comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series published by
Timely Comics
Timely Comics is the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely Publications became the name ...
, the 1940s predecessor of
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books. An omnibus series with several different superhero and other features each issue, it primarily starred Captain America and the original
Human Torch
The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a si ...
, two of Timely's most popular characters, as well as fellow Timely star the Sub-Mariner in several.
Publication history
''All Select Comics'' ran 11 issues,
cover-date
The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...
d Fall 1943 to Fall 1945. The series was renamed '' Blonde Phantom Comics'' from issues #12-22 (1947 - March 1949), and revamped as the
romance comic
Romance comics is a comics genre depicting strong and close romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published t ...
''Lovers'' from #23-86 (May 1949 - Aug. 1957).
The first 10 issues of ''All Select Comics'' starred the superheroesCaptain America and the original
Human Torch
The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a si ...
, as well as
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc ...
in the first five issues plus #10 (Summer 1946). The costumed crime-fighter the
Blonde Phantom
The Blonde Phantom (Louise Grant Mason) is a fictional masked crime fighter appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created for Marvel predecessor Timely Comics, she first appeared in '' All Select Comics'' #11 (cover-dat ...
Syd Shores
Sydney Shores (1916 – June 3, 1973) was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books.
Bi ...
, debuted in ''All Select Comics'' #11 (Fall 1946). The same issue also introduced the feature "Mr. Wu" (a.k.a. "The Mysterious Mr. Wu"), starring Marvel Comics' first
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
hero, an Asian-
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
private detective
A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
who went on to make one additional Timely appearance, in ''Blonde Phantom'' #12.
Other Timely superheroes appearing in various issues were the Golden Age Black Widow, the Destroyer, super-speedster the Whizzer, and, in the final issue, Miss America. The
war comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.
History American war comics
Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began incl ...
feature "Jap Buster Johnson", about a two-fisted
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
out to avenge his dead buddy, appeared in three issues, and the
military humor
Military humor is humor based on stereotypes of military life. Military humor portrays a wide range of characters and situations in the armed forces. It comes in a wide array of cultures and tastes, making use of burlesque, cartoons, comic strips ...
feature "Jeep Jones" in two.
Writers and artists on the various features included
Vince Alascia
Vincent Alascia (January 14, 1914 – September 3, 1998), at the
Larry Antonette
Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names.
Larry may refer to the following:
People Arts and entertainment
*Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer
*Larry Boone ...
,
Ken Bald
Kenneth Bruce Bald (August 1, 1920 – March 17, 2019) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for the '' Dr. Kildare'' and ''Dark Shadows'' newspaper comic strips. Due to contractual obligations, he is credited as "K. Bruce" ...
Allen Bellman
Allen Bellman (June 5, 1924 – March 9, 2020) was an American comic book artist whose career began in the Golden Age of Comic Books.
Career
As a child in New York City, Bellman became enchanted by comics when he saw a copy of ''Action Comics' ...
,
Jack Binder
Jack Binder is an American film producer (''The Upside of Anger'', '' First Reformed'', ''Reign Over Me'') and television producer (''The Mind of the Married Man'', HBO) and second unit director active since 1985. With older brother Mike Binder ...
Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley.
She wrote 22 novel ...
,
Chad Grothkopf
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic t ...
Bob Powell
Bob Powell (né Stanley Robert Pawlowski; While gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, and gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, Bails and Ware note: "family name corrected by his son, Seth R. Powell July 2006." October 2, 1916
The featured characters appeared in these issues:
* Black Widow: #1
* Captain America: #1-10
* The Human Torch: #1-10
* Sub-Mariner: #1-5, 10
* The Whizzer: #3-5, 7
* The Destroyer: #6, 10
* The Blonde Phantom: #11
* Miss America: #11
* Mr. Wu: #11
Reprints
The first issue was reprinted in 1974 by publisher Alan L. Light's company Flashback as ''Special Edition Reprints'' #14.