David McKay Publications started publishing their own newspaper reprint comic, King Comics, in 1936. In King Comics #4, they start including Mandrake the Magician. Mandrake is considered by many historians as the first costumed superhero. In other news, Doctor Occult takes on a werewolf over in More Comics:
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In May 1936, Centaur Publications released Comic Magazine #2 containing a first in comic book history: a full 7-page comic book story. This was a departure from everything else being published in comic books at the time since it was also a self-contained story having a beginning, middle and end. It was by Tom Cooper, […]
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I’m not sure what “tough thongs” are exactly, but this panel from Doctor Occult in More Fun #10 was too good to pass up. April 1936.
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March 1936 brings three more companies into the comic book publishing game: Centaur Publications, United Features, David McKay. Centaur Publications was formed by two former employees of National Allied Publications, John Mahon and Bill Cook. Their flagship comic book is Comics Magazine #1, which includes a feature called “Dr. Mystic, Occult Detective”. The feature is […]
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New Comics #3 (February 1936) brought another adventure for Siegel & Shuster’s “Federal Men”. It also had the first contest to win original artwork of its hero Steve Carson. Eastern Color’s Famous Funnies #20 also featured a letter from a reader for the first time.
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With the introduction of its New Comics magazie, National Allied Publications renamed their “New Fun” comic to “More Fun”. Sandra of the Secret Service had been present in that magazine since its first issue and is thus the very first example of a female comic book hero. Note that the villain here, Count Taurus, has […]
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In December 1935, New Comics #2 featured a 4-page story called “Federal Men” by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Steve Carson was an FBI agent in the 1930s. The bad guy’s girl is named Kate Lane, she comes to her senses just in time for her villainous boyfriend, Walsh, to kill her in the heat […]
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November 1935 brought National Allied Publications’ second title, New Comics #1 – not to be confused with “New Fun Comics”, which was renamed to “More Fun Comics” in its next issue. New Comics featured several adventure strips like “The Strange Adventures of Mr. Weed” (a strip about an eccentric historian who does a bit of […]
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Detective Dan Dunn had a child sidekick by October 1935 in the form of an orphan named Babs (shown above from Famous Funnies #16). It feels like they were going for a Little Orphan Annie vibe here, but I’m sure it’s not coincidence that Dick Tracy also had also adopted an orphan son (Junior) just […]
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It’s September 1935 and here we are, the birth of the DC Universe. With this panel Doctor Occult becomes the first character to exist in the DC Comics universe, though obviously there was no such concept of a shared universe / continuity at the time. The strip debuted in New Fun Comics #6 by National […]
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