''U.S.A. Comics'' is an American

comic-book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and written narrative, ...

series that was published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

' 1930–1940s predecessor,

Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...

, during the period fans and historians call the

Golden Age of comic books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history 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 ma ...

. A

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

running 17 issues

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d August 1941 to Fall 1945, it showcased early work by industry legends

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie 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 ...

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

, and

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

, and famed

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

Basil Wolverton Basil Wolverton (July 9, 1909 – December 31, 1978)
at the

Whizzer and other characters, and for much of its run starred

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

during that long-running character's

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

height of popularity.

Publication history

''U.S.A. Comics'' came from publisher Martin Goodman's

, which by the early 1960s would evolve into

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

. It was initially edited by

, Timely's first editor, followed briefly by future Marvel chief

very early in his career, and then by interim editor

Vincent Fago Vincenzo Francisco Gennaro Di Fago (; November 28, 1914 – June 13, 2002),Vincent F. Fago
at the Unite ...

during Lee's

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

duty from early 1942 through 1945. The series was first announced in ''

Captain America Comics ''Captain America Comics'' is a comic book series featuring the superhero character Captain America. The series was originally published by Timely Comics from 1941 to 1950, with a brief revival by Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics in 1954. Pub ...

'' #1 with an expected sale date of January 20, and the features Mr. Liberty, Sky Devil, Young Allies, United States Man, Headline Hunter: Foreign Correspondent, The Black Ace, and The Star. A superhero anthology with no regular starring feature until

began headlining with issue #6 (Dec. 1942), ''U.S.A. Comics'' introduced at least two notable characters: super-speedster the Whizzer and mythological ice-king

Jack Frost Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, a ...

, both in issue #1 (Aug. 1941). Both heroes were revived in 1970s Marvel Comics, generally but not exclusively in flashback stories depicting them in

retroactive continuity Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

as members of the World War II superhero team called the

Liberty Legion The Liberty Legion is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was first created in 1976 and set during World War II. Composed of existing heroes from Marvel's 1940s Golden Age of Comic Bo ...

. The first Jack Frost story, penciled by

Charles Nicholas "Charles Nicholas" is the pseudonymous house name of three early creators of American comic books for the Fox Feature Syndicate and Fox Comics: Chuck Cuidera (1915–2001), Jack Kirby (1917–1994), and Charles Wojtkoski (1921–1985). The name o ...

, is the leading contender for Lee's first published comics script, as opposed to a text story. Additional superheroes introduced in ''U.S.A. Comics'' include the Defender, by co-creators Joe Simon and

, Mr. Liberty (renamed Major Liberty the following issue) by

Syd Shores Sydney Shores (1916 – June 3, 1973) was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books. B ...

Rockman Rockman may refer to: * ''Rockman'', the Japanese name for the ''Mega Man'' franchise ** Rockman, the Japanese name of Mega Man (character), the titular protagonist of the ''Mega Man'' video games * Alexis Rockman (born 1962), American contempora ...

Basil Wolverton Basil Wolverton (July 9, 1909 – December 31, 1978)
at the

Mike Roy, all in issue #1; Captain Terror by Mike Suchorsky, and the Vagabond by

Ed Winiarski Ed Winiarski (May 6, 1911 – December 1975) who sometimes signed his work "Win" or "Winny" and sometimes used the pseudonym Fran Miller, his wife's maiden name, was an American comic book writer-artist known for both adventure stories and talkin ...

in issue #2 (Nov. 1941); crusading reporter Tom Powers in the feature "Powers of the Press" by Ed Winiarski in issue #3 (Jan. 1942); the American Avenger by

Vince Alascia Vincent Alascia (January 14, 1914 – September 3, 1998),
at the

Al Avison Alfred Dean Avison (July 7, 1920 – December 1984) was an American comic book artist known for his work on the Marvel Comics characters the Whizzer, which he co-created, and Captain America during the 1930–1940s period known to fans and hi ...

Mike Sekowsky Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' '' Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' durin ...

Ernie Hart Ernest Huntley Hart
at the

and a young

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

, with inkers including Hart and George Klein. As of early 2013, comics historians have not identified the creative teams behind the character's appearances in issue #9 or #11 onward.

Alex Schomburg Alexander A. Schomburg, born Alejandro Schomburg y Rosa (; May 10, 1905Alejandro Schomburg Y Rosa

, Timely's most prolific early cover artist, drew the covers of issues #4, 6–7, 12–13, and 15. Unusually, Schomburg provided interior artwork for the Captain Daring story in #7. This Captain Daring is not the character who appeared in later issues of ''

Daring Mystery Comics ''Daring Mystery Comics'' is an American comic-book series published by Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics, during the 1930–40s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Primarily a superhero anthology, it ran ei ...

'', but is instead a continuation of the "G-Man Don Gorman" feature from ''Daring Mystery Comics'' #4.

List of features

* The Defender #1-4 (August 1941-May 1942) * The Whizzer #1, 2, 4, 6, 8-10, 12, 14, 16, 17 (August 1941, November 1941, May 1942, December 1942, May 1943-September 1943, March 1944, September 1944, June 1945, September 1945) * Mr. Liberty/Major Liberty #1-4 (August 1941-May 1942) * Rockman: Underground Secret Agent #1-4 (August 1941-May 1942) * Young Avenger #1 (August 1941) * Jack Frost #1-4 (August 1941-May 1942) * Captain Terror #2-4 (November 1941-May 1942) * The Vagabond #2-4 (November 1941-May 1942) * Unsolved Mysteries #3 (January 1942) * Powers of the Press #3 (January 1942) * Corporal Dix/Sergeant Dix #4-6, 8-13 (May 1942-December 1942, May 1943-June 1944) * Victory Boys #5 (June 1942) * Black Widow #5 (June 1942) * Lamb/Powers #5 (June 1942) * The Fighting Hobo #5 (June 1942) * The Blue Blade #5 (June 1942) * Roko the Amazing #5 (June 1942) * Gypo, the Gypsy Giant #5 (June 1942) * American Avenger #5 (June 1942) * Captain America #6-17 (December 1942-September 1945) * Terror Squad #6 (December 1942) * The Destroyer #6, 8-14, 16, 17 (December 1942, May 1943-September 1944, June 1945, September 1945) * Edward A. Flaherty #6 (December 1942) ne-shot biography* Jeep Jones #6-9, 12, 13 (December 1942-July 1943, March 1944, June 1944) * Tommy Colt #6 (December 1942) * Jap Buster Johnson #6-14 (December 1942-September 1944) * Captain Daring and His Sky-Sharks #7 (March 1943) * Marvel Boy #7 (March 1943) * Disk-Eyes the Detective #7 (March 1943) * Secret Stamp #7-8 (March 1943-May 1943) * Private Albert A. Schmidt #8 (May 1943) ne-shot biography* Barney Ross #9 (July 1943) ne-shot biography* Thunderbird #10 (September 1943) ne-shot biography* Detective Mike Trapp #13, 16 (June 1944, June 1945)

Collected editions

* ''

Marvel Masterworks ''Marvel Masterworks'' is an American collection of hardcover and trade paperback comic book reprints published by Marvel Comics, with the main goal of republishing classic ''Marvel Comics'' storylines in a hardcover, premium edition, often with ...

: Golden Age USA Comics'' Vol. 1 (''U.S.A. Comics'' #1-4) * ''Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age USA Comics'' Vol. 2 (''U.S.A. Comics'' #5-8)

References

External links

* {{gcdb series, id=240, title=''USA Comics'' Timely Comics titles Golden Age comics titles 1941 comics debuts 1945 comics endings