golden age Archives

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[...]

Leslie Charteris gave Avon Publications detailed feedback on the look he wanted for The Saint comic book series in the late 1940s.

The notion of blending supernatural elements with superhero storylines is an underappreciated aspect of the Golden Age.  Long before the Pre-Code Horror era, publishers like Marvely/Timely, MLJ and Chesler were combining these elements to great effect.  A prime example of this fusion is Dynamic Comics #1, published by Chesler in 1941 The introduction of superheroes[...]

It seems almost inconceivable to consider the Golden Age comic book output of MLJ as a whole without discussing Archie and his pals, and that's probably why researching the comic books in this auction surprised me as much as it did.  There's been so much focus on collecting Archie in recent decades, and deservedly so,[...]

One of publisher MLJ's pre-Archie superheroes, the Black Hood was arguably one of the most interesting superheroes of the Golden Age.  He certainly had an unusual publishing history during that time The character first appeared in Top-Notch Comics #9, took that title over, started getting elbowed aside in the Top-Notch series 18 issues later in[...]

At a time when competition was so fierce to stake claims on superhero territory that lawsuits and legal threats were common, MLJ managed to launch a super strong, super durable, super fast, flying superhero with a red and blue costume who was soon boldly proclaimed the Man of Steel on covers, and there is no[...]

The character had a brief run in the Golden Age, but is one of the most memorable of MLJ's Golden Age heroes due to the spider-related iconography There's a Zip Comics #27 featuring the debut of the Web and several other issues of Zip Comics up for auction at the 2023 May 4 The MLJ[...]

During the comic industry's boom time of the early 1950s, L.B. Cole covers were designed to stand out on the crowded newsstands.

Marvel was in the air in the second half of 1939.  Within the space of a few months, comics saw the debut of a character called Masked Marvel, the launch of the Marvel Comics title and finally the original Captain Marvel hit the newsstands in Whiz Comics right before the end of the year.  But[...]

was the original's son, a WWII fighter pilot who also worked for Army Intelligence. Whatever actually happened there with the missing #4, the Chesler involvement, and all the rest, Captain Battle is a classic patriotic hero from one of the most editorially interesting publishers of the Golden Age, and there are several issues of Captain Battle[...]

After that debut issue, artists such as Ken Bald and Pete Riss provided the artwork for many of the early Millie stories, but the character's iconic look was developed by future Archie Comics artist Dan DeCarlo, who gave Millie her distinct visual identity in a ten year run on the title from issues #18–92 (June[...]

Issues of New Fun Comics among other very early releases will probably be mentioned. Marvel's My Friend Irma and Hedy De Vine by Dan DeCarlo. But when I started asking collectors about vintage Marvel comic book rarity, the reaction was very different.  One collector responded with an anecdote.  When this collector asked a high net-worth Golden Age[...]

In Georgie Comics #1, Marvel publisher Martin Goodman as "Captain Goodman" helped Georgie in a scheme to impress Hedy Lamarr.

The "newest, biggest, solidest, keenest" comic of 1947 was Marvel's Junior Miss, featuring Cindy Smith, Sandra Lake and residents of Oakdale.

Marvel has become rather infamous for recycling names throughout its vintage eras.  From ordinary names like Aunt May and Uncle Ben, to character names like Magneto, the Hulk, and Werewolf by Night that were first used as throwaway names during the Marvel Pre-Code Horror and monster eras, and then used on other characters that became[...]

Accomplished artist Louise Altson painted portraits for numerous important 20th century figures, and also did some Marvel covers.

We recently talked about how Tessie is underappreciated as Marvel's earliest female star character during the Golden Age.  She took over the covers of Joker Comics shortly after her debut in issue #2 of that series in 1942, and within two years was carrying three Marvel series at the same time, becoming the cover feature[...]

While June Tarpé Mills' Miss Fury can be considered the first female superhero published by Marvel/Timely in the Golden Age, and Millie the Model is undoubtedly the most famous female Marvel character to debut in that era, Tessie the Typist is arguably Marvel's first female star character.  Years before Millie Collins, Patsy Walker & company[...]

The Blonde Phantom was one of Marvel's most popular female superheroes of the Golden Age.  The character debuted in All Select Comics #11, cover-dated Fall 1946, and that series was retitled Blonde Phantom Comics beginning with the next issue.  She made around 40 appearances across seven titles between late 1946 and early 1949, and had[...]

Perhaps the first superhero of the Atomic Age, Charles A. Vought's inventive Atomic Man had a brief run in Prize's Headline Comics.

The Edgar Church / Mile High comic book pedigree is a collection of almost 15,000 comic books 1937 to 1957 amassed by Denver, Colorado commercial illustrator Edgar Church.  The collection, much of which has been preserved in incredible high grade, has become the stuff of legend since it was discovered by longtime retailer Chuck Rozanski (also known as[...]

Dan DeCarlo is best remembered for his work on Archie Comics, but he played a significant role in 1950s Marvel like Millie the Model as well.

The incredibly obscure Star Studded Comics from Cambridge House Publishers features Ghost Woman plus work by Carmine Infantino.

Alex Schomburg is one of the most widely-collected cover artists of the Golden Age, with many focusing on his WWII-era work His cover of Wonder Comics #3 (cover-dated November 1944), with Standard/Better/Nedor character the Grim Reaper punching a Nazi is a classic Schomburg example.  Featuring an early Grim Reaper story and the origin of the[...]

This issue has recently attracted some attention among serious vintage comic book collectors, as high grade copies have been virtually unheard of on the public marketplace in the CGC era.  Last year, a CGC 5.5 copy went for $3960 at Heritage Auctions.  Whitman is an underappreciated superstar of the late Golden Age, and this Summer[...]

Beck make these early Whiz Comics #4's Captain Marvel tale a fascinating reflection of this particular moment in history.  Formative issues of a historic comic book series, there are several early issues of Whiz Comics available in the 2023 March 26-28 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122313 at Heritage Auctions. Whiz Comics 3[...]

But now we have returned to his earlier form. But it's not just Geoff Johns' Golden Age obsessions being warmed over here Todd Nauck also gets a go with Greta Hayes, also known as Secret She appeared in a one-shot comic, part of the Girlfrenzy event from DC Comics  in 1998 by Todd Dezago and Todd[...]

With Captain Marvel riding high as one of the top characters in comics with a popularity that rivaled Superman throughout much of the Golden Age, in 1941-1942 and again in 1947-1952 Fawcett Publications produced a number of giant, squarebound annual editions targeting the holiday and otherwise gift-giving market.  Gift Comics and Xmas Comics both topped[...]

There were a lot of strange superheroes created during the Golden Age of comic books, but Volton might be in a class all his own.  Volton was apparently the creation of Charles Quinlan, perhaps in collaboration with Cyclone Comics series editor Worth Carnahan.  A distinctive stylist who is also known for some unusual and inventive[...]

One of the low-key best science fiction titles of the Cold War era, Charlton's Space Adventures contains many underappreciated gems.