QUALITY COMICS
Crack Comics
62 issues • May 1940–Sept. 1949 • Becomes Crack Western, #63-84 (Nov. 1949–July 1952)
Crack Comics was Quality's third anthology and it hit the ground running. Whereas its predecessors, Feature and Smash, had feature a couple of costumed adventurers at a time, Crack's inaugural issue boasted five! It was the first title to begin after the partnership was formed between Quality and Will Eisner. Eisner's shop produced the Black Condor, Lee Preston and the rest was mostly produced by freelancers or filled by syndicated strips. Crack Comics' launch coincided with Quality's buyout of their original partner, McNaught Syndicate. Four of the remaining syndicated features from Feature Comics (Side Show, Jane Arden, Ned Brant, and Off the Record) moved into Crack.
Erik Larson of Image Comics has intended to publish a brand new Crack Comics #63 in 2011, but that project has yet to see the light of day (perhaps because of trademark issues). Solicitations for the issue promise stories featuring Captain Triumph, the Clock, Spitfire, Molly the Model, the Spider, Space Legion, the Red Torpedo, Hack O'Hara, and Slap Happy Pappy. This is part of Larsen's "Next Issue Project," which revives Golden Age anthology titles with new stories by today's creators. The first two volumes were Fantastic Comics #24 (from Fox) and Silver Streak Comics #24 (from Lev Gleason).
Cover scans courtesy of the Grand Comics Database.
| Entries in yellow are costumed heroes. Click to read their profile. |
| Character | Appeared in Issues… | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| "Alias" the Spider (Tom Dalt) | #1–30 (May 1940–Aug. 1943) | By Paul Gustavson. |
| Black Condor (Richard Grey, Jr., alias Senator Thomas Wright) | #1-31 (May 1940–Oct. 1943) | By Will Eisner and Lou Fine. |
| The Clock | #1-35 (May 1940––Autumn 1944) | By George Brenner. Also in Feature Comics #21-31 |
| Jane Arden | #1–25 ( May 1940–Sept. 1942) | Syndicated by Register and Tribune Syndicate. Previously in Feature Comics. |
| Lee Preston of the Red Cross | #1–9 (May 1940—Jan. 1941) | By Bob Powell ("Terence McAully"). |
| Molly the Model | #1–62 (May 1940–Sept. 1949) | Syndicated cartoon by Jonny Devlin. She was succeeded in 1945 by Marvel's Millie the Model (unrelated). |
| Ned Brant, sportsman | #1–25 (May 1940–Sept. 1942) | Syndicated cartoon (Register & Tribune) by Bob Zuppke, later drawn by Walt Depew." Previously in Famous Funnies (Eastern Color), and Feature Comics. |
| Madam Fatal (Richard Stanton) | #1-22 (May 1940–March 1942) | By Art Pinajian. |
| The Red Torpedo (Jim Lockhart) | #1–20 (May 1940–Jan. 1942) | By Henry Kiefer ("Drew Allen" GCD) |
| Rube Goldberg's Side Show | 1–40 (May 1940–Winter 1945) | Syndicated cartoon that featured his well-known "inventions," by Rube Goldberg. Also in Feature #23-31 |
| Slap Happy Pappy, lovable geezer | #1-59 (May 1940–March 1949) | By Gill Fox, then Jack Cole under the pen name "Ralph Johns" (#9–59) |
| The Space Legion with Rock Braddon | #1-18 (May 1940–November 1941) | By Vernon Henkel. A Flash Gordon knockoff, set in the future. |
| Wizard Wells, Miracle Man | #1-14 (May 1940–July 1941) | By Harry Campbell. A scientist, not a magician. |
| Snappy | #4–26 (Aug. 1940–November 1942) | By Arthur Beeman. Humor strip about a boy. |
| Tor | #10-26 (Februrary 1941–(November 1942) | By Fred Guardineer. |
| Spitfire (Tex Adam), test pilot | #15–27 (Aug. 1941 –Jan. 1943) | By Al McWilliams. |
| Don Q, monocled international man of mystery | #19–26 (Dec. 1941–November 1942) | By Vernon Henkel. |
| Hack O'Hara, cabbie/crime-hater | #21–62 (Feb. 1942–Sept. 1949) | By various. |
| Pen Miller | #23–60 (May 1942–May 1949) | By Klaus Nordling. Also in National #1–22. |
| Yankee Guerrilla | #26 (November 1942) | By Charles Sultan. |
| Captain Triumph | #27-62 (Jan. 1943–Sept. 1949) | By Alfred Andriola. |
| Inkie | #28–60 (March 1943 –May 1949) | By Al Stahl. Inkie, the size of your pinky, jumped off the drawing board and came to life. |
| Ike an' Dooit | #31 (Oct. 1943) | Riff on the Marx Brothers, by Jack Cole. |
| Beezy Bumble | #32–62 (Dec. 1943–Sept. 1949) | By Bernard Dibble. A serial dater. |
| Floogy the Fiji | #36–59 (Winter 1944–March 1949 ) | A Fiji native and Lone Wolf the bear pirate. |
| Kiki Kelly | #39-51 (Autumn 1945–Nov. 1952) | Teen troublemaker. |