Blue Ribbon Comics#17

Cover: Sam Cooper

Blue Ribbon Comics #17

Oct 1941 · Archie · 0.10 USD

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

About this Issue

Blue Ribbon Comics #17 (October 1941) is the second appearance of Captain Flag, MLJ's patriotic wartime superhero who rounded out the publisher's Golden Age superhero roster just months before the United States entered World War II. The issue also debuts Veronica Darnell, Captain Flag's blonde Secret Service ally and the character's first named supporting cast member—a rare instance of a female federal agent as a heroic supporting character in 1941 comics. As part of the 'Blue Ribbon Mystery Comics' cover-title run (issues #9–18), it sits at the peak of the anthology's superhero ambitions before the title began drifting toward real-life features and then cancellation. For historians of MLJ/Archie, it anchors the exact moment the publisher's superhero line was at full strength, hosting Mr. Justice, the Fox, Inferno, and Captain Flag all under one cover.

Contains 8 stories

The Green Ghoul Strikes

10 pp · Superhero

The Green Ghoul (villain)Tracey Keen (introduction, death, possessed by the Green Ghoul)

The Murder of Mary Marvin

11 pp · Animal

Mary Marvin (villain, death)Big Mike Bigelow (villain, introduction)Slick (villain, introduction)another henchman (villains, introductions)

The Clue of the Broken Bracelet

6 pp · Superhero

Slapsie (villain, introduction, not Corporal Collins's co-star)

Encounter with Mohlasos Candhi

7 pp

Forbes (villain, introduction)Mohlasos Candhi (introduction)

Reunion with Malma

6 pp

Joan Davis (guest-star)Mr. Davis (guest-star)Mr. DeSnook (guest-star)Junior DeSnook (guest-star)

Murdered by a Mummy

6 pp · Superhero

Jake Reeves (villain, introduction)Dr. Reeves (villain, introduction)

Scouting on the Suez: Part 2

6 pp · War

The Nazis (villains)

Battle with the Black Hand

9 pp · Superhero

The Black Hand (villain)Von Keitel (villain, introduction)Schmidt (villain, introduction)Veronica Darnell (introduction)

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Good) $309

CGC 9.6 · 1 in census $97,848*

CGC 9.4 none in existence

CGC 9.2 none in existence

CGC 9.0 none in existence

CGC 8.5 none in existence

CGC 8.0 none in existence

Show all 16 grades ▾

CGC 7.5 · 1 in census $10,226*

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 · 1 in census $8,544*

CGC 6.0 none in existence

CGC 5.5 · 2 in census $6,210*

CGC 5.0 · 3 in census $6,150

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $5,042*

CGC 4.0 none in existence

CGC 3.5 · 4 in census $4,014

CGC 3.0 · 3 in census $3,456

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

Find on ebay

Search eBay for Blue Ribbon Comics #17 ▸

No confirmed live listings for this exact issue right now — this opens an eBay search.

Read it digitally

Amazon Kindle Buy the digital edition ▸ GlobalComix Indie & digital reader ▸

Opens a search on each platform — digital availability varies by title.

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

Blue Ribbon Comics was MLJ Magazines' very first comic title, launched in November 1939 and edited throughout its run by Harry Shorten. Issue #17 was assembled by the prolific Joe Blair, who wrote nearly every feature in the book; Blair had co-created Captain Flag with artist Lin Streeter just one issue earlier in #16 (September 1941), and for #17 the Captain Flag story was handed to Warren King for art duties. The cover—featuring Mr. Justice and Captain Flag sharing billing, as they did across issues #16–18—was painted by Sam Cooper, the regular artist on the Mr. Justice feature. The whole series ran as a 64-page anthology published monthly by MLJ Magazines Inc., the company that would eventually reinvent itself as Archie Comics Publications.

Trivia · 8 facts

Second appearance of Captain Flag (Tom Townsend), the patriotic MLJ hero who debuted in Blue Ribbon Comics #16 (September 1941), created by writer Joe Blair and artist Lin Streeter.
First appearance of Veronica Darnell, a blonde Secret Service agent who becomes Captain Flag's primary supporting character throughout his run.
Cover date: October 1941; on-sale date calculated at approximately July 30, 1941; published by MLJ Magazines Inc. under the cover title 'Blue Ribbon Mystery Comics' (used on issues #9–18 and #22).
Cover art by Sam Cooper; edited by Harry Shorten, who also co-created MLJ heroes The Shield and The Hood.
The Captain Flag story 'Battle With the Black Hand' is written by Joe Blair with art by Warren King (not debut artist Lin Streeter), marking King's first work on the Captain Flag feature.
Lead story 'The Green Ghoul Strikes' stars Mr. Justice (Joe Blair/Sam Cooper); other features include The Fox ('The Clue of the Broken Bracelet,' art by Warren King), Rang-A-Tang the Wonder Dog, Inferno, Ty-Gor, Loop Logan, and Corporal Collins—a full showcase of MLJ's Golden Age roster.
Captain Flag's recurring villain the Black Hand—a Nazi-aligned saboteur who killed Tom Townsend's father and inadvertently created Captain Flag—reappears in this issue's story.
The entire MLJ Blue Ribbon Comics run (22 issues, November 1939–March 1942) has been reprinted in facsimile paperback form, and selected stories were reprinted in the fan publication Blue Ribbon Fanzine (2005–2006) once the material entered the public domain.