Exciting Comics #3 (9)
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeExciting Comics #9 (cover-dated May 1941, on sale February 18, 1941) is a cornerstone Golden Age issue because it presents the first appearance and complete origin of the Black Terror — the most popular superhero Ned Pines' Standard/Better/Nedor line ever produced. The character's skull-and-crossbones costume, pharmacist alter ego, and sidekick-and-mentor dynamic gave Nedor its defining superhero identity, and the book's sales impact was so immediate that the publisher converted Exciting Comics from a quarterly to a monthly schedule starting just two issues later with #11. Beyond its Nedor context, the issue sits at an interesting cultural crossroads: the 'formic ethers' origin is a thinly disguised chemistry-lab riff on the accident-powered hero formula popularized by Superman, and the explicitly Clark Kent-coded civilian identity of Bob Benton shows Golden Age writers already self-consciously working within — and embellishing — genre conventions barely three years old.
In "Nemesis of Evil," timid druggist Bob Benton stumbles upon a miraculous tonic when a mix-up with a lab ingredient unleashes a powerful vapor that transforms him—unexpectedly giving him strength beyond his wildest dreams. When his assistant Tim accidentally inhales the same vapor, he too gains extraordinary abilities, setting off a chain of events neither man could have predicted. Written by Richard Hughes and illustrated by David Gabrielsen, this 1941 adventure from Pines Comics captures the spark of superhero origin with a touch of everyday wonder, all framed by Elmer Wexler’s dynamic cover.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The Black Terror was produced through Benjamin W. Sangor's commercial comics studio (operating under the name Syndicated Features Corporation), which packaged content on demand for Ned Pines' publishing imprint. Writer Richard E. Hughes — at that point working as an editorial assistant at the Sangor Shop — co-created the character alongside artist Dave Gabrielson, with cover art supplied by Elmer Wexler, who also drew the cover of Fighting Yank's debut in Startling Comics #10. Hughes would go on to edit the American Comics Group from 1943 to 1967 and later co-create Herbie Popnecker, but the Black Terror was his most commercially successful early creation. Notably, future crime novelist Patricia Highsmith wrote scripts for the Black Terror feature during her time at Nedor (1942–43), though she later destroyed all records of that work.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and complete origin story of the Black Terror (Bob Benton), published by Nedor Comics (a Pines Publications imprint), with a cover date of May 1941 and a confirmed on-sale date of February 18, 1941.
- First appearance of sidekick Tim Roland, whose deliberate inhalation of the 'formic ethers' formula makes him a co-powered partner; together Benton and Roland are introduced here as the 'Terror Twins.'
- First appearance of Jean Starr — Bob Benton's acquaintance and the Black Terror's love interest — who initially scorns the meek Benton while admiring his costumed alter ego, a dynamic that mirrors Lois Lane's relationship with Clark Kent/Superman.
- The Black Terror was co-created by writer Richard E. Hughes and artist Dave Gabrielson; cover art was by Elmer Wexler, who simultaneously worked for Fawcett, Quality, MLJ, and Columbia during this period.
- The issue also contains multiple features beyond the Black Terror: the Mask (by Kin Platt), the Sphinx (by C.A. Winter), Jim Hatfield Texas Ranger, and the Space Rovers (by Max Plaisted) — making it a dense anthology with several other catalog characters (Ellsworth Forrester, Tony Colby, Sergeant Bill King) appearing in those backup strips.
- The Black Terror's popularity directly caused Exciting Comics to shift from a quarterly to a monthly publication schedule, beginning with issue #11 (July 1941).
- The character eventually headlined not only Exciting Comics but also the anthology title America's Best Comics and a self-titled solo quarterly series that ran 27 issues through 1949; later notable Black Terror story contributions came from future crime novelist Patricia Highsmith, who wrote scripts for Nedor between 1942 and 1943.
- Because the original Nedor copyrights lapsed, the Black Terror entered the public domain and has since been revived by AC Comics (1983), Eclipse Comics (1989), Alan Moore's America's Best Comics/Terra Obscura (2001), and Dynamite Entertainment's Project Superpowers (2008) among others, demonstrating the character's lasting narrative utility.
Cast · 11 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Druggist Bob Benton is working on a compound to create a tonic for run-down people, the kind he himself would like to take because people are always picking on him. When Tim gives him the wrong substance to add to the compound, it creates a vapor that brings strength beyond measure to him. Tim later takes a whiff of the substance and gets similar abilities.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
Key issues in Exciting Comics
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