All-American Comics #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAll-American Comics #1 (April 1939) is the debut issue of All-American Publications' flagship title — the very company that would eventually merge into what we know today as DC Comics — making it a foundational artifact of the Golden Age. The issue launched three original features that would anchor the series for years: Hop Harrigan, one of the earliest aviation heroes in comic-book history; Red, White, and Blue, a patriotic tri-service adventure team written by Jerry Siegel fresh off co-creating Superman; and Sheldon Mayer's Scribbly, a semi-autobiographical strip about a boy cartoonist that critic Art Spiegelman would later call arguably the first autobiographical example of a cartoonist writing about cartooning in American comics. Though none of this issue's characters were superheroes, the series it inaugurated would go on to introduce the Golden Age Green Lantern, the Atom, Doctor Mid-Nite, and the original Red Tornado — a roster of Justice Society mainstays whose creative roots trace directly back to this first number.
In "Canal Zone Intrigue," two strangers, Alan and Ted, stumble into a mysterious adventure when they're drawn into the plans of a brilliant professor who claims to have mastered the reversal of gravity. With a daring voyage aboard the spaceship "The Wanderer" to Mars on the horizon, their lives take an unexpected turn into the unknown. Written by Carl Claudy and illustrated by Stan Asch, with a striking cover by Sheldon Mayer, this landmark issue from 1939 blends early sci-fi wonder with the thrill of the uncharted.
In "Canal Zone Intrigue," three old friends from Oakville—now serving in the military—rally to rescue Doris West, unaware she’s actually a G-2 agent hunting a spy ring selling U.S. military secrets. The story unfolds in the tense atmosphere of the Panama Canal Zone, where loyalty, deception, and duty collide.
In this brief 1939 humor tale from *All-American Comics #1*, Skippy finds himself in a sticky situation when a friend scolds him for not buying a drink—so he offers to treat him, with a twist that’s as clever as it is mischievous. The story captures the playful spirit of early comic antics, where a simple gesture takes a surprisingly pungent turn.
In "Hop Leaves the Farm," a young man named Hop, down on his luck after losing his father's farm, takes a daring leap into a Flying Jenny and crashes into an airfield, where he meets two strangers who will become his closest companions. The story captures a moment of flight and fate, set against the early days of aviation.
In this brief 1939 slice of teen life from *All-American Comics #1*, Jo is caught off guard by his friends Butch and Eppie, who drag him to a party where Daphne’s new boyfriend, Sylvester, quickly steals the spotlight.
In "null," Scribbly, heart set on Daphne, arrives with flowers and candy only to find her with Sylvester in his military uniform. Undeterred, he joins a party where Sylvester is the center of attention, sparking a jealous rage that leads to a black eye. With help from his friends, Scribbly takes aim with tomatoes in a chaotic, comedic showdown—then vanishes into the crowd.
In "null," Scribbly, heart set on his crush Daphne, arrives with flowers and candy only to find her with Sylvester in his military uniform. After a crushing disappointment, he’s dragged to a party by friends, where Sylvester steals the spotlight again—sparking a furious reaction. When a prankish plan unfolds, Scribbly grabs tomatoes and takes aim, sending the moment into chaotic motion.
In "The Mystery Men of Mars [Part 1]," Alan and Ted cross paths by chance, drawn into a strange adventure when they meet a brilliant professor who claims to have mastered the reversal of gravity. Invited aboard his spaceship, The Wanderer, the two young men set off on a daring journey to Mars, promised fame and fortune beyond imagination.
When Ben helps his struggling friend Jo move into a new place and gives him some cash to start fresh, he doesn’t expect the sudden flood of unexpected visitors—each with their own strange interest in Jo’s newfound funds.
In this 1939 adventure from All-American Comics #1, Bob faces a sudden roadblock when a landslide cuts off his path to West Point—so he takes matters into his own hands with a daring parachute drop straight to the academy.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
All-American Publications was founded by M.C. (Max) Gaines after he secured financial backing from Harry Donenfeld, whose existing operations included National Allied Publications (home of Superman) and Detective Comics; the arrangement let All-American share office and distribution infrastructure with National while operating as a nominally independent imprint, which is why the early issues carried the DC bullet. Sheldon Mayer — who had already created Scribbly for Dell Comics in 1936 — came with Gaines to serve as the title's first editor, drawing the cover of issue #1 and bringing his signature strip along for its DC-lineage debut. The issue mixed original features with syndicated newspaper-strip reprints (Mutt and Jeff, Skippy, Reg'lar Fellers, Toonerville Folks) in a 68-page, ten-cent package, reflecting Gaines and Mayer's prior experience packaging syndicated strips and their strategy of easing newspaper-comics readers into the still-new comic-book format.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: April 1939 (publication date April 10, 1939); cover price ten cents; 68 pages; published by All-American Publications with the DC bullet, edited by M.C. Gaines, cover art by Sheldon Mayer.
- First comic-book appearance of Hop Harrigan (created and drawn by Jon L. Blummer, signing as 'Jon Elby') — one of the earliest aviation heroes in the medium; the story 'Hop Leaves the Farm' introduces teenage pilot Hop alongside mechanic Ikky Tinker and aviator Prop Wash.
- First appearance of Red, White, and Blue — written by Jerry Siegel with art by William Smith — featuring Marine Red Dugan, Army soldier Whitey Smith, and Navy man Blooey Blue, three childhood friends from Oakville who become G-2 (Secret Service) operatives after a Panama Canal Zone mission involving double agent Doris West.
- First DC-lineage appearance of Scribbly Jibbet (created by Sheldon Mayer in 1936 for Dell's Popular Comics); Scribbly's family members Dinky Jibbet and Ma Jibbet are part of his supporting cast across the run.
- Scribbly was described by Jules Feiffer in The Great Comic Book Heroes (1965) as a uniquely wild strip about a boy cartoonist, and Art Spiegelman considered it arguably the first autobiographical cartoonist-about-cartooning feature in American comics.
- The issue includes reprints of established newspaper strips: Mutt and Jeff (drawn by Al Smith under Bud Fisher's byline), Percy Crosby's Skippy, Gene Byrnes's Reg'lar Fellers, and Fontaine Fox's Toonerville Folks — characters listed in our catalog such as Mutt, Jeff, and Cicero appear here via those reprints.
- Hop Harrigan ran continuously in All-American Comics from issue #1 through #99 and later expanded into a nationally broadcast radio serial (debuting August 31, 1942 on the Blue Network) and a 15-chapter film serial in 1946, making his debut issue the origin point of a character who crossed multiple media.
- The series that this issue launched would go on for 102 issues (through October 1948) and introduce the Golden Age Green Lantern (#16), the Atom (#19), the original Red Tornado (#20), and Doctor Mid-Nite (#25) — all future Justice Society members — cementing All-American Comics as one of the most consequential anthology titles of the Golden Age.
Cast · 14 characters
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Popular Comics #12 (1937), Popular Comics #13 (1937), Movie Comics #1 (1939)
Reprinted in Detective Comics #26 (1939), Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics #5 (1941), Comic Cavalcade #1 (1942)
Key issues in All-American Comics
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