Pep Comics
Encyclopedia
Pep Comics is the name of an American
comic book
anthology series published by the Archie Comics
predecessor MLJ Magazines Inc.
(commonly known as MLJ Comics) during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books
. The title continued under the Archie Comics
imprint for a total of 411 issues until March 1987
.
Pep Comics was the comics title that introduced the superhero character The Shield
, the first of the super-patriotic heroes with a costume based on a national flag (pre-dating Captain America
by over a year), The Comet
, who was the first superhero to die, and Archie Andrews
, who eventually became the main focus of the company's extensive range of publications.
(Nov. 1939) and Top-Notch Comics
(Dec. 1939). The format of Pep Comics was very similar to the previous titles; 64 pages of short strips, initially featuring a mixture of science-fiction stories such as "The Queen of Diamonds" (#1-12) by Lin Streeter (renamed "The Rocket and the Queen of Diamonds" in #2 (Feb. 1940)), about a John Carter of Mars
-like hero trapped on another planet, the crime fighting story "The Press Guardian" (#1-11) by Jack Binder (comics)
and Mort Meskin
and later Abner Sundell and Meskin (retitled "Perry Chase, The Press Guardian" from #7), and three adventure tales, "Sergeant Boyle" by George Biro, about a soldier fighting with the British
in Europe
as the U.S.A.
was not yet involved in World War II
, "The Midshipman", (#1-16) "Lee Sampson, Midshipman" from #6 (July 1940), following Lee Sampson through Navy College to his Graduation, and an adventure based on boxing, "Kayo Ward" (#1-28) by Phil Sturm. The last was similar to "The St Louis Kid" in Top-Notch Comics, both characters progressing through the boxing championships hierarchy throughout their series. Two short humor strips also featured in the first issue, "Jocko" and "Animal Antics", both by Dick Ryan, while "Buttonhead" by Quincy appeared in #2-5.
Pep Comics also starred superheroes and costumed characters, led by cover star and lead feature "The Shield - G-Man Extraordinary" by Harry Shorten and Irv Novick
, a character who would remain in the title throughout the MLJ imprint and beyond. The Shield was mainly notable for being the first of the 'patriotically themed superheroes' who wore costumes based on the U.S. flag, 15 months before Captain America
was introduced in Captain America #1 (March 1941). "The Comet" by Jack Cole
ran for the first 17 issues alongside The Shield. The Shield and later The Hangman and Black Hood also featured in single page text stories during the MLJ years of the title; all comic books did this through the early 1960s to satisfy U.S. Postal Service requirements for magazine rates. The Shield also headed Pep Comics readers club from #15 (May 1941) when the 'Shield G-Man Club' was introduced to the inside front cover of every issue until The Shield finished in #65 (Jan. 1948). Although later to advertise other MLJ titles, during the war years each 'bulletin' was largely filled with patriotic messages, details of local fan-clubs and new members information; all written as if a personal message from The Shield and his sidekick Dusty.
One unusual character who featured in early issues was "Fu Chang, International Detective", whose weird detective adventure stories were in issues #1-11. Written by Joe Blair, with art by Jim Streeter, Fu Chang is a 'Chinese scholar and detective, heir to the magic secrets of Aladdin who uses them only to bring peace and good-will to the people of his Chinatown' in stories liberally sprinkled with cod-Oriental talk, evil dragon criminals and an aura of mysticism. Another was "Bentley of Scotland Yard" - a mystery detective story originally by artist Sam Cooper and later Paul Reinman
. Each story was in a horror/fantasy vein, with Bentley up against creatures such as a werewolf in #1, a monster in a lake in #2, and hunchbacks, devils and vampires through the first 41 issues of Pep Comics. These would always turn out to be hoaxes, usually perpetrated to cover up a murder or for money or other gain. Each story ended with the same theme - a 'Bentley knows who ...' panel at the end of the penultimate page listing the suspects and inviting the reader to guess who committed the crime, followed by the revealing of the killer and the modus operandi on the final page.
With issue #11 (Jan. 1941), "Fu Chang, International Detective", "Perry Chase, The Press Guardian" and "The Rocket and the Queen of Diamonds" ended. To replace them, issue #12 (Feb. 1941) introduced two new characters. "Danny in Wonderland", a surreal fairy-tale adventure by Harry Shorten and Lin Streeter with stories loosely based on fairy tales such as "Cinderella
", "Pinoccio" and The "Little Mermaid" (#12-39), while Ted Tyler, "The Fireball" (#12-20), 'sworn enemy of all who use fire for evil purposes' was a fireman who gained flame powers from a mixture of chemicals while fighting an arson attack. "Lucky Larson", a test pilot filled the third place (#13-15). Further major changes came with the next two issues. "Lee Sampson, Midshipman" ended in #16 (June 1941); and Madame Satan was introduced in the same issue. Madame Satan, a dead villainess with a green face and the kiss of death, 'the scourge of man, ready to go forth and leave a trail of misery and suffering in her wake' actually first appeared on the cover of the previous issue #15 (May 1941), she was written by Abner Sundell and initially drawn by Harry Lucey, although Joe Blair wrote her later adventures.
Next a superhero died for the first time in comics history, issue #17 (July 1941). "The Comet" series ended with him being shot by gangsters while rescuing his brother in the first tale of "The Hangman" by Cliff Campbell. Hangman took The Comet's place in Pep Comics from that issue, and also featured on every cover from #17-42. Issue #17 also saw "Kayo Ward" become a hobo after being terribly disfigured by a fire in the church he is getting married in.
Madame Satan ended in issue #21 (Nov. 1941), her place taken in #22 (Dec. 1941) by the first appearance of one of the biggest-selling comics characters of the 20th century, Archie Andrews
, and what would become the core of his friends Jughead
and Betty Cooper
, whose family has just moved into the neighbourhood, written by Vic Bloome and drawn by Bob Montana. Over the next few years humor strips would slowly ease the costumed heroes and adventure tales out of Pep Comics, and Archie would become Pep Comics and the Archie Comics imprint most popular character, but for now Archie was a six-page strip that was not even mentioned on the cover.
Issue #26 (April 1942) had a 'Remember Pearl Harbor
' cover, with The Shield, Dusty and The Hangman ringing the Liberty Bell
while a Japan
ese and a German
soldier were tied up in the bell-rope. The patriotism of The Shield G-Man Club was added to by the introduction of The Young Soldiers of America Club in #30 (Aug. 1942), to which membership was gained by buying war savings stamps
and sending in a pledge form printed in Pep Comics. Each month, Pep Comics printed lists of readers who had done so. Continuing the war emphasis, "Captain Commando and the Boy Soldiers" also began in #30, following a teaser advertisement in #29 (July 1942). On a lighter note, issue #31 (Sept. 1942) had "Sergeant Boyle" visiting the MLJ offices after he had failed to send them details of his latest exploits for them to publish, while #34 (Nov. 1942) contained a one page text piece, 'Meet the Editor', about Harry Shorten. Artist Gil Kane's
first work was on the "Bentley of Scotland Yard" story 'The Case of the Laughing Corpse' in Pep Comics #38 (April 1943)
A new emphasis on humor grew from issue #40 (July 1943), just after Pep Comics went to 10 issues a year. "Sergeant Boyle" ended in #39 (June 1943), as did "Danny in Wonderland". They were replaced by a Li'l Abner
parody, "Catfish Joe" (#40-48) and "Li'l Chief Bugaboo" (#40-47); "Bentley of Scotland Yard" ended in #41 (August 1943), replaced by the slapstick voyages of "Marco Loco, Adventurer" (#42-52) by Carl Hubbell. Even The Shield was presented with two offbeat humor stories in #41-42 as he dealt with the chaotic antics of an alien, 'Monstro the Martian', although his stories did return to their darker side after that. This humor was also reflected on the covers, as from #41 The Shield shared the spotlight with Archie Andrews, appearing mainly as a background stooge for Archie's japes. The Hangman ended in #47 (March 1944), and although he was replaced by another costumed character, Black Hood in #48 (April 1944), the humor continued to take over. The Shield last appeared on a cover with #50 (September 1944), after which Archie featured on every cover until the end of the series in 1987. The publishing frequency dropped to quarterly between 1944-1946. Issue #52 (March 1945), saw the arrival of Harry Sahle's
dizzy blond "Suzie", who could never keep a job long.
Archie's rise in popularity continued, and Pep Comics was used to further this. Issue #42s 'G-Man Club' page (Sept.1943) was all about Archie having a regular radio spot on the National Broadcasting System
, and the cover announced in a large banner across the page 'Archie Talks - Tune in Your Radio over the Blue Network' while depicting The Shield and Hangman in blue shadows watching Archie recording in the studio. By #49 (March 1945), the first 52-page issue, the cover was bannered 'Starring Archie Andrews' and he became the lead story from then on. Except for appearances in #59 and #60 (both from 1946), the recently introduced Black Hood disappeared after issue #51 (Dec. 1944), leaving only The Shield as a non-humor story. Issue #53 (June 1955) began a family strip "The Twiddles" by Bill Woggon
, "Pokey Oakey" (#53-55) who had previously been in Top-Notch Comics and "Willie the Wise-Guy" by Red Holmdale. By #56 (March 1946) the cover sported the legend 'An Archie magazine' and for the first time there was no MLJ triangle; in the following issue, #57 (June 1946), the indicia read 'Archie Comics Publications Inc', and the MLJ era of Pep Comics was over.
The Pin-Up Queen" a model whose stories were filled with costumes designed by readers (who were given namechecks in the issue their designs appeared in) replaced "Suzie", and Li'l Jinx
arrived in #62 (July 1947)- replacing Black Hood who had made two final appearances in #59-60 and revealed his identity to the world, becoming a detective. All these humor strips would continue in Pep Comics for years, Katy Keene running until #154, although Bill Woggon had stopped drawing her with #126, and Li'l Jinx staying to the end.
"The Original Shield and Dusty the Boy Detective" finally ended their run in Pep Comics in #65 (January 1948), after two reprint stories in the last two issues, after which Pep Comics became an all-humor title. The "G-Man Club" became "The Archie Club" the next issue.
Published details of sales of Pep Comics in the 1960s from the 'Statement of Circulation' show that average sales of the title were between 269,504 in 1960 and 292,572 in 1969. During the 1970s this dropped to between 231,963 and 100,827, although publication frequency crept up to nine times a year by 1964, after which Pep Comics returned to monthly publication.
Issues #218 (June 1968) and #227 (March 1969) featured Archie and his friends as pop band 'The Archies' on the covers, a fictional band which was later put together for real - also as The Archies
.
There was a minor revival in superhero characters between #150 (Oct. 1961) and #160 (Jan. 1963), when Archie Comics included a short run of stories featuring their recent superheroes The Fly, Flygirl and The Jaguar in loose rotation, plus one extra Jaguar story in #168 (January 1964). In addition, issue #393 (Mar. 1984) contained an appearance by Martin Greim's funny animal
character Thunderbunny, when Archie Comics briefly licensed the character.
Pep Comics achieved their 200th issue in October 1966, their 300th in April 1975, and their 400th in May 1985 - an issue which included cameos of all the Archie Comics staff. However, by then sales had slipped from their previous levels to 55,164. The series lasted until #411 (Mar 1987). A number of the "Archie Giant Series Magazines" in the late 1980s and early 1990s carried the Pep Comics name, but it has not been revived since. However, in August 2009 Michael Uslan
announced that five one-off comics reviving the Archie-as-superhero 'Pureheart' concept would be released in 2010, one of those titles being Pep Comics. A special one-shot 'Pep Comics featuring Betty and Veronica' was published for the May 2011 Free Comic Book Day.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
anthology series published by the Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
predecessor MLJ Magazines Inc.
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
(commonly known as MLJ Comics) during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
. The title continued under the Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
imprint for a total of 411 issues until March 1987
1987 in comics
- Year overall :* Independent publishers continue to enter the comics arena, including Amazing, CFW Enterprises, Imperial Comics, Matrix Graphic Series, New Comics Group, and Rebel Studios...
.
Pep Comics was the comics title that introduced the superhero character The Shield
The Shield (Archie)
The Shield is the name of several fictional patriotic superheroes created by MLJ . The Shield has the distinction of being one of the first superheroes with a costume based upon the United States flag, appearing fourteen months before Captain America.The name was used by MLJ/Archie for 3 characters...
, the first of the super-patriotic heroes with a costume based on a national flag (pre-dating Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
by over a year), The Comet
The Comet (Archie)
The Comet was a superhero who first appeared in Pep Comics #1 in January, 1940. Possibly the first superhero killed in the line of duty, he died in issue #17 , which also introduced his brother, a brutal hero called the Hangman who would use the projected image of a scaffold and descriptions of...
, who was the first superhero to die, and Archie Andrews
Archie Andrews (comics)
Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Vic Bloom and Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, as well as the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show, and Archie's Weird Mysteries.-Character and...
, who eventually became the main focus of the company's extensive range of publications.
Pep Comics (MLJ) (1940 - 1945)
Pep Comics was the third anthology comic published by MLJ Magazines Inc., the precursor to what would become the publisher Archie Comics. The series was edited by Abner Sundell until issues #22-23 after which Harry Shorten took the reins until issue #65 (Jan. 1948). The first issue was launched in January 1940, following Blue Ribbon ComicsBlue Ribbon Comics
- Volume 2 : Archie Comics :The second series to carry the Blue Ribbon Comics name was initially published by the Archie Comics imprint Red Circle Comics. It ran for 14 issues cover-dated November 1983 to December 1984...
(Nov. 1939) and Top-Notch Comics
Top-Notch Comics
- Top-Notch Laugh Comics/Laugh Comix :In a change of editorial direction, from issue #28 the story emphasis changed to humor strips and the title became Top-Notch Laugh Comics to reflect this. All the long-running adventure series from Top-Notch Comics ended between issue #24 - Top-Notch Laugh...
(Dec. 1939). The format of Pep Comics was very similar to the previous titles; 64 pages of short strips, initially featuring a mixture of science-fiction stories such as "The Queen of Diamonds" (#1-12) by Lin Streeter (renamed "The Rocket and the Queen of Diamonds" in #2 (Feb. 1940)), about a John Carter of Mars
Barsoom
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote close to 100 action adventure stories in various genres in the first half of the 20th century, and is now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan...
-like hero trapped on another planet, the crime fighting story "The Press Guardian" (#1-11) by Jack Binder (comics)
Jack Binder (comics)
Jack Binder was a Golden Age comics creator and art packager. A fine artist by education, Binder had a prolific comics career that lasted from 1937–1946, then continued from "semi-retirement" until 1953. He was the creator of the original comic book Daredevil, for Lev Gleason Publications...
and Mort Meskin
Mort Meskin
Morton "Mort" Meskin was a prolific American comic book artist best-known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of comic books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age.-Early life:...
and later Abner Sundell and Meskin (retitled "Perry Chase, The Press Guardian" from #7), and three adventure tales, "Sergeant Boyle" by George Biro, about a soldier fighting with the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as the U.S.A.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was not yet involved in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, "The Midshipman", (#1-16) "Lee Sampson, Midshipman" from #6 (July 1940), following Lee Sampson through Navy College to his Graduation, and an adventure based on boxing, "Kayo Ward" (#1-28) by Phil Sturm. The last was similar to "The St Louis Kid" in Top-Notch Comics, both characters progressing through the boxing championships hierarchy throughout their series. Two short humor strips also featured in the first issue, "Jocko" and "Animal Antics", both by Dick Ryan, while "Buttonhead" by Quincy appeared in #2-5.
Pep Comics also starred superheroes and costumed characters, led by cover star and lead feature "The Shield - G-Man Extraordinary" by Harry Shorten and Irv Novick
Irv Novick
Irv Novick was an American comic book artist who worked almost continuously from 1939 until the late 1990s.-Biography:...
, a character who would remain in the title throughout the MLJ imprint and beyond. The Shield was mainly notable for being the first of the 'patriotically themed superheroes' who wore costumes based on the U.S. flag, 15 months before Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
was introduced in Captain America #1 (March 1941). "The Comet" by Jack Cole
Jack Cole (artist)
Jack Ralph Cole was an American comic book artist and Playboy magazine cartoonist best known for creating the comedic superhero Plastic Man....
ran for the first 17 issues alongside The Shield. The Shield and later The Hangman and Black Hood also featured in single page text stories during the MLJ years of the title; all comic books did this through the early 1960s to satisfy U.S. Postal Service requirements for magazine rates. The Shield also headed Pep Comics readers club from #15 (May 1941) when the 'Shield G-Man Club' was introduced to the inside front cover of every issue until The Shield finished in #65 (Jan. 1948). Although later to advertise other MLJ titles, during the war years each 'bulletin' was largely filled with patriotic messages, details of local fan-clubs and new members information; all written as if a personal message from The Shield and his sidekick Dusty.
One unusual character who featured in early issues was "Fu Chang, International Detective", whose weird detective adventure stories were in issues #1-11. Written by Joe Blair, with art by Jim Streeter, Fu Chang is a 'Chinese scholar and detective, heir to the magic secrets of Aladdin who uses them only to bring peace and good-will to the people of his Chinatown' in stories liberally sprinkled with cod-Oriental talk, evil dragon criminals and an aura of mysticism. Another was "Bentley of Scotland Yard" - a mystery detective story originally by artist Sam Cooper and later Paul Reinman
Paul Reinman
Paul J. Reinman was an American comic book artist best known as one of industry legend's Jack Kirby's frequent inkers during what comics fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books...
. Each story was in a horror/fantasy vein, with Bentley up against creatures such as a werewolf in #1, a monster in a lake in #2, and hunchbacks, devils and vampires through the first 41 issues of Pep Comics. These would always turn out to be hoaxes, usually perpetrated to cover up a murder or for money or other gain. Each story ended with the same theme - a 'Bentley knows who ...' panel at the end of the penultimate page listing the suspects and inviting the reader to guess who committed the crime, followed by the revealing of the killer and the modus operandi on the final page.
With issue #11 (Jan. 1941), "Fu Chang, International Detective", "Perry Chase, The Press Guardian" and "The Rocket and the Queen of Diamonds" ended. To replace them, issue #12 (Feb. 1941) introduced two new characters. "Danny in Wonderland", a surreal fairy-tale adventure by Harry Shorten and Lin Streeter with stories loosely based on fairy tales such as "Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
", "Pinoccio" and The "Little Mermaid" (#12-39), while Ted Tyler, "The Fireball" (#12-20), 'sworn enemy of all who use fire for evil purposes' was a fireman who gained flame powers from a mixture of chemicals while fighting an arson attack. "Lucky Larson", a test pilot filled the third place (#13-15). Further major changes came with the next two issues. "Lee Sampson, Midshipman" ended in #16 (June 1941); and Madame Satan was introduced in the same issue. Madame Satan, a dead villainess with a green face and the kiss of death, 'the scourge of man, ready to go forth and leave a trail of misery and suffering in her wake' actually first appeared on the cover of the previous issue #15 (May 1941), she was written by Abner Sundell and initially drawn by Harry Lucey, although Joe Blair wrote her later adventures.
Next a superhero died for the first time in comics history, issue #17 (July 1941). "The Comet" series ended with him being shot by gangsters while rescuing his brother in the first tale of "The Hangman" by Cliff Campbell. Hangman took The Comet's place in Pep Comics from that issue, and also featured on every cover from #17-42. Issue #17 also saw "Kayo Ward" become a hobo after being terribly disfigured by a fire in the church he is getting married in.
Madame Satan ended in issue #21 (Nov. 1941), her place taken in #22 (Dec. 1941) by the first appearance of one of the biggest-selling comics characters of the 20th century, Archie Andrews
Archie Andrews (comics)
Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Vic Bloom and Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, as well as the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show, and Archie's Weird Mysteries.-Character and...
, and what would become the core of his friends Jughead
Jughead Jones
Jughead Jones is a fictional character in Archie Comics who first appeared in the comic in December 1941. He is the son of Forsythe II; although in one of the early Archie newspaper comic strips, he himself is identified as Forsythe Van Jones II...
and Betty Cooper
Betty Cooper
Betty Cooper is a fictional character of Archie Comics, the blonde-haired daughter of Hal and Alice Cooper. Betty likes sports, and is also a cheerleader. Betty was created in December 1941. Her older brother Chic Cooper and older sister Polly Cooper have both moved out of Riverdale, their hometown...
, whose family has just moved into the neighbourhood, written by Vic Bloome and drawn by Bob Montana. Over the next few years humor strips would slowly ease the costumed heroes and adventure tales out of Pep Comics, and Archie would become Pep Comics and the Archie Comics imprint most popular character, but for now Archie was a six-page strip that was not even mentioned on the cover.
Issue #26 (April 1942) had a 'Remember Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
' cover, with The Shield, Dusty and The Hangman ringing the Liberty Bell
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...
while a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese and a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
soldier were tied up in the bell-rope. The patriotism of The Shield G-Man Club was added to by the introduction of The Young Soldiers of America Club in #30 (Aug. 1942), to which membership was gained by buying war savings stamps
War savings stamps
The war savings stamp was a patriotic program used by the United States Treasury to help fund participation in World War I and World War II, and was principally aimed at school-age children. Savings stamps were available in ten cent and twenty-five cent versions, and provided interest...
and sending in a pledge form printed in Pep Comics. Each month, Pep Comics printed lists of readers who had done so. Continuing the war emphasis, "Captain Commando and the Boy Soldiers" also began in #30, following a teaser advertisement in #29 (July 1942). On a lighter note, issue #31 (Sept. 1942) had "Sergeant Boyle" visiting the MLJ offices after he had failed to send them details of his latest exploits for them to publish, while #34 (Nov. 1942) contained a one page text piece, 'Meet the Editor', about Harry Shorten. Artist Gil Kane's
Gil Kane
Eli Katz who worked under the name Gil Kane and in one instance Scott Edward, was a comic book artist whose career spanned the 1940s to 1990s and every major comics company and character.Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, and...
first work was on the "Bentley of Scotland Yard" story 'The Case of the Laughing Corpse' in Pep Comics #38 (April 1943)
A new emphasis on humor grew from issue #40 (July 1943), just after Pep Comics went to 10 issues a year. "Sergeant Boyle" ended in #39 (June 1943), as did "Danny in Wonderland". They were replaced by a Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
parody, "Catfish Joe" (#40-48) and "Li'l Chief Bugaboo" (#40-47); "Bentley of Scotland Yard" ended in #41 (August 1943), replaced by the slapstick voyages of "Marco Loco, Adventurer" (#42-52) by Carl Hubbell. Even The Shield was presented with two offbeat humor stories in #41-42 as he dealt with the chaotic antics of an alien, 'Monstro the Martian', although his stories did return to their darker side after that. This humor was also reflected on the covers, as from #41 The Shield shared the spotlight with Archie Andrews, appearing mainly as a background stooge for Archie's japes. The Hangman ended in #47 (March 1944), and although he was replaced by another costumed character, Black Hood in #48 (April 1944), the humor continued to take over. The Shield last appeared on a cover with #50 (September 1944), after which Archie featured on every cover until the end of the series in 1987. The publishing frequency dropped to quarterly between 1944-1946. Issue #52 (March 1945), saw the arrival of Harry Sahle's
Harry Sahle
Harry Frank Sahle was an American comic book artist who drew for such publishers as Archie Comics, Quality Comics and the Marvel Comics precursor company Timely Comics during the 1930s-1940s period historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books.In 1940, with writer George Kapitan, Sahle...
dizzy blond "Suzie", who could never keep a job long.
Archie's rise in popularity continued, and Pep Comics was used to further this. Issue #42s 'G-Man Club' page (Sept.1943) was all about Archie having a regular radio spot on the National Broadcasting System
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, and the cover announced in a large banner across the page 'Archie Talks - Tune in Your Radio over the Blue Network' while depicting The Shield and Hangman in blue shadows watching Archie recording in the studio. By #49 (March 1945), the first 52-page issue, the cover was bannered 'Starring Archie Andrews' and he became the lead story from then on. Except for appearances in #59 and #60 (both from 1946), the recently introduced Black Hood disappeared after issue #51 (Dec. 1944), leaving only The Shield as a non-humor story. Issue #53 (June 1955) began a family strip "The Twiddles" by Bill Woggon
Bill Woggon
William Woggon was an American cartoonist who created the comic book Katy Keene.Woggon was born the fourth of six children in Toledo, Ohio, and he grew up there. Fascinated by an art correspondence course that his older brother Elmer Woggon was taking, he became interested in drawing...
, "Pokey Oakey" (#53-55) who had previously been in Top-Notch Comics and "Willie the Wise-Guy" by Red Holmdale. By #56 (March 1946) the cover sported the legend 'An Archie magazine' and for the first time there was no MLJ triangle; in the following issue, #57 (June 1946), the indicia read 'Archie Comics Publications Inc', and the MLJ era of Pep Comics was over.
Featured series: Pep Comics (MLJ)
- "The Shield" - superhero (#1-65) 'with Dusty the spectacular boy detective'
- "The Comet" - superhero (#1-16)
- "Sergeant Boyle" - war adventure (#1-39)
- "Queen of Diamonds" - science fiction (#1-#12)
- "Fu Chang, International Detective" - adventure (#1-11)
- "Bentley of Scotland Yard" - mystery detective (#1-41)
- "The Press Guardian" - (#1-11) "Perry Chase, The Press Guardian" from #7
- "The Midshipman" - war adventure (#1-16) "Lee Sampson, Midshipman" from #6-16
- "Kayo Ward" - boxing adventure (#1-28)
- "Buttonhead" - humor (#2-5) "Prince Buttonhead" in #5
- "Danny in Wonderland" - surreal fantasy adventure (#12-39)
- "The Fireball" - superhero (#12-20)
- "Lucky Larson" - adventure (#13-15)
- "Madame Satan" -supervillain (#16-21)
- "The Hangman" - superhero (#17-47)
- "Archie" - humor (#22-411)
- "Jolly Roger and his Sky Pirates" - war adventure (#21-27)
- "Wings Johnson of Air Patrol" - #28 from Top-Notch ComicsTop-Notch Comics- Top-Notch Laugh Comics/Laugh Comix :In a change of editorial direction, from issue #28 the story emphasis changed to humor strips and the title became Top-Notch Laugh Comics to reflect this. All the long-running adventure series from Top-Notch Comics ended between issue #24 - Top-Notch Laugh...
- "Captain Commando and the Boy Soldiers" - costumed hero/war (#30-52, 54, 56)
- "Catfish Joe" - humor (#40-48)
- "Lil Chief Bugaboo" - humor (#40-47)
- "Marco Loco, Adventurer" - humor (#42-52)
- "Black Hood" - superhero (#48-51, 59, 60 and text stories in many issues)
- "Suzie" - humor (#52-56)
- "The Twiddles" - humor (#53-56)
- "Pokey Oakey" - humor (#53-55)
- "Willie the Wise-Guy" - humor (#53-56)
Pep Comics (Archie) (1945 - )
With the change of Pep Comics statement of ownership from MLJ to Archie Publications Inc. from issue #57 (June 1946), the transfer from adventure and humor titles accelerated on a publication frequency that varied from 5 issues a year in 1947 to bi-monthly the following year. Top-Notch Comics ongoing series "Dotty and Ditto" had transferred to Pep Comics with issue #57 (June 1966), although it ended in #58 (with a guest appearance in Dotty's dreams by the Shield, Archie and Suzie). New long-running series began, "Gloomy Gus the Homeless Ghost" in #59 (Dec. 1946), Bill Woggon's "Katy KeeneKaty Keene
Katy Keene, a character created by Bill Woggon, has appeared in several comic book series published by Archie Comics since 1945. She is a model/actress/singer known as America's Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions....
The Pin-Up Queen" a model whose stories were filled with costumes designed by readers (who were given namechecks in the issue their designs appeared in) replaced "Suzie", and Li'l Jinx
Li'l Jinx
Li'l Jinx is a fictional comic book character published by Archie Comics since the late 1940s. A high-spirited little girl who has humorous misadventures with her neighborhood friends, she was created by cartoonist Joe Edwards, first appearing in Pep Comics # 62 .She appeared in backup featurettes...
arrived in #62 (July 1947)- replacing Black Hood who had made two final appearances in #59-60 and revealed his identity to the world, becoming a detective. All these humor strips would continue in Pep Comics for years, Katy Keene running until #154, although Bill Woggon had stopped drawing her with #126, and Li'l Jinx staying to the end.
"The Original Shield and Dusty the Boy Detective" finally ended their run in Pep Comics in #65 (January 1948), after two reprint stories in the last two issues, after which Pep Comics became an all-humor title. The "G-Man Club" became "The Archie Club" the next issue.
Published details of sales of Pep Comics in the 1960s from the 'Statement of Circulation' show that average sales of the title were between 269,504 in 1960 and 292,572 in 1969. During the 1970s this dropped to between 231,963 and 100,827, although publication frequency crept up to nine times a year by 1964, after which Pep Comics returned to monthly publication.
Issues #218 (June 1968) and #227 (March 1969) featured Archie and his friends as pop band 'The Archies' on the covers, a fictional band which was later put together for real - also as The Archies
The Archies
The Archies are a garage band founded by Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead Jones, a group of adolescent fictional characters of the Archie universe, in the context of the animated TV series, The Archie Show...
.
There was a minor revival in superhero characters between #150 (Oct. 1961) and #160 (Jan. 1963), when Archie Comics included a short run of stories featuring their recent superheroes The Fly, Flygirl and The Jaguar in loose rotation, plus one extra Jaguar story in #168 (January 1964). In addition, issue #393 (Mar. 1984) contained an appearance by Martin Greim's funny animal
Funny animal
Funny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals, with anthropomorphic personality traits. The characters themselves may also be called funny animals...
character Thunderbunny, when Archie Comics briefly licensed the character.
Pep Comics achieved their 200th issue in October 1966, their 300th in April 1975, and their 400th in May 1985 - an issue which included cameos of all the Archie Comics staff. However, by then sales had slipped from their previous levels to 55,164. The series lasted until #411 (Mar 1987). A number of the "Archie Giant Series Magazines" in the late 1980s and early 1990s carried the Pep Comics name, but it has not been revived since. However, in August 2009 Michael Uslan
Michael Uslan
Michael E. Uslan is the originator of the Batman movies and was the first instructor to teach "Comic Book Folklore" at an accredited university...
announced that five one-off comics reviving the Archie-as-superhero 'Pureheart' concept would be released in 2010, one of those titles being Pep Comics. A special one-shot 'Pep Comics featuring Betty and Veronica' was published for the May 2011 Free Comic Book Day.
Featured series: Pep Comics (Archie)
- "The Shield" - superhero (#1-65) 'with Dusty the spectacular boy detective'
- "Black Hood" - superhero (#59-60)
- "Suzie" - humor (#57-?)
- "The Twiddles" - humor (#57-58, 61, 63-?)
- "Pokey Oakey" - humor (#53-55)
- "Willie the Wise-Guy" - humor (#59-62, 64-?)
- "Hotfoot the Hobo" - Humor (#57-?)
- "Dotty and Ditto" - (#57-58) (from Top-Notch ComicsTop-Notch Comics- Top-Notch Laugh Comics/Laugh Comix :In a change of editorial direction, from issue #28 the story emphasis changed to humor strips and the title became Top-Notch Laugh Comics to reflect this. All the long-running adventure series from Top-Notch Comics ended between issue #24 - Top-Notch Laugh...
) - "Gloomy Gus the Homeless Ghost" - humor (#59, 61-?)
- "Katy Keene The Pin-Up Queen" - humor (#60-?)
- "Li'l Jinx" - humor (#62-?)
- "The Jaguar - superhero (#150, 152, 157, 159)
- "The Fly" - superhero (#151, 154, 160)
- "Fly Girl" - superhero (#151, 154, 160)
Reprints
- Pep Comics Archie stories have been reprinted in a large number of other Archie Comics titles over the years.
- Some Golden Age superhero titles have been reprinted sporadically since, but the adventure and crime series have not.
- Most, if not all, of The Jaguar, Fly and Flygirl stories from Pep Comics #150-160 and #168 were reprinted several times in random order in a resized black and white format by Alan Class ComicsAlan Class ComicsAlan Class Comics was a British comics publishing company between 1959 and 1989, owned by Alan Class . The company produced anthology titles, reprinting comics stories from many U.S. publishers of the 1940s to 1960s in a black and white digest format for a U.K...
in the U.K. during the 1960s and 1970s.