Chesler / Dynamic

1937 - 1946
Country:
United States
Indicia / Colophon Publishers:
16
Brand Groups:
3
Brand Emblems in Use:
6
Total Number of Series:
20
Total Number of Issues:
75
Show Covers by Month:
using on-sale date or using publication date
Show Issues by Month:
using on-sale date or using publication date
Creator Checklist:
via linked story records
Notes:
Harry "A" Chesler (the "A" was not a proper initial- supposedly Chesler claimed it stood for "Anything") was a comic book packager and publisher. He operated a packaging studio more or less continuously from the mid-30s through 1953, and at times also operated as a publisher.

He first published two oversize comics, Star Comics and Star Ranger, as Chesler Publications in 1937. He sold this venture to Ultem Publications, but continued to produce the comics (now normal sized) as well as two additional titles that Ultem had acquired. All of Ultem's comics were entirely put together by Chesler and continued the trade dress of his early books.

After Ultem sold its titles to Centaur, Chesler spent the next several years packaging comics for other publishers and selling them individual stories. One such comic was a 1938 giveaway for Cocomalt, which is included here because it has no other publishing information beyond Chesler's copyright. While some sources list Chesler as publishing or co-owning early Quality Comics issues, this is not correct. At most, he supplied them with a few stories.

In 1941 Chesler returned as a publisher with Dynamic Publications, Inc. From this point on, most of Chesler's comics would be branded with a logo proclaiming them the "World's Greatest Comics". In 1941-1942, this also identified each issue as "A Dynamic Publication". After just over half a year, the U. S. was ramping up its involvement in World War II, and Dynamic ceased publishing, producing a few books through surrogates.

The surrogate activity picks up dramatically in 1944, leading into Chesler's third major wave of publishing. In place of "A Dynamic Publication" these had "Harry "A" Chesler, Jr.". Junior, however, was the son of Chesler the publisher, a point of much confusion for latter-day comics researchers. This period lasted through 1946, after which the ongoing titles were continued in Canada by Superior Publishers through early 1948. Chesler continued to run his art shop, but no longer published his own comics after 1946.

Related Publishers:
Ultem: http://www.comics.org/publisher/7631/
Superior Publishers Limited: http://www.comics.org/publisher/223/
Series Year Issues Covers Published
Bulls Eye Comics [m] 1944 1 issues (1 indexed) Gallery 1944
Captain Battle Comics [m] 1942 1 issues (1 indexed) Gallery Winter 1942
Carnival Comics [m] 1945 1 issues (1 indexed) Gallery 1945
Cocomalt Big Book of Comics [m] 1938 1 issues (1 indexed) Gallery [Spring] 1938
Kayo Comics [m] 1945 1 issues (1 indexed) Gallery March 1945
Komik Pages [m] 1945 1 issues (1 indexed) Gallery April 1945
Scoop Comics [m] 1944 1 issues (1 indexed) Gallery 1944
Skyrocket Comics [m] 1944 1 issues (1 indexed) Gallery [1944]
Snap Comics [m] 1944 1 issues (1 indexed) Gallery 1944
Jest Comics [m] 1944 2 issues (2 indexed) Gallery [circa 1944] - [circa 1945]
Syndicate Features [m] 1937 5 issues (2 indexed) Have 2 (Need 3) 1937 - December 15, 1937
Major Victory Comics [m] 1944 3 issues (3 indexed) Gallery [1944] - Summer 1945
Scoop Comics [m] 1941 3 issues (3 indexed) Gallery November 1941 - March 1942
Spotlight Comics [m] 1944 3 issues (3 indexed) Gallery November 1944 - March 1945
Yankee Comics [m] 1941 4 issues (4 indexed) Gallery September 1941 - March 1942
Red Seal Comics [m] 1945 5 issues (5 indexed) Gallery October 1945 - October 1946
Star Comics [m] 1937 6 issues (6 indexed) Gallery February 1937 - September 1937
Star Ranger [m] 1937 6 issues (6 indexed) Gallery February 1937 - September 1937
Punch Comics [m] 1941 13 issues (13 indexed) Gallery December 1941 - October 1946
Dynamic Comics [m] 1941 16 issues (16 indexed) Gallery October 1941 - October 1946

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