Contexts: Node 4

Comic Books & Pulp Publishers

Featured below are Golden Age comic books from well-known pulp magazine publishers of the 1930s and 1940s. They include Battle Stories, Complete Love Magazine, Startling Comics, Thrilling Comics, War Comics, and Western Love Trails. Publishers include Hillman Periodicals, Ace Magazines, Standard, Fawcett, and Dell. Nearly half of the titles featured were published by Fiction House alone, including Fight Comics, Ghost Comics, Indians, Jungle Comics, Planet Comics, and Wings. Information to the right includes date of establishment, publishing company, 1-2 major editors, and the total # of issues published. Sample issues of Adventures Into The Unknown (Fall 1948), Speed Comics (Jul. 1940), and Weird Comics (Aug. 1940) are included here for comparison. To view and download 1000s of Golden Age comic books from the Public Domain, visit The Digital Comic Museum.

For Paul Lopes's "Pulp Logic and the Rise of the American Comic Book," click here.

View FlipBook or PDF

Fall 1948

Adventures Into The Unknown | Est. in 1948 | American Comics Group (ACG) | Edited by Richard Hughes | Total Issues: 174.

View FlipBook or PDF

May 1952

Battle Stories | Established in 1952 | Fawcett Publications | Edited by Anonymous | Total Issues: 11.

Fawcett Publications, also publishers of Battle Stories (magazine) and Triple-X Magazine

View FlipBook or PDF

March/ April 1952

Crime Detective Comics | Established in 1948 | Hillman Periodicals | Edited by Edward Cronin | Total Issues: 32.

Hillman Periodicals, also publishers of Crime Confessions, Crime Detective, and Real Detective

View FlipBook or PDF

April 1952

Complete Love Magazine | Est. in 1951 | Ace Magazines | Edited by Aaron and Rose Wyn | Total Issues: 34.

Ace Magazines, also known as Periodical House; publishers of Ace Mystery, Ace SportsSecret Agent X, and Western Trails

View FlipBook or PDF

February 1940

Fight Comics | Established in 1940 | Fiction House, Inc. | Edited by Malcolm Reiss | Total Issues: 86.

Fiction House, also publisher of Air Stories, Fight Stories, Ghost Stories, Indian Stories, Jungle Stories, and Planet Stories

View FlipBook or PDF

December 1951

Ghost Comics | Established in 1951 | Fiction House, Inc. | Edited by J.F. Byrne | Total Issues: 11.

Fiction House, also publisher of Air Stories, Fight Stories, Ghost Stories, Indian Stories, Jungle Stories, and Planet Stories

View FlipBook or PDF

Spring 1950

Indians | Est. in 1950 | Fiction House, Inc. | Edited by Anonymous | Total Issues: 17.

Fiction House, also publisher of Air Stories, Fight Stories, Ghost Stories, Indian Stories, Jungle Stories, and Planet Stories

View FlipBook or PDF

September 1941

Jungle Comics | Established in 1940 | Fiction House, Inc. | Edited by Malcolm Reiss | Total Issues: 163.

Fiction House, also publisher of Air Stories, Fight Stories, Ghost Stories, Indian Stories, Jungle Stories, and Planet Stories

View FlipBook or PDF

January 1940

Planet Comics | Established in 1940 | Fiction House, Inc. | Edited by Malcolm Reiss | Total Issues: 73.

Fiction House, also publisher of Air Stories, Fight Stories, Ghost Stories, Indian Stories, Jungle Stories, and Planet Stories

View FlipBook or PDF

July 1940

Speed Comics | Established in 1939 | Brookwood Publishing Co. | Edited by Anonymous | Total Issues: 11.

View FlipBook or PDF

August 1940

Startling Comics | Established in 1940 | Standard Comics | Edited by Anonymous | Total Issues: 53.

Standard Comics, also known as Standard and Thrilling Publications; publisher of Startling Stories and Thrilling Adventures

View FlipBook or PDF

November 1940

Thrilling Comics | Established in 1940 | Standard Comics | Edited by Anonymous | Total Issues: 80.

Standard Comics, also known as Standard and Thrilling Publications; publisher of Startling Stories and Thrilling Adventures

View FlipBook or PDF

May 1940

War Comics | Established in 1940 | Dell Publishing Co. | Edited by Anonymous | Total Issues: 4.

Dell Publishing Co., also publishers of All Detective, All Western, Doctor Death, "I Confess" and Sweetheart Stories

View FlipBook or PDF

August 1940

Weird Comics | Established in 1940 | Fox Publications, Inc. | Edited by Anonymous | Total Issues: 20.

View FlipBook or PDF

November 1949

Western Love Trails | Est. in 1949 | Ace Magazines | Ed. by Aaron and Rose Wyn | Total Issues: 3.

Ace Magazines, also known as Periodical House; publishers of Ace Mystery, Ace SportsSecret Agent X, and Western Trails

View FlipBook or PDF

March 1941

Wings Comics | Established in 1940 | Fiction House, Inc. | Edited by Malcolm Reiss | Total Issues: 124.

Fiction House, also publisher of Air Stories, Fight Stories, Ghost Stories, Indian Stories, Jungle Stories, and Planet Stories


According to US Copyright law (Title 17, US Code), these items are now in the Public Domain, since their original copyright registrations were not renewed after 28 years (Public Law 60-349, Section 23). In countries outside the United States, however, copyright restrictions may still apply.