Volume: 1
Price: 0.10 USD
Pages: 68
On-sale Date: 1940-05-01
Editing: Oskar Lebeck (editor)
Cover Thumbnail for Popular Comics (Dell, 1936 series) #52 Edit Cover
Cover Gallery 

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents)

Martan the Marvel Man / cover / 1 page

Pencils:
?
Inks:
?
Colors:
?
Letters:
typeset
  • Genre:science fiction
Characters:
Martan the Marvel Man; Martians

Issue Data

Indexer Notes

The on-sale date is from the publication date recorded in the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 2, Periodicals, 1940, New Series, Vol. 35, No. 3.

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 1)

In This Corner / comic story / 1 page

Script:
Art Krenz (signed)
Pencils:
Art Krenz (signed)
Inks:
Art Krenz (signed)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:non-fiction; biography; sports
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Roger Peckinpaugh was only 23 years old...
  • Keywords:baseball
Characters:
Roger Peckinpaugh; Ray Schalk: Grover Cleveland Alexander; Zeke Bonura

Indexer Notes

On inside front cover.

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 2)

The Masked Pilot / comic story / 8 pages

Script:
Bob Jenney (credited as Bob Jenny)
Pencils:
Bob Jenney (credited as Bob Jenny)
Inks:
Bob Jenney (credited as Bob Jenny)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:adventure; aviation; science fiction
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Oh! Oh! This looks like we're in for a bit of troubleshooting!
  • Keywords:Alaska; Army
Characters:
The Masked Pilot; Dwight Ellis (aviation designer); Tom; Karl Ellman (villain, engineer, death)
Synopsis:
The Masked Pilot and Tom head for the aviation factory owned by friend Dwight Ellis, who has had a problem with his plane prints being traced. The Pilot discovers that one of the factory employees is the guilty party, then has to fight for his very life to subdue him.
Reprints (1)

Indexer Notes

"Copr. 1940 by R. S. Callender."

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 3)

Penguin Pete and His Pal Pudgie / comic story / 4 pages

Script:
Pencils:
Win Smith (credited)
Inks:
Win Smith (credited)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:humor; anthropomorphic-funny animals
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Doggoneit!
Characters:
Penguin Pete; Pudgie

Indexer Notes

"Copr., 1940, by R. S. Callender."

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 4)

Hold Everything / cartoon / 0.6 page

Script:
Clyde Lewis (credited)
Pencils:
Clyde Lewis (credited)
Inks:
Clyde Lewis (credited)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:humor
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:So the crowd's with me, eh?
Reprints (0)
  • from Hold Everything daily (NEA) 1939-xx-xx - 1939-xx-xx

Indexer Notes

Six single panel cartoons.
"Copr. 1939 by NEA Service, Inc."

The Winners of the February Popular Comics Contest
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 5)

Popular Comics Contest / in-house column / 0.4 page

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 6)

The Voice the Invisible Detective / comic story / 7 pages

Script:
Pencils:
Jim Chambers (signed)
Inks:
Jim Chambers (signed)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:detective-mystery; superhero
Characters:
The Voice [Tim Brant]; Professor Bert Wilson (inventor); Herman (villain); Mr. Bulinski (villain)
Synopsis:
The Voice tracks down a murderer and kidnapper and gets him to confess to the murder of Mike Chummler.
Reprints (1)

Indexer Notes

"Copr. 1940 by R. S. Callender."

This is the first story in which the hero calls himself the Voice.

The Voice gets his power of invisibility this way: a phosphorescent gas clings to the cellophane fabric (worn by Tim Brant) giving out rays that render the body invisible.

Name These Cute Pets
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 7)

Popular Comics Contest / in-house column / 1 page

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 8)

The Hurricane Kids / comic story / 6 pages

Script:
Albert Hartje (credited)
Pencils:
Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely)
Inks:
Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:adventure
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:You fellows have no idea what it means to me
  • Keywords:shipwreck
Characters:
The Hurricane Kids [Alan Burnham; Dave Burnham]; Maya; Omu; Captain Bill Brady; Captain Blackbeard
Reprints (1)

Indexer Notes

"Copr., 1940, by R. S. Callender."

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 9)

Wally Williams, American Boy / comic story / 6 pages

Script:
Victor Boni (credited)
Pencils:
Tom Hickey (credited)
Inks:
Tom Hickey (credited)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:adventure; sports; teen
Characters:
Wally Williams; Arlene Grahame; Betty Riley; Biff; Gramps Williams; Joe; Jughead; Ted Jackson

Indexer Notes

"Copr., 1940, by R. S. Callender."

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 10)

Captain Tornado / comic story / 6 pages

Script:
Kenneth Kennedy (byline)], house name)
Pencils:
Inks:
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:science fiction
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Looks like I'm in for it now unless I can get my hands free.
Characters:
Captain Tornado; Jane Bordani

Indexer Notes

Original indexer listed Kenneth Kennedy as the writer and artist for the story, but according to Jerry Bails' Who's Who of American Comic Books, Kenneth Kennedy was only a byline and the writer is unknown.

According to Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., Hames Ware identified Newt Alfred as the artist for the story in Popular Comics #49. The art in this story looks very similar to the art in that story (Greg Fischer, April 2014).

"Copr., 1940, by R. S. Callender."

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 11)

Herky / comic story / 0.5 page

Script:
Clyde Lewis (credited)
Pencils:
Clyde Lewis (credited)
Inks:
Clyde Lewis (credited)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:humor; children
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Maybe the reason your girl is becoming cool towards you is because you're too rowdy
Characters:
Herky; J. Granville Gurk; Lois
Reprints (0)
  • from Herky Sunday (NEA Service, Inc.) 1938-12-04

Indexer Notes

"Copr. 1938 by NEA Service, Inc."

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 12)

Herky / comic story / 0.5 page

Script:
Clyde Lewis (credited)
Pencils:
Clyde Lewis (credited)
Inks:
Clyde Lewis (credited)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:humor; children
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Th' kid sister got a spankin' today and do ya know why?
Characters:
Herky; Herky's father; Herky's mother; Honey
Reprints (0)
  • from Herky Sunday (NEA Service, Inc.) 1938-09-18

Indexer Notes

"Copr. 1938 by NEA Service, Inc."

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 13)

Gang Busters / comic story / 6 pages

Script:
?
Pencils:
?
Inks:
?
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:crime
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Well, we've got Ernie Hall in the jug.
  • Keywords:F.B.I.
Characters:
Chief John Winston; Helen Barry; Jack; Mr. Wolf; Mrs. Wolf; Tony; Ernie Hall [also as Mr. Foster] (villain); Gorilla (villain); Lefty O'Brien (villain); Mrs. O'Brien (villain); Tony (villain)
Reprints (2)

Indexer Notes

"Copr., 1940, by Phillips H. Lord, Inc."

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 14)

cartoon / 0.33 page

Script:
?
Pencils:
Hal Bittner (signed as HB)
Inks:
Hal Bittner (signed as HB)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:humor
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Those dopes wreck more planes playing follow the leader

Indexer Notes

Three single panel cartoons. Last panel is signed HB.

Fireworks
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 15)

advertisement / 0.67 page

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 16)

Martan the Marvel Man / comic story / 8 pages

Script:
G. Ellerbrock (credited) (signed)
Pencils:
?
Inks:
?
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:adventure; science fiction
Characters:
Martan the Marvel Man; Vana; General Pelton; The Spacemen (villains)
Synopsis:
Martan, from the Planet Antaclea, pledges his knowledge of inter-planetary warfare to aid the Americans in their battle along the Jersey shore at the city of Hoboken to repel invaders from outer space.
Reprints (1)

Indexer Notes

"Copr., 1940, by R. S. Callender."

The AC reprint credits Bill Ely as the artist, but he is credited only in 1939 and there were three artists working on the strip in 1940, so ? remains for the art.

The Who's Who credits Ellerbrock as the only scripter for the series from 1939-1942, and no extant evidence disputes this.

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 17)

Bronc Peeler / comic story / 3 pages

Script:
Fred Harman (credited)
Pencils:
Fred Harman (signed)
Inks:
Fred Harman (signed)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:western-frontier
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Oh why are you locking me in this cellar?
Characters:
Bronc Peeler; Babs Dalton; Crazy Kate (villain); Baldy (villain); Blackie (villain)

Indexer Notes

"Copr., 1940, by Stephen Slesinger"

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 18)

Shark Egan / comic story / 6 pages

Script:
?
Pencils:
Inks:
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:adventure
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Those guys down there are downright unfriendly!
  • Keywords:Hwang-Ho
Characters:
Shark Egan; Mary McDermot; Ace O'Doul; Kanaka Lew; Angkar; Captain Mai-ti [also as Captain Mai Ti]; Commander Kru-Sing (villain)

[Frank L. Anders]
(Table of Contents: 19)

Heroes / text article / 1 page

Script:
Roy Humphries (credited)
Pencils:
Roy Humphries (signed)
Inks:
Roy Humphries (signed)
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:non-fiction; biography
Characters:
Chief Blackbird; Frank L. Anders; Lt. Frank Luke, Jr.; Meriwether Lewis; William Clark

Indexer Notes

On inside back cover.

Recipes for Fun...
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 20)

The Funnies / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page

Editing
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View Change History
Table of Contents ToC
    Table of Contents
  1. [no title indexed]
    Martan the Marvel Man
  2. ["Roger Peckinpaugh was only 23 years old..."]
    In This Corner
  3. ["Oh! Oh! This looks like we're in for a bit of troubleshooting!"]
    The Masked Pilot
  4. ["Doggoneit!"]
    Penguin Pete and His Pal Pudgie
  5. ["So the crowd's with me, eh?"]
    Hold Everything
  6. The Winners of the February Popular Comics Contest
    Popular Comics Contest
  7. ["We get dat infermashun, boss."]
    The Voice the Invisible Detective
  8. Name These Cute Pets
    Popular Comics Contest
  9. ["You fellows have no idea what it means to me"]
    The Hurricane Kids
  10. ["Understand, team, it's a tough race over a six-mile course."]
    Wally Williams, American Boy
  11. ["Looks like I'm in for it now unless I can get my hands free."]
    Captain Tornado
  12. ["Maybe the reason your girl is becoming cool towards you is because you're too rowdy"]
    Herky
  13. ["Th' kid sister got a spankin' today and do ya know why?"]
    Herky
  14. ["Well, we've got Ernie Hall in the jug."]
    Gang Busters
  15. ["Those dopes wreck more planes playing follow the leader"]
  16. Fireworks
  17. ["Martan's ship!"]
    Martan the Marvel Man
  18. ["Oh why are you locking me in this cellar?"]
    Bronc Peeler
  19. ["Those guys down there are downright unfriendly!"]
    Shark Egan
  20. [Frank L. Anders]
    Heroes
  21. Recipes for Fun...
    The Funnies
Related Links
Issue was modified by, among others
  • mcomics
  • David Bromley
  • Nick Caputo
  • Craig Delich
  • Lionel English
  • Gregory Fischer
  • Del Gruber
  • Michael Hoskin
  • Alan Hutchinson
  • Clint Maxwell
  • Tony R. Rose
  • Ramon Schenk
  • Daniel Thingvold
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