Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: canadian comics, Chesler

Chesler's Rocketman and the Mystery of Atomic Comics #1, at Auction

Was a notorious paper broker behind the publication of both the U.S. and Canadian version of Atomic Comics?

The use of atomic bombs on August 6 and August 9, 1945, fundamentally changed world history, and these changes quickly permeated various aspects of media and culture. In the United States, late 1945 saw the start of a burst of atom bomb-inspired series such as Atoman Comics, Atomic Thunderbolt, Atomic Comics, and the debut of Atomic Man in Headline Comics.  In Canada, one issue of Atomic Comics appeared with the same cover-date as the U.S. version, but with different contents and a publisher who is a bit of a mystery.  One of the early comic book reflections of the world entering the atomic era, there's an Atomic Comics #1 (Daniels Publications, 1946) CGC FN 6.0 copy up for auction in the 2025 March 13 Canadian Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40290 at Heritage Auctions.

Daniels Publications' Atomic Comics #1 contains Rocketman and other interior features reprinted from Harry A. Chesler material, and a new Rocketman cover by artist Harry Thomson, who had done work for Bell Features.  This doesn't give us much of a clue, as Chesler material was used by a number of publishers over this period, including Al Rucker Publications, Super Publications, Superior, and Bell Features.  Perhaps notably, Rucker's Rocket Man Comics, which also featured Chesler content, came out around this same time.  As we have noted, that publication represents a transitional period during which Al Rucker Productions was likely being guided by Super Publications' Lou Ruby.

The address listed on the inside front cover of Atomic Comics #1 is for Toronto's Adelaide Hotel, which also had suites for long-term residents and possibly businesses.  While there appears to be no one named Daniels with that address in that time period, there is someone connected to the Toronto engraving firm Graphic Engravers with that address at the time. This is the type of company a comic book publisher would do business with, but on its own, it is a tenuous connection at best.

Perhaps more notably, the U.S. version of Atomic Comics was published by David Korneman's Green Publishing Co., and contains a mix of likely unauthorized reprints in its first issue, probably put together to try to be the first to use the Atomic Comics title.  Korneman would later become known primarily as a paper broker, and he had been caught up in a War Production Board action that was termed a "war against the black market in paper" which also named Toronto comic book publisher Frank E. Howard as an offender.  The Canadian version of Atomic Comics has the same sort of profile as the U.S. version, and in later U.S Senate investigation testimony, Korneman would testify that he did work in Canada during this period on behalf of Raleigh News-Observer publisher Frank Daniels.

While that's short of conclusive, it would seem to be the best-fit explanation for Daniels Publishing at this time, and the possible connection to the U.S. publisher of the title at just the same time makes this an interesting artifact of the early atomic era.  There's a CGC FN 6.0 copy of Atomic Comics #1 (Daniels Publications, 1946) up for auction in the 2025 March 13 Canadian Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40290 at Heritage Auctions. In addition to Rocketman, it also contains Yankee Boy and Master Key stories from Chesler.

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