Feature Comics #72

(October 1943)

Crime Goes To College (Table of Contents: 1)

Doll Man / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script:

?

Pencils:

Alex Kotzky

Inks:

John Cassone

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Doll Man [Darrel Dane]; Prof. Whittlesey (first appearance; villain); Gats Grogan (first appearance; villain); Bruiser Bellows (first appearance; villain); unnamed crook (first appearance; villain)

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

Mickey Finn / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script:

Lank Leonard

Pencils:

Lank Leonard

Inks:

Lank Leonard

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

humor

Indexer Notes

strip reprints

[A Week In the Life] (Table of Contents: 3)

Poison Ivy / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script:

Gill Fox

Pencils:

Gill Fox

Inks:

Gill Fox

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

humor

Characters:

Poison Ivy

[The Headhunter] (Table of Contents: 4)

The Spider Widow / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script:

Frank Borth

Pencils:

Rudy Palais

Inks:

Rudy Palais

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

The Spider Widow [Dianne Grayson]; Alice (introduction); Emory (villain, introduction, death)

Synopsis:

Dianne's friends, Alice and Emory, had succumed to headhunters in the jungles of South America. But the true villain nearly killed Dianne, then leapt out a window to his death.

Indexer Notes

The Who's Who verifies that Borth not only created this feature, but also wrote all of the stories.

This is the only Spider Widow story not drawn by Borth. Drafted into the military service, this last story was assigned to Palais.

Last appearance.

[The Mental Attitude] (Table of Contents: 5)

Inferior Man / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script:

Al Stahl

Pencils:

Al Stahl

Inks:

Al Stahl

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

humor; superhero

Characters:

Inferior Man [Courtney Fudd]; The Mental Attitude (villain, introduction); The Mental Attitude's wife (villain?; introduction)

Synopsis:

The Inferior Man faces a sort of hypnotist who orders people to kill themselves right in front of Courtney (and who doesn't seem to have a problem with it).

Indexer Notes

Last appearance

[The Invisibility Formula] (Table of Contents: 6)

Swing Sisson / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script:

Tex Henson

Pencils:

Phil Martin

Inks:

Phil Martin

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

humor; detective-mystery

Characters:

Swing Sisson; Dr. J. P. McNulty; Terry (introduction); un-named Japanese spies (villains, introduction for all)

Synopsis:

Swing has a difficult time dealing with the infamous Dr. McNulty, who has invented an invisibility serum.

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

Lala Palooza / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script:

?

Pencils:

Bernard Dibble

Inks:

Bernard Dibble

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

humor

Characters:

Lala Palooza

Indexer Notes

Writer credit revised from Bernard Dibble to ? by Craig Delich 2013-4-6. The Who's Who does not indicate a writing credit for Dibble on this strip.

[Letter To Stalin] (Table of Contents: 8)

Spin Shaw / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script:

Bob Powell

Pencils:

Bob Powell

Inks:

Bob Powell

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

aviation

Characters:

Spin Shaw [Capt. S. R. "Spin" Shaw]; Maj. Maria Soblesky (introduction); the Japanese (villains)

[The Hand of Rutatutakhmen] (Table of Contents: 9)

Zero, Ghost Detective / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script:

Toni Blum

Pencils:

Witmer Williams

Inks:

Witmer Williams

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

detective-mystery

Characters:

Zero; Prof. Wilcox (introduction); Rutatutakhmen (villain, a mummy, introduction)

Synopsis:

Zero defeats the possessed mummy of the Egyptian pharaoh, Rutatutakhmen.

Indexer Notes

Last appearance.

Toni Blum is the only person identified by the Who's Who as the writer for this feature from 1940-43.

You Win By Losing (Table of Contents: 10)

Perry Scott / text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script:

Robert M. Hyatt ?

Letters:

typeset

Genre:

adventure

Characters:

Perry Scott

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

Big Top / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script:

?

Pencils:

Bernard Dibble

Inks:

Bernard Dibble

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

humor

Indexer Notes

Writer credit revised from Bernard Dibble to ? by Craig Delich 2013-4-6. The Who's Who does not indicate a writing credit for Dibble on this strip.

[Blimpy Goes To the Devil (Almost!)] (Table of Contents: 12)

Blimpy / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script:

Sy Reit

Pencils:

Al Stahl

Inks:

Al Stahl

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Genre:

humor

Characters:

Blimpy [aka Rufus Rastas Sassafrass O'Brain]; Blimpy's Devil (introduction); Blimpy's Angel (introduction); the Devil (villain, a facsimile thereof)

Indexer Notes

Writer revision from Stahl to Reit by Craig Delich 2014-1-16, per the Who's Who.

[Miss Siren] (Table of Contents: 13)

Rusty Ryan and the Boyville Brigadiers / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script:

Paul Gustavson

Pencils:

Paul Gustavson

Inks:

Paul Gustavson

Colors:

?

Letters:

Paul Gustavson

Genre:

adventure; children; spy

Characters:

Rusty Ryan; The Boyville Brigadiers [Alababa; Pierpont Lee]; Louola (introduction); Louola's father (introduction); Miss Siren (villain, introduction); Gorbo (villain, introduction)

Indexer Notes

All Gustavson credits verified and courtesy of Terry Gustafson, son of Paul Gustavson.