| The Clock | |
|---|---|
 Funny Picture Stories #1 (November 1936) by Comic Magazine Company | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Comics Magazine Company Ultem Publications Quality Comics |
| First appearance | Funny Pages #6 andFunny Picture Stories #1 (November 1936) |
| Created by | George Brenner |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Brian O'Brien |
| Partnerships | Pug Brady Butch |
TheClock is a fictional masked crime-fighter character created in 1936, during theGolden Age of Comic Books. He was the first fully-masked hero to appear inAmerican comic books.[1]
Created by cartoonistGeorge Brenner, the Clock first appeared in the Comics Magazine Company publicationFunny Picture Stories #1 (Nov 1936).[2] According toSecondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics:
The Clock appeared on the first cover, wearing a hat, a tux, and a black handkerchief-style face mask, holding a cane, both arms up as he was frisked by a gang of bad guys... The hero was a variation on the masked detectives of the pulps and radio. He hung out in "a sub-cellar located below the heart of the city", and got a villain to talk by showing him some of the furnishings he had around: an iron maiden, a rack, and a thumb-hanging device. Helped out by a gimmick in his cane, the Clock nabbed the gang of jewel thieves he was after and turned them in to the police. A note he left for a police captain burst into flames shortly after it was read.[3]
A hypnotist with a secret underground lair, his minimalist costume as a master of disguise was a three-piece suit and mask. The Clock used a number of gadgets (including a cane whose head becomes a projectile, and a diamond stud which firestear gas), and customarily left a calling card with a clock face and "The Clock Has Struck". The Clock'ssecret identity was eventually disclosed as Brian O'Brien, a wealthy member of high society.[3]
According toJess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "the criminals he fights are usually ordinary gangsters and Nazis, but there is also the occasional mad scientist and superhuman (like the massive, bullet-proof idiot Stuporman)".[4]
The character appeared inFunny Pages #6–11 and other titles from the Comics Magazine Company, includingDetective Picture Stories andKeen Detective Funnies.[3] In 1937 the company was bought byUltem Publications, which encountered financial difficulties and sold the Clock (and other characters) toQuality Comics. Ultem was purchased and renamedCentaur Publications; despite the sale to Quality, Centaur continued to reprint old Clock stories.[5]
The Clock continued to be written and drawn in new stories by Brenner inFeature Funnies (later retitledFeature Comics) from #3 (December 1937) through #31 (April 1940), and was featured on the cover of issues #25, #28 and #29.[6] The Clock feature was moved toCrack Comics #1 (May 1940).[7]
When Centaur sold the Clock to Quality, he acquired a sidekick.[8] He was first assisted by Pat "Pug" Brady, a former boxer who looked exactly like Brian O'Brien; they met when picking each other's pockets inCrack Comics #1. Pug's disguise was even more minimal, consisting of a handkerchief worn like a bandanna. In his first story with the Clock, Pug discovered his secret identity and killed another character who made the same discovery.
InCrack Comics #21 Pug disappeared without explanation as the Clock, shot, crawled into a basement to die. A young girl, Butch Buchanan, wassquatting in the basement and nursed him back to health. She became his "moll", and from issue #22 his costume was similar to that of the Spirit. The Clock alternated appearances on the cover ofCrack Comics with theBlack Condor until #19, continuing as a backup feature of that title until his final appearance inCrack Comics #35 (Autumn 1944).
After Quality Comics ceased operations in 1956,DC Comics acquired the rights to its characters. It did not renew the copyright for most of its characters (including the Clock), allowing them to fall into the public domain, and has not used the Clock apart from a few mentions. In theDC Universe, the Clock was initially said to have been killed in 1944 (the year of his final appearance). InStarman Vol. 2 #19the Shade wrote in his journal: "Brian O'Brien told me the reports of his death were greatly exaggerated". InStarman #20 O'Brien was said to be active inChicago, despite several Golden Age references to his home city as a seaport.
In 1992,Malibu Comics published 20 issues ofThe Protectors, starring asuperhero team including several characters from the Centaur line. In this universe, Brian O'Brien was the first costumed hero. With the advent of super-powered heroes, he gave up crimefighting and joined the army. O'Brien rose through the ranks, eventually becoming President of the United States.
In 2013,Dynamite Entertainment published an eight-issue miniseries,Masks, with several pulp and comic-book characters fighting the Justice Party (which has taken over New York State). In issue #7, Brian O'Brien is revealed as the shadowy figure behind the Party.
