Zip Comics #20

(November 1941)

[The Secret Jungle Airdrome] (Table of Contents: 1)

Steel Sterling / comic story / 14 pages (report information)

Script

Joe Blair (signed as Blair)

Pencils

Irv Novick (signed as Novick)

Inks

Irv Novick (signed as Novick)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Steel Sterling [John Sterling]; Clancy McGinty (Police); Looney; Captain Schmidt (villain, introduction); Nazis (villains)

Synopsis

Steel uncovers a secret Nazi air base in the jungle of Brazil.

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

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

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Criminals everywhere!!!

Synopsis

House ad for The Hangman story in the October issue of Pep Comics (October 1941, no. 20).

Indexer Notes

4 panels setting up the story and a large image of The Hangman. As frequently occurs in these house ads, the story is given a title here ("The Man Who Tried to Escape the Hangman") but the title doesn't appear on the actual story in Pep Comics.

There seem to be initials in the lower left-hand corner: this may be the artist but they are indistinct.

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

Black Jack / comic story / 11 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Al Camy

Inks

Al Camy

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Beware the black jack! He will be your doom!

Genre

superhero

Characters

Black Jack [Jack Jones] (introduction, origin); Whitey (introduction, death); Mr. Larson (introduction); Lucky Lavitto (villain, introduction); Baxter (villain, introduction); Lavitto's gang (villains, introduction for all)

Synopsis

Lucky Lavitto has been going to a favorite fortune teller for years, always hearing that he is still boss of the town. However, on his most recent visit to the seer, he is told that he is to fear "the Black Jack", which will bring about his doom.

Reprints

• in Gwandanaland Comics (Gwandanaland Comics, 2016 series) #1068 - The Complete Black Jack ([May] 2017), #2006 - The Golden Age Firsts of MLJ Comics: Volume 1 ([June] 2018)

Indexer Notes

Camy is spotted by his faces with angular jaws and chins and often scowling mouth.

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

Wilbur / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Joe Blair (credited as Blair)

Pencils

Lin Streeter (signed as Lin)

Inks

Lin Streeter (signed as Lin)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Wilbur Wilkin! You stop that this minute!

Genre

teen

Characters

Wilbur Wilkin; Betty Fox (introduction); J. A. McGeery (introduction)

Synopsis

Wilbur is giving McGeery a dunking in the watering trough for calling him "Wilbur" instead of "Bill".

[Greenland Adventure] (Table of Contents: 5)

Captain Valor / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Joe Blair

Pencils

Lin Streeter

Inks

Lin Streeter

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure

Characters

Captain Valor (Marine); Slim (Marine); Slam (Marine); Sergeant Hogan (Marine); Nazis (villains)

Synopsis

A fleet of German transports is landing a division on Greenland, unknown to Captain Valor and his Marines on their side of the island.

Indexer Notes

Same art as in his signed Captain Valor in #21.

[The Rodeo Murder Plot] (Table of Contents: 6)

Nevada Jones / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Frank Volpe

Inks

Frank Volpe

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

western-frontier

Characters

Nevada Jones; Little Joe (sidekick); Wilson (rancher); Mike Slade (villain, introduction)

Synopsis

Slade holds the mortgage on Wilson's ranch and is pretty anxious to take over at any cost.

Indexer Notes

Faces and very realistic horses identical to Volp's credited Loop Logan story in Blue Ribbon Comics #13.

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

War Eagles / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Joe Blair

Pencils

Ed Smalle (signed)

Inks

Ed Smalle (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

This is the place, boys! There is supposed to be a lot of fish here

Genre

aviation; war

Characters

Tim Shane; Tom Shane; Swen; Nazis (villains)

Synopsis

A German U-boat has a secret hiding place in a castle by the Scottish coast.

[The Maharajah of Madowa] (Table of Contents: 8)

Dicky in the Magic Forest / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

R. Louis Golden (signed as L. Golden)

Inks

R. Louis Golden (signed as L. Golden)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

fantasy-supernatural

Characters

Dicky; Maharjah of Madowa (villain, introduction); Lunar (villain, introduction)

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

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

Script

?

Pencils

Seymour Pearlstein (signed as Seymour)

Inks

Seymour Pearlstein (signed as Seymour)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

"Case of the Radium Murders" Newest Captain Flag adventure appears in the November issue of Blue Ribbon Comics!

Synopsis

House ad for the Captain Flag story in Blue Ribbon Comics 18.

Indexer Notes

Signed in the lower right-hand corner.

[War of the Circuses] (Table of Contents: 10)

Zambini / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Harry Shorten

Pencils

Bob Montana (signed as Montana)

Inks

Bob Montana (signed as Montana)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Zambini (magician); Mr. Gallop (introduction); Swafford (villain, introduction); Socko (villain, introduction); their gang (villains, introduction)