins with Biljo in bed, dreaming of saving a damsel in distress who is being threatened by Black Boris. He awakens before completing his mission and while eating breakfast his mail is delivered and he receives and invitation to attend a comic convention.
A week passes and finally it’s time for Biljo to leave for the convention. And his adventure begins. He arrives and the cover is worked into the story, as everyone there pretends not to recognize Capt. Biljo. But quickly let him know he’s recognized and welcome.
A short time later, Dealer Dan approaches Capt. Biljo and offers him a rare copy of Purple Pig #1 for the whopping price of $250. An unheard of price for 1969, but certainly not today. The Capt. wavers trying to decide to spend all of his money on one comic, or to use it to purchase a number of comics.
During the con dinner, the Capt. sees Dealer Dan offer the copy of Purple Pig # 1 to another fan, Mel Moneybags. But ultimately the rare comic is put into the auction. So Biljo, not having enough money decides to use his car as collateral and ultimately after furious bidding, it’s down to Biljo and Mel. At the end, after all the dust has settled, the Capt. is the proud owner of Purple Pig #1!
With the rare comic in the Capt’s hands the lights go out and when they go back on, the copy of Purple Pig #1 is gone! First Biljo accuses his friends, but soon sees the error of his ways, then he accosts Mel Moneybags and finds out he has the copy of Purple Pig #1. But it turns out that Mel was offered a second copy from Dealer Dan.
The Capt. and Mel put they heads together and determine than Dealer Dan sold the copy to Biljo, then stole it back and sold it to Mel. They both rush out to the parking lot, where they find Dealer Dan trying to drive away with the money for the comic book he sold twice, plus Capt. Biljo car that enabled Biljo to win the auction in the first place!
Good prevails over evil and the story ends with Capt. Biljo running from his friends who have not forgiven him for accusing them of stealing his Purple Pig #1.
A fun, well written and well drawn story form the wonderful amateur artist, Biljo White! Well worth owning, if you can track down a copy!
That’s it for this installment, but I’ll be back next month with something new, or should I say old?
Be seeing you …
