JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Golden Age
DC Characters
(1935-1942)
Detective Comics
Compiled by Jason Greenfield
Detective Comics (1937), was DC/National's third title (and the first to keep its original name). By 1937, a sort of "era of experimentation" had subsided. Comics publishers were learning which kinds of characters, formats and genres would be successful. Although comic books were no longer brand new, they had yet to hit the true "Golden Age" of costumed heroes. So while the character "turnover rate" was decreasing, there were still a healthy number of genres. One of the most popular was that of the detective...
| Colored = masked or super-hero |
| Character | Appeared in Issues… | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Buck Marshall | #1-11, 13-17, 20, 21, 23-28, 30-36 (Mar. 1937–Feb. 1940) | Western. From this point onwards new DC titles would only have one or two period characters—mainly cowboys or pirates |
| Slam Bradley | #1-152 (Mar. 1937–Oct. 1949) | The most successful non-costumed strip |
| Speed Saunders | #1, 3-58 (Mar. 1937–Dec. 1941) | |
| Cosmo, Master of Disguise | #1-20, 22-37 (Mar. 1937–Mar. 1940) | Upper crust British detective |
| Bart Regan, Spy | #1-77 (Mar. 1937–July 1943) | By Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster |
| Bruce Nelson | #1-36 (Mar. 1937–Feb. 1940) | |
| Brett Lawton | #1-2 (Mar–Apr. 1937) | |
| Mr. Chang | #2, 4, 6 (Apr. 1937–Aug. 1937) | "Oriental" detective |
| Hope Hazard | #3 (May 1937); also More Fun 30 (Apr. 1938) | Female FBI Agent |
| Larry Steele | #5-26, 29-33, 43-63 (July 1937–May 1942) | West coast private eye |
| Floyd Stimson | #12 (Feb. 1938) | One-page adventure story entitled "Parachute Test" |
| Ruth Harkness | #15 (May 1938) | One-page adventure entitled "Adventures in the Far East" |
| Fu Manchu | #17-28 (July 1938–June 1939) | Serialized newspaper strips |
| Steve Malone: DA | #18, 19, 21, 26, 34-42, 44-59 (Aug. 1938–Jan. 1942) | Also in Adventure #38 (May 1939) |
| Inspector Kent of Scotland Yard | #19, 22 (Sept 1938–Dec. 1938) | |
| The Crimson Avenger | #20–29, 37–89 (Oct. 1938–July 1944) | Masked super-hero |
| Batman | #27–present (May 1939–present) | Masked super-hero |
| Cliff Crosby | #37-63 (Mar. 1940–May 1942) | Famous explorer/adventurer, later inherits newspaper (#48) |
| Air Wave | #60-137 (Feb. 1942–July 1948) | Masked super-hero |
| Boy Commandos | #64–150 (June 1942–49), World's Finest Comics #8–41, Boy Commandos #1–36 (Wtr. 1942–Nov. 1949) | A team of boy heroes; one of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's earliest successes |