 | |
| Founded | 1943 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Vin Sullivan |
| Defunct | 1958 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City,New York |
| Key people | Bob Powell,Dick Ayers,Jerry Siegel,Joe Shuster |
| Publication types | Comic books |
| Fiction genres | Western,humor,crime,adventure,children's |
Magazine Enterprises was an Americancomic bookpublishing company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarilyWestern,humor,crime,adventure, andchildren's comics, with virtually nosuperheroes. It was founded byVin Sullivan, an editor atColumbia Comics and before that the editor atNational Allied Publications, the futureDC Comics.
Magazine Enterprises' characters include thejungle goddessCave Girl, drawn byBob Powell, andGhost Rider, ahorror fiction-themed Western avenger created by writerRay Krank and artistDick Ayers in 1949; after the trademark lapsed, Ayers and others adapted it asMarvel Comics' non-horror but otherwise near-identical Western characterGhost Rider in 1967.
Magazine Enterprises should not be confused with the same-nameScottish company that publishedscience fiction magazines from at least 1946 to 1960.
In late 1947, Superman creatorsJerry Siegel andJoe Shuster collaborated once again with editor Vin Sullivan, who had worked with the writer-artist team during their nascent days freelancing for National Allied Publications, the futureDC Comics. The duo had decamped to Magazine Enterprises after leaving National Allied (by then calledNational Comics) and suing to regain the rights to Superman and their later creation,Superboy. Siegel and Shuster brought most of their studio's artists with them, except for 1950s Superman pencilerWayne Boring, and created the new characterFunnyman, aslapstick-comedian hero. Both as a comic book and as acomic strip, however, the character failed to find an audience.[1]
Magazine Enterprises' best-known character may beGhost Rider, ahorror-themedWestern avenger created by writerRay Krank and artistDick Ayers in 1949. After the trademark lapsed, Ayers and others adapted it asMarvel Comics' non-horror but otherwise near-identical Western characterGhost Rider in 1967.[2]
The company's two superhero characters were the Avenger, created by writerGardner Fox and artistDick Ayers inThe Avenger #1 (March 1955), with Bob Powell drawing the character's three subsequent issues and all four covers;[3] and the aptly named Strong Man, an unmasked, super-strong hero in a jungle-printcircusstrongman outfit. The Avenger was one of the very few traditional, costumed superheroes created during the period before superheroes' revival in what historians and fans call theSilver Age of Comics, beginning 1956.[4]
Other original characters include thejungle goddessCave Girl, drawn byBob Powell, and thetalking animal canine hero Hot Dog, created by cartoonistGeorge Crenshaw and unrelated to the laterArchie Comicscharacter of that name.[5]
Among the company's publications were licensedfilm andTV comics featuring comedianJimmy Durante; suave actorDick Powell; and theCBS television seriesThe Adventures of Robin Hood, starringRichard Greene. Additionally,Little Miss Sunbeam Comics starred the blond, pig-tailed mascot ofSunbeam Bread.
Since the copyright to Magazine Enterprises' comics do not appear to have been renewed,[6] they evidently fell into thepublic domain in accordance with copyright laws at the time. Beginning in the 1980s,AC Comics issued reprint titles of Magazine Enterprises material, along with those of other defunct publishers of that era.[7] As well, AC revived the Avenger as a guest star inFemForce #19 (1989; no cover date), then creating a new series. Ghost Rider reprints appeared in 1999 with the character renamed the Haunted Horseman.
See also:Dick Powell (Crime),Jimmy Durante Comics (Humor),Tim Holt (Western)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
