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Weird Menace: The 1930s rise of the Shudder Pulps followed by the rise of the forces that ended them and transformed horror on the newsstand.
Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: golden age, pre-code horror
Early Joe Kubert Art in the Very Rare The Challenger, Up for Auction
The Challenger was a four issue series from 1945-1946 designed to fight prejudice and discrimination featuring work by Joe Kubert and others.
Article Summary
- Explore the anti-racism themes of The Challenger comic series from 1945-1946.
- Dive into Joe Kubert's early artwork in The Challenger #2, featuring Zapata's story.
- Learn about Kenneth Leslie's mission against fascism through comic publishing.
- Discover rare comics with significant historical and cultural impact up for auction.
As the debut issue states, The Challenger was a comic book "pledged to fight race prejudice, discrimination and all other forms of fascism in North America." The short-lived comic book title was published by poet and political activist Kenneth Leslie, who was also the publisher of the magazine Protestant Digest. According to a biographer, Leslie had been increasingly concerned about "the growth of fascist and anti-semitic attitudes in the United States" during the 1930s and beyond, and used his publishing platform in an attempt to counter such trends. Something of an obscurity today, The Challenger comic book was part of Leslie's efforts at fighting fascist propaganda in America. The series featured artwork by E.C. Stoner and the legendary Joe Kubert among others, and ran for four issues 1945-1946. The entire series is tough to get, but there's a high-grade CGC VF 8.0 Off-white pages copy of Challenger #2 up for auction in the 2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions.
The Kubert story in The Challenger #2 tells the historical saga of Emiliano Zapata, a prominent Mexican revolutionary figure who advocated for land reform and agrarian rights in Morelos. Initially supporting Francisco I. Madero's rebellion against Porfirio Díaz in 1910, Zapata later turned against Madero due to his failure to fulfill the Plan of San Luis Potosí. In 1911, Zapata issued the Plan of Ayala, which demanded land redistribution for peasants and labeled Madero as a traitor. Throughout the Mexican Revolution, Zapata collaborated with Pancho Villa and other opponents of Venustiano Carranza while concentrating on the restoration and security of Morelos. His life was tragically cut short in 1919 when he was betrayed and assassinated by a colonel feigning defection under the orders of General Pablo González.
Challenger is a fascinating artifact of the immediate post-war era, and there's a high-grade CGC VF 8.0 Off-white pages copy of Challenger #2 up for auction in the 2023 July 13 – 14 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40227 at Heritage Auctions.
Challenger #2 (Interfaith Committee, 1945) CGC VF 8.0 Off-white pages. This anti-racism and anti-fascism comic book series was published by the Interfaith Committee of the Protestant Digest. The interior features very early art by Joe Kubert. Overstreet 2024 VF 8.0 value = $742. CGC census 10/24: 2 in 8.0, 4 higher.
Affiliates of Bleeding Cool buy from and/or consign to Heritage Auctions.
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