Wikipedia

Pep Comics

Pep Comicsis anAmerican comic bookanthology seriespublished by theArchie ComicspredecessorMLJ Magazines Inc.(commonly known as MLJ Comics) during the 1930s and 1940s period known as theGolden Age of Comic Books.The title continued under theArchie Comicsimprint for a total of 411 issues until March1987.

Pep Comics
Cover ofPep Comics1 (Jan. 1940), art byIrv Novick
Publication information
PublisherMLJ Publications Inc.
ScheduleOriginally monthly, varied
Publication date#1 (Jan. 1940) – #56 (Mar. 1946)
No.of issues56
Main character(s)The Shield
The Comet
Sergeant Boyle
Fu Chang, International Detective
Bentley of Scotland Yard
Perry Chase, The Press Guardian
Lee Sampson, Midshipman
Kayo Ward
Danny in Wonderland
The Fireball
Madam Satan
The Hangman
Archie
Captain Commando and the Boy Soldiers
Black Hood

Pep Comicsintroduced the superhero characterThe Shield,the first of the super-patriotic heroes with a costume based on a national flag (predatingCaptain Americaby over a year), as well asThe Comet.The comic also introducedArchie Andrews,who eventually became the main focus of the company's extensive range of publications.

Publication history

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Pep Comics(MLJ) (1940–1945)

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Pep Comicswas 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 whichHarry Shortentook the reins until issue #65 (Jan. 1948).[1]The first issue was launched in January 1940, followingBlue Ribbon Comics(Nov. 1939) andTop-Notch Comics(Dec. 1939).

The format ofPep Comicswas 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 aJohn Carter of Mars-like hero trapped on another planet; the crime fighting story "The Press Guardian" (#1–11) byJack BinderandMort Meskinand later Abner Sundell and Meskin (retitled "Perry Chase, The Press Guardian" from #7);[2][3]and three adventure tales, "Sergeant Boyle" by George Biro, about a soldier fighting with theBritishinEurope,as theUnited Stateswas not yet involved inWorld War II,[4]"The Midshipman", (#1–16) "Lee Sampson, Midshipman" from #6 (July 1940), following Lee Sampson through Navy College to his Graduation,[5]and an adventure based on bo xing, "Kayo Ward" (#1–28) by Phil Sturm. The last was similar to "The St Louis Kid" inTop-Notch Comics,both characters progressing through the bo xing 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 Comicsalso starred superheroes and costumed characters, led by cover star and lead feature "The Shield – G-Man Extraordinary" by Harry Shorten andIrv 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 patriotic superheroes, who wore costumes based on the U.S. flag, 15 months beforeCaptain Americawas introduced inCaptain America#1 (March 1941).[6][7]"The Comet" byJack Coleran 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 satisfyUnited States Postal Servicerequirements for magazine rates. The Shield also headed thePep Comicsreaders 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.[8]

One unusual character who featured in early issues was "Fu Chang, International Detective", whose weird detective adventure stories were published 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."[9]in stories liberally sprinkled with cod-Oriental talk, evil dragon criminals, and an aura ofmysticism.

Another featured character was "Bentley of Scotland Yard", a mystery detective story originally by artist Sam Cooper and laterPaul Reinman.Each story was in a horror/fantasy vein, with Bentley up against creatures such as awerewolfin #1, a monster in a lake in #2, andhunchbacks,devilsandvampiresthrough the first 41 issues ofPep 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 which listed the suspects and invited the reader to guess who committed the crime, followed by the revealing of the killer and themodus operandion 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","Pinocchio",and The"Little Mermaid"(#12–39), while Ted Tyler," The Fireball "(#12–20),'sworn enemy of all who use fire for evil purposes'[10]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);[11]andMadam Satanwas introduced in the same issue. Madam 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 inPep Comicsfrom that issue, and also featured on every cover from #17 to #42.[12]Issue #17 also saw "Kayo Ward" become ahoboafter being terribly disfigured by a fire in the church where hiswedding ceremonywas taking place.

Madam Satan ended in issue #21 (Nov. 1941), her place taken in #22 (Dec. 1941) by the first appearance of one of the biggest-selling[13]comics characters of the 20th century,Archie Andrews,and what would become the core of his group of friends:JugheadandBetty Cooper.Betty's family was depicted as having just moved into the neighborhood. This first story was written by Vic Bloom and drawn byBob Montana.When introduced, Archie was featured in a six-page strip which was not even mentioned on the cover. Over the next few years, humor strips would slowly ease the costumed heroes and adventure tales out ofPep Comics,and Archie himself would becomePep Comics's and the Archie Comics imprint's most popular character;[14]

Issue #26 (April 1942) had a 'RememberPearl Harbor' cover, with The Shield, Dusty and The Hangman ringing theLiberty Bellwhile aJapaneseand aGermansoldier were tied up in the bell-rope. The patriotism ofThe Shield G-Man Clubwas added to by the introduction ofThe Young Soldiers of America Clubin #30 (Aug. 1942),[15]to which membership was gained by buyingwar savings stampsand sending in a pledge form printed inPep Comics.Each month,Pep Comicsprinted 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).[16]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. ArtistGil Kane's first work was on the "Bentley of Scotland Yard" story'The Case of the Laughing Corpse'inPep Comics#38 (April 1943)[17]

A new emphasis on humor grew from issue #40 (July 1943), just afterPep Comicsstarted publishing to 10 issues per year. "Sergeant Boyle" ended in #39 (June 1943), as did "Danny in Wonderland". They were replaced by aLi'l Abnerparody, "Catfish Joe" (#40–48) and "Li'l Chief Bugaboo" (#40–47). "Bentley of Scotland Yard" ended in #41 (August 1943), replaced by theslapstickvoyages of "Marco Loco, Adventurer" (#42–52) by Carl Hubbell.[18]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 Hoodin #48 (April 1944),[19]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 and 1946. Issue #52 (March 1945), saw the arrival ofHarry Sahle's dizzy blond "Suzie", who could never keep a job long.[20]

Archie's rise in popularity continued, andPep Comicswas used to further this. Issue #42s 'G-Man Club' page (Sept.1943) was all about Archie having a regular radio spot on theNational Broadcasting System,and the cover announced in a large banner across the page'Archie Talks – Tune in Your Radio over the Blue Network'.The cover also depicted The Shield and Hangman in blue shadows, while watching Archie recording in the studio. By #49 (March 1945), the first 52-page issue, the cover was bannered'Starring Archie Andrews',and Archie started being featured in 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),[21]leaving only The Shield as a non-humor story. Issue #53 (June 1955) began a family strip called "The Twiddles" byBill Woggon.Also introduced was "Pokey Oakey" (#53–55) who had previously been inTop-Notch Comicsand "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 ofPep Comicswas over.

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  • "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" – bo xing 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)
  • "Madam 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 fromTop-Notch Comics
  • "Captain Commando and the Boy Soldiers" – costumed hero/war (#30–52, 54, 56)[22]
  • "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
Pep #411, March 1987 (final issue)
Publication information
PublisherArchie Comics
Scheduleoriginally monthly, varied
Publication date
  1. 57 (June 1946) – #411 (March 1987)
No.of issues353
Main character(s)Archie
Gloomy Gus the Homeless Ghost
Katy Keene
Li'l Jinx
Creative team
Artist(s)Dan DeCarlo,Bob Montana,Stan Goldberg,others

Pep Comics (Archie) (1945–1987)

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With the change of thePep Comicsstatement of ownership from MLJ to Archie Publications Inc. from issue #57 (June 1946), the transfer from adventure to humor titles accelerated on a publication frequency that varied from 5 issues a year in 1947 to bi-monthly the following year. "Dotty and Ditto", an ongoing series fromTop-Notch Comics,had transferred toPep Comicswith issue #57 (June 1946), although it ended in #58 (with a guest appearance in Dotty's dreams by the Shield, Archie, and Suzie). A new long-running series began, "Gloomy Gus the Homeless Ghost" in #59 (Dec. 1946). Bill Woggon's "Katy KeeneThe 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 ".Li'l Jinxarrived 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 inPep Comicsfor 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 inPep Comicsin #65 (January 1948), after two reprint stories in the last two issues,[23]after whichPep Comicsbecame an all-humor title. The "G-Man Club" became "The Archie Club" the next issue.

With issue #137 (February 1960), both the cover title and the indicia were changed fromPep Comicsto simplyPep,a change which continued for the remainder of the series.

Published details of sales ofPepin 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,[24]although publication frequency crept up to nine times a year by 1964, after whichPepreturned to monthly publication.

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 superheroesThe Fly,Flygirl and TheJaguarin loose rotation, plus one extra Jaguar story in #168 (January 1964). In addition, issue #393 (Mar. 1984) contained an appearance byMartin Greim'stalking animalcharacterThunderbunny,when Archie Comics briefly licensed the character.

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 asThe Archies.

Peppublished its 200th issue in October 1966, its 300th in April 1975, and its 400th in May 1985—an issue which included cameos of all the staff of Archie Comics. However, by then sales had slipped from their previous levels to 55,164.[24]The series lasted until #411 (Mar. 1987). A number of theArchie Giant Series Magazinesfrom 1987 to 1991 carried thePEPname on the cover (#576, 589, 604, 614, and 624), but it has not been revived since. In August 2009Michael Uslanannounced that a series of five one-shot comics reviving the Archie-as-superhero 'Pureheart' concept would be released in 2010, with one of those titles beingPep Comics;[25]however, the series was never released. A special one-shotPep Comics featuring Betty and Veronicawas published for the May 2011 Free Comic Book Day.

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  • "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) (fromTop–Notch Comics)
  • "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, 156, 160)

Pep Digital (Archie) (2012–2016)

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In 2012, Archie Comics began publishing a digital-only anthology series titledPep Digital.The first issue, released March 2012, wasArchie's Arch Madness,a 102 page book with a basketball theme. The series ran for 185 issues, concluding withArchie & Friends: Thanksgiving Feastin November 2016.

Reprints

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  • Pep Comics'Archie stories have been reprinted in a large number of other Archie Comics titles over the years, particularly within the multiple digest magazine titles.
  • 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 fromPep Comics#150–160 and #168 were reprinted several times in random order in a resized black and white format byAlan Class Comicsin the U.K. during the 1960s and 1970s.

Footnotes

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  1. ^Shorten was publisher of Tower Comics in the 1960s and also a comics writer, credited with creating MLJ/Archie characters The Hood andThe Shield
  2. ^Perry Chase dressed up in a bird costume as 'The Falcon' in issue #1, but in further tales wears a red mask and hat with his normal suit; 'The Falcon' does not appear again
  3. ^Markstein, Don."The Press Guardian aka The Falcon".Don Markstein's Toonopedia.Retrieved2 April2020.
  4. ^echoing the theme of characters in other MLJ titles: "Loop Logan, Air Ace" inBlue Ribbon Comicsand "Wings Johnson of Air Patrol" inTop-Notch Comics
  5. ^a similar tale to "Keith Cornell, West Pointer" in MLJsTop-Notch Comics(#7–27) which followed Keith Cornell throughUnited States Military Academybefore heading into various theaters of war
  6. ^Actually issued in December 1940
  7. ^Their origins were extremely similar: both involved 'super formulae' for strength and prowess, and Nazis.
  8. ^In October 1941 the Shield G-Man Club claimed to have 20,000 members, many of them girls: nearly 50% of readers quoted were female.
  9. ^"Fu Chang, Chinese Detective" splash page inPep Comics#1 (Jan. 1940)
  10. ^Pep Comics#13 (March 1941)
  11. ^thanking the readers in the final panel for following his adventures through Graduation and inviting them to write if they wanted to see his war adventures; they were never written
  12. ^Battling Axis enemies with The Shield and Dusty on every cover except #28, which he appeared on by himself, fighting Captain Nazi over the United States. He was finally ousted from the cover by Archie in issue #43 (October 1943).
  13. ^Sales figures are not available for early years ofPep Comics,but they were quoted in the statements of circulation at between 269,504 and 292,572 in the 1960s, their highest point in available figures. Earlier sales would have been at least at those levels – The Comics Chronicles[1]and Thompson, Maggie, Brent Frankenhoff and Peter Bickford, eds.Comic Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books(Krause Publications, 2008)
  14. ^Nadel, Dan "Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries 1900–1969 (Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2006)ISBN0-8109-5838-4
  15. ^erroneously referred to as'The Boy Soldiers of America'at the end of the first "Captain Commando and the Boy Soldiers" story, in that issue
  16. ^'Guarding the front-line – Americas's Doughboys, and guarding the home-front 'America's Boy Soldiers'.The last part of the advert statesPep defies any other magazine to imitate them,ironic sinceJoe SimonandJack Kirby's similarNewsboy Legionhad debuted inStar Spangled Comics#7 (April 1942)—four months earlier—and Simon and Kirby had createdCaptain America,with a similar origin to that of the earlier debuting The Shield character
  17. ^"Interview with Gil Kane part I" in "The Comics Journal" #186 (April 1996)
  18. ^which ended in #52 (March 1945) with the linesAnd so the 'Golden Herring' once more sails its lonely course...To what?, to where? Who cares???
  19. ^with a cover announcement'Flash – The Black Hood is now in Pep Comics'
  20. ^'a happy lassie with a classy chassis, beautiful and dumb'– advert in #61 (May 1947)
  21. ^although he appeared on a pin-up page ofPep Comics#52 (March 1945) with the message "Sorry I can't be with you in this issue, gang" and featured in a text story in the following issue, #53 (June 1945)
  22. ^Captain CommandoatDon Markstein's Toonopedia.Archivedfrom the original on April 9, 2012.
  23. ^Issue #64 reprinted The Shield story in #53 with some cuts to pages and panels to make it fit, while #65 was reprinted from issue #57, again with cuts
  24. ^abThompson, Maggie, Brent Frankenhoff and Peter Bickford, eds.Comic Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books(Krause Publications, 2008)
  25. ^Staff writer (August 3, 2009)."Michael Uslan to script Pureheart the Powerful for Archie Comics".Archie Publications. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-09-27.

References

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  • Overstreet,Robert M., ed.Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide,38th Edition (Gemstone Publishing, 2008)ISBN978-0-375-72239-4
  • Thompson, Maggie, Brent Frankenhoff and Peter Bickford, eds.Comic Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books(Krause Publications, 2008)
  • Circulation figures – The Comics Chronicleshttp:// comichron /
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