(November 1937)

DC, 1937 Series
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Volume
1
Price
0.10 USD
Pages
68
Indicia Frequency
monthly
On-sale Date
1937-10-10
Indicia / Colophon Publisher
Detective Comics Inc.
Editing
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson (editor and publisher); Vin Sullivan (associate editor); Whitney Ellsworth (associate editor)

Issue Notes

The on-sale date is the publication date reported in the U. S. Copyright Office filing.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents)

Speed Saunders / cover / 1 page (report information)

Pencils
Creig Flessel (signed)
Inks
Creig Flessel (signed)
Colors
?

Genre
detective-mystery
Characters
Speed Saunders
Synopsis
A police detective is hiding under a dock, with either a body or a suspect.
Keywords
automatic pistols

Detective Comics (Table of Contents: 1)

table of contents / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Letters
typeset

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover. Includes indicia.

[Case of the Hobo Hero] (Table of Contents: 2)

Speed Saunders / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
Creig Flessel ?
Pencils
Creig Flessel (credited)
Inks
Creig Flessel (credited)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Who is the old gent...
Genre
detective-mystery
Characters
Speed Saunders; Gloomy Jake Jones (introduction); Mike Molona (introduction, villain); the Mayor (introduction, villain)
Synopsis
Speed notices how many hobos and derelicts are on the street. He trails one named Gloomy Jake, and sees him get into a car belonging to racketeer Mike Molona. Disguised as a delivery man he knocks at Molona's door, is recognized by the goon who answers, and knocks him out. Putting on a butler's outfit he hides under the table, where he overhears Jake trying to sell missing tax reports to Molona and the Mayor. Speed confronts them, but is shot, The police break in, and Jake is revealed to be an undercover police investigator.

Indexer Notes

Gardner Fox does not begin writing until issue 18.

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

Sgt. Simp / comic story / 0.67 page (report information)

Script
Whitney Ellsworth
Pencils
Whitney Ellsworth
Inks
Whitney Ellsworth
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Boy, he's doin' at least sixty!
Genre
humor

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

Hohner Harmonicas / advertisement / 0.33 page (report information)

[Mystery of the Wholesale Kidnappings, Part 5] (Table of Contents: 5)

Larry Steele, Private Detective / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely)
Pencils
Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely)
Inks
Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Larry and G-Man, Hatch...
Genre
crime; detective-mystery
Characters
Larry Steele; Dr. Sargoff (introduction, villain); Sonia Sargoff (villain); Dutch (villain); Squinty (villain)
Synopsis
Larry and Hatch have discovered a basement laboratory and are being held at gunpoint by the doctor's wife. Larry overpowers her and they confront the doctor. He claims he will drain the embalming fluid from the four bodies and restore them to health, but Sonia snatches a gun and again holds them prisoner. A boat filled with G-Men have arrived, and the operation is performed successfully. One of the revived bodies turns out to be that of Larry's missing father. The doctor poisons himself in preference to being taken alive.

Death in the Radio-Studio (Table of Contents: 6)

Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Pencils
Sven Elven (credited)
Inks
Sven Elven (credited)
Letters
?

Genre
detective-mystery
Characters
Cosmo; Brenner; Glasser (introduction, villain); Hal Lane (introduction, death)
Synopsis
Singers over the Federal Broadcasting System are being mysteriously killed. Vice-President Brenner asks Cosmo to look into it. He discovers an elaborate device which releases a poison gas into the faces of the singers as they step up to the microphone. The radio monitor Glasser is revealed to be behind the extortion plot.

The Blood of the Lotus [Part 1] (Table of Contents: 7)

Bruce Nelson / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script
Tom Hickey ?
Pencils
Tom Hickey (credited) (signed as TH)
Inks
Tom Hickey (credited) (signed as TH)
Colors
?
Letters
?

Genre
detective-mystery
Characters
Bruce Nelson; Sing Lee (introduction); Lois Woodworth (introduction); Donald Barnes (introduction); Philip Pomeroy (introduction, villain)

Indexer Notes

story does not match writing style of Wheeler-Nicholson

Death at Latitude 30 (Table of Contents: 8)

text story / 5.84 pages (report information)

Script
Whitney Ellsworth
Pencils
Creig Flessel (signed)
Inks
Creig Flessel (signed)
Colors
?
Letters
typeset

Genre
adventure; drama
Characters
Jed Johnson; Lola Mendez; Tim O'Connor

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

American Flyer Trains / advertisement / 0.16 page (report information)

The Johnson Mystery (Table of Contents: 10)

comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script
Russell Cole (credited as Alger)
Pencils
Russell Cole (credited as Alger)
Inks
Russell Cole (credited as Alger)
Colors
?
Letters
?

Genre
detective-mystery

[The Vanishing of R-42] (Table of Contents: 11)

Spy / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script
Jerry Siegel (credited as Jerome Siegel)
Pencils
Joe Shuster (credited)
Inks
Joe Shuster (credited)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Two days ago...
Genre
adventure; spy
Characters
Bart Regan; Sally; Agent R-42 (introduction); Talvanian ambassador (introduction, villain); Talvanian spies (introduction, villain)
Synopsis
Bart and Sally are sent to the Talvanian Embassy in order to help Agent R-42. Bart enters under false pretenses, but hides and locates R-42, who is a captive. The ambassadors try to discover where he has hidden some stolen dispatches. Bart is caught and is about to be shot, when Sally sends a gas bomb through the window and saves both Bart and R-42.

Silver and Lead (Table of Contents: 12)

Buck Marshall, Range Detective / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
Homer Fleming (credited as H. Fleming)
Pencils
Homer Fleming (credited as H. Fleming)
Inks
Homer Fleming (credited as H. Fleming)
Letters
?

Genre
adventure; western-frontier
Characters
Buck Marshall; The Sheriff; Bender (introduction, villain); Latigo (introduction, villain)

Indexer Notes

story in black and white

[The Human Fly] (Table of Contents: 13)

Slam Bradley / comic story / 12.89 pages (report information)

Script
Jerry Siegel (credited as Jerome Siegel)
Pencils
Joe Shuster (credited)
Inks
Joe Shuster (credited)
Colors
?
Letters
?

First Line of Dialogue or Text
Holy smoke!
Genre
adventure; detective-mystery
Characters
Slam Bradley; Shorty; Sgt. Kelly; The Human Fly (introduction, villain); Snoop Dolan (introduction)
Synopsis
Slam demonstrates how a thief might have scaled the outer wall of the skyscraper and stolen jewels from a room on the 14th floor. He later captures "The Human Fly" by pursuing him up the outer wall to the roof.

Indexer Notes

Story title from next issue blurb in previous issue.

A poster on the wall in panel 21 urges readers to join the Junior Federal Men Club, New Adventure Comics. Federal Men was another of Siegel and Shuster's strips.

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

Lionel Trains / advertisement / 0.11 page (report information)

Better Than Ever! (Table of Contents: 15) (Expand) /

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

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 16) (Expand) /

Johnson Smith & Co. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Editing
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
  1. 0. [no title indexed]
    Speed Saunders
  2. 1. Detective Comics
  3. 2. [Case of the Hobo Hero]
    Speed Saunders
  4. 3. ["Boy, he's doin' at least sixty!"]
    Sgt. Simp
  5. 4. [no title indexed]
    Hohner Harmonicas
  6. 5. [Mystery of the Wholesale Kidnappings, Part 5]
    Larry Steele, Private Detective
  7. 6. Death in the Radio-Studio
    Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise
  8. 7. The Blood of the Lotus [Part 1]
    Bruce Nelson
  9. 8. Death at Latitude 30
  10. 9. [no title indexed]
    American Flyer Trains
  11. 10. The Johnson Mystery
  12. 11. [The Vanishing of R-42]
    Spy
  13. 12. Silver and Lead
    Buck Marshall, Range Detective
  14. 13. [The Human Fly]
    Slam Bradley
  15. 14. [no title indexed]
    Lionel Trains
  16. 15. Better Than Ever!
    More Fun Comics
  17. 16. [no title indexed]
    Johnson Smith & Co.
This issue was modified by, among others
  • Katie
  • Keith Chandler
  • Jerry Hillegas (R.I.P.)
  • Bob Hughes
  • R. S. Martin
  • Donald Dale Milne
  • Matthew Peets
  • Tony R. Rose
  • Per Sandell
  • Jim Van Dore