The Purple Claw

A 1950s horror-anthology hero published by Minoan Publishing (later preserved by AC Comics), The Purple Claw was a mysterious figure who used an ancient mystical claw artifact to battle supernatural evil. His true identity and the relic's origins were shrouded in occult mystery.

Born in the early days of horror comics, The Purple Claw made a striking debut in 1953 — a Golden Age original conjured by creator Ben Brown at a moment when the medium was pushing into genuinely eerie territory. With roots stretching back over seven decades and appearances still surfacing as recently as 2024, this is a character with remarkable staying power for the dedicated collector. The Purple Claw's longest home has been with AC Comics, sharing pages with the likes of She-Cat, Nightveil, and Claudette Meyler across titles like FemForce and Crypt of Horror — an eclectic, pulpy corner of the comics universe that rewards curious fans willing to dig. With a key issue to the name and fifty catalog appearances spanning the Golden Age to the present, The Purple Claw is exactly the kind of discovery that reminds you how deep and wonderfully strange comics history really runs.