Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Ace Periodicals, golden age, pre-code horror

Ace's Master of Magnetism, Magno in Super-Mystery Comics, at Auction

Magno the Magnetic Man was the underappreciated star of Ace Periodicals' long-running Super-Mystery Comics title.

According to a lawsuit over the creation of Ace Periodicals comic books during this era, Magno the Magnetic Man and the rest of the material in Super-Mystery Comics #1 was the creation of a comic production studio run by Patrick Lamar.  At least two stories in this issue were based on plots from past Ace Periodicals pulps (Magno's debut story was based on the Secret Agent X storyline "Octopus of Crime by writer Paul Chadwick), but the Magno character is original to the comics.  One of the best-known characters from the Ace Periodicals line, Magno enjoyed a long career in Super-Mystery Comics and Four Favorites, eventually got a sidekick, and had an interesting rogues gallery of supervillains including his archnemesis the Clown.  The entire Ace superhero line is incredibly underrated, and Magno in Super-Mystery Comics was among the best of the bunch, and a lot of the run is tough to get.  An important superhero debut from the early WWII era, there are several issues of Super-Mystery Comics including a copy of issue #1 , and the incredibly rare Super-Mystery Comics #3 which also features the debut of the Black Spider up for auction in the 2024 May 30 Adventures in the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40261 at Heritage Auctions.

If you're familiar with the Marvel character Magneto, Magno the Magnetic Man is exactly what you expect.  As explained in Super-Mystery Comics #1: "Seldom has the world seen anything so strange as the powers possessed by Magno — the Magnetic Man.  Mysterious and mighty, Magno is able to draw to himself anything of metal. In addition, he can hurl himself through space, attracted by anything metallic. With such powers, Magno could rule the world. Instead, he chooses to devote his life to fighting evil of all kinds."

Magno soon got a kid sidekick named Davey in Super-Mystery Comics #4.  The series eventually converged on characters of the crime/suspense type, such as Mr. Risk, and Bert and Sue among others.  The Super-Mystery series in general is not easy to collect by Golden Age standards, and issue #3 is particularly tough.  An underappreciated title that encompassed everything from superheroes to suspense and even a dash of horror, there are several issues of Super-Mystery Comics including a copy of issue #1 , and the incredibly rare Super-Mystery Comics #3 which also features the debut of the Black Spider up for auction in the 2024 May 30 Adventures in the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40261 at Heritage Auctions.

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