Cover: Jim Mooney

Detective Comics #151

Sep 1949 · DC · 0.10 USD

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★ 1st appearance — Pow-Wow Smith

About this Issue

Detective Comics #151 (September 1949) is the debut issue of Ohiyesa 'Pow-Wow' Smith, one of the earliest Native American protagonists to anchor a recurring feature in American superhero comics. Written by Don Cameron and illustrated by Carmine Infantino, the character introduced a Sioux detective-lawman who used intelligence over brute force to solve crimes — a quietly countercultural premise for the era. The issue also marks a hard editorial transition point: it is simultaneously the first appearance of Pow-Wow Smith and the final Golden Age appearance of Slam Bradley, DC's very first detective feature character, closing a chapter that stretched back to Detective Comics #1 in 1937. The Pow-Wow Smith origin story proved durable enough to be reprinted decades later in the official Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman: The Deluxe Edition, cementing its place in the title's long history.

In "I.O.U. My Life!", Egyptology student Ben Kole takes his peculiar brand of heroism to the extreme—saving lives only to demand signed IOUs, setting up a dangerous game of debt and leverage. Dick Sprang’s expressive art brings the twisty moral stakes to life, while Jim Mooney’s cover captures the eerie, high-stakes tension of a man who’s not quite who he claims to be.

Contains 5 stories

I.O.U. My Life!

12 pp · Superhero

Peter Chaney (architect)Mr. Jenkins (butler for Davis, death)Ben KoleHomer Davis [also as Mr. Jenkins] (villain, banker)

In "I.O.U. My Life!" from Detective Comics #151 (1949), Ben Kole—posing as an Egyptology student—uses his strange obsession with saving lives to collect signed I.O.U.s, turning heroic acts into leverage. The story follows his peculiar scheme, where every rescue comes with a debt that could one day be called in.

Around the World in 24 Hours!

6 pp · Superhero

Rich Man, Poor Man, Lawyer Man... Thief!

7 pp · Detective-Mystery

Shorty Morgan

Untitled Humor story

2 pp · Humor

The Origin of Pow-Wow Smith!

10 pp · Western-Frontier

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Good) $137

CGC 9.6 · 1 in census $7,219*

CGC 9.4 none in existence

CGC 9.2 · 2 in census $2,964

CGC 9.0 · 2 in census $2,031

CGC 8.5 none in existence

CGC 8.0 · 4 in census $1,098

Show all 18 grades ▾

CGC 7.5 · 2 in census $904*

CGC 7.0 · 6 in census $752

CGC 6.5 · 1 in census $630*

CGC 6.0 · 5 in census $528

CGC 5.5 · 5 in census $458*

CGC 5.0 · 4 in census $436*

CGC 4.5 · 4 in census $372*

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $311

CGC 3.5 · 2 in census $288*

CGC 3.0 · 3 in census $234

CGC 2.5 · 2 in census $202

CGC 2.0 none in existence

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

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

More listings for this title

Detective Comics #151 Rare Brazilian Superman 29 Ebal Brazil 1950 $250

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 1 total · seen 27 days ago

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History

The issue was edited by Whitney Ellsworth and story-edited by Jack Schiff under DC's standard late-Golden Age anthology format, with the 52-page issue packing four separate features. The Batman lead story ('I.O.U. My Life!') was penciled by Dick Sprang, whose distinctive bold line defined the look of Batman through this era. Jim Mooney provided the cover. The Pow-Wow Smith feature was explicitly engineered as a replacement slot: the Boy Commandos strip — created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby — had occupied that slot since Detective Comics #64 (1942) and concluded with issue #150 the month prior; the incoming western feature took its place with #151. The Robotman strip ('Around the World in 24 Hours!'), drawn by Howard Sherman, was part of the character's ongoing run in Detective Comics, where he had relocated after his earlier Star-Spangled Comics home ended.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance and origin story of Ohiyesa 'Pow-Wow' Smith, created by writer Don Cameron and penciler Carmine Infantino (inked by George Klein), in the story titled 'The Origin of Pow-Wow Smith!'
Pow-Wow Smith is depicted as a Sioux Native American who becomes sheriff of the western town of Elkhorn; the 'Pow-Wow' nickname is given to him by white loggers after he resolves a dispute through words rather than fighting — a name he accepts reluctantly.
The Pow-Wow Smith feature directly replaced the Boy Commandos strip (a Joe Simon/Jack Kirby creation), which ended in Detective Comics #150 (August 1949), one issue prior.
Slam Bradley's 'Rich Man, Poor Man, Lawyer Man… Thief!' is his final Golden Age appearance; the character would not be seen again until Detective Comics #500 (March 1981) — a gap of over 30 years.
The Batman lead story, 'I.O.U. My Life!', was penciled and inked by Dick Sprang; Jim Mooney drew the cover.
The Robotman feature ('Around the World in 24 Hours!') stars Robert Crane/Paul Dennis — the Golden Age cyborg hero created by Jerry Siegel and Leo Nowak — continuing his run in Detective Comics after transferring from Star-Spangled Comics with issue #138 (August 1948).
The original Pow-Wow Smith strip ran in Detective Comics through issue #202 (December 1953) before the feature moved to Western Comics, eventually running there until 1961 — a continuous publishing life of roughly a dozen years.
'The Origin of Pow-Wow Smith!' was later selected for reprinting in the DC-published Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman: The Deluxe Edition, affirming its status as one of the landmark backup features in the title's history.