golden age Archives

An artist who became legendary for his cover artwork in particular, Matt Baker had only done six of them before his first South Sea Girl cover, on Seven Seas Comics #3.  What's more, this piece is his first true Good Girl cover, on a series that very likely helped raise his profile in the comic[...]

Mystery Men Comics #3 is best known for its spectacular Lou Fine cover featuring the Green Mask.  Comics featuring Fine's covers are highly sought after on that basis alone, and virtually all the comics he worked on have historical importance for many other reasons as well.  While Mystery Men Comics #3 features one of the[...]

One of the most successful early superheroes published by MLJ, the company that would subsequently become best known for Archie, Top-Notch Comics #9 has long been known as a tough comic to get among knowledgeable collectors.  There's a solid CGC VG+ 4.5 copy of Top-Notch Comics #9 (MLJ, 1940) up for auction in the 2025 October[...]

Hitting newsstands around the same time that All-Star Comics #8 gave the world its first look at Wonder Woman, Bang-Up Comics #1 debuted another female superhero who, unfortunately, would not achieve the Amazon's popularity or longevity.  But Bang-Up Comics' Lady Fairplay is still an underappreciated and unusual character in a series full of such forgotten mysteries.  Released in[...]

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby are among the most famous creative teams in American comic book history.  They are the legendary creators of comic book titles and characters like Captain America and Bucky, Newsboy Legion, Boy Commandos, Manhunter, Boys' Ranch, Fighting American, and numerous others.  Every team starts somewhere, and the earliest collaborations of these[...]

This would all change dramatically when the character got his own series, and there's a CBCS FN+ 6.5 copy of Green Mask #1 (Fox Features Syndicate, 1940) up for auction in the 2025 October 16 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction III at Heritage Auctions. Green Mask #1 (Fox Features Syndicate, 1940) Both Blue Beetle #1 and Green Mask[...]

The emphasis is on story and character values."  While Air Fighters Comics, which introduced Airboy in its second issue, is certainly not a superhero comic book, Victory Comics is another matter entirely.  That series features a character called the Conqueror, very decidedly a superhero, created by the legendary Bill Everett of Sub-Mariner fame.  An overlooked[...]

One of the most memorable female characters of the Golden Age with an iconic cover by Kida, there's a very nice CGC FN 6.0 copy of her first appearance in Air Fighters Comics V2#2 (Hillman Periodicals, 1943) and a CGC VF 8.0 copy of her second appearance in Air Fighters Comics V2#7 (Hillman Periodicals, 1944)[...]

His soldiers and spies are everywhere, and all hope of liberty seems gone forever." The source of Power Nelson's power is left vague in Prize Comics #1, which simply states that "A scientific way has been discovered to endow one man, and one man only, with tremendous power."  Chosen to receive "the strength of a steam[...]

This scene of raw, underwater conflict has made the comic a grail among Golden Age collectors A copy graded CGC 9.2 sold for an  $81,000 in February 2023, while another at CGC 7.5 hammered at $31,200 in September 2024.  This CGC FN+ 6.5 Off-white to white pages copy is up for auction in the 2025[...]

There are several issues of the early Golden Age Speed Comics title up for auction in the 2025 September 18 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction II at Heritage Auctions. Speed Comics #6 (Brookwood, 1940) Speed Comics star Shock Gibson was a pretty typical superhero in the Superman mold.  An experiment involving chemistry and electricity went awry[...]

Fate's first-told origin in More Fun Comics #67 by over a year.  Robert Morgan was an American studying in Egypt who encountered an ancient Egyptian figure known as "The Old Man of the Pyramids", who taught him ancient arts and sciences, and gave him "the Amulet of Annihilation, the weapon of the forces of right." [...]

Hughes and David Gabrielsen, and with a cover by Elmer Wexler, there's a CGC VG 2.5 copy of Exciting Comics #9 (Nedor, 1941) featuring the first appearance and origin of the Black Terror up for auction in the 2025 September 18 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction II at Heritage Auctions. Exciting Comics #9 (Nedor Publications,[...]

It features an adaptation of the first Captain Future story from the pulp Captain Future v1 #1 with the lead character renamed Major Mars, an adaption of the first Jim Hatfield, Texas Ranger story from Texas Rangers v1 #1, and perhaps most interestingly, an adaption of Pines' first Black Bat story from Black Book Detective[...]

This CGC VG 4.0 Cream to off-white pages copy of Thrilling Comics #2 (Better Publications, 1940) is up for auction in the 2025 September 18 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction II at Heritage Auctions. There are several other issues of Thrilling Comics available as well. Thrilling Comics #3 (Better Publications, 1940) with a Woman in Red[...]

The series launch of the Hangman, a uniquely dark character from the Golden Age of comics, appropriately begins amid a veil of mystery Surprisingly, MLJ debuted the series for this foreboding character under the blandly neutral title Special Comics #1, rather than with the eponymous "Hangman Comics" name right from the start — like MLJ[...]

While not one of the best-remembered patriotic heroes of the era, The Flag, who first appeared in Our Flag Comics #2 from Ace Periodicals about seven months after the debut of Captain America, is an interesting example of how patriotism could be represented in WWII era comic books.  In addition to the prerequisite red, white[...]

The short-lived Major Victory Comics series contains a range of great examples of the Chesler line.  Even the superheroes and adventure characters are off-beat and weird, and tend to be viewed through a horror-tinged lens at times.  Patriotic character Major Victory's origin moment is sparked by a character called Father Patriot, "a spirit born in[...]

Giant Comics Editions #12 Diary Secrets features one of the most iconic and infamous covers in comics history.  The Overstreet Price Guide has had it at the top of their list of top ten most valuable romance comic books for a long time.  And really, one can think of a list of perhaps hundreds of[...]

An underappreciated Golden Age character in the mold of the Spectre, there's a CGC GD/VG 3.0 copy of the first appearance and origin of Mr Justice in Blue Ribbon Comics #9 (MLJ, 1941), is up for auction in the 2025 July 18 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase at Heritage Auctions. Blue Ribbon Comics #9 featuring Mr Justice (MLJ, 1941) In[...]

Sheena is one of the most famous female comic book characters ever created, and one of the earliest in the context of Golden Age American comics But I feel sorry for any Golden Age Sheena completists out there — because some of this material is as tough as it gets for a vintage collector.  I've[...]

One of several issues of the series with a very low census population, there's a CGC GD/VG 3.0 copy of Blue Ribbon Comics #21 (MLJ, 1942),  up for auction in the 2025 July 18 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase at Heritage Auctions. Blue Ribbon Comics #22 (MLJ, 1942). The last issue of this oft-overlooked series, Blue Ribbon Comics #22[...]

This issue is the first appearance of The Hangman, as well as chronicling the demise of The Comet, making it a significant piece of Golden Age history and one of the best origin stories of that era A stand-out cover by Irv Novick completes the picture of this noteworthy Golden Age MLJ key, and there's[...]

Detective Comics v Bruns Publications is one of the defining historical moments of modern American comic books.  In a judgment handed down April 2, 1939, Judge Learned Hand of United States District Court, Southern District of New York, ruled that Victor Fox's Wonderman character in Wonder Comics infringed on DC's Superman copyrights.  In a lesser-known[...]

Fawcett's Wow Comics is a great Golden Age series that deserves more attention It debuted in winter 1940 and ran for 69 issues until August 1948, featuring work by CC Beck, Otto Binder, Dave Berg, and even Jack Kirby, among many others But the series really started to shine when Mary Marvel arrived, with beautiful[...]

The saga of the Fox Feature Syndicate character the Flame is more complicated than it appears.  The character, his powers, and his backstory evolved steadily, sometimes without explanation, from his 1939 introduction in Wonderworld Comics #3 through his final Golden Age appearances in the January 1942 cover-dated issues of Big 3, The Flame, and Wonderworld[...]

Centaur turned the Ultem titles into a solid and well-remembered comic book publishing company.  Ullman and Temerson jumped right back into the business less than two years later with another corporate shell and the made-for-the-moment title Speed Comics, put it out for 11 months, and then flipped it to Leo Greenwald, who was also publishing[...]

But one of the earliest and most interesting of these was Thor, God of Thunder, who debuted in Weird Comics #1 from artist Pierce Rice.  This Thor's adventures ran in Weird Comics #1-5, and while every issue of this Fox Feature series is a tough get, there's a CGC GD+ 2.5 copy of Weird Comics #1[...]

The short-lived and obscure title Future Comics may be one of the weirdest comic book series of the Golden Age — and that's saying something.  Best known for its covers that include a strange-looking science fiction character named Rebo wearing bizarre headgear, the story behind that imagery may be even stranger than the covers implies. [...]

Jackpot Comics was an early anthology comic book series published by MLJ Magazines during the Golden Age, which featured some of the publisher's most popular characters from other titles.  That group of characters originally included Steel Sterling, Black Hood, Sergeant Boyle, and Mr Justice, by creators including Charles Biro, Irv Novick, Ed Camy, and Sam[...]