(August 1941)

Harvey, 1941 Series
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Volume
1
Price
0.10 USD; 0.15 CAD
Pages
100
Indicia Frequency
bi-monthly
Indicia / Colophon Publisher
Alfred Harvey
Printer
Printed in U. S. A.
Editing
Alfred Harvey (editor)

Issue Notes

Additional sequences by Gary Watson, August 26, 2006.

POCKET COMICS, Volume 1, number 1, August 1941. Published bi-monthly by Alfred Harvey, 55 West 42nd Street, New York, N. Y. Application for entry as second class matter pending at the Post Office in New York. Copyright 1941, by Alfred Harvey, New York, N. Y., U. S. A. Price 10 cents per copy. In Canada 15 cents per copy. Subscription for six issues, 60 cents in U. S. A. (Other countries 85 cents). Contents must not be reproduced without written permission. No actual person is named or delineated in this fiction magazine. Printed in U. S. A.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents)

Satan; Spirit of '76 / cover / 1 page (report information)

Pencils
Joe Simon (sourced) (see notes)
Inks
Joe Simon (sourced) (see notes)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Beware Satan -- here comes the Spirit of '76 --
Genre
superhero; crime
Characters
The Spirit of '76
Reprints
Keywords
Statue of Liberty

Indexer Notes

Art previously tentatively attributed to Bob Powell, but Joe Simon's autobiography "My Life In Comics" states that he drew the covers, and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. agrees.

[Contest] (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 2)

Satan / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script
Otto Binder (signed as Eando Binder)
Pencils
Pierce Rice (sourced)
Inks
Arturo Cazeneuve ? (sourced); Louis Cazeneuve ? (sourced)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Satan...mad dictator of the underworld!
Genre
horror-suspense; crime
Characters
Private Air Cadet Jim Brady; Lieutenant Patricia Randall (nurse); Satan (villain, introduction, mad dictator of the underworld); Adolf Hitler (villain); un-named members of Satan's gang (villains, introduction for all, many die)
Synopsis
Satan makes the mistake of trying to sabotage Camp Porter in his mad campaign to undermine the U.S. program to defend democracy.
Reprints
Keywords
Camp Porter

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 3)

Red Blazer and Sparky / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Al Avison (signed as A. Avison)
Inks
Al Avison (signed as A. Avison)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Swooping and zooming -- propelled by fiery pyro rays -- a strange champion of justice appears!
Feature Logo
Red Blazer
Genre
superhero
Characters
The Red Blazer [Jack Dawson] (introduction, origin); Kagah (Martian, assistant to Dr. Morgan, death); Dr. Morgan (scientist, inventor of a space cruiser); Doc Breenan (villain)
Synopsis
Jack comes upon an aged man burying someone and discovers that the man is Dr. Morgan, a scientist who invented the space cruiser and flew to Mars in 1901. Morgan slips Jack a drink, causing the young man to pass out. He is taken to the Heaviside layer by the scientist, where astro-pyro rays advanced the young man's evolutionary stage. He returns to Earth to battle criminals who are looting cities and murdering residents.
Reprints
Keywords
Astro-Pyro Rays; Kamena Penitentiary; space cruiser; Vis-o-Phone

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 4)

Spirit of '76 / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script
Bob Powell (credited as Major Ralston)
Pencils
Edd Ashe
Inks
Edd Ashe
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Gary Blakely, great great grandson of Captain Ralston, aide-de-camp to General Washington, returns from England to serve the United States.
Genre
adventure; superhero
Characters
Spirit of '76 [Gary Blakely] (introduction and origin); Major Ralston (Gary's grandfather); Captain Blakely (Gary's father); Tubby (cadet friend of Gary's); Captain Hoch (villain); the Nazis (villains)
Synopsis
Gary is attending West Point, but his family tradition of serving in the military spurs him on to action before he graduates, and what better way than taking on Luftwaffe Captain Hoch, whose "Khaki Shirts" are planning to dynamite West Point.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

The original art for this story was with the Lewis Wayne Gallery, uncertain who has it currently (as of September 6, 2022).

[Origin of the Black Cat!] (Table of Contents: 5)

Black Cat / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script
Alfred Harvey
Pencils
Al Gabriele (see notes)
Inks
Al Gabriele (see notes)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Linda Turner, Hollywood movie star, and America's sweetheart, is bored with her ultra-sophisticated life of make believe.
Genre
superhero
Characters
Black Cat [Linda Turner] (introduction and origin); Rick Horne (introduction); Garboil (villain, introduction)
Synopsis
Bored with her pampered life as a Hollywood star -- and suspecting that her German director Garboil is a Nazi spy -- Linda Turner creates the masked identity of the Black Cat to foil Garboil's plans. Rick Horne, a reporter and Hollywood gossip columnist for the Los Angeles Globe, is also after Garboil. Black Cat and Rick meet, both thinking the other works for Garboil until they compare notes. They then reluctantly team up to stop Garboil and his thugs.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Originally credited to Barbara Hall based on Trina Robbins' interview with Hall as given on the Comixscholars-L listserve on 30 April 2014. But on 21 July 2015, in an interview with CBR.com, Robbins stated: "I have to tell you that she [Hall] had told me that she drew the first "Black Cat," which it turns out she did not draw. Al Gabrielle drew it. So neither her daughter nor I know if she ever did draw "Black Cat." She was getting on when I interviewed her. She had always told her daughter that had drawn "Black Cat," but at this point, it remains a mystery."

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 6)

Phantom Sphinx / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Pierce Rice
Inks
Louis Cazeneuve (see notes)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Revived from a 6000 year hypnotic sleep as a mummy, the great Amron uses the magic of ancient Egypt for the good of all mankind...
Genre
superhero; science fiction
Characters
The Phantom Sphinx [General Amron] (introduction, origin); Dr. Salle (scientist, introduction); Nancy Taylor (American reporter); Red Norton (villain, bandit, death); Suliman the Terrible (villain, transformed into a camel)
Synopsis
Dr. Salle and his companions discover a long lost tomb that contains the remains of General Amron, who was put into a hypnotic sleep by his father some 6000 years before. However, a notorious bandit named Norton kills all the explorers, reads Salle's notes, and revives the mummy using the Star Sirius, a pebble. Rising from his long sleep, the mummy, heeding the words of his father, becomes the Phantom Sphinx and avenges the wrongs that have been done.
Reprints
Keywords
Sphinx; Star Sirius

Indexer Notes

Inks credit from penciled note on margin of original art of page 1. Images of original art can be viewed at Heritage Auctions website. www.HA.com

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 7)

British Agent 99 / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script
William Churchill Jr. (credited as William Churchill, Jr.) (house name)
Pencils
Arturo Cazeneuve (sourced)
Inks
Arturo Cazeneuve (sourced)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
The adventures of Alan Douglas, famed Hollywood star, begin when he returns to England to serve his country...
Genre
adventure; war; spy
Characters
British Agent 99 [Alan Douglas, aka Hal Payne as an American reporter] (introduction, origin, former Hollywood star); General Douglas (flashback, Alan's father, death); Sultana Zaida; Chuck; Herr Karl Vern (villain); Fritz (villain); Heinrich (villain, Vern's chauffeur); the Nazis (villains)
Synopsis
Traveling to Belgrade, Yugoslavia, on his first assignment, in the disguise of an American reporter, Agent 99 saves a young girl from the Nazis and tells her that he is in Yugoslavia to protect her from Gestapo agents.
Reprints
Keywords
Komitadjii (patriotic secret society)

John Doyle Convicted of Murder (Table of Contents: 8)

Zebra / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script
Ellery King (signed) (house name)
Pencils
Pierce Rice
Inks
Louis Cazeneuve ? (sourced) (see notes); Arturo Cazeneuve
Colors
?
Letters
?

Genre
superhero
Characters
The Zebra [John Doyle] (introduction, origin); Mary Sewell (Doyle's girlfriend); Happy Mike (villain, political boss); Slug (villain)
Synopsis
Sentenced to death for murder because of the actions of politicians protecting the real culprit, John Doyle escapes from prison to track down the murderer, and discovers that his girl friend has been kidnapped by criminals who believe she knows more about the actual murderer than she should.
Reprints
Keywords
Daily World

Indexer Notes

Bill Black reports that Louis Cazeneuve also did inks on this story, although the Who's Who doesn't list Louis having worked on this strip.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 9)

Meet the Stars / text article / 2 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Mickey Rooney is cast as Whitey Marsh, mayor of Boys Town...
Genre
non-fiction

The Zebra's Murder Case (Table of Contents: 10)

Zebra / text story / 4 pages (report information)

Script
? [as Ellery King]
Pencils
Pierce Rice ?
Inks
Pierce Rice ?
Colors
?
Letters
?

Genre
superhero

Indexer Notes

Text story with illustrations.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 11)

Spin Hawkins / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Spin Hawkins, ace air adenturer and famous author, spans the seven corners of the world seeking adventure...
Genre
aviation
Characters
Spin Hawkins (introduction)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 12) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 13)

Ditto / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Byghe (credited)
Inks
?
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Hello, Ditto -- whatcha readin'?
Genre
humor

Indexer Notes

The "Ditto" feature appears next in Speed Comics (Harvey, 1941 Series) #16 (January 1942).

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 14)

Best Laughs of the Month / text story / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Letters
typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Draftee - Isn't that captain the funniest looking egg you ever saw?
Genre
humor

Indexer Notes

Printed on inside back cover.

This is the only appearance of the "Best Laughs of the Month" feature.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 15) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Editing
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
  1. 0. ["Beware Satan -- here comes the Spirit of '76 --"]
    Satan; Spirit of '76
  2. 1. [Contest]
  3. 2. ["Satan...mad dictator of the underworld!"]
    Satan
  4. 3. ["Swooping and zooming -- propelled by fiery pyro rays -- a strange champion of justice appears!"]
    Red Blazer and Sparky
  5. 4. ["Gary Blakely, great great grandson of Captain Ralston, aide-de-camp to General Washington, returns from England to serve the United States."]
    Spirit of '76
  6. 5. [Origin of the Black Cat!]
    Black Cat
  7. 6. ["Revived from a 6000 year hypnotic sleep as a mummy, the great Amron uses the magic of ancient Egypt for the good of all mankind..."]
    Phantom Sphinx
  8. 7. ["The adventures of Alan Douglas, famed Hollywood star, begin when he returns to England to serve his country..."]
    British Agent 99
  9. 8. John Doyle Convicted of Murder
    Zebra
  10. 9. ["Mickey Rooney is cast as Whitey Marsh, mayor of Boys Town..."]
    Meet the Stars
  11. 10. The Zebra's Murder Case
    Zebra
  12. 11. ["Spin Hawkins, ace air adenturer and famous author, spans the seven corners of the world seeking adventure..."]
    Spin Hawkins
  13. 12. ["All 100 pages all new! All thrilling! - On sale soon! - - Watch for them! - 10ยข"]
  14. 13. ["Hello, Ditto -- whatcha readin'?"]
    Ditto
  15. 14. ["Draftee - Isn't that captain the funniest looking egg you ever saw?"]
    Best Laughs of the Month
  16. 15. [no title indexed]
This issue was modified by, among others
  • Darci
  • Weldon Adams
  • Henry Andrews
  • Ray Bottorff Jr
  • Peter Croome
  • Craig Delich
  • Katy Hayhurst
  • Michael Hoskin
  • Clint Maxwell
  • Donald Dale Milne
  • Tony R. Rose
  • Steven Rowe
  • Per Sandell
  • Jim Van Dore
  • Gary L. Watson (R.I.P.)
  • Gregg Whitmore