intro
Reading List
- All Select Comics #1 – #2
- All Winners Comics #4 – #11
- Captain America Comics #10 – #33
- Daring Mystery Comics #8
- The Human Torch #7 – #14
- Kid Komics #1 – #3
- Marvel Mystery Comics #27 – #50
- Miss Fury (Comics) #1 – #3
- Mystic Comics #8 – #10
- Sub-Mariner Comics #5 – #12
- Tough Kid Squad Comics #1
- USA Comics #3 – #10
- Young Allies (Comics) #3 – #10
General Trends
- With America now joining the war, the vast majority of bad guys are Axis. Stories set on and behind the front lines have soldiers, whereas America is mostly dealing with spies and saboteurs with the occasional air raid, attack on shipping, or plot to establish an Axis base on American soil. Even the occasional villain with no ideological ties to the Axis is likely to be in cahoots with Nazis somehow.
- The comics also started advertising for war fundraising. This includes a double-page ad encouraging readers to buy one fewer magazine a month and send the spare dime to them to be matched and sent on to Washington, ads for war bonds and stamps, the Secret Stamp character raising awareness of defense stamps, and propaganda stories like “Your Life Depends on It” which explains what the funds raised go to. By late 1943, production on Sentinels of Liberty badges had stopped so that the metal could be used for the war effort.
- There had been some comedy bits in the magazines before but five new titles were dedicated to comedy, and Daring Mystery Comics was rebranded Comedy Comics.
- In May, 1943 the standard size of an issue was reduced from 64 pages to 56. (All comics published on or after May 20.) This generally meant one fewer story per issue, resulting in the Secret Stamp being dropped completely.
- Across the final issues of 1943, only seventeen starring characters1 were left, and three of those made their first appearance in Kid Komics #3, were never seen again, and apparently don’t even have pages on the Marvel Wikia wiki.
Title by Title
- All Select Comics opened with Cap, the Torch, Namor, and a final appearance by the Black Widow from Mystic Comics/USA Comics. Issue #2 replaced Widow with USA Comics‘ Jap Buster Johnson.
- All Winners Comics mostly continued on as it had been at the end of 1941: Human Torch, Destroyer, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and Whizzer. Whizzer sat out issue #6, which instead had a final story of Daring Mystery Comics character the Thunderer, now called the Black Avenger.
- Captain America Comics phased out its old supporting cast in the first few issues of 1942, with replacement features the Imp (#12–16) and the Secret Stamp (#13–#27). The Human Torch made his first appearance in #19 and became a regular feature starting with #21; Namor appeared in #20 instead of the Torch. When the Secret Stamp’s run ended, the title simplified to just Cap and the Torch.
- Daring Mystery Comics shuffled a couple new features in for its final issue, Citizen V and Rudy the Robot.
- Comedy Comics was, as the title indicated, mostly comedy features, but the first issue had swan songs for Citizen V, the Fin, and Silver Scorpion, plus a one-off superhero, Captain Dash. (Rudy the Robot was already more or less a comedy feature in Daring, and reworked to full comedy for its second and final appearance.) The second issue introduce the Victory Boys, who would go on to appear in USA Comics. The third issue brought back the Vagabond, reworked to be a full comedy feature, which did an already annoying character no favors.
- Human Torch Comics kept chugging along with the same Torch and Namor lineup, bringing Jimmy Jupiter over from Marvel Mystery Comics for a one-shot.
- Kid Komics launched in early 1943. Stars of the first two issues included Captain Wonder, Subbie, and Pinto Pete. Two of the Young Allies, Knuckles and Whitewash, had a solo adventure in the first issue; the full team appeared in the second, and by the third the Young Allies were headlining with an all-new supporting cast, including the Vision from Marvel Mystery Comics.
- Marvel Mystery Comics replaced Ka-Zar with Jimmy Jupiter in #28. #45 would drop the Patriot for a few issues. #49 would bring back the Patriot and add Miss America, dropping Jimmy Jupiter and the Vision.
- Miss Fury was unique – a collection of Sunday strips from her newspaper comic. Each issue was fully devoted to a single, ongoing story.
- Mystic Comics kept the Destroyer, Davey Drew, Terror, Challenger, Witness, Black Marvel, and Blazing Skull for two of its final three issues. The latter three would bow out before the final issue, with new features added, including Father Time from Captain America Comics/Young Allies.
- Sub-Mariner Comics continued along as it always had been, with Namor and the Angel.
- Tough Kid Squad Comics‘ sole issue was a pilot for another group of kid heroes and featured backup stories bringing back the Flying Flame from Daring Mystery Comics and the Human Top from Red Raven Comics.
- USA Comics dropped the Whizzer for #3, trying out new characters in his spot, with Army Sergeant Jeff Dix being the one to hold it. Then #5 dropped everybody but Dix, bringing the Victory Boys over from their debut in Comedy Comics, Black Widow after her run in Mystic Comics ended, and a bunch of one-shot features. #6 again dropped everybody but Dix, giving the headline of the title to Captain America, bringing back the Whizzer, adding the Destroyer, and a couple new characters, the lasting one being Jap Buster Johnson. The lineup would vary a bit over the next few issues, with Secret Stamp coming over from Captain America Comics and new takes on Captain Daring and Marvel Boy; it would ultimately stabilize as Cap, Destroyer, Johnson, Dix, Stamp, Whizzer (with Stamp dropping out after issue #9, after his final appearance in Captain America Comics).
- Young Allies added backup stories, starring Father Time after Captain America Comics dropped him and bringing back the Vagabond after his final appearance in USA Comics. After a couple issues with just the Young Allies, Tommy Tyme became the recurring secondary star.
Next: A catalog of heroes of the early war years.