Parent company | Pines Publications |
---|---|
Founded | 1936 |
Defunct | 1956 |
Country of origin | United States |
Headquarters location | New York City |
Publication types | Comic books |
Fiction genres | Superhero |
Imprints | Better Publications Nedor Publishing Pines Comics |
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and paperback books (under the Popular Library name). Standard [1] in turn was the parent company of two comic-book lines: Better Publications [2] and Nedor Publishing [3] ( /ˈniːdɔːr/ [4] ). Collectors and historians sometimes refer to them collectively as "Standard/Better/Nedor". [5] [6]
In business from 1939 to 1956, Standard was a prolific publisher during the Golden Age of comic books. Its best-known character, initially published under the Better imprint, is the Black Terror. In June 1949, the Better and Nedor imprints were consolidated as the Standard Comics line, with a "Standard Comics" flag-like cover logo. The titles previously had no publisher logo. In 1956, Standard ended, and only three titles continued, published by Pines Comics. This last venture also incorporated several titles from the defunct St. John Publications. Most titles went to other publishers after the company folded in 1959.
Beginning in the 1980s, Standard/Better/Nedor characters have been revived by other publishers. Publisher Bill Black used many of them in his 1980s imprint Americomics (later shortened to AC Comics). Many of the female heroes are members of the AC Comics superhero team Femforce. [7] In the 2000s, Standard/Better/Nedor characters have appeared in writer Alan Moore's comic book series Tom Strong and its spin-off Terra Obscura . Marvel Comics used the names American Eagle, Grim Reaper, and Wonder Man for its own, different characters.
The eight-issue comic book miniseries Project Superpowers #0–7 (Jan.–Oct. 2008), published by Dynamite Entertainment, [8] resurrected a number of Golden Age superheroes, including those originally published by Fox Feature Syndicate, Crestwood Publications, and Standard/Better/Nedor, many of which are assumed to be in the public domain but may not be. [9]
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.
AC Comics is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.
Terra Obscura is a 2003 comic book miniseries spin-off from Alan Moore's Tom Strong series. The stories are written by Peter Hogan, and drawn by Yanick Paquette and Karl Story with additional flashback sequences drawn by Eric Theriault. Each story is co-plotted by Alan Moore and Peter Hogan. It was published under Moore's America's Best Comics imprint through Wildstorm Comics, which is owned by DC Comics.
The American Crusader is a superhero who originally appeared in Thrilling Comics #19. He appeared in almost every issue until #41.
The Black Terror is a fictional comic book superhero who originally appeared in Exciting Comics #9, published by Nedor Comics in January 1941. The character was popular, and on the strength of the Black Terror's sales, Nedor made Exciting Comics a monthly magazine starting with issue #11.
Grim Reaper is a fictional character and a superhero. Created by writer/editor Richard E. Hughes, he first appeared in Fighting Yank #7, and was quickly promoted to cover feature of Wonder Comics, beginning with #1. His origin story was told in Wonder Comics #2.
Cat-Man and Kitten are a pair of fictional superhero characters created by artists Irwin Hasen (Cat-Man) and Charles M. Quinlan (Kitten) with unknown writers. Cat-Man was first published in 1940 by various Frank Z. Temerson companies. Due to circumstances during World War II, an altered version of Cat-Man was published in Australia and reprinted in the 1950s. AC Comics later revived the characters in the 1980s.
Daredevil is a fictional superhero created by Jack Binder, who starred in comics from Lev Gleason Publications during the 1930s–1940s period historians and fans call the Golden Age of comic books before being retroactively established into the Image Universe by Image Comics in the 1990s as its first character. The character is unrelated to Marvel Comics' Daredevil, and recent renditions of the character have often renamed him Doubledare or The Death-Defying Devil to avoid confusion and potential lawsuits.
America's Best Comics (ABC) was a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics.
The Fighting Yank is the name of several superheroes, first appearing in Startling Comics #10.
Noah Lewis "Ned" Pines was an American publisher of pulp magazines, comic books, and paperback books, active from at least 1928 to 1971. His Standard Comics imprint was the parent company of the comic-book lines Nedor Publishing and Better Publications, the most prominent character of which was the superhero the Black Terror. Pines also established the paperback book publisher Popular Library, which eventually merged with Fawcett Publications.
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.
Miss Masque is a fictional masked crime-fighter. She originally appeared in comic books published by Nedor Comics, and was later revived by AC Comics, America's Best Comics, and Dynamite Entertainment.
Pyroman is a fictional superhero that appeared in comic books published by Nedor Comics. His first appearance was in Startling Comics #18, with art by Jack Binder. This character was later revived by both AC Comics and America's Best Comics.
The Woman in Red is a fictional character that first appeared in the period known to comic book historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Created by writer Richard E. Hughes and artist George Mandel, she first appeared in Thrilling Comics #2, published by Nedor Comics. The character was later revived by writer Alan Moore for America's Best Comics. She would also be used by Dynamite Entertainment in Project Superpowers Chapter Two.
The Liberator is a superhero from the Golden Age of Comics. His first appearance was in Exciting Comics #15, published by Nedor Comics. The character was later revived by writer Alan Moore for America's Best Comics.
The Scarab is a fictional superhero from the Golden Age of Comics. He first appeared in Startling Comics #34, published by Nedor Comics. The character was later revived by writer Alan Moore for America's Best Comics.
The American Eagle is a superhero from the Golden Age of Comics. He first appeared in America's Best Comics #2, published by Nedor Comics, an imprint of Standard Comics.
The Raven is a fictional superhero character who first appeared in the Ace Comics title Sure-Fire Comics. He is based on the pulp hero "The Moon Man" published by Periodic House, the pulp publisher connected to Ace Comics.
Captain Future is a fictional superhero character who first appeared in Startling Comics #1 from Nedor Comics.