Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) 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 ...

publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. Fox, it produced such titles as ''

Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes who appear in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the ri ...

'', ''Fantastic Comics'' and '' Mystery Men Comics''. It is not related to the company Fox Publications, a

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

publisher of railroad photography books, nor the 20th Century Fox film studio (renamed 20th Century Studios in 2020) and it’s associated companies.

Background

Victor S. Fox and business associate Bob Farrell launched Fox Feature Syndicate at 480 Lexington Avenue in New York City in the late 1930s. For content, Fox contracted with comics packager

Eisner & Iger Eisner & Iger was a comic book "packager" that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium during the late-1930s and 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Many of comic books' most significant c ...

, one of a handful of companies creating comic books on demand for publishers entering the field. Writer-artist

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

, at Victor Fox's request for a hero to mimic the newly created hit Superman, created the superhero

Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The c ...

for Fox's first publication, ''Wonder Comics'' #1 (May 1939), signing his work "Willis". Eisner said in interviews throughout his later life that he had protested the derivative nature of the character and story, and that when subpoenaed after

National Periodical Publications National Comics Publications, Inc. (also known as NCP or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company, and the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. History The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...

, the company that would evolve into

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, sued Fox, alleging Wonder Man was an illegal copy of Superman, Eisner testified that this was so, undermining Fox's case;Andelman, Bob. ''Will Eisner: A Spirited Life'' (M Press: Milwaukie, Oregon, 2005) , pp. 44–45 Eisner even depicts himself doing so in his semi-autobiographical graphic novel '' The Dreamer''. However, a transcript of the proceeding, uncovered by comics historian Ken Quattro in 2010, indicates Eisner in fact supported Fox and claimed Wonder Man as an original Eisner creation. After losing at trial, Victor Fox dropped Eisner and Iger, and hired his own stable of comic creators, beginning with a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' classified ad on December 2, 1939. Joe Simon became Fox Publications' editor. As one of the earliest companies in the emerging field, it employed or bought the packaged material of a huge number of Golden Age greats, many at the start of their careers.

Lou Fine Louis Kenneth Fine (November 26, 1914 – July 24, 1971)Louis Fine
at the United States

The Flame in ''Wonderworld Comics'';

Dick Briefer Richard Briefer (January 9, 1915 – December 1980)Richard Briefer
(

George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the

did his first comics work here with the features "Zanzibar" ('' Mystery Men Comics'' #1, Aug. 1939) and "Tom Barry" (''Wonderworld Comics'' #4).

Fletcher Hanks Fletcher Hanks, Sr. (December 1, 1889 – January 22, 1976) was an American cartoonist from the Golden Age of Comic Books, who wrote and drew stories detailing the adventures of all-powerful, supernatural heroes and their elaborate punishments of ...

wrote and drew

Stardust the Super Wizard Stardust the Super Wizard is a fictional superhero from the Golden Age of Comics who originally appeared in American comic books published by Fox Feature Syndicate. The character was created by writer-artist Fletcher Hanks. Stardust the Super Wiz ...

in ''Fantastic Comics'' in 1939 and 1940.

Matt Baker Matthew James Baker (born 23 December 1977) is a British television presenter. He co-presented the children's television show ''Blue Peter'' from 1999 until 2006, BBC One's ''Countryfile'' since 2009 and ''The One Show'' from 2011 to 2020, wit ...

, one of the few African-American comic book artists of the Golden Age, revamped – in more than one sense – the newly acquired

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company which operated from 1937 to 1956 and was a creative, influential force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Notable, long-running titles published by Qualit ...

character

Phantom Lady Phantom Lady is a fictional superheroine, one of the first such characters to debut in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books. Originally published by Quality Comics, the character was subsequently published by a series of now-defunct comic book com ...

in 1947, creating one of the most memorable and controversial examples of superhero "

good girl art Good Girl Art (GGA) is a style of artwork depicting women primarily featured in comic books, comic strips, and pulp magazines. The term was coined by the American Comic Book Company, appearing in its mail order catalogs from the 1930s to the 1970 ...

". Future comics legend

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 gre ...

, brought on staff here after freelancing for Eisner & Iger, wrote and drew the syndicated newspaper comic strip ''The Blue Beetle'' (starting Jan. 1940), starring a character created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkowski in ''Mystery Men Comics'' #1 (Aug. 1939). Kirby retained the house name "Charles Nicholas" for the comic strip, which lasted three months. Kirby, additionally, created and did one story each of the Fox features "Wing Turner" (''Mystery Men'' #10, May 1940) and "Cosmic Carson" (''Science Comics'' #4, same month). Fox Feature Syndicate sponsored a "Blue Beetle Day" at the 1939 New York World's Fair on August 7, 1940, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and including 300 children in relay-race finals at the Field of Special Events, following preliminaries in New York City parks. The race was broadcast over radio station

WMCA WMCA may refer to: *WMCA (AM), a radio station operating in New York City * West Midlands Combined Authority, the combined authority of the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom *Wikimedia Canada The Wikimedia Foundation, ...

. Throughout the 1940s, Fox produced comics in a typically wide variety of genres, but was best known for superheroes and humor. With the post-war decline in superheroes' popularity, Fox, like other publishers, concentrated on horror and

crime comics Crime comics is a genre of American comic books and format of crime fiction. The genre was originally popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s and is marked by a moralistic editorial tone and graphic depictions of violence and criminal activity ...

, including some of the most notorious of the latter. Following the establishment of

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...

in the mid-1950s, Fox went out of business, selling the rights to the Blue Beetle to

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

. According to Nicky Wright: "Competing well in the 'most sexy, sadistic, and violent' category, Victor Fox's ''Murder Incorporated'' and ''

'' are noteworthy.... When historians describe sleaze, sex, and violence as Fox's obsession, they are masters of understatement. His best artists, Jack Kamen and Matt Baker, are much revered and collected for their good girl art. Of special note is the company's breasty crime-fighter-in-bedroom-lingerie,

...along with the wild and scantily attired

Rulah, Jungle Goddess Rulah, Jungle Goddess is a fictional character, a jungle girl, in comic books published by Fox Feature Syndicate. She first appeared in ''Zoot Comics'' #7 (June 1947). Matt Baker designed her, before Jack Kamen and Graham Ingels helped develop he ...

". Boyd Magers said of the publisher: "Never one to overlook a secondary sale, Fox often repackaged four remaindered (unsold) comics into a 25¢ Giant with a new cover, hence ''Hoot Gibson's Western Roundup'', 132 pages dated 1950. However, since Fox always started their stories on the inside front cover (where other publishers ran an ad), these repackaged comics are always missing the first page of story content. Also, since Fox used remaindered issues, contents will vary from copy to copy of ''Hoot Gibson's Western Roundup''". Fox Feature Syndicate, located at 60 East 42nd Street, filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy reorganization Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

in July 1950, listing liabilities of $721,448 and assets of $932,878, which included $567,800 in uncollected accounts receivables. Central Color Press of the same address filed likewise, listing liabilities of $513,587 and assets of $603,427. Fox was listed as president of both corporations.

Victor Fox

Early life and career background

Fox Publications founder Victor Fox was born Samuel Victor Joseph Fox on July 3, 1893, in Nottinghamshire, England, the fourth of six children born to Russian emigres Joseph and Bessie Fox. He had older sisters Annie (b. July 1884), Rosie (b. September 1885), Fanny E. (b. April 1892), and younger sisters Etta G. (b. March 1898) and Marrion (b. May 1900). The family relocated to the United States in March 1898, and within two years were living in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

. By 1917, patriarch Joseph, a storekeeper, moved the family to New York City, where he opened a women's clothing business; the family lived at 555 West 151st Street.

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

Charles H. Tuttle in 1929 arrested several individuals including a Victor S. Fox for illegal " boiler-room" stock-trading. Reports of Fox's September 4 arraignment said his Allied Capital Corporation had offices at 49 Broadway and 331 Madison Avenue, and that Fox also had "desk room" at 230 Park Avenue as Fox Motor and Bank Stock, Inc., and as American Common Stocks, Inc. His hearing was set for September 18. Another individual, J.A. Sachs, was named in the same warrant. A report the following month gave the latter's name as John A. Sacks and identified him as president of Allied Capital and Fox as a director; the two were temporarily enjoined from continuing sales of

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

. On November 27, Fox and three other individuals connected with Allied Capital — Fred H. Hallen, I. Lloyd Zimmer, and William McManus — were indicted on charges of

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

. In 1944, an individual named Victor S. Fox, identified as a former partner of the Cornwall Shipbuilding Company, testified in the prosecution of

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Captain Joseph Gould who was convicted for conspiracy to accept bribes to award $1,000,000 worth of army contracts to the Cornwall Shipbuilding Company. It is unclear if the individual(s) in these accounts may be future comics publisher Victor Fox. However, a 1946 ''

'' real-estate article identifies "Victor S. Fox" as a "magazine publisher" who purchased for occupancy a five-story residential building at 59 E. 82nd Street. In October 1947, a syndicate headed by Fox and also including Central Color Press of

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

, purchased Potsdam Paper Mill, Inc., of

Potsdam, New York Potsdam ( moh, Tsi tewate’nehtararénies) is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The town population was 14,901 at the 2020 census. The ZIP Code is 13676. When SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University are in session, the popul ...

, in order to have what one report called "a completely integrated operation".

Comics publisher

Historian Jon Berk has written that Fox was an accountant/ bookkeeper at the publishing firm that would become

, where he was privy to sales figures that convinced him to launch his own comic book company. Fellow historian

Gerard Jones Gerard Jones (born July 10, 1957) is an American writer, known primarily for his non-fiction work about American entertainment media, and his comic book scripting, which includes co-creating the superhero Prime for Malibu Comics, and writing for ...

, writing in his book ''Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book'', was unable to find documentation of this, and Christopher Irving wrote that Fox learned about DC's success while with another magazine distributed by

Independent News Independent News Co. was a magazine and comic book distribution business owned by National Periodical Publications, the parent company of DC Comics. Independent News distributed all DC publications, as well as those of a few rival publishers, suc ...

, DC's distributor. Artist Jack "King" Kirby said of the employer who gave him his start drawing superhero comics: "Victor Fox was a character. He'd look up at the ceiling with a big cigar, this little fellow, very broad, going back and forth with his hands behind his back saying, 'I'm the King of Comics! I'm the King of Comics!' and we would watch him and, of course, smile a little because he was a genuine type". Writer/artist Joe Simon commented on Fox: "He was an accountant for DC Comics. He was doing the sales figures and he liked what he saw. So, he moved downstairs and started his own company.... I happened to get a job; I went over to Fox and became editor there, which was just an impossible job, because ... there were no artists, no writers, no editors, no letterers – nothing there. Everything came out of the Eisner and Iger shop. ... He was a very strange character. He had kind of a British accent; he was like 5'2", told us he was a former ballroom dancer. He was very loud, menacing, and really a scary little guy. He used to say, 'I'm the King of the Comics. I'm the King of the Comics. I'm the King of the Comics'. We couldn't stop him".

Fox characters

* The Banshee * Bird Man * The Blackbird * Black Fury and Kid Fury * Black Lion *

(later sold to

, who later sold to

) * The Bouncer * Bronze Man * Captain Savage * Captain V * Dagar, the Desert Hawk * The Dart & Ace, the Bat Boy * Dynamite Thor * The Eagle & Buddy (Steven Woods, who as an adult takes on the name Blue Eagle) * Electro (later known as

Dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundati ...

) * The Flame and Flame-Girl * The Gorilla with the Human Brain * Green Mask and Domino * Illuso * The Jaguar/Jaguar Man * Jo-Jo, Congo King * Lunar the Moon Man * The Lynx * Marga the Panther Woman * Miss X * The Moth/Mothman * Nightbird *

(obtained from

via Iger Studios) * The Purple Tigress * Rani-Bey * The Rapier * The Raven * Rex Dexter of Mars *

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

* Spider Queen (later appeared in

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 ...

's '' Invaders'' series)Per th
Spider Queen entry
in ''The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe'': "Created by Elsa Lesau (believed to be a pseudonym for

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

and Arturo Cazeneuve) for Fox Features icSyndicate; adapted for the

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

Universe by Roy Thomas,

Dave Hoover David Harold Hoover (May 14, 1955 – September 4, 2011) was an American comics artist and animator, most notable for his art on DC Comics' ''The Wanderers'' and '' Starman'' and Marvel Comics' '' Captain America''. Biography Early life ...

, and Brian Garvey. Roy Thomas had originally intended

he flashback, World War II supervillain team He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

Battle-Axis to consist of minor wartime heroes of

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 ...

(predecessor of Marvel), but ditor

Mark Gruenwald Mark Eugene Gruenwald (; June 18, 1953 – August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics. Biography Early career Gruenwald got his start in comics fa ...

nixed that idea, and super-heroes from now-defunct wartime publishers were used instead...." *

* Tangi * Tegra, Jungle Empress *

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

* The Topper * Tumbler * U.S. Jones *

* The Wraith * Yarko the Great, Master Magician * Zago, Jungle Prince * Zanzibar the Magician

Fox titles

Gallery of Fox Feature Syndicate covers

Image:Crimes by Women 01.jpg Image:Dagar, Desert Hawk No 15 Fox Features Syndicate, 1948.jpg Image:My Story 5.jpg Image:Phantom Lady 17.jpg Image:Rulah2401.jpg Image:Western Thrillers 01.jpg Image:Women in Love 2.jpg Image:Zoot Comics No 14 Fox Features Syndicate, 1948.jpg

References

External links

Fox Feature Syndicate
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Comicartville Library: The Fox 1939–1942 Comic Covers

Fox
at the

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 useful ...

* * Berk, Jon
"The Weird, Wonder(ous) World of Victor Fox's Fantastic Mystery Men", Part II
Comicartville Library, 2004

an

{{GoldenAge