Bill Black's Fun Comics #4

History

Bill Black had been self-publishing superhero comics under the Paragon Publications imprint since 1969, developing original characters like Captain Paragon through mail-order fanzine-style releases before the direct-market era. When the direct-sales comic shop distribution system began to take hold in the early 1980s, Black rebranded the line as Americomics and launched a full-color output in January 1983, with Fun Comics among his flagship titles. Issue #4, edited entirely by Black and written by Black, Ben Smith, and noted comics historian R.C. Harvey, was produced at the transition point when the company's name shifted from Paragon Publications to AC Comics, giving it a dual identity in the historical record. The cover was supplied by Pat Broderick, with interior art divided among Jim Sanders III, Black himself, Mark Heike, Roy Richardson, and a Boys' Ranch reprint sequence by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance and origin of Stardust (real name: Dr. Mara), a scientist from the female-dominated alien planet Rur who gains super-powers via a Stellar Erg Implanter; she later became a core member of Femforce.
• Origin story of Nightfall (real name: Laura Wright), in which Phantom Lady is given the Cloak of Darkness and mystically transformed into the sorceress Nightfall — a character subsequently renamed Nightveil and one of AC Comics' most enduring heroines.
• The Cloak of Darkness and Nightfall's gloves are depicted in red in this issue only, a coloring choice not repeated in any subsequent appearance.
• Technically the first comic published under the AC Comics name after the company's rebranding from Paragon Publications, and the final issue of the Bill Black's Fun Comics series.
• Cover art by Pat Broderick; interior creative team includes writer/editor Bill Black, writers Ben Smith and R.C. Harvey, and artists Jim Sanders III, Mark Heike, Roy Richardson, and (in reprint) Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.
• Includes an editorial appreciation of Simon & Kirby's Boys' Ranch comics, written by R.C. Harvey, reflecting AC's consistent interest in Golden Age comics scholarship alongside its superhero content.
• Continues the serial development of Captain Paragon (alter ego: Charlie Starrett, a 19th-century ranch hand enhanced into a super-soldier in the early 1900s) and Commando D (alter ego: Page Connors), two of Bill Black's original retro-flavored heroes.
• Several Charlton Comics Action Heroes — including Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Captain Atom (Allen Adam), The Question (Vic Sage), and Nightshade (Eve Eden) — are indexed against this issue, consistent with AC's brief 1983 licensing arrangement with Charlton; their precise story role (new material vs. reprint/pinup) in this specific issue could not be fully corroborated from available sources.

Cast · 30 characters

Full credits

Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers