Blue Ribbon Comics #9
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeBlue Ribbon Comics #9 (cover-dated February 1941) is the debut issue of Mr. Justice, MLJ's entry into the supernatural superhero subgenre that DC's the Spectre had popularized the previous year. The character — a medieval prince's ghost set loose in wartime America by a Nazi U-boat — gave the publisher its most visually distinctive cover identity, a distinction Mr. Justice would hold for the remainder of the title's 22-issue run. The issue also marks the point at which the anthology formally rebranded its cover title to 'Blue Ribbon Mystery Comics,' signaling a deliberate editorial pivot toward darker, supernatural-inflected adventure that set this run apart from MLJ's other Golden Age titles. As a dense, 68-page package housing eight ongoing features, it captures the breadth of MLJ's pre-Archie universe at a single early-1941 moment.
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The issue was published by MLJ Magazines, Inc. (the direct forerunner of Archie Comics) and edited by Harry Shorten, with a writing stable anchored almost entirely by Joe Blair, who scripted the bulk of the book including the landmark Mr. Justice origin. Sam Cooper handled both the cover and the interior art on that lead feature — and signed his work — while Charles Biro drew Corporal Collins, Irwin Hasen drew the Fox, and Mort Meskin drew Ty-Gor, making the issue an inadvertent showcase of Golden Age journeyman talent. Wikipedia and the Hey Kids Comics Wiki note that while Blair created Mr. Justice, Charles Biro would go on to script the character for much of the subsequent run, suggesting a rapid handoff of scripting duties after the debut.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and complete origin of Mr. Justice (secretly Prince James, heir to the English throne), created by writer Joe Blair and artist Sam Cooper — the issue contains his introduction, death in flashback, and resurrection as a ghost.
- Mr. Justice became the cover feature starting with this issue and remained so through the title's final issue (#22, March 1942), making #9 the hinge point of the entire Blue Ribbon Comics cover identity.
- Beginning with this issue, the cover masthead changed to 'Blue Ribbon Mystery Comics' (issues #9–18 and #22 carried this alternate title), reflecting a deliberate editorial shift toward supernatural and mystery content.
- The issue went on sale November 29, 1940 per the U.S. Copyright Office Catalog of Copyright Entries, despite its February 1941 cover date.
- The 68-page anthology includes eight features running concurrently: 'Origin of Mr. Justice' (Blair/Cooper), 'Clue of the Missing Coffins' starring Rang-A-Tang (Blair/Ed Smalle), 'The Dilemma of Slugs Morelli' starring the Fox as Paul Patton (Blair/Irwin Hasen), 'Introducing Steve Stacey' (H.A. Biern/Nick Zuraw), 'Side-By-Side With Sergeant Boyle' starring Corporal Collins, 'Circus of Fury' starring Ty-Gor (Blair/Mort Meskin), 'The Coliseum of Mars' starring Doc Strong (Blair/Mort Meskin), 'The Suez Canal Mission: Part One' starring Loop Logan (Blair/Frank Volp), and 'Food Fight' starring the Green Falcon (Harry Shorten/Ramona Patenaude).
- Mr. Justice's origin story establishes his alter ego as Prince James, murdered in a Scottish castle centuries earlier and freed in the modern era when a Nazi U-boat sinks the ship transporting the dismantled castle to America — directly weaving World War II into the character's supernatural premise from the very first story.
- The Mr. Justice origin story from this issue was reprinted in Gwandanaland Comics #2006, 'The Golden Age Firsts of MLJ Comics: Volume 1' (June 2018), making it accessible to modern readers in collected form.
- The Green Falcon feature in this title was drawn by Ramona Patenaude, one of very few women working in comic book art production during the Golden Age.
Cast · 11 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Lurid Little Nightmare Makers #2 (2014), Gwandanaland Comics #2006 (2018)
Key issues in Blue Ribbon Comics
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