Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored | Tagged: the flame, victor fox

Fox's The Flame and the Dawn of the Atomic-Powered Menace, at Auction

A combination of superheroics, super-science and horror makes Fox Features Syndicate's The Flame one of the publisher's best characters.

Fox Features Syndicate founder Victor Fox was one of the most notorious publishers of the Golden Age of comic books — and that's saying something.  Through lawsuits over copying characters from other publishers, two bankruptcies, and tangling with the War Production Board over violating paper quotas, Fox was a man who wasn't afraid to get in the mud to achieve success.  Somehow through all that, he put out some excellent and historically important comic books by foundationally important writers and artists.  The Flame is an example of Fox Features Syndicate at its best. The Flame series itself is an excellent starting point towards collecting the character, and there are copies of seven of the eight issues of The Flame series, including a high grade The Flame #1 (Fox, 1940) CGC VF- 7.5 Off-white to white pages up for auction in the 2023 September 28 The Fox Comics Showcase Auction #40239 at Heritage Auctions.

Given Fox's reputation, it is often assumed that the Flame is little more than a Human Torch rip-off, but… yes and no.  The character first appeared in Wonderworld Comics #3, months in advance of the Human Torch's debut in Marvel Comics #1.  However, his Flame-based powers were limited to being able to sort of materialize himself within a flame in his initial appearances.  It's not until Wonderworld Comics #11 — which appears a few months after Marvel Comics #1 — that the character's flame-control abilities become more defined with an origin reboot moment.  The Flame #1 expands upon that origin a little more.

Nevertheless, throughout its lifespan, like many Fox characters the Flame combined superheroics, super-science, and sometimes horror to great effect.  The spectacular "Atomic Generator" story in The Flame #1 (reprinted from Wonderworld Comics #8) is a great example of the character at its best.  It dramatizes the impact that unleashing atomic energy would have on the world well in advance of such stories becoming commonplace in the wake of the first uses of the atomic bomb.

It can often be tough going to be a Fox collector. Virtually all of the line is tough to find, and the competition to get them is fierce. The early The Flame run is a good entry point to Fox, though.  There are copies of seven of the eight issues of The Flame series, including a high grade The Flame #1 (Fox, 1940) CGC VF- 7.5 Off-white to white pages up for auction in the 2023 September 28 The Fox Comics Showcase Auction #40239 at Heritage Auctions.

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