Daring Mystery Comics #3

(April 1940)

Conquer Space, Explore the Universe with this Magic Eye 60 Power Telescope (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Brownscope Co. 60 Power Telescope / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[The Escape of Red Corker] (Table of Contents: 2)

Dale of the F.B.I. / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Phil Sturm (signed)

Pencils

Gus Ricca ?

Inks

Gus Ricca ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

crime

Characters

Dale of the F.B.I. (introduction); J. Edgar Hoover; George Dean; Helen Dean; Red Corker (villain; introduction; death)

Synopsis

Red Corker escapes from prison and re-unites with his old gang, having planned dozens of jobs while housed in jail. Ace investigator, Dale, is dispatched from Washington D.C. to Dream Island in San Francisco to try and rescue Helen Dean, daughter of oil magnate George Dean, who has been kidnapped by Corker.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Daring Mystery (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 ([January] 2008)

Indexer Notes

Only appearance.

Prior pencil credit to Joseph Cal Cagno for reasons not clear. Tentative credit to Gus Ricca from the Masterworks.
Chesler shop material.

In the Miracle City (Table of Contents: 3)

Breeze Barton / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Jack Binder

Inks

E. C. Stoner

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure; science fiction

Characters

Breeze Barton (introduction, origin); Ann Barclay (introduction); Zanoba (a scientist, introduction); Mubahn and the demon people (vilains introduction for all)

Synopsis

While on a scouting expedition in 1945 in South Africa, Breeze discovers a Japanese Army marching toward British territory, but is shot down. Making his way to Miracle City, a young girl escorts him to a scientist named Zanoba, who is later captured by the Demon People, and Breeze heads out for the rescue.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Daring Mystery (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 ([January] 2008)

Indexer Notes

Chesler shop material.

[Mystery of the Swabert Mansion] (Table of Contents: 4)

The Purple Mask / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Will Harr (signed)

Pencils

Maurice Gutwirth (signed)

Inks

Maurice Gutwirth (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Purple Mask [Dennis Burton]; Commissioner Herrick; Frederick Swabert (introduction); Renard (villain, introduction, death); his gang (villains, introduction); Mr. Bellos (villain, introduction)

Synopsis

The Purple Mask investigates an attempt to force Frederick Swabert to reveal the hiding place of his father's fortune or risk being killed for refusing to do so.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Daring Mystery (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 ([January] 2008)

Indexer Notes

Dennis Burton appeared as the Laughing Mask in the previous issue, but is the Purple Mask in this issue and the next.

Will Harr's signature is in the splash panel, but Maurice Gutwirth's is in the 3rd-to-last panel of the story.
Chesler shop material.

[The East Side Murders] (Table of Contents: 5)

The Phantom Reporter / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Robert O. Erisman [as ROE] (signed)

Pencils

Sam Cooper (signed)

Inks

Sam Cooper (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Meet the Phantom Reporter!...

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Phantom Reporter [Dick Jones] (introduction); a park commissioner; various corrupt officials (villains, introduction for all); Max; other gangsters (villains, introduction, death for all)

Synopsis

Cub reporter Jones is assigned a case in which seven families on the east side of town have been wantonly beaten, resulting in three deaths. He soon discovers, as the Phantom Reporter, that the Park Commissioner, Police Chief and the publisher of several newspapers were behind it all... each having vested interest in the property on the east side, and hoping that the crime wave would get people to vacate their property so they could pick it up cheaply!

Reprints

• in Mirim (Grande Consórcio Suplementos Nacionais, 1937 series) #352 (12 de julho de 1940)
• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Daring Mystery (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 ([January] 2008)
• in The Twelve (Marvel, 2008 series) #0 ([February] 2008)
• in Daring Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special (Marvel, 2009 series) #1 (November 2009)

Indexer Notes

Only golden age appearance. Next appearance in The Twelve (Marvel, 2008 series) #1.
Probably produced in-house / freelance. Erisman was a pulp editor for Goodman.

Powdersmoke Showdown (Table of Contents: 6)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

James P. Olsen (signed)

Pencils

? (illustration)

Inks

? (illustration)

Colors

? (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Genre

western-frontier

Characters

Bick Deems; Hardwinter Smith; Widow Ames; Sam Hala (death)

Synopsis

Bick and Sam, once the best of friends, get into a shooting match over a widow woman.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Daring Mystery (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 ([January] 2008)

Indexer Notes

Probably produced in-house / freelance.

[The Devil Beast and the Nazis] (Table of Contents: 7)

Trojak, the Tiger Man / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Joe Simon ?; ? (probably at least one other scripter, see notes)

Pencils

Joe Simon (signed, pages 1-9 ?); August Froehlich (pages 10-13 ?) (see notes)

Inks

Joe Simon (signed, pages 1-9 ?); August Froehlich (pages 10-13 ?) (see notes)

Colors

?

Letters

Joe Simon (see notes); ? (see notes)

Genre

jungle

Characters

Trojak; Edith Alton; Balu (the tiger); Sator (a bird); the Nazis (villains)

Synopsis

The native villagers tell Trojak of a strange beast that sneaks into their village every morning and takes one their tribal members away. After dealing with that menace, he then has to rescue Edith from the Nazis.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Daring Mystery (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 ([January] 2008)
• in Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Simon & Kirby Omnibus (Marvel, 2019 series) (2019)

Indexer Notes

The Masterworks reprint credits this to Joe Simon but this is not entirely correct.
Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. identifies August Froehlich as the artist of the last four pages, and sees his work in some of the earlier pages as well.
Henry Andrews is of the opinion that pages 1 and 2 are definitely Simon, but 3-9 are less clear. As for lettering, Simon used a distinctive "W" shape at this time, which is clear on all of pages 1 and 2, which have consistent lettering, but the lettering becomes less consistent for the remainder of the story. Even some of the definite Froehlich pages have what appear to be Simon lettering, although there may be an alternate explanation.

Note that this is right around the time that Simon left Funnies, Inc. to take the job of editor for Fox Publications, and most likely had to drop this assignment before its completion.

Funnies, Inc. material.

[The Origin of Marvex the Super-Robot] (Table of Contents: 8)

Marvex the Super-Robot / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

? (see note)

Inks

Hal Sharp

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure

Characters

Marvex the Super-Robot (introduction, origin); Clara Crandall (introduction); Bolo and other Fifth Dimensional people (villains, introduction, death); Von Crabb (villain, introduction, death)

Synopsis

Weird creatures of the 5th Dimension create a super robot in order to send him to Earth to capture human beings to become slaves in that dimension. But Marvex retaliates against his masters, and, by means of an explosion, is blown out of the 5th Dimension to Earth.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Daring Mystery (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 ([January] 2008)
• in All Select Comics 70th Anniversary Special (Marvel, 2009 series) #1 (September 2009)

Indexer Notes

Art credit revised from Allen Simon? to Hal Sharp by Craig Delich 2009-8-6. Pencil credit revised by Craig Delich 2010-3-20 from Sharp to ?. Sharp is definite inker, but he has a penciler unknown to me at this time.

Chesler shop material.

[Ali Hassan and His Desert Pirates] (Table of Contents: 9)

Captain Strong of the Foreign Legion / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure

Characters

Captain Strong [Bob Strong] (introduction); Major Renald; Ali Hassan and his band of pirates (villains, introduction)

Synopsis

Bob Strong, a member of the French Foreign Legion, is ordered to stop the plundering of caravans by the evil Ali Hassan.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Daring Mystery (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 ([January] 2008)

Indexer Notes

Only golden age appearance. Next appearance in All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes (Marvel, 2011 series) #2.

The Masterworks tentatively credits Harry Fisk, but as of January 2012 Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., via the Timely-Atlas list, states that this is definitely not Fisk. The heads may have been produced by a separate artist from the figures and backgrounds.

Chesler shop material.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 10)

The Medicine Man / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Joe Beck ?

Pencils

Otto Eppers ?

Inks

Otto Eppers ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

It's a sure cure for what ails you!

Genre

humor

Characters

Dr. Hokom

Synopsis

The traveling medicine man is selling his "Palsy Walsy" tonic with no success.

Reprints

• in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Daring Mystery (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 ([January] 2008)

Indexer Notes

Credits listed come from the Marvel Masterworks volume.
Studio source unknown.

Pick Your Prize (Table of Contents: 11) (Expand) /

Lancaster County Seed Co. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

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

Peck Brothers "Little Man" Printing Press / advertisement / 1 page (report information)