''Ace Comics'' was a comic book series published by

David McKay Publications David McKay Publications (also known as David McKay Company) was an American book publisher which also published some of the first comic books, including the long-running titles ''Ace Comics'', ''King Comics'', and '' Magic Comics''; as well as ...

between 1937 and 1949 — starting just before the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known char ...

. The title reprinted syndicated newspaper strips owned by

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

, following the successful formula of a mix of adventure and humor strips introduced by McKay in their ''

King Comics King Comics, a short-lived comic book imprint of King Features Syndicate, was an attempt by King Features to publish comics of its own characters, rather than through other publishers. A few King Comics titles were picked up from Gold Key Comic ...

'' title in April 1936; some of the strips were transferred from ''King Comics'' and continued in ''Ace Comics'' from issue #1. ''Ace Comics'' #11, the first appearance of

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The charact ...

, is regarded by many to be a key issue in the history of comics, as it introduced to the comics format one of the first of the costumed heroes, leading to the Golden Age of superheroes in comics.

Publication history

The first issue of ''Ace Comics'' was published in April 1937, and included the adventures of hunter ''

Jungle Jim Jungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began on January 7, 1934, as an American newspaper comic strip chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle ...

'' written by

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

writer

Alex Raymond Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the '' Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into m ...

Chic Young Murat Bernard "Chic" Young (January 9, 1901March 14, 1973) was an American cartoonist who created the comic strip ''Blondie (comic strip), Blondie''. His 1919 ''William McKinley High School Yearbook'' cites his nickname as Chicken, source of hi ...

's '' Blondie'', and

George Herriman George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip '' Krazy Kat'' (1913–1944). More influential than popular, ''Krazy Kat'' had an appreciative audience ...

's surreal ''

Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...

'' strip, all three characters going on to appear in every issue of ''Ace Comics''. Issue #11 (cover date February 1938) is notable as a key Golden Age comic, as it introduced to a wider audience one of the first costumed heroes ever to be featured in a comic book,

Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At the ...

's ''

'' — pre-dating ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'' (''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics ...

'' #1, cover date June 1938). ''The Phantom''

daily strip A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays. Bud Fisher's ''Mutt and Jeff'' is commonly regarded as the first daily c ...

, written by

and drawn by Ray Moore, then featured in ''Ace Comics'' for a 140-issue run, appearing in every issue until the title was cancelled. Initially ''The Phantom'' was a four-page story, but from #38 this was increased to eight pages in each issue. Towards the end of the run, the

Sunday strip The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in most western newspapers, almost always in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies. The first US newspap ...

s were also included. Many of the strips were edited and cropped from the original newspaper stories, and the text was often rewritten also. As well as ''Jungle Jim'' and ''The Phantom'', which ran throughout the series,

Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship a ...

's knight's tale of ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretc ...

'' was also a long-running adventure feature, published in issues 26-134. Other adventure strips that appeared included

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

's Western character Tex Thorne in early issues, the adventures of orphan Tim Tyler in ''

Tim Tyler's Luck ''Tim Tyler's Luck'' is an adventure comic strip created by Lyman Young, elder brother of '' Blondie'' creator Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip ran from August 13, 1928, until August 24, 1996. Characters and story ...

'' and ' both by ''Blondie'' writer/artist Chic Young's brother

Lyman Young Lyman W. Young (October 20, 1893 – February 12, 1984) was an American cartoonist who created the strip ''Tim Tyler's Luck''. His younger brother, Chic Young, was the creator of '' Blondie''. Like his brother, Lyman Young was encouraged to do ar ...

. ''Tim Tyler's Luck'' ran in every issue of ''Ace Comics'', while the Curley Harper strip ended with issue 100, although a single strip just called ''Curley Harper'' appeared in issue #107. Later issues reprinted the Flash Gordon-like space adventures of ''

Brick Bradford ''Brick Bradford'' is a science fiction comic strip created by writer William Ritt, a journalist based in Cleveland, and artist Clarence Gray. It was first distributed on August 21, 1933 by Central Press Association, a subsidiary of King Features ...

'' and ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'' strip, both transferred from the ''King Comics'' title. The ''Blondie'' strip also appeared in every issue of ''Ace Comics'', as did classic the humor strip ''

The Katzenjammer Kids ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' is an American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897 and later drawn by Harold Knerr for 35 years (1914 to 1949).Rudolph Dirks Rudolph Dirks (February 26, 1877 – April 20, 1968) was one of the earliest and most noted comic strip artists, well known for ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' (later known as ''The Captain and the Kids''). Dirks was born in Heide, Germany, to Joh ...

. Other humor strips included ''

Pete the Tramp ''Pete the Tramp'' is an American comic strip by Clarence D. Russell (1895–1963) which was distributed by King Features Syndicate for more than three decades, from January 10, 1932 to December 22, 1963. Howard Eugene Wilson, in the ''Harvard Ed ...

'' by

Clarence D. Russell Clarence D. Russell (August 19, 1896–October 23, 1963) was an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated comic strip '' Pete the Tramp''. Born in Buffalo, New York, Russell studied at the Chicago Art Institute and began working as a f ...

, ''

Tillie the Toiler ''Tillie the Toiler'' is a newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russ Westover who initially worked on his concept of a flapper character in a strip he titled ''Rose of the Office''. With a title change, it sold to King Features Syndicate ...

'' by

Russ Westover Russell Channing Westover (March 8, 1886 – May 3, 1966) was a cartoonist best known for his long-run comic strip ''Tillie the Toiler''. Early life Westover was born in Los Angeles, California. He recalled, "When the time came... to make a livi ...

, Billy DeBeck's ''

Barney Google ''Barney Google and Snuffy Smith'', originally ''Take Barney Google, F'rinstance'', is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Billy DeBeck. Since its debut on June 17, 1919, the strip has gained a large international readership, appea ...

'',

Jimmy Hatlo James Cecil Hatlo (September 1, 1897 – December 1, 1963), better known as Jimmy Hatlo, was an American cartoonist who in 1929 created the long-running comic strip and gag panel ''They'll Do It Every Time'', which he wrote and drew until his d ...

's ''

They'll Do It Every Time ''They'll Do It Every Time'' is a single-panel newspaper comic strip, created by Jimmy Hatlo, which had a long run over eight decades, first appearing on February 5, 1929, and continuing until February 3, 2008. The title of the strip became a pop ...

'' and Paul Robinson's ''

Etta Kett ''Etta Kett'' is a long-running comic strip created by Paul Robinson, which ran from December 7, 1925 to November 9, 1974. Publication history The original distribution in December 1925 was with the Putnam Syndicate, moving over to the Centr ...

'' were presented throughout the run, although all of these titles missed the odd issue. The strip ''Seein' Stars'' which ran in the first 50 issues, was written b
Arthur Beeman
and was based around the Hollywood film industry — cartoon versions of a number of Hollywood stars, including

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

guested. Drawn in a similar style to

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–14; 1924–26) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he worke ...

's work, the fantasy strip ''The Pussycat Princess'' (a story originally titled ''Pussycat Princess, A Fairytale For Boys, Girls And Other Children''), by

Grace Drayton Grace Drayton (née Gebbie, also known as Grace Wiederseim; October 14, 1878 – January 31, 1936) was an illustrator of children's books, fashion pages, and magazine covers. She created the Campbell Soup Kids. She is considered to be one of ...

and Ed Anthony, also featured in early issues of ''Ace Comics'' run. Drayton was a well-known and important early cartoonist who died only a year after starting this delightful fairytale series. Another classic Golden Age artist whose work appeared in a number of issues was C.C.Beck (creator of Fawcett's Captain Marvel). Six issues of ''Ace Comics'' contained single-pag
''Captain Tootsie''
strips - advertisements for

Tootsie Roll Tootsie Roll is a chocolate-flavored taffy that has been manufactured in the United States since 1907. The candy has qualities similar to both caramels and taffy without being exactly either confection. The manufacturer, Tootsie Roll Indu ...

confectionery with a short adventure on the page, with a costume patterned on Captain Marvel's. As well as syndicated strips, most issues also carried text stories, editorials, and factual pages. Many of the stories, such as ''White Buffalo'' in issues #35-36, were written by R. G. Montgomery, who wrote short Western tales in magazines in the 1920s and 1930s.

Ruth Plumly Thompson Ruth Plumly Thompson (27 July 1891 – 6 April 1976) was an American writer of children's stories, best known for writing many novels placed in Oz, the fictional land of L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

, who wrote a number of the books in the '' Oz'' series after

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

died in 1919, also wrote a considerable number of editorial pages. ''Ace Comics'' also featured single-panel cartoons, probably the best known of which
''Private Breger Abroad''
was drawn by celebrated World War II cartoonist

Dave Breger Irving David Breger (April 15, 1908 – January 16, 1970) was an American cartoonist who created the syndicated ''Mister Breger'' (1945–1970), a gag panel series and Sunday comic strip known earlier as ''Private Breger'' and '' G.I. Joe''. The ...

. The factual strip ''

Ripley's Believe It Or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...

'' was reprinted in early issues of ''Ace Comics'', while other factual pages, such as ''Stamp Spotlight'', ''Sports In Pictures'' and ''News In Pictures'', appeared regularly at various times during the run. Two series in 1941-2 covered the early events of World War II at sea — ''Battle of the Atlantic'' and ''Battle for the Seven Seas''. These were written and drawn by

Edgar Franklin Wittmack Edgar Franklin Wittmack (1894–1956) was an illustrator and cover artist for many of the most popular magazines of the 1920s and 1930s. His covers, just as the artwork of his contemporary, Norman Rockwell, were usually created as oil paintings. Whe ...

, known for his stylized magazine covers in the 1920s and 1930s. An unusual feature for the day was the ''Young Reporters'' page, which included

readers' letters A letter to the editor (LTE) is a letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through conventional mail ...

and comments. Competitions and prizes were also advertised in early numbers, and puzzle pages were also featured. ''Ace Comics'' was cancelled with issue #151 (October 1949), although as that issue contained an ad for the next ''Phantom'' series, it can be assumed the decision on cancellation was made after #151 left the printer.

List of appearances

Below is a list of the main strips ''Ace Comics'' ran throughout the series, with the issues they appeared in. Some long-running series missed the occasional issue, for these the first and last issue of the run is noted. For shorter run titles, the list shows each appearance. ''Information available on issues 1-16 and 133-151 appears to be limited at present. As a result, it has not been possible to produce a definitive list. Issues with a ? against them are the earliest or latest possible issue this character's strip appeared in.'' * ''

'' (most issues 1-1 151) * ''Battle of the Atlantic'' issues 55, 57, 58, 60 * ''Battle of the Seven Seas'' issues 61, 66, 70, 72, 73, 75 * '' Blondie'' issues 01–151 * ''

'' issues 128–151? *
Captain Tootsie
' issues 76, 86, 87, 90, 99, 100 * ''Curly Harper at Lakespur'' issues 1–100, 107 * ''Cyrano de Bergerac Jnr'' issues 26–32 * ''Daffy Doodles'' (most issues) * ''Dreamland'' (various issues to #20) *

'' issues 1–100 * ''

'' issues 1?–37 * ''

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

'' (various issues 57–138) * ''

'' issues 01–? * ''

'' issues 01–37 * ''

The Katzenjammer Kids ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' is an American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897 and later drawn by Harold Knerr for 35 years (1914 to 1949).Just Kids
' issues 1?–100 107 * ''

'' issues 135– 151? * ''News in Pictures'' issues 54–70? * ''Nicodemus O'Malley and His Whale, Palsy Walsy'' issues 1?–32 * ''

'' (most issues 1–151) * ''

'' issues 11–151 * ''

'' issues 26–134 * '' Private Breger Abroad'' (most issues 72–106) * ''Private Buck'' issue 57 * ''Pussycat Princess'' issues 10?–37 * ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...

'' issues 01–26? * ''

Room and Board Room and board is a phrase describing a situation in which, in exchange for money, Manual labour, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis. It commonly occurs as a fee at h ...

'' issues 1?–50? * ''Seein' Stars'' issues 1?–65 * ''Sport in Pictures'' (various issues from 1–74?) * ''Teddy And Sitting Bull'' issues 1?–151? * ''Tex Thorne'' issue 1–14? * ''

'' issues 10?–127? * ''

'' (most issues 1?–127) * ''

'' issues 1–151

References

* Goulart, Ron. ''Comic Book Culture, A History''
Comic Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books, 5th Edition, 2008 by Maggie Thompson, Brent Frankenhoff and Peter Bickford, Krause Publications, ''cd release''

Don Marks' Toonopedia

The Grand Comics Database
* The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide {{refend

External links

Ace Comics at the Digital Comic Museum
Comics magazines published in the United States 1937 comics debuts 1949 comics endings Magazines established in 1937 Magazines disestablished in 1949 Magazines published in Philadelphia Defunct American comics

Publication history

List of appearances

See also

References

External links