The Raven is a fictional superhero character who first appeared in the
Ace Comics
''Ace Comics'' was a comic book series published by David McKay Publications between 1937 and 1949 — starting just before the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title reprinted syndicated newspaper strips owned by King Features Syndicate, followi ...
title ''Sure-Fire Comics''. He is based on the pulp hero "The Moon Man" published by Periodic House, the pulp publisher connected to Ace Comics.
Publication history
The Raven was inspired by the pulp hero Moon Man, created by Frederick C. Davis, published in Ten Detective Aces magazine. At least the first story was based on the first Moon Man story. His companions are Lola Lash, the daughter of the police chief, and his chauffeur Mike.
The Raven first appeared in ''Sure-Fire Comics'' #1The Golden Age Heroes Directory: R /ref> (June 1940), as did
Lash Lightning
Lash Lightning is a fictional superhero character who first appeared in ''Sure-Fire Comics'' #1 (June 1940) from Ace Comics,Jess Nevins
Jess Nevins (born 1966) is an American author. Nevins is the author of the ''Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana'' and other works on Victoriana and pulp fiction. He is employed as a reference librarian at Lone Star College-Tomball.
Comic b ...
' ''Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', "the Raven's enemies are corrupt bankers, racketeers, the police (led by Police Chief Lash, who loathes the Raven), and the odd costumed villain such as the Eel".
In 2008, The Raven (now renamed Mr. Raven to avoid a trademark conflict with DC Comics) appeared in flashback in ''
Project Superpowers
''Project Superpowers'' is a comic book limited series published by Dynamite Entertainment beginning January 2008. It was co-plotted by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross, with scripts by Jim Krueger, covers by Alex Ross, and interior art by Doug Klauba a ...
'' #0; in the one-shot ''Project Superpowers: Chapter Two Prelude'', it's stated that Mr. Raven will appear in this line as a member of a team called The Super-Mysterymen (presumably named after the Ace title ''Super-Mystery Comics'').
In 2018, publisher Pulp 2.0 put out a complete collection of Raven stories, ''The Raven Collection''.
Fictional biography
Ace
In 1940,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
Detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads t ...
Sergeant Danny Dartin, tired of seeing criminals manipulate the law to escape justice, became a masked vigilante called The Raven and acted as a modern "
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is de ...
", stealing money from criminals and redistributing it to the poor. He was aided in this by Lola Lash, the
police chief
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
’s daughter.
''Project Superpowers''
At some point after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Mr. Raven was imprisoned in the mystical Urn of Pandora, along with many other crime-fighters, by the misguided Fighting Yank; decades later, the Urn was broken and the heroes freed. Mr. Raven, along with seven other heroes (including Captain Courageous,
Lash Lightning
Lash Lightning is a fictional superhero character who first appeared in ''Sure-Fire Comics'' #1 (June 1940) from Ace Comics,Soldier Unknown), Vulcan and the Sword, was then recruited to form a team called The Super-Mysterymen, whose purpose is not yet known.