Lee Samson

Few characters can claim they were there at the very beginning — Lee Samson debuted in the legendary Pep Comics #1 in 1940, a key issue that launched one of the Golden Age's most storied anthologies, brought to life by the enormously talented Jack Cole. Published under what would become Archie Comics, this character shares their earliest pages with a remarkable roster of Golden Age figures including The Comet, Joe Higgins, and The Queen of Diamonds — heady company for any era. Spanning an impressive arc from 1940 all the way into 1973, Lee Samson's presence across Pep Comics and later Flashback speaks to a quiet endurance that serious Golden Age collectors will want to explore.