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. |
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Fall 1948 Adventures Into The Unknown | Est. in 1948 | American Comics Group (ACG) | Edited by Richard Hughes | Total Issues: 174.
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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 |
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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 |
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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 Sports, Secret Agent X, and Western Trails |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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July 1940
Speed Comics | Established in 1939 | Brookwood Publishing Co. | Edited by Anonymous | Total Issues: 11. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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August 1940 Weird Comics | Established in 1940 | Fox Publications, Inc. | Edited by Anonymous | Total Issues: 20. |
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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 Sports, Secret Agent X, and Western Trails |
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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 |
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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. |