Matthew "Kip" Burland

Police officer Kip Burland was shot and left for dead, but nursed back to health by a mountain hermit who trained him to peak condition. He then adopted the masked identity of the Black Hood, dedicating himself to fighting the criminals who had wronged him.

Born in the pages of Pep Comics #8 in 1940, Matthew "Kip" Burland is a Golden Age gem brought to life by Abner J. Sundell and Jack Cole — a creative pedigree that alone makes him worth tracking down. Over a remarkable span stretching nearly eight decades to 2019, this Archie Comics stalwart carved out a legacy across Black Hood Comics, Pep Comics, and Gwandanaland Comics, with two collector-recognized key issues anchoring his run. He shares his world with some genuinely storied company — patriotic powerhouse The Shield, the tragic Comet, and even the beloved Riverdale gang of Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones — making his corner of the Archie universe a wonderfully eclectic slice of American comics history. With 66 catalogued appearances and a publishing life that refused to quit, Kip Burland is exactly the kind of enduring Golden Age figure that rewards the curious collector willing to dig a little deeper.