Novelty Press

Last updated
Novelty Press
Parent company Curtis Publishing Company
Founded1940
Defunct1949
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters location New York City
Key people Dick Briefer, Joe Simon, Jack Kirby
Publication types Comic books
Fiction genres Superhero, Crime

Novelty Press (a.k.a. Premium Service Co., Inc.; a.k.a. Novelty Publications; a.k.a. Premier Group) was an American Golden Age comic-book publisher that operated from 1940 to 1949. It was the comic book imprint of Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of The Saturday Evening Post . Among Novelty's best-known and longest-running titles were the companion titles Blue Bolt and Target Comics .

Contents

During its nine-year run, Novelty had a roster of creators that included Al Avison, Dan Barry, Carl Burgos, L.B. Cole, Bill Everett, Al Gabriele, Joe Gill, Tom Gill, Jack Kirby, Tarpé Mills, Al Plastino, Don Rico, Joe Simon, Mickey Spillane, and Basil Wolverton. [1]

Although published in Philadelphia, Novelty Press's editorial offices were in New York City.

History

Blue Bolt Comics #2 (July 1940). Cover art by W.E. Rowland BlueBoltComics2.jpg
Blue Bolt Comics #2 (July 1940). Cover art by W.E. Rowland

Novelty Press launched its first title, Target Comics , debuted with a cover date of February 1940, followed shortly thereafter by Blue Bolt . [2]

Target Comics featured such stars as Bull's-Eye Bill, Lucky Byrd, and The White Streak (Target's first superhero). Material for the book was supplied by Funnies, Inc., a packager also responsible for many of Marvel Comics' early characters. [1] Creators included Bill Everett, Joe Simon, and Tarpé Mills. Basil Wolverton's Spacehawk (which originated in Circus comics) made its Target Comics debut with issue #5, and ran for many issues. The superhero Target, created by cartoonist Dick Briefer under the pen nam "Dick Hamilton", was introduced in issue #10 (Nov. 1940), accompanied by the Targeteers the following issue. [2] The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide suggests that the first comic book letter column may have appeared in Target Comics #6. The page in question also has an early mention of comic-book collecting.) [3]

Blue Bolt's title character superhero was created by Joe Simon, and Blue Bolt #2 (July 1940) featured the first pairing of the longstanding and pioneering creative team of Simon and Jack Kirby. [2]

4 Most , launched in 1941, was Novelty's answer to DC Comics' omnibus title World's Finest Comics and All American's Comic Cavalcade. [2]

Young King Cole , debuting in 1945, was an anthology title headlined by one of the comic genre's first private detectives. [4]

In 1949, due to the growing criticism over violence in comic books, Novelty Press sold its assets to Blue Bolt cover artist L.B. Cole. [5] Using his new assets, Cole began his own company, Star Publications.[ citation needed ]

Titles

Regular backup features

Related Research Articles

<i>All-American Comics</i> American anthology comic book series

All-American Comics was a comics anthology and the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from 1939 to 1948. Characters created for the title, including Green Lantern, the Atom, the Red Tornado, Doctor Mid-Nite, and Sargon the Sorcerer, later became mainstays of the DC Comics line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Comics Group</span> American comic book publisher

American Comics Group (ACG) was an American comic book publisher started in 1939 and existing under the ACG name from 1943 to 1967. It published the medium's first ongoing horror-comics title, Adventures into the Unknown. ACG's best-known character was the 1960s satirical-humor hero Herbie Popnecker, who starred for a time in Forbidden Worlds. Herbie would later get his own title and be turned into a "superhero" called the Fat Fury.

Tarpé Mills was the pseudonym of comic book creator June Mills, one of the first major female comics artists. She is best known for her action comic strip, Miss Fury, featuring the first female action hero created by a woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boy Commandos</span> Fictional organization of young boys fighting Nazis in DC comics

Boy Commandos is a fictional organization from DC Comics first appearing in Detective Comics #64 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. They are a combination of "kid gang" characters, an international cast of young boys fighting Nazis — or in their own parlance, "the Ratzies".

<i>The Funnies</i> Comic character publication

The Funnies was the name of two American publications from Dell Publishing, the first of these a seminal 1920s precursor of comic books, and the second a standard 1930s comic book.

Leonard Brandt Cole, commonly known as L. B. Cole, was a comic book artist, editor, and publisher who worked during the Golden Age of Comic Books, producing work in various genres. Cole was particularly known for his bold covers, featuring what he referred to as "poster colors"—the use of primary colors often over black backgrounds. In addition to his covers, Cole did interior art for comics published by Holyoke Publications, Gilberton, and Ajax/Farrell. He also worked as an editor for Holyoke in the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All-American Publications</span> American comic book publishing company

All-American Publications, Inc. was one of two American comic book companies that merged to form the modern-day DC Comics, one of the two largest publishers of comic books in the United States. Superheroes created for All-American include the original Atom, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and Wonder Woman, all in the 1940s' Golden Age of Comic Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crestwood Publications</span> Defunct American publishing company

Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title Prize Comics contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book feature, Dick Briefer's "Frankenstein". Crestwood is best known for its Prize Group imprint, published in the late 1940s to mid-1950s through packagers Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, who created such historically prominent titles as the horror comic Black Magic, the creator-owned superhero satire Fighting American, and the first romance comic title, Young Romance.

The Holyoke Publishing Company was an American magazine and comic-book publisher with offices in Holyoke, and Springfield, Massachusetts, and New York City, Its best-known comics characters were Blue Beetle and the superhero duo Cat-Man and Kitten, all inherited from defunct former clients of Holyoke's printing business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magazine Enterprises</span> American comic book company

Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western, humor, crime, adventure, and children's comics, with virtually no superheroes. It was founded by Vin Sullivan, an editor at Columbia Comics and before that the editor at National Allied Publications, the future DC Comics.

<i>The Adventures of Dick Cole</i> Comic book series

The Adventures of Dick Cole was a 1940s comic book series, created by Bob Davis. It was published by Novelty Press, and later, Star Publications. Dick Cole is a heroic cadet at the fictional Farr Military Academy. The character was introduced in the "Origin of Dick Cole," in the first issue of Novelty Press' Blue Bolt Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Bolt</span> Comic book superhero created in 1940

Blue Bolt is a fictional American comic book superhero created by writer-artist Joe Simon in 1940, during the period fans and historians refer to as the Golden Age of Comic Books.

<i>Crack Comics</i>

Crack Comics was an anthology comic book series published by Quality Comics during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It featured such characters as The Clock, Black Condor, Captain Triumph, Alias the Spider, Madame Fatal, Jane Arden, Molly the Model, and Red Torpedo. The title "crack" referred to "being at the top of one's form", like a "crack sharpshooter".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Target and the Targeteers</span> Comics character

The Target and the Targeteers are fictional characters, a trio of superheroes who first appeared in 1940, in Target Comics from Novelty Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Blum</span> Hungarian-American comic book artist

Alexander Anthony Blum was a Hungarian-American comic book artist best remembered for his contributions in the 1940s and 1950s to the long-running comic book series Classics Illustrated.

Richard Briefer was an American comic-book artist best known for his various adaptations, including humorous ones, of the Frankenstein monster. Under the pseudonym Dick Hamilton, he also created the superhero team the Target and the Targeteers for Novelty Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Owl</span> Comics character

The Black Owl is the name of two fictional superhero characters. Both appeared in the Prize Publications title Prize Comics in the 1940s.

<i>Hangman Comics</i>

Hangman Comics was the name of an American anthology comic book series published by MLJ Magazines Inc., more commonly known as MLJ Comics, for seven issues between Spring 1942 and Fall 1943. It featured MLJs costumed vigilante The Hangman, and "Boy Buddies", featuring Shield's partner 'Dusty the Boy Detective' and Wizard's side-kick 'Roy the Superboy', throughout the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star Publications</span> Defunct American comic book publisher

Star Publications, Inc. was a Golden Age American comic book publisher, operating during the years 1949–1954. Founded by artist/editor L. B. Cole and lawyer Gerhard Kramer, Star specialized in horror comics, crime, and romance comics — but also published talking animal stories. Star was originally based in New York City before relocating to Buffalo, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Kapitan</span>

George Kapitan was an American writer for Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics, during the time fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comics. He co-created the medium's first costumed, superpowered female protagonist, the Golden Age Black Widow, an antiheroine who killed evildoers to deliver their souls to Satan, her master.

References

  1. 1 2 Markstein, Don. "Target & the Targeteers at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Novelty Press at the Grand Comics Database
  3. Overstreet, Robert M. Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, vol. 33. House of Collectibles, 2003.
  4. Markstein, Don. "Young King Cole" at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  5. Markstein, Don. "Blue Bolt," Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  6. 1 2 Markstein, Don. "Dick Cole, The Boy Wonder" at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  7. Novelty Press at the Michigan State University Libraries: Index to the Comic Art Collection. Retrieved July 12, 2008. WebCitation archive.
  8. Markstein, Don. "Sgt. Spook" at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  9. Smith, Kevin Burton. "Young King Cole". ThrillingDetective.com. Retrieved July 11, 2008.