''Shield–Wizard Comics'' was the name of an American

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series published by MLJ Magazines Inc., more commonly known as MLJ Comics, for thirteen issues between Summer 1940 and Winter 1944. It featured the titular comics superheroes The Wizard and

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...

and their supporting characters throughout.

Publication history

''Shield-Wizard Comics'' was the fifth title published by MLJ Magazines Inc., the precursor to what would become the publisher Archie Comics. The series was edited by

Harry Shorten Harry Shorten (1914–1991) was an American writer, editor, and book publisher best known for the Comic strip syndication, syndicated gag cartoon ''There Oughta Be a Law!'', as well as his work with Archie Comics, and his long association with Arch ...

.Shorten was publisher of Tower Comics in the 1960s and also a comics writer, credited with creating MLJ/Archie characters the Hood and the Shield (Archie Comics) Unlike the previous MLJ anthology titles Blue Ribbon Comics, Top-Notch Comics and Pep Comics, as a spin-off from previous titles ''Shield-Wizard Comics'' was almost exclusively dedicated to stories of The Shield (from ''Pep Comics'') and The Wizard (from ''Top-Notch Comics'').

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information use ...

Issue #1 (Summer 1940) and #2 (Winter 1940) contained "The Shield - G-Man Extraordinary" strips by Harry Shorten and

Irv Novick Irving Novick (; April 11, 1916 – October 15, 2004) was an American comics artist who worked almost continuously from 1939 until the 1990s. Career A graduate of the National Academy of Design, Irv Novick got his start in the workshop of Harr ...

, and one single-page text story, six months after his introduction in '' Pep Comics'' and including his origin for the first time; plus two stories of a historical version of the " Wizard, The Man with the Super-Brain" by Harry Shorten and artist Edd Ashe; not the Blane Whitney version of The Wizard from the ''Pep Comics'' title but a historical ancestor from the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

period. The writer/artist team on The Shield changed to Joe Goggins and Clem Harrison from #11 (Summer 1943), while

Paul Reinman Paul J. Reinman (; born Joseph Paul Reinmann, ; 2 September 1910 – 27 September 1988)Paul J. Reinmen

took up the art position on The Wizard from issue #5 (Fall 1941). From issue #3 (Spring 1941), The Shield stories became "The Shield with Dusty, the Boy Detective", and The Wizard "The Wizard with Roy the Super Boy", in conjunction with their other MLJ appearances. "Dusty the Boy Detective" also had a number of solo superhero tales in ''Shield-Wizard Comics'' #5-8 and #10 (Spring 1943). "Roy the Super Boy" solo adventures carved a more surreal path; his solo appearance in ''Shield-Wizard Comics'' #08 (Fall 1942) was a standard adventure/superhero-tale, but #10 (Spring 1943) involved a talking dog, while #11 (Summer 1943) saw Roy going through a painting into prehistoric times; in #12 (Fall 1943) he met his conscience and went to heaven, and he had trouble with a magic carpet in #13 (Winter/Spring 1943). Issue #9 also contained "Shield-Wizard Hall of Fame" - a supposedly true life heroic story of patriot Madge Colter, who worked in the Jeep manufacturers and supposedly saved the public from disaster at the hands of tire thieves. ''Shield-Wizard Comics'' ended with issue #13 (Winter/Spring 1943), although The Shield continued in ''Pep Comics'' for several more years.

Notes

References

* Overstreet,Robert M., ed. ''Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'', 38th Edition (Gemstone Publishing, 2008) * Thompson, Maggie, Brent Frankenhoff and Peter Bickford, eds. ''Comic Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books'' (Krause Publications, 2008) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shield-Wizard Comics Comics magazines published in the United States 1940 comics debuts 1944 comics endings Magazines established in 1940 Magazines disestablished in 1944 Magazines about comics Defunct American comics Defunct magazines published in the United States Golden Age comics titles