golden age Archives

Debuting in a larger-than-standard 10.5" x 14" format, it originally featured the superstrong and invulnerable character Master Man among others, but after settling down to a standard Golden Age comic book size with Master Comics #7, the series came to include the likes of Bulletman, Bulletgirl, and patriotic hero Minute-Man.  Captain Marvel Jr was then[...]

Tawny Tawky, the anthropomorphic talking tiger who debuted in Captain Marvel Adventures #79, became a beloved part of the Shazam pantheon soon after his 1947 debut, but he was not Fawcett Publications' first talking feline hero.  That distinction belongs to Eric the Talking Lion, who debuted as a sidekick of sorts to the character Lee[...]

Richard E. Hughes and Ken Bald's science fiction saga Time Travelers hits the spotlight in Operation: Peril #4 with cover by Ogden Whitney.

Bulletman is one of those golden age heroes that deserves a renaissance Debuting in Nickel Comics to some controversy at the time since the cost of that comic was 5 cents and 32 pages, at a time when most comics were 10 cents and 64 pages, he was one of the stars of the Fawcett[...]

Cow Puncher Comics does not contain any actual cow punching, but features art and covers by Jack Kamen, Joe Kubert, Walter Johnson and more

1953 Star Publications Pre-Code Horror release Spook #26 features a lurid cover by L.B. Cole for Jay Disbrow's interior tale "Face of Death".

The newspaper strip saga of the adventures of an entertainer named Claire Voyant was published as a comic book by the founder of The Hill.

Heritage Auctions is hiring comic book graders to work at their Dallas, TX location near the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.  They are looking for candidates knowledgeable about Golden Age, Silver Age and later comic books, preferably with experience in comic book grading.  In addition to grading comic books, other duties will include researching and estimating[...]

Hughes the next year.  Pines' own experience with college humor magazines beginning in 1925.  These and other elements all came together with the comic line we've come to refer to as Standard/Better/Nedor with the launch of Best Comics in 1939.  While plenty of obscurities exist in the comic book publishing history of the Golden Age,[...]

While Standard/Better/Nedor's art director, Graham Ingels created standout covers there before being hired by Al Feldstein for EC Comics.

There's a Black Terror #23 (Nedor, 1948) Condition: GD/VG and Black Terror #24 (Nedor Publications, 1948) CGC FN- 5.5 Off-white to white pages in the 2023 February 23 The Thrillingly Exciting Heroes of Nedor Comics Showcase Auction #40219 at Heritage Auctions. Black Terror #24 (Nedor Publications, 1948) featuring Lady Serpent. Continued stories were the exception rather than the[...]

Manhattan of Watchmen fame.  But this is actually the origin of American Crusader, who debuted in Thrilling Comics #19 in 1941.  There's a CGC FN- 5.5 copy of Thrilling Comics #19 (Better Publications, 1941) up for auction in the 2024 September 26 – 27 Heroes of the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40265 at Heritage Auctions. Thilling Comics[...]

A Golden Age comic book with a WWII-themed cover and an interior story to match, there's a copy of Startling Comics #20 up for auction in the 2023 February 23 The Thrillingly Exciting Heroes of Nedor Comics Showcase Auction #40219 at Heritage Auctions If you're new to Heritage Auctions, check out their FAQ on the[...]

This issue features a "Xela" cover by Schomburg, a Black Terror science fiction story by Moldoff, and another Black Terror story with inks by Frazetta.  An underappreciated late Golden Age issue with appeal for a wide range of collectors, there's a copy of Black Terror #22 (Nedor Publications, 1948) CGC FN- 5.5 Off-white to white[...]

Anthology titles combining stories featuring a publisher's best characters was a standard practice of the Golden Age.  DC Comics had World's Finest Comics and All-Star Comics, Fox Feature Syndicate had Big 3, and Marvel/Timely had All-Winners Comics, for example.  In 1942, Ned Pines' Standard/Better/Nedor followed suit by launching America's Best Comics, featuring the Black Terror,[...]

Captain Future, the lead character of the debut of Startling Comics, might be one of the most confusing characters in Golden Age comic book history.  The pulp character of that name (and from the same publisher, Ned Pines' Standard Magazines group) was, according to legend, created by Standard Magazines editors Mort Weisinger and Leo Margulies[...]

Norman Rockwell's nephew Dick Rockwell had an extensive career in comic books that includes Fox Feature Syndicate's Women Outlaws #6.

Hughes and artist Alexander Kostuk.  An interesting part of Golden Age comic book history, there's a Thrilling Comics #1 (Better Publications, 1940) CGC GD- 1.8 Cream to off-white pages up for auction in the 2023 February 23 The Thrillingly Exciting Heroes of Nedor Comics Showcase Auction #40219 at Heritage Auctions. Thrilling Comics #1 (Better Publications, 1940)[...]

Another stand-out issue of an iconic Pre-Code Horror series, The Thing #11 features a Lovecraftian tale of the Necronomicon and the Elder Gods

The iconic airbrushed Schomburg cover for Startling Comics #49 has become one of the most valuable comic books of the Golden Age era due to its likely influence on the creation of the Futurama robot Bender. As for Princess Pantha herself, she's a classic comic book jungle girl character in the Sheena, Queen of the Jungle[...]

The Archie Comics franchise began to expand in earnest with titles that featured some of Riverdale's other most famous characters.

Murray and cover-dated June 1950.  Featuring a cover and story drawn by the legendary Wayne Boring, this strange four-color classic from the late Golden Age of comics is up for auction in the 2023 January 29-30 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122305 at Heritage Auctions. Superman #62 UK Edition (K G Murray, 1950) Of course,[...]

Some of them we know, versions of existing characters, some teased in previous Flashpoint Beyond, Golden Age and Stargirl comic books, some radical revamps of previous characters, some given Who's Who listings and some brand new ones. Because the Lost Children are now Found Children in tomorrow's Stargirl: The Lost Children #3. Beginning with the Newsboy Legion[...]

Compton (presumably).  Something of a rarity in the Golden Age, one eyebrow-raising letter in this issue had a reader taking issue with the focus on what he termed as "England's War" and preferred that Victory Comics hero The Conqueror take on Stalin in Russia.  While this issue hit the newsstands several weeks before the US's[...]

Despite working on and co-creating numerous characters now considered obscure, Lou Fine was considered one of the best artists of the Golden Age.  He was an artist that even other comic book greats admired, and his cover work for publishers Fox Feature Syndicate, Fiction House, and Quality Comics is still highly regarded by collectors to[...]

The series was published by the important Golden Age comic book publisher and printer Eastern Color Printing Company A title too often overlooked that features early covers and stories by the legendary Bill Everett, there's a Heroic Comics #1 (Eastern Color, 1940) CGC VG 4.0 Cream to off-white pages up for auction in the 2023 January 15-16[...]

Super Adventure Comic 55 from publisher K.G. Murray brought the UK the World's Finest 71 story that launched regular Superman/Batman team-ups

Superman's origin was told across comics, newspaper strips, radio, and a book in his early years, with Superman #53 being an important moment

Cole in these auction posts over the years, and for good reason.  He is widely considered one of the most distinctive stylists of the Golden Age, and he may have thought more about what makes a comic book cover leap off the newsstands than any other artist of the period.  Comic books with L.B[...]

Longtime collector Pat Kochanek places Cosmic Aeroplane's acquisition of what was left of the collection in 1979. Apparently, the original owner of this collection purchased most or all of these comics off the newsstand in Salt Lake City from By's Magazine Shop, a popular newsstand outlet in Salt Lake City during the 1940s-1970s run by Byron[...]