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Publisher: Chesler / Dynamic
Years in Operation: 1937 - 1946
Disclose Detail
Country: Flag United States Web Site: Brands: 5 Indicia Publishers: 16 Series: 20 Printings: 75 Disclose Notes: Harry "A" Chesler (the "A" was not a proper initial- supposedly Chesler claimed it stood for "Anything") was a comic book packager and publisher. He operated a packaging studio more or less continuously from the mid-30s through 1953, and at times also operated as a publisher.

He first published two oversize comics, Star Comics and Star Ranger, as Chesler Publications in 1937. He sold this venture to Ultem Publications, but continued to produce the comics (now normal sized) as well as two additional titles that Ultem had acquired. All of Ultem's comics were entirely put together by Chesler and continued the trade dress of his early books.

After Ultem sold its titles to Centaur, Chesler spent the next several years packaging comics for other publishers and selling them individual stories. One such comic was a 1938 giveaway for Cocomalt, which is included here because it has no other publishing information beyond Chesler's copyright. While some sources list Chesler as publishing or co-owning early Quality Comics issues, this is not correct. At most, he supplied them with a few stories.

In 1941 Chesler returned as a publisher with Dynamic Publications, Inc. From this point on, most of Chesler's comics would be branded with a logo proclaiming them the "World's Greatest Comics". In 1941-1942, this also identified each issue as "A Dynamic Publication". After just over half a year, the U. S. was ramping up its involvement in World War II, and Dynamic ceased publishing, producing a few books through surrogates.

The surrogate activity picks up dramatically in 1944, leading into Chesler's third major wave of publishing. In place of "A Dynamic Publication" these had "Harry "A" Chesler, Jr.". Junior, however, was the son of Chesler the publisher, a point of much confusion for latter-day comics researchers. This period lasted through 1946, after which the ongoing titles were continued in Canada by Superior Publishers through early 1948. Chesler continued to run his art shop, but no longer published his own comics after 1946.

Related Publishers:
Ultem: http://www.comics.org/publisher/7631/
Superior Publishers Limited: http://www.comics.org/publisher/223/   Does this data need corrections? Become an editor.
Brands: 1 to 5 of 5 found.
Page 1 of 1
Sorted by :
Brand Name View Brand Images Years in Operation Printings (Issues)
Harry "A" Chesler Jr. Features Syndicate, N.Y.Disclose
Note: Appeared in small text on a few issues published during World War II that did not have the "World's Greatest Comics" logo on them in any form. Note that unlike the pre-war comics, this form includes "Jr." in the name. The dates of several comics published with this text are unknown, making the start and end dates somewhat suspect. In particular, 1944 might be the correct starting year (see Dynamic Comics #8 for details).
 1942 - 1945 4
World's Greatest ComicsDiscloseView Brand Images
Note: This logo, with no additional text at the top of the box, appears on at least one of the surrogate-published issues associated with Chesler.
 1945 - 1
World's Greatest Comics / A Dynamic Publication; Harry "A" Chesler Features Syndicate, N.Y.Disclose
Note: Chesler's brand during his immediate pre-war publishing activities. "World's Greatest Comics" is the prominent logo that would return after the war. However, pre-war issues said "A Dynamic Publication" in small letters above that and also carred the 'Harry "A" Chesler Features Syndicate, N.Y.' small text elsewhere on the cover.
 1941 - 1942 12
World's Greatest Comics / Harry "A" Chesler Jr.DiscloseView Brand Images2
Note: This is the logo used on most of Chesler's post-War publications. The "World's Greatest Comics" portion is the most prominent, but unlike the pre-war logo the small text above it now reads "Harry "A" Chesler Jr." instead of "A Dynamic Publication", and there is no separate text about Chesler's "Features Sydicate" anywhere on the cover.
 1944 - 1946 31
World's Greatest Comics / Harry "A" Chesler Jr.; Harry "A" Chesler, Jr. Features Syndicate, N.Y.Disclose
Note: Chesler briefly used his "Features Syndicate" text alongside his post-war World's Greatest Comics logo (which already incorporated the 'Harry "A" Chesler, Jr.' name), but it disappeared after an issue or two in favor of the logo alone.
 1944 - 3
Brands: 1 to 5 of 5 found.
Page 1 of 1
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