Pep Comics #22

(December 1941)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Shield G-Man Club / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.25 page (report information)

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

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.75 page (report information)

[Death of a Double] (Table of Contents: 3)

The Shield / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Harry Shorten (signed)

Pencils

Irv Novick (signed)

Inks

Irv Novick (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Death hangs over Senor Hernandez, South American ambassador, as he makes his way...

Genre

superhero

Characters

Shield [Joe Higgins]; Senor Hernandez; Ludwig (villain); spies; Senor Hernandez's double (death); Dusty; Ju Ju Watson; Mamie; Fifi (dog); Betty Warren

Keywords

Capitol Building

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

Hangman / comic story / 11 pages (report information)

Script

Joe Blair

Pencils

Harry Lucey

Inks

Harry Lucey

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

With Lennie in jail, there remains only the diabolically ingenious Betruchi, and Laval, the boomerang thrower, of the Unholy Three.

Genre

superhero

Characters

Hangman [Bob Dickering]; Betruchi (villain, death); Lennie (villain, death); Laval (villain, death); Reinmann

Indexer Notes

This is most probably Lucey, when comparing with his signed stories in #25 and #29. Notice long rounded chins.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 5) (Expand) /

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

[Spumoni the Puppet Master] (Table of Contents: 6)

Danny in Wonderland / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harry Shorten

Pencils

Lin Streeter

Inks

Lin Streeter

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

All Wonderland rings with acclaim for the puppet master...

Genre

fantasy-supernatural; humor

Characters

Danny; Kupkake; Spumoni (villain, introduction); Snapper (dog)

[A Little Detour to France] (Table of Contents: 7)

Sergeant Boyle / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Bob Wood ?

Pencils

Carl Hubbell (signed)

Inks

Carl Hubbell (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Twerp! Look at what just came from G.H.Q.!

Genre

war

Characters

Sergeant Boyle; Corporal Collins; Nazis

Synopsis

Sgt. Boyle travels to France to help a young lady rescue her father from the Nazis.

Indexer Notes

continued in Blue Ribbon Comics (Archie, 1939 series) #20

[The Breakup of the Sky Pirates] (Table of Contents: 8)

Jolly Roger / 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

Hoot mon!

Genre

aviation; war

Characters

Nazis; Price; Jolly Roger; Frank Root; Marty Martin

Synopsis

Orders come down reassigning each Sky Pirate to a different squadron. During an intense dogfight, the Sky Pirates break formation from their squadrons to fly together and they manage to thwart the Nazis from bombing London; afterward, the Sky Pirates are officially commissioned by the R.A.F. as the Jolly Roger Squadron.

Keywords

dogfight

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

Archie / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Victor Bloom (signed as Vic Bloom)

Pencils

Bob Montana (signed)

Inks

Bob Montana (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Just a matter of skill, that's all!

Genre

humor; teen

Characters

Archie Andrews [Archibald Andrews; Chick]; Betty Cooper; Sam Cooper; Mildred Cooper; Fred Andrews; Edna Andrews; Gramps Andrews; Jughead Jones [Forsythe P. Jones] (introduction for all)

Synopsis

Archie meets Betty, a girl who has just moved into the neighborhood. He shows off for her, claiming he can do anything. At a carnival that weekend, Betty meets a man who needs a tight rope walker. Betty, remembering that Archie can do anything, volunteers Archie with humorous results.

Reprints

• in The Best of Archie (Putnam Publishing Group, 1980 series) (1980)
• in Archie Americana Series (Archie, 1991 series) #1 - Best of the Forties (1991)
• in Archie: His First 50 Years (Abbeville Press, 1991 series) (1991)
• in Archie Comics Digest (Archie, 1973 series) #236 (September 2007)
• in Archie Firsts (Dark Horse, 2010 series) #1 (December 2010)
• in Archie Archives (Dark Horse, 2011 series) #1 (May 2011)
• in The Best of Archie Comics (Archie, 2011 series) #[1] (August 2011)
• in Archie (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest (Archie, 2011 series) #260 (May 2015)
• in Archie (Archie, 2015 series) #1 (September 2015)
• in The Best of Archie Comics: 75 Years 75 Stories (Archie, 2015 series) ([October] 2015)
• in Best of Archie Comics (Archie, 2016 series) #1 (2016)
• in Archie Spotlight Digest: Archie 75th Anniversary Digest (Archie, 2016 series) #3 (December 2016)
• in Best of Archie Americana (Archie, 2017 series) #1 - Golden Age 1940s-1950s (2017)
• in Archie 80th Anniversary Jumbo Comics Digest (Archie, 2021 series) #1 (March 2021), #5 (January 2022)

Keywords

circus; taffy

Indexer Notes

For all the parent characters, only Fred Andrews is identified by name in this story. The other parents' names would change over the years.
Archie and Betty are a few years younger than usual.

First comic story of Archie. First appearance of Betty and Jughead.

Archie and his parents first appeared as a promotional advertisement cameo in Top Notch Comics (Archie, 1940 series) #22 released 5 days prior per Catalog of Copyright Entries.

[The Case of Crummy King] (Table of Contents: 10)

Kayo Ward / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Harry Shorten

Pencils

Art Seymour

Inks

Art Seymour

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Right in the old bread basket, Slugs, from me to you!

Genre

sports

Characters

Kayo Ward; Crummy King (introduction); Julie King (introduction); Slugs Logan (introduction)

Keywords

boxing

Indexer Notes

Most probably Seymour, when comparing with his signed stories in #24 to 26.

[The Case of the Sea Serpent] (Table of Contents: 11)

Bentley of Scotland Yard / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Joe Blair

Pencils

Paul Reinman (signed)

Inks

Paul Reinman (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

A quiet country lake in England is turned to a scene of panic and confusion...

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Bentley; Foxleigh (villain); Stanley Wade (death); Somerset; Stonebrook; Claude Stonebrook

Reprints

• in Super Comics (F.E. Howard Publications, 1943 series) #v2#4 (1944)

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

advertisement / 1 page (report information)

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

advertisement / 1 page (report information)