The Black Terror vs Dr Inch!

Continuing "All-Star Week" (what? You think I didn't have a plan?) is the first story from "Black Terror # 15", cover-date July 1946.

It has always baffled me that the company commonly referred to as "Nedor" didn't consistently put their best artists on one of their most popular characters. It'ld be like Marvel Comics putting Fred Hembeck on the Spider-Man books (no offense to Mr Hembeck, but you get my point).

After first appearing in Exciting Comics # 9 (May 1941), Black Terror was given his own series which ran for 27 issues from 1942 until June 1949. Overall, The Black Terror had over 140 individual stories published in Exciting Comics, America's Best Comics and his own book during that time.

Black Terror has proven to be one of the most popular Public Domain character for comic creators to use. Currently, Dynamite Entertainment has heavily featured their version of the character in their "Project Superpowers" line of books. He's also appeared in various stories from AC Comics, Alan Moore's Terra Obscura, a three-issue series from Eclipse Comics subtitled "Seduction of Deceit" published in 1989-90, and 1977's "Comic Crusader Storybook" which also featured various "fanzine" superstars such as The Eye, Eclipse, Shade, Xal-Kor The Human Cat, Mr A and Doctor Weird.

Text Story Bonanza!

Text stories seem to get over-looked by a lot of folks, so that's why I'm jamming them down everyone's throat today! In this post, you're getting NOT only one, not just two, not even simply three text stories, but FIVE text stories, all involving superheroes.

See, back in the day, comic book publishers would throw-in a text story, not as a way to fill-up the issue (there was plenty of one-page humor strips for that), but as a way to get their comics reclassified so they could get cheaper mail rates from the post office. Did kids & adults back then read the text stories? I don't know, but for at least one character, they were the only stories you were ever going to see of them.

Of the five stories I'm posting, three were posted here before: Aman the Amazing Boy from "Amazing-Man Comics # 10" [March 1940;, Black Terror from "Black Terror # 26" [April 1949] and Dr Darkness. Only Dr Darkness NEVER appeared in anything other than a text story (well, to my knowledge, anyway). His first appearance, according to the Grand Comic-Book Database, was in "Keen Detective Funnies 24" [September 1940], the last issue of that title. While goldenagecomics.co.uk has that issue available for free downloads, their file does not include the good Doctor's tale. His last appearance was in "Fantoman 4" [December 1940], which is the story I'm posting here today.

The other two stories I'm sharing are from "Black Cat # 22" [April 1950] and the Sub-Zero story from "Blue Bolt Comics volume 2 issue 3" [August 1941].

Oh, and don't forget to vote in the "Should I post stories from Golden Age comics that I don't own?" poll. Your vote could be the one that makes a difference!