Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Chesler, golden age

The Super-Soldier and Dr. Doom in Yankee Comics #1, Up for Auction

Published Sun, 14 Aug 2022 21:17:10 -0500

There are at least a couple of Golden Age characters named Dr. Doom. One of them is a super-science supervillain who debuted in Fox Feature Syndicate's Science Comics #1. The other is a heroic mad scientist made famous by Gus Ricca's wild and iconic cover of Dynamic Comics #11, published by Harry A. Chesler. The Chesler Dr. Doom first appeared in Yankee Comics #1, and his origin story is every bit as wild as that famous Gus Ricca Dynamic Comics cover implies. Add this to the shocking plot twist that gives Yankee Doodle Jones his powers in the cover-featured story, and you've got the makings of a trademark Chesler series that combines superheroics, horror, and just plain weirdness. There's a Yankee Comics #1 (Chesler, 1941) Condition: GD/VG plus the entire original four-issue run of the series up for auction in the 2022 August 14-15 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122233 at Heritage Auctions.

The version of Dr. Doom introduced in Yankee Comics #1 is part of a feature called The Echo. The Echo was the story of the crime-fighting exploits of a family of two brothers and their sister who were urged into a mission of fighting the underworld by the ghost of their murdered father. The Echo himself was a ventriloquist who wore an invisibility belt created by his super-scientist brother, who goes by the name of Dr. Doom (after the family's ancestral home, Doom Hall).

The introduction of Yankee Doodle Jones and Dandy in this issue seems to be a take on already-famous comic book characters (in this case, Captain America and Bucky, who had hit the newsstands about six months before Yankee Comics #1) with a rather horrific twist. Rather shockingly, the super-soldier serum which gives Yankee Doodle Jones his powers is derived from the strength of veterans of World War I who were disabled in some way during that war. Called together by an eminent scientist, a group of veterans must give their lives to create the serum which transforms Yankee Doodle Jones. These veterans state as they agree to give up their lives, "Willingly, so that from us a protector of the American doctrines shall rise."

An underappreciated and just plain strange short Golden Age series from Chesler, there's a Yankee Comics #1 (Chesler, 1941) Condition: GD/VG plus the entire original four-issue run of the series up for auction in the 2022 August 14-15 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122233 at Heritage Auctions.

: Yankee Comics #1 (Chesler, 1941)

: Yankee Comics #4 (Chesler, 1942)

Yankee Comics #1 (Chesler, 1941) Condition: GD/VG. Origins of Yankee Doodle Jones, Echo, Firebrand, Scarlet Sentry, and Enchanted Dagger. Charles Sultan cover. George Tuska art. Piece missing from spine, stain at top edge of cover, pin holes to cover. Overstreet 2022 GD 2.0 value = $252; VG 4.0 value = $504.

Yankee Comics #2 (Chesler, 1941) Condition: GD. Origin and first appearance of Johnny Rebel. First appearance of Yankee Boy and Barry Kuda. Major Victory appearance. Charles Sultan cover. Spine and pages split at the bottom, tape repair to cover interior, staple added to spine. Overstreet 2022 GD 2.0 value = $113.

Yankee Comics #3 (Chesler, 1942) Condition: GD. One of only four we've encountered, and the first we've seen in more than six years. Spine split, tape repair to cover interior, staples replaced, pages split at top and bottom, centerfold detached. Overstreet 2022 GD 2.0 value = $94.

Yankee Comics #4 (Chesler, 1942) Condition: VG. Last standard comic book-sized issue. Charles Sultan cover. Sultan, George Tuska, and Bob Fujitani art. Bottom staple popped. Overstreet 2022 VG 4.0 value = $188.