KO KOMICS

Marty Mann · January 8, 2014

Does anyone know if the "Superhero" that appears on the cover of

KO KOMICS, but not inside, ever appeared in any other comic?

mm

sacentaur · January 8, 2014

I have this book Marty, and also wondered about the cover (including speculation that the artist is Jack Kirby?).

CycloneComics · January 8, 2014

Duke of Darkness appears in

Top Spot Comics

KO Komics

Triple Threat Comics

I think I have seen this book before.

jbcomicbox · January 9, 2014

here is an article i did for CBM for one shot wonders.......I have the books, just got to dig them out or leave it to you wunda-collectors jb

(guaranteed to put you right to sleep......)

Esoteric Short-lived Titles

Digging through the old comicbox, we have dealt with such characters as “The Cyclone” in Whirlwind Comics, “The Human Meteor” in Champ Comics, and “Hip Knox the Hypnotist” in Superworld Comics and such comic titles as Miracle Comics and Circus Comics. Enough of this “mainstream” stuff. It’s time to dig deep into the comicbox and really get esoteric. This go-around its time to highlight some comicbooks that barely made a ripple in the pool of comicbooks that have been produced over the years. Let’s turn our attention to comics that did not make it past the second issue (if that). For that we turn to the mid-1940s which seemed to be a period, as the war was winding down, in which a number of one-shot wonders were produced. From the multitude of titles produced at that time, the following are presented for your viewing, and, possibly, collecting pleasure.

TALLY-HO COMICS (December 1944)

William Cooleridge once wrote about the “willing suspension of disbelief”. Pushing that saying to the max is Tally-Ho Comics. The headline feature has a snowman idol come to life to battle the “monster-making” evil of Fang. Fang is so evil that he has been exiled from Desolation Island, “the last refuge on Earth for the hunted humans that society has cast off as leeches to humanity”. Left to die in the Artic, Fang frees himself and decides to create monsters to take over the Earth. However, up the artic a couple of miles is a Snowman idol, cob pipe and all, who comes to life to battle this evil incarnate. Slinging one-liners (“How long did you think this idol was gonna remain idle.”), as well as his fists, Snowman bests Fang in hand-to-hand combat by tossing him to some crocodiles that have come to the artic. Weird ? Yep it is. However, this little tale is spun by John Giunta (Giunta career in comics runs from the Centaurs of the late 1930s through Tower Comics of the 1960s. He has the distinction of writing the first review of fanzines to appear in comics in Amazing Mystery Funnies 2/12.), and Frank Frazetta (this work being his first work in comics). The title was rounded out with two humor-adventure strips, “He-Man” and “Captain Cookie”, and a horror story, “The Man in Black”.

K0 KOMICS TOP SPOT COMICS AND TRIPLE THREAT COMICS

Well, one way to make yourself appear as a publishing empire is to issue a series of first issues. This is exactly what Gerona Publishing did when it issued the first and only issues of KO Komics in October 1945, followed by Top Spot Comics and Triple Threat Comics in 1946. Although each appeared to be separate and distinct, for the most part, each title contained the same cast of characters.

The “lead” feature was “The Duke of Darkness”. The Duke was a character in the footsteps of “The Spectre” and “Mr. Justice” (The resemblance to the former character is not all that strange since Bernard Bailey, artist for “The Spectre” had a hand in this publication.) . As the story opens in KO Komics, the police are burying one of their own, Daniel “Paddy” Sullivan. Although not explained, a ghost of this individual immediately appears and dedicates himself to fighting crime and evil. Conveniently, at the same time, Professor Live is unearthed by his henchmen and he, too, becomes a living ghost, and reversing the spelling of his name, dedicates himself to evil. During the course of the story, The Duke comes into conflict with this individual and literally tears him apart since he cannot die. The storyline continues in Top Spot Comics and then in Triple Threat Comics. The stories have The Duke of Darkness combatting the Prince of Paupers and Mr. Slumber, another resurrected individual who manipulates people’s dreams. Although a ghost, the Duke was always getting bopped over the head or socked in the jaw.

Other features include: “The Menace” who is Dennis Temple, a horror movie star, who uses his gruesome movie disguises and his battling fists and wits to track down the denizens of the underworld. “The Magnificient Epod”, who is the only living survivor of the Atlantis. He uses his Atlantean knowledge in attempts to obtain fame and fortune. The stories are humorous in nature with a slapstick bent. Triple Threat Comics also included the character of “King O’Leary” who is “the crack city editor of the Daily Blade and the intrepid enemy of evil-doers” and “Beau Brummell” who fought crime in a top hat and cape. He is labelled “the fastidious foe of evil-doers”. If you are snoozing by now, it should be abundantly clear why none of these titles hit the second issue.

MAD HATTER

Claiming to be “a new kind of comic book”, the Mad Hatter fought crime while often composing rhymes. Frankly, there was a bit of spark in

this hero who was happy as a lark. (Sorry) Armed with superb athletic ability and his omni-present hat signal for announcing his prescence, the Mad Hatter took on crime bosses, a criminal who has his brain transferred to a gorilla after he is sent to the electric chair (this story is in issue 2 although it appears on the cover of the first issue), and hoodlums such as Humpty Dumpty.

The Mad Hatter is Grant Richmond who works as an attorney for the law office of Fuddy and Bustle, who are two absent-minded senior partners. They do not even notice when Richmond dashes off to do his Mad Hatter thing. To add to his mystic of “madness”, The Mad Hatter would leave nonsensical notes for the police after capturing a bad guy. (“Though I dream of sweets and stuff, kings and cabbages aren’t enough. I must have danger too.”)

Mad Hatter appeared in an issue dated January-February and September-October 1946. (This later issue in a “no-space” book as it does not appear in the Gerber Photo-Journal.) It was published by O.W. Comic Corp. which was comprised of William Woolfolk and John Oxton. Woolfolk worked on many golden age characters such as Steel Sterling and other MLJ characters, Captain Marvel and other Fawcett characters, and even on Captain America and the Human Torch for Timely, as well as Superman and Batman for DC.

CANNONBALL COMICS

Dated February and March 1945, Cannonball Comics featured the “Crash Kid”. Certainly, the most notable thing about this title was the dramatic covers featuring Crash Kid and demonic creatures. Unfortunately, the covers had nothing to do with the interior stories. As a twist on the usual boy companion storyline that was common at this time, the Crash Kid was the hero with an adult male, “Pook”, as his Brooklyn “side-kick”.

The Crash Kid (with the handy “CK” on his belt buckle) was Rusty Adams, “demon copy boy” for the Daily Herald. In this position, Rusty was able to get a headstart on many fast-breaking stories and mysteries. His relationship with Pook is never explained, except that Pook drives Rusty to or away from crime scenes. (One of the disadvantages of being a young super-hero is that you may have special powers, but you still can not obtain a driver’s license.) The stories were fairly involved, but routine hero fare for this time period.

Rounding out the features were “Thunderbrand”, a lost prince in search of his heritage with the help of some buccaneers in the 1500s; “Jonathon Jones, Crime Crusader, who was billed as a “fast-thinking, hard-punching, devil-may-care” investigator who answers when “the legions of evil cast their pall of black terror”; and “Hardy of Hillsdale High” who, although he cannot lift ten tons or beat armies single handedly, can still be a hero in his own way.

Cannonball Comics was published by Rural Home/Enwill Publishing. This company also produced a fistful of other shortlived titles such as Blazing Comics, Red Circle Comics, Blue Circle Comics, Red Band Comics, and Captain Wizard.

So there you go, from the bottom of the box, five titles to tantalize and sure to satisfy the most esoteric of tastes.

JSB 7/10/95