While everything else cost a dime, Fawcett Comics put out a bold experiment in pricing: Nickel Comics! Why yes, it was about half the size of a regular comic back then, but you know, still half again the size of one of today's issues of a regular book. And because of the smaller size, it could come out more often (technically, it's still the same three ongoing strips, so a bigger monthly work load for their creators). Three issues found their way on the stands in May of 1940.
From "The Origin of Bulletman" by Bill Parker and John Smalle, Nickel Comics #1 (May 1940)
Bulletman is the strip we still remember today, as the character has appeared from time to time in the modern DCU, mostly notably in Power of Shazam during the 90s, and through Bulleteer, as a "member" of Grant Morrison's 7 Soldiers of Victory. In every day life, Bulletman is a Barry Allen type who developed his expertise in forensic ballistics as a teenager. Unable to get into the police force because of his slight build, he concocts a serum that destroys all the germs and poisons in the human body and unleashes one's true physical and mental potential, from which point it's really easy for him to create an anti-gravity helmet and turn himself into a superhero. The best thing about Golden Age superhero comics really is getting to synopsize the origin stories.
From Jungle Twins: "The Vengeance of Ali-Bekr" by Bill Parker and Sven Elven, Nickel Comics #2 (May 1940)
The second strip is Jungle Twins, about Bill Dale searching for his twin in the "unknown heart of Africa" looking for his twin brother Steve, who has become a jungle god to the natives. It's the kind of safari strip where you can expect the big white hunter to kill innocent elephants and lots of cringe-worthy racism.
From Warlock the Wizard: "The Tenement Firebug", creative team unknown, Nickel Comics #3 (June 1940)
The third ongoing story a nickel twice monthly gets you is Warlock the Wizard, which sounds pretty redundant to me, and not just because of the name. By this point, there are a LOT of Mandrake types running around four-color comics. No real twists, he uses a magic wand with a fist at the end that turns into a giant animated hand, and a mystical lantern around his neck, to battle evil. Oh, and a talking raven called Hugin. Hugis looks nothing like a raven.
Bulletman is the strip we still remember today, as the character has appeared from time to time in the modern DCU, mostly notably in Power of Shazam during the 90s, and through Bulleteer, as a "member" of Grant Morrison's 7 Soldiers of Victory. In every day life, Bulletman is a Barry Allen type who developed his expertise in forensic ballistics as a teenager. Unable to get into the police force because of his slight build, he concocts a serum that destroys all the germs and poisons in the human body and unleashes one's true physical and mental potential, from which point it's really easy for him to create an anti-gravity helmet and turn himself into a superhero. The best thing about Golden Age superhero comics really is getting to synopsize the origin stories.
The second strip is Jungle Twins, about Bill Dale searching for his twin in the "unknown heart of Africa" looking for his twin brother Steve, who has become a jungle god to the natives. It's the kind of safari strip where you can expect the big white hunter to kill innocent elephants and lots of cringe-worthy racism.
The third ongoing story a nickel twice monthly gets you is Warlock the Wizard, which sounds pretty redundant to me, and not just because of the name. By this point, there are a LOT of Mandrake types running around four-color comics. No real twists, he uses a magic wand with a fist at the end that turns into a giant animated hand, and a mystical lantern around his neck, to battle evil. Oh, and a talking raven called Hugin. Hugis looks nothing like a raven.
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