Crime Smashers was a 15 issue crime comics series that included art from Joe Kubert and Wally Wood, from a company owned by Harry Donenfeld.
golden age Archives
Gangsters Can't Win was a title from the late-1940s crime comic book era which featured some classic covers and stories.
D.S. Publishing's short foray into comic books includes an extensive line of crime comics like Exposed, which came to Wertham's attention.
Daredevil Battles Hitler might be the most infamous propaganda comic book in American history, but it also doubles as the first issue of the Golden Age Daredevil's solo series for Lev Gleason Publications. The creation of Jack Binder, the character debuted in Silver Streak Comics #6, and was pitted against Lev Gleason star supervillain The[...]
The Flag's abilities included trailing stars & stripes while using his power of flight & an American Flag birthmark that warned him of danger
Observing the flight of bats at the mission one day, the monk, Padre Martier, recalled that renaissance genius Benvenuto Cellini had once likewise been inspired by bat wings as a possible method of human flight (and incidentally, a rather remarkable historical reference on the part of Biro and/or Wood there). Padre Martier proceeded to design[...]
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." [...]
The short-lived title Seven Seas Comics was a turning point of sorts in the context of Matt Baker's career.
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[...]
A little known title from an incredibly obscure publisher, Lucky Comics has stand-out covers and stories from Henry Kiefer.
1950 was a turning point of sorts for publisher Quality Comics. Everett "Busy" Arnold bought out his longtime partners in the business John Cowles, Sr and Gardner Cowles, Jr not too long after the comic book industry had shifted from a focus on superheroes to a variety of other material. Long-running Golden Age titles like Smash[...]
Crime comic title Justice Traps the Guilty was launched by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby in 1947, and continued for an impressive 92 issues.
One of the most iconic images associated with The Spirit saga, Will Eisner channeled Lauren Bacall for the character Skinny Bones.
Simon Templar, better known as the Saint, has been a multimedia star over the decades, including a 12-issue comic book series from Avon.
Ahead of his first "real" appearance in More Fun Comics #52, the Spectre made a one-panel appearance in More Fun Comics #51.
Ace Magazines' Baffling Mysteries series during the Pre-Code Horror comic book era of the early 1950s had a spectacular run of covers.
Legendary artist L.B. Cole might have thought more about what made comic book covers sell on the newsstands than any other artist of his era.
Created by Otto Binder and Al Gabriele, the Golden Age Miss America debuted in Marvel Mystery Comics before getting her own title.
Considered by many as the first DC Comics superhero, Dr. Occult was created by Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
After debuting a year prior, Dr. Fate's origin moment with the debut of Nabu was finally told in More Fun Comics #67.
Along with Gus Ricca, distinctive stylist Paul Gattuso is one of the key artists who gave Harry Chesler's comic books their distinctive look. Gattuso worked for Chesler beginning around 1944, on titles such as Dynamic Comics, Punch Comics and Scoop Comics among others. The character Black Dwarf who appeared in Spotlight Comics and Red Seal Comics is perhaps his best-remembered[...]
Marvel Mystery Comics #56 from 1944 is an example of the intense detail that has made Alex Schomburg famous among collectors.
One of the most famous propaganda comics in American history, Is This Tomorrow was the 1st of several anti-communist comics from the publisher
In reality, he's more like a supernatural, evil version of Batman, who can turn into a bat at will, has a cave headquarters, and has "ancient witchcraft and black magic at his command." This evil Bat-man intends to plunge humanity back to the dark ages by stealing the brains of the world's top scientists. On[...]
Suspense Comics #3 is one of the most infamous Alex Schomburg covers ever published, and it's a theme that Schomburg would use from time to time during the Golden Age. Terrific Comics #5 and All-New Comics #8 are Schomburg covers with similar themes. These Nazi/Bondage/Horror/War covers wrap up the terrors of that era in a[...]
1947 was an interesting turning point in the history of espionage, and Magazine Enterprise's Undercover Girl reflects this moment in time.
Chesler might even be more famous, at least among serious Golden Age collectors due to his appearance on the cover of Dynamic Comics #11 — though it's not widely known who the figure on that famous cover is Dr Doom What exactly is happening on this highly sought-after cover? There's a clue to what this[...]
One of the most memorable female characters of the Golden Age with an iconic cover by Kida, there's a solid copy of her first appearance in Air Fighters Comics V2#2 (Hillman Fall, 1943) CBCS VG+ 4.5 Cream to off-white pages up for auction in the 2022 July 3-4 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122227[...]
Streak the Wonder Dog was not the first dog hero of the Golden Age of comics. Bulletdog (Bulletman #10, cover-dated December 1942) and Rang-A-Tang (Blue Ribbon Comics #1, November 1939) among others came along earlier. But Streak did debut seven years before Krypto (Adventure Comics #210, March 1955), and his history and legacy have taken[...]
There's a line from the recent trailer for the Black Adam movie that has Hawkman telling Black Adam that, "Heroes don't kill." Black Adam's only response is, "Well, I do." And really, killing was actually not so uncommon for the Golden Age heroes, at least in their earlier days. Superman certainly killed his enemies sometimes,[...]