Pre-code comics 001

Quick bit of history here. In 1954 the comic industry created a ratings/self censorship board. The comic code authority. This was done cause of all the bad press the industry had got over the past few years. Which lead to a Senate investigation.

Like how the Hayes Code changed the way movies were made,the CCA changed the entire comic industry.I had heard for years how graphic and wild the pre-code comics were. And in the early 90s started collecting reprints of pre-code comics. With the pre-code horror and crime comics being the ones I spent the most time searching out.

Fast forward to 2007. I was listening to an episode of the sadly defunct Golden Age of Comics podcast. The host,the ever knowledgeable Bill Jourdain,mentioned how the comic he was reviewing was in the public domain. And not only that but there is a website full of public domain comic book scans. So I quickly went to the site. Now that site has changed hands. And a sister site has popped up.

This site is The Digital Comic Museum. Where all you have to do is register. Which is easy to do and free,then you get access to a huge amount of public domain comics.

Once you download the comics,you will need a comic reader program. There are many free ones. I have been using Cdisplay for close to a decade now and it works great.

So with that bit of history explained onto the first of what hopefully will be many reviews of great public domain pre-code comics.

Yellowjacket Comics #1 is from September 1944. Published by Charlton comics,who most modern comic fans will know as the original home of Captain Atom and The Question. This comic was like most comics of it's era. An anthology title made up of stories of many genres.

The  reason I selected this comic is for a 7 page horror story. Famous Tales of Terror,which is a fairly faithful adaptation of the Edgar Allen Poe short story "The Black Cat".

While the story isn't as graphic or brutal as some other pre-code horror,it  is still a really fun read. That has some very nice art. Being a Poe fan since I first read "Murders in the Rue Morgue" back when I was 7 or so,I love seeing a comic book version of what is one of Poe's best stories.

Yellowjacket Comics #1 also has other stories in it. Like the titular superhero Yellowjacket.Where Yellowjacket fights gangsters. Back in the Golden Age lots of heroes mostly fought gangsters. There wasn't that many recurring super villains back in this era. Unless you are reading stuff from DC or maybe Fawcett.

Then there is Diana the Huntress. Where the Greek Goddess is sent to Earth to fight Nazis. Now one word of warning. With lots of these Golden Age comics that came out during WWII,there is plenty of racial stereotyping. So don't be shocked when you see "Evil" Japanese villains that have yellow skin and slanted eyes and buck teeth.

Up next is a short text only piece. Back during this time-frame every comic would have a 1 or 2 page text only story. These were done so comic books would fall under the old "book rate" mailing label. That way the publisher could save money on shipping out his wares.

The next story is the Black Cat adaptation. Then there is a one page titled "Debunker" Which tries to teach the readers that a few pieces of commonly accepted knowledge are not true. Sadly on this page we get a very racist drawing of a black man.

Then there is "King of the Beasts" Which is a 6 page story about a lion tamer. The art is kind of crap. And the story is bland. But part of that might be I am so accustomed to modern comic book art and storytelling techniques.

"Harbor Lights" is next on deck.Again this one has sub par artwork and the story,which tells of a merchant marine fighting off a u-boat full of Nazis,isn't that appealing.But I bet when this came out the kids that made up most of the audience ate it up.

"Bee Lines" is a one page humor comic. Made up of 8 one panel gag strips. Humor is a thing that doesn't always translate to later generations. And none of the 8 strips made me even chuckle.

"Filipino Kid" is a war story. And while it does have some nice looking art,once again the writing just doesn't grab me. And it is also the final story in the comic.

But there is one last thing I have to mention. Anytime I get any comic made before the mid 90s,the first thing I do is sit down and look at all the ads. And Yellowjacket Comics #1 has a great ad on the back cover. One that I remember seeing a slightly updated version of in the comics I was reading back in the late 70s.

Yep a blackhead remover gun. Never seen one of them in person.But seen ads for them for years in older comics.

Yellowjacket Comics #1 is a decent comics. You get 3 good to great stories,Yellowjacket,Diana and Black Cat. If you are interested in reading it here is a link to download it.

Yellowjacket Comic #1 download Right click and save as