Pep Comics
#48
(May 1944)
Archie,
1940 Series
- Price
- 0.10 USD
- Pages
- 60
- Indicia Frequency
- Monthly, except January, April, July and October
- On-sale Date
- 1944-03-05
- Indicia / Colophon Publisher
- M. L. J. Magazines
- Brand
-
An MLJ Magazine
- Editing
- Harry Shorten (editor)
Issue Notes
The on-sale date is from the publication date recorded in the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 2, Periodicals, 1944, New Series, Vol. 39, No. 2.
[no title indexed]
Archie; The Shield / cover / 1 page
- Pencils
- Harry Sahle (signed as Sahle)
- Inks
- Harry Sahle (signed as Sahle)
- Colors
- ?
- Letters
- ?
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Boy! How's that for a catch, Shield?
- Genre
- humor; superhero; teen
- Characters
- Archie Andrews (as a fish); Betty Cooper; Veronica Lodge; The Shield [Joe Higgins]
- Synopsis
- The Shield, Betty, and Veronica catch something unexpected while fishing.
- Reprints
-
in Super Comics (F.E. Howard Publications, 1943 series) #v2#6 (May 1944 ?) [redrawn] -
in Archie Archives (Dark Horse, 2011 series) #3 (November 2011) - in Archie Archives (Dark Horse, 2015 series) #3 - The Double Date and Other Stories (November 2016)
-
- Keywords
- fishing; rowboats; swimsuits
Indexer Notes
Cover redrawn as cover of Super Comics (F.E. Howard, 1943 series) #v2#6.
[no title indexed]
Shield G-Man Club / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Greetings, gang
- Characters
- The Shield [Joe Higgins]
- Synopsis
- Letter from Joe Higgins [aka The Shield] to recycle paper to help the war drive. Also includes coupon to join the Shield G-Man Club.
Indexer Notes
Inside front cover.
The Curse of the Black Monkey
The Shield / comic story / 10 pages
- Genre
- superhero
- Characters
- Dusty [Dustin Simmons]; The Shield [Joe Higgins]; Jinx (a black monkey, introduction); Legs Sardi (villain, introduction, death)
- Synopsis
- The Jinx is a blind black monkey, surviving owner after owner managing to survive until it comes to Dusty, the Shield’s kid partner. The Shield discovers through an anthropologist friend that the monkey is an idol of sorts to the Thuggi cult of India and represents all evil and bad luck to all but the Thuggi. Higgins arranges for the monkey to be sent to Japan.
- Reprints
Indexer Notes
Originally credited "Sy Reit ?", but his style is much cruder and with thinner inklines, as in credited story in Planet Comics #16. This story has much in common with Captain Commando by Clem and Pen, but they are both only credited on ink on this feature. Novick is credited only on pencils at this period, but there is none of his large action panels. The long rectangular faces often with sharp corners can also be found in other stories signed by Clem/Pen.
The Corpse on the Checkerboard
Black Hood / comic story / 9 pages
- Genre
- superhero
- Characters
- The Black Hood [Matthew "Kip" Burland]; Martin; Joshua Martin (introduction, death); Arthur Pendle (villain, introduction)
- Synopsis
- The Black Hood uses the pieces left on a checker board to solve a murder that's meant to look like a suicide.
- Reprints
Indexer Notes
The "Black Hood" feature formerly appeared in Top Notch Laugh Comics (Archie, 1942 Series), but is now moving to Pep Comics. At the same time, it is also appearing in Black Hood Comics (Archie, 1943 Series) uninterrupted.
Originally credited "Bill Vigoda ?", but compared with his signed stories in Shield-Wizard Comics, those faces are much more rounded and with smaller ears. Clem and Pen are both credited on inking this feature, but as it is so similar to the signed Captain Commando story, most probably they made this one too. Compare the rectangular faces.
Camera Bugs
Archie / comic story / 8 pages
- Script
- Ed Goggin (credited as Goggin)
- Pencils
- Harry Sahle (credited as Sahle)
- Inks
- Virginia Drury (credited as Ginger)
- Colors
- ?
- Letters
- ?
- Genre
- teen
- Characters
- Archie Andrews; Fred Andrews; Betty Cooper; Miss Grundy; Jughead Jones; Veronica Lodge; Mr. Weatherbee; Kappy (introduction)
- Synopsis
- Archie gets a new camera and starts taking pictures that get him in trouble.
- Reprints
- in Super Comics (F.E. Howard Publications, 1943 series) #v2#5 (1944)
- in Archie: His First 50 Years (Abbeville Press, 1991 series) (1991)
- in Archie Archives (Dark Horse, 2011 series) #3 (November 2011)
- in The Best of Archie Comics (Archie, 2011 series) #3 ([August] 2013)
- in World of Archie Double Digest (Archie, 2010 series) #50 (July 2015)
- in Archie Archives (Dark Horse, 2015 series) #3 - The Double Date and Other Stories (November 2016)
- in Archie Spotlight Digest: Archie 75th Anniversary Digest (Archie, 2016 series) #5 (February 2017)
-
Special Communique #14
Captain Commando / comic story / 9 pages
- Script
- ?
- Pencils
- Clem Weisbecker (signed as Clem)
- Inks
- Pen Shumaker (signed as Pen)
- Colors
- ?
- Letters
- ?
- Genre
- superhero; war
- Characters
- The Boy Soldiers: Armand De Latour; Flatbush; Billy Grayson; Percy
Captain Commando [John Grayson]; Alastair Morganbilt (introduction, death) - Synopsis
- Alastair Morganbilt joins the army as a prissy gentleman but leaves in a body bag as a fighting man.
- Reprints
Money
promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page
- Synopsis
- Promo to win a subscription to Pep Comics or a War Stamp by writing a letter about what your favourite character is.
[no title indexed]
promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Li'l Chief Bugaboo will appear in Jolly Jingles...
- Characters
- Li'l Chief Bugaboo
- Synopsis
- Promo announcing that Li'l Chief Bugaboo will start appearing in Jolly Jingles Comics as of issue 13.
[no title indexed]
Pep's Puzzle Page / activity / 1 page
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Our little friend, here, was playing cops and robbers...
- Synopsis
- A maze with a copy of Pep Comics at the center, a man holding a sign with scrambled letters and how to draw a face.
- Reprints
- in Black Hood (F.E. Howard Publications, 1944 series) ([Summer 1944?])
-
[no title indexed]
promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page
- Script
- ?
- Pencils
- Bill Vigoda (signed)
- Inks
- Bill Vigoda (signed)
- Colors
- ?
- Letters
- ?
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- I see the thrills of a lifetime in store for you.
- Characters
- The Black Hood [Matthew "Kip" Burland]
- Synopsis
- A witch looks in her crystal ball and sees a new comic called Black Hood now on sale.
[no title indexed]
promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- MLJ Leads the Way
- Synopsis
- A man with an MLJ Logo for a head is the skipper of a rowing crew where other MLJ Comics are the rowers.
Do You Know???
activity / 1 page
- Synopsis
- Four trick questions and answers including how to tell the left bank of a river from the right bank.
- Reprints
- in Black Hood (F.E. Howard Publications, 1944 series) ([Summer 1944?])
-
Prizes for You ~~ Come an' Get 'em
Mr. Jim Thayer / advertisement / 1 page
- Synopsis
- Ad for prizes for delivering Collier's magazine.
[The Jumping Potion]
Catfish Joe / comic story / 5.67 pages
- Script
- Larry Harris ?
- Pencils
- Larry Harris (credited)
- Inks
- Larry Harris (credited)
- Colors
- ?
- Letters
- ?
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Seeking shelter from a storm Joe is knocking...
- Genre
- adventure
- Characters
- Fuddy Goober; Duddy Goober; Catfish Joe
- Synopsis
- Two mad scientists give Catfish Joe pills that make him able to jump really far.
Indexer Notes
This is the final appearance of the "Catfish Joe" feature in Pep Comics. The feature appears next in Laugh Comix (Archie, 1944 Series) #48 (Winter 1944-1945).
This story says it is to be continued in the next issue, but that continuation is in Laugh Comix instead.
[no title indexed]
Animal-Antix / cartoon / 0.33 page
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Bruce Graebner of Cleveland Ohio says he saw a monkey...
- Genre
- non-fiction
- Synopsis
- Three fun facts about animals as submitted by readers. Address says to submit to "Catfish Joe", so presumably this was a sub-feature of that strip.
The Great Genghis Khan
Marco Loco / comic story / 6 pages
- Script
- Carl Hubbell ?
- Pencils
- Carl Hubbell (credited as Hubbell)
- Inks
- Carl Hubbell (credited as Hubbell)
- Colors
- ?
- Letters
- ?
- Genre
- humor; historical
- Characters
- Genghis Khan (introduction); Marco Loco
- Synopsis
- Marco Loco meets Genghis Khan and tries to stop his wedding.
Editing
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
-
0.
["Boy! How's that for a catch, Shield?"]
Archie; The Shield -
1.
["Greetings, gang"]
Shield G-Man Club -
2.
The Curse of the Black Monkey
The Shield -
3.
The Corpse on the Checkerboard
Black Hood -
4.
Camera Bugs
Archie -
5.
Special Communique #14
Captain Commando -
6.
Money
-
7.
["Li'l Chief Bugaboo will appear in Jolly Jingles..."]
-
8.
["Our little friend, here, was playing cops and robbers..."]
Pep's Puzzle Page -
9.
["I see the thrills of a lifetime in store for you."]
-
10.
The Hick Cop
-
11.
["MLJ Leads the Way"]
-
12.
Do You Know???
-
13.
Prizes for You ~~ Come an' Get 'em
Mr. Jim Thayer -
14.
[The Jumping Potion]
Catfish Joe -
15.
["Bruce Graebner of Cleveland Ohio says he saw a monkey..."]
Animal-Antix -
16.
The Great Genghis Khan
Marco Loco
This issue was modified by, among others
- Katie
- Luke A.
- Steinar Ådland
- Henry Andrews
- Dwayne Best
- John Censullo
- Peter Croome
- Craig Delich
- Bill Devine
- Del Gruber
- Michael Hoskin
- Clint Maxwell
- Keith Alan Morgan
- Tony R. Rose
- Matt Tauber
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