Amazing Man Comics #5
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAmazing-Man Comics #5 is the true debut issue of the title — the numbering began at #5 as a deliberate Golden Age marketing practice designed to give newsstand buyers the impression that the series was already an established success. In its 68 pages it introduced not only John Aman (Amazing-Man) but also the Iron Skull, Cat-Man, Mighty Man, and Minimidget, making it among the densest concentration of superhero first appearances in a single Golden Age comic. The character of Amazing-Man proved unusually consequential beyond its original run: Iron Fist co-creator Roy Thomas explicitly acknowledged in the letter column of Marvel Premiere #15 that John Aman's Tibetan-monastery origin directly inspired Iron Fist's K'un-Lun backstory, and Pete Morisi drew on the same template for Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt at Charlton Comics in 1966, cementing Amazing-Man as a kind of prototype for the 'mystically trained outsider' superhero archetype that still resonates today. As only the second superhero character to headline a comic book named after him — the other being Superman — this issue occupies a singular structural place in the evolution of the dedicated single-hero title.
Amazing Man Comics #5 is an anthology featuring multiple stories. "The Iron Skull" by Carl Burgos follows Mr. Terrin, who needs money and is manipulated into turning down a job offer, leading to a bank robbery scheme orchestrated over the phone. "Minimidget the Miniature Man" by John F. Kolb depicts a mad scientist's creation of a tiny human being, who is then commanded by the scientist's brother Barnell to steal money and commit crimes using his miniature size and magical poisoned sword. A third story involves a forest fire emergency where characters including "Slim" Bradley and others on horseback race to warn a mining camp of an approaching wildfire driven by shifting winds toward Danny's mine, with the climax questioning whether kidnapped characters Jackie Stillman will escape the roaring flames.
In the high peaks of Tibet, Aman is raised in secret by the Council of Seven, trained in ancient ways and tested for his destiny. Sent to America, he discovers a pattern of mysterious train wrecks—and the man behind them is a threat no ordinary hero can face.
In "null," Barton Stone walks free after two decades behind bars, his mind set on justice for the wife he lost and the betrayal that put him away. A year later, each of his former partners is haunted by a mysterious old woman with a cat—each encounter leaving a mark, and a growing dread. Written by an unknown hand, the story unfolds with quiet menace, its sparse pages brimming with unease.
Jack Rhodes investigates mysterious submarine sightings along the river when Washington insists there are no Navy vessels in the area—a puzzle that pulls him underwater and into a dangerous web of smuggling operations. With nothing but a diving suit and his wits, Rhodes must stop the rogue subs before they slip away, all while the stakes keep climbing in unexpected directions.
In "null," the Iron Skull faces off against a rogue scientist whose mechanical spiders and robotic enforcers threaten to plunge the town into chaos. With his unyielding resolve and clever tactics, he races to stop the machines before they can seize control.
In the eerie pages of *Amazing Man Comics #5*, mad scientist Barmell unleashes his tiny creation, Minimidget, on a deadly mission to eliminate every heir to his brother’s fortune—each time shrinking his target to fit in his palm. With no regard for life, Barmell’s obsession drives him to send Minimidget on endless, desperate hunts, turning the small into a weapon of vengeance.
When a volcanic eruption forces divers Chuck Hardy and Jerry Peterson to plummet through a sudden chasm in the ocean floor during a scientific expedition led by Professor Kingsley, they discover themselves in a hidden subterranean world—complete with strange warriors, bizarre creatures, and a mysterious inhabitant named Mogba. As Chuck and Jerry navigate this strange realm and uncover the scientific explanation for their newfound strength, they begin to suspect that Mogba and his people may not be the dominant force in this underground civilization. With danger, discovery, and mystery at every turn, they must figure out how to survive in this realm beneath the sea.
When millionaire A.K. Stillman's young son Jackie is kidnapped and taken into the Spearhead National Forest, forest ranger Slim Bradley takes on the search—but a massive wildfire spreading through the mountains threatens to trap everyone in its path. As Slim races to warn Danny at the nearby Silver Queen Mine, he discovers the boy and an old miner held captive in a remote cabin, leading to a desperate fight for survival through the flames and smoke. With danger closing in from every direction, Slim must find a way to escape the inferno and protect those in his care.
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The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett at the direction of Centaur art director and editor Lloyd Jacquet, and a surviving letter written by Everett's mother Grace — who performed much of the background research — confirms the creative intent: Jacquet wanted Everett to develop a new hero explicitly 'in competition' with Superman, the runaway hit then being syndicated by National Periodical Publications. Everett drew on folk-tale research and the motif of Eastern mystical training to differentiate John Aman from the alien-born Kryptonian template, constructing an origin that was arguably more grounded in pulp adventure tradition. The issue was published under the Comic Corporation of America imprint (the formal entity listed in the indicia), which was the operating name under which Centaur Publications produced comics at this stage of its corporate history. Fantagraphics later collected Everett's Amazing-Man work in The Bill Everett Archives #1 (December 2011), bringing the stories to modern readers.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and full origin of Amazing-Man (John Aman), an orphan trained for 25 years by the Tibetan Council of Seven to achieve superhuman physical and mental abilities, including the power to dissolve into a cloud of green mist.
- Despite the '#5' on the cover, this is the first issue of the series; the higher starting number was a common Golden Age publisher tactic to simulate an established run and reassure skittish newsstand buyers.
- Also contains the first appearances of the Iron Skull (by Carl Burgos, who would go on to create the original Human Torch at Timely), Cat-Man (by Tarpe Mills), Mighty Man (by Martin Filchock), and Minimidget and his companion Ritty.
- Cover and Amazing-Man story are written and drawn by Bill Everett, who in the same year contributed the debut Sub-Mariner story to Timely's Marvel Mystery Comics #1, making 1939 one of the most productive single years in early comics history for a single artist.
- Additional art contributions in the issue came from Carl Burgos, Tarpe Mills, Paul Gustavson, Larry Riley, John F. Kolb, Frank Thomas, Dick Hayes, and Martin Filchock — an unusually deep roster of talent for a Centaur anthology.
- Roy Thomas stated in Marvel Premiere #15 that John Aman's origin directly inspired the creation of Iron Fist (first appearing 1974), while Pete Morisi modeled Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt (Charlton, 1966) on the same Tibetan-training premise.
- Once Centaur's properties entered the public domain, the character was revived by Malibu Comics in The Protectors (1992), reintroduced into the Marvel Universe as 'The Prince of Orphans' in Immortal Iron Fist #12 (2008), and used again by Dynamite Entertainment in Project Superpowers #0 (2008).
- The series ran from this issue (#5) through issue #26, cover-dated February 1942, ending when Centaur ceased publication; the run comprised 22 issues total, published under the Comic Corporation of America imprint.
Cast · 3 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Hurrah ! et les grandes explorations réunies #1 (1940), Collection Fantôme #[168] (1946), Continuum #3 (2007), The Bill Everett Archives #1 (2011), L'histoire des super-héros #[nn] (2016), The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics! #15 (2016), Gwandanaland Comics #184 (2017), L'âge merveilleux des Comics #5
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