Harvey Thriller was a

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 ...

imprint used by

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfr ...

for their brief foray into publishing super heroes and other non-'kiddie' comics in the mid-1960s. Overseen by

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...

, all the titles featured work by many well-known creators, including

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

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

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

Otto Binder Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Ma ...

, and the earliest known work by

Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...

History

Thrill Adventure

While Harvey Comics has for decades been known for their many kids' comics, such as

Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio. T ...

, Richie Rich, etc., they have published other kinds of comics over the years. From 1955 to 1962, most of their non-kid comic output was done under the "Thrill Adventure" line, under the editorship of

, after which they stopped publishing any non-kid comics.

Harvey Thriller

In the mid-1960s, with the

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

craze created by the

Batman television series ''Batman'' is an American live action television series, based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson / Robin – two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City ...

, Harvey approached Joe Simon again to oversee a new line of comics, mainly

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es, but with

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

stories thrown in as well. They also continued the Thrill Adventures title

Warfront ''Warfront'' was a war comic published by Harvey Comics. The comic claimed to depict "True War Exposes". The first issue of ''Warfront'' was September 1951.'' Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'', 32nd Edition, Gemstone Publishing, May 2002, p. 83 ...

, after a 7-year hiatus. The line started off with one-shots ''Unearthly Spectaculars'' #1, ''Thrill-O-Rama'' #1, ''Blast-Off'' #1, and ''Warfront'' #36 in October 1965, using work that was apparently done for the 1950s Thrill Adventure line. The next issues did not come out until almost a year later in September 1966. Along with the new titles were two reprint titles for

Fighting American Fighting American is a superhero created in 1954 by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Published by the Crestwood Publications imprint (trade name), imprint Prize Comics, it was, contrary to standard industry practices of the time ...

and

The Spirit The Spirit is a fictional masked crimefighter created by cartoonist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940, as the main feature of a 16-page, tabloid (paper size), tabloid-sized, newsprint comic book insert distributed in the Sunday editio ...

, which did include new stories for these characters. The line was unsuccessful, and all of the titles ended abruptly with the March 1967 issues. House ads showed the covers for ''

Jigsaw Jigsaw may refer to: * Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves * Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces Arts and media Comics * Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...

'' #3 and ''Thrill-O-Rama'' #3, but those issues were never published.

Titles published

Thrill Adventure

*''Alarming Adventures'' (1962–63) #1-3 (sf/fantasy) *''Alarming Tales'' (1957–58) #1-6 (sf/suspense) *'' Black Cat Western'' (1955) #54-56 *'' Black Cat Mystery'' (1956) #57 *'' Black Cat Mystic'' (1956–58) #58-62 *''Chamber of Clues'' (1955) #27-28 (detective) *''Man in Black'' (1957–58) #1-4 issues *''Race for the Moon'' (1958) #1-3 issues (intro 3 Rocketeers in #3) *''Thrills of Tomorrow'' (1955) #19-20 (Stuntman, Boy Explorers reprints) *''

'' (1955–1958) #26-35 *''Western Tales'' (1955–56) #31-33 *''Witches Western Tales'' (1955) #29-30

Harvey Thriller

*''Blast Off'' (1965) #1 (3 Rocketeers, stuff intended for ''Race for the Moon'' #4) *''Double-Dare Adventures'' (1966–67) 2 issues (Bee-man, Glowing Gladiator, Magic Master) *''

'' (1966) 1 issue *''

'' (1966) 2 issues *''

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

'' (1966–67) 2 issues *'' Spyman'' (1966–67) 3 issues *''Thrill-O-Rama'' (1965–66) 3 issues (Man in Black-Fate, Pirana #2-on) *''Unearthly Spectaculars'' (1965–67) 3 issues (Tiger Boy, Jack Q Frost, 3 Rocketeers, Miracles, Inc, Earthman) *''

'' (1965–67) #36-39 (Dynamite Joe, Lone Tiger in 2nd issue)

Harvey Thriller characters

Bee-Man Bee-Man is a fictional character, fictional superhero in comic books published by Harvey Comics, who briefly first appeared, appeared during the period historians and fans call the Silver Age of Comics, Silver Age of Comic Books. He was created by ...

Captain 3-D Captain 3-D is a 1953 superhero in comic books published by Harvey Comics. Created by the team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character marked an early attempt to produce a 3-D comic book. Publication history Created by the writing and art t ...

(owned by Simon and Kirby) * Dynamite Joe the Blast Crazy Marine (owned by

) *

(owned by

) * Glowing Gladiator * Jack Q. Frost *

(owned by

) * Magicmaster * Man in Black * Miracles, Inc *

Pirana A piranha or piraña (, , or ; or , ) is one of a number of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, ...

(owned by

) * Spyman (owned by

) * Tiger Boy (owned by

) * 3 Rocketeers (owned by

)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Comic Book Artist #13
Issue devoted to Harvey Comics, including Harvey Thriller. Harvey Comics Comic book imprints 1965 establishments in New York City