''Star Spangled Comics'' was a
comics anthology
A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to ...
published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
which ran for 130 issues from October 1941 to July 1952. It was then retitled ''
Star Spangled War Stories
''Star Spangled War Stories'' was the title of a comics anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed characters and stories. Among the features published in this series were writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Jerry Grandenetti' ...
'' and lasted until issue #204 (February–March 1977).
Publication history
''Star Spangled Comics'' debuted with an October 1941
cover date. The series began as a
superhero title featuring the adventures of the
Star-Spangled Kid and
Stripesy
S.T.R.I.P.E. (short for Special Tactics Robotic Integrated Power Enhancer) is a superhero in the DC Comics DC Universe, Universe. S.T.R.I.P.E. is a powered armor suit invented and worn by Patrick "Pat" Dugan, the former adult sidekick to teenage ...
who appeared until #86 (November 1948). This feature had the distinction of a teen hero with an older
sidekick (the reverse of the usual arrangement). With issue #7 (April 1942), the title starred the
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...
and
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential c ...
-created
Newsboy Legion. A series of stories featuring
Robin, the Boy Wonder began in issue #65 (February 1947) and continued through the end of the title with issue #130, and primarily featured Robin solo adventures, but also included some occasional cameos by
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...
. Comics historian Brian Cronin has noted that due to Robin's feature in ''Star Spangled Comics'', he made more appearances during the
Golden Age of Comics
The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known chara ...
than Batman.
Tomahawk, a
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
* Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
feature, was introduced in #69 (June 1947).
Merry, Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks, first appeared in #81 (June 1948) in the "Star-Spangled Kid" feature. In the early 1950s, the title became dominated by
horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction
**Korean horror, Korean horror fiction
* Horror film, a film genre
*Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...
features and by the end of its run the book switched to a
war format; at which point it was rebooted to become ''
Star Spangled War Stories
''Star Spangled War Stories'' was the title of a comics anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed characters and stories. Among the features published in this series were writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Jerry Grandenetti' ...
''.
A ''Star Spangled Comics''
one-shot by writer
Geoff Johns
Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim.
He se ...
and artist
Chris Weston was published in 1999 as part of the "
Justice Society Returns" storyline.
Collected editions
* ''The Newsboy Legion'' Vol. 1 collects ''Star Spangled Comics'' #7–32, 360 pages, March 2010,
* ''The Newsboy Legion'' Vol. 2 collects ''Star Spangled Comics'' #33–64, 368 pages, August 2017,
* ''
Robin Archives'' Vol. 1 collects
Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
stories from ''Star Spangled Comics'' #65–85, 240 pages, October 2005,
* ''Robin Archives'' Vol. 2 collects Robin stories from ''Star Spangled Comics'' #86–105, 256 pages, April 2010,
References
External links
*
''Star Spangled Comics''at Cover Browser
''Star Spangled Comics''an
''Star Spangled Comics'' one-shotat Mike's Amazing World of Comics
{{Jack Kirby, state=collapsed
1941 comics debuts
1952 comics endings
Comics magazines published in the United States
Golden Age comics titles
Comics anthologies
Comics by Jack Kirby
DC Comics one-shots
DC Comics titles
Defunct American comics
Horror comics
Magazines disestablished in 1952
Magazines established in 1941
Superhero comics
War comics