Adventure Comics #40
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAdventure Comics #40 (cover-dated July 1939) is the issue that launched the Sandman's long-running Adventure Comics feature and introduced Wesley Dodds to the majority of Golden Age readers, making it the practical origin point for one of the medium's earliest 'mystery men.' The character — a gas-masked vigilante who relied on intellect, a sleep-gas gun, and a dual civilian identity rather than superhuman powers — represented a pivotal bridge between the pulp detective tradition and the emerging superhero genre, a formula that would directly influence the Justice Society of America, of which the Sandman became a founding member. The issue also marks the debut of the villain the Tarantula (Mr. Crossart), whose story was later revisited and expanded in the 1993 Vertigo series Sandman Mystery Theatre, demonstrating the Adventure #40 story's lasting narrative reach across decades. As the first conceived Sandman story, it stands as the creative origin even though a companion story in New York World's Fair Comics #1 reached newsstands slightly earlier.
In "The Tarantula Strikes," the Sandman faces off against a cunning and deadly foe as he investigates the mysterious kidnapping of a celebrated actress and the staggering $500,000 ransom demand. Written and illustrated by Larry Dean, this 1939 adventure showcases the early days of the character with sharp storytelling and dynamic art. The cover, by Creig Flessel, captures the tension with a striking, shadowy image of the Sandman in peril.
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Writer Gardner Fox plotted the six-page lead story — published under the house pseudonym 'Larry Dean' — while artist Bert Christman both scripted and drew it, the two being the credited co-creators of Wesley Dodds. The cover was rendered by Creig Flessel, who went on to draw many early Sandman adventures and has sometimes been mistakenly cited as a co-creator solely on the basis of that cover. The issue was edited by Vin Sullivan (credited as Vincent A. Sullivan) and published by Detective Comics Inc., going on sale June 10, 1939; the Sandman story's title 'The Tarantula Strikes' was not printed in the original issue but was later assigned retroactively by the Golden Age Sandman Archives reprint collection. The issue also featured a Federal Men strip by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, a Rusty and His Pals strip by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, and several other anthology features, reflecting Adventure Comics' omnibus format of the era.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First conceived story of Wesley Dodds as the Sandman, written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Bert Christman under the shared pseudonym 'Larry Dean'; cover-dated July 1939, on sale June 10, 1939.
- Though historians believe this Adventure Comics story was written and drawn first, the New York World's Fair Comics #1 (April 1939) beat it to newsstands by roughly one to two weeks, creating an enduring debate over which constitutes the character's true first published appearance.
- First appearance of the villain the Tarantula (real name: Mr. Crossart), a black-hooded kidnapper unmasked by the Sandman after abducting movie actress Vivian Dale — a story later adapted and expanded in Sandman Mystery Theatre #1–4 (1993).
- Cover art penciled and inked by Creig Flessel (signed); Flessel's prominent association with the character has sometimes led to an erroneous co-creator credit, but no evidence supports this beyond the cover.
- Edited by Vin Sullivan (Vincent A. Sullivan); the issue also contains anthology strips scripted or drawn by Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Bill Finger, and Bob Kane, making it a snapshot of DC's early creative roster.
- The Sandman is depicted wearing an orange business suit throughout this story (and through issue #43), not the green suit commonly associated with the character — a coloring choice that also appears on the Flessel cover.
- The lead story 'The Tarantula Strikes' was reprinted in Justice League of America #94 (November 1971) and again in the Golden Age Sandman Archives Vol. 1 hardcover (DC, December 2004), which collects New York World's Fair Comics #1–2 and Adventure Comics #40–57.
- The Sandman's feature ran continuously in Adventure Comics from this issue (#40) through issue #102 (February/March 1946), and Wesley Dodds went on to become a founding member of the Justice Society of America in All-Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940–1941).
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The Sandman comes up against a very crafty and dangerous adversary while investigating the kidnapping of a famed actress and subsequent demand for $500,000 ransom.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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