Fantastic Comics #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFantastic Comics #1 launched one of Fox Feature Syndicate's flagship Golden Age superhero anthology titles, simultaneously introducing Samson — credited to Will Eisner and Alex Blum — and Stardust the Super Wizard by Fletcher Hanks. Historians have noted that Samson's feats rivaled or exceeded the contemporary Superman in sheer brutality, making this issue a document of how aggressively early Golden Age publishers pushed the limits of the nascent superhero formula. Stardust, with his god-like powers and nightmarish punishments for criminals, has since become a celebrated cult figure in comics history, representing a strain of outsider-art surrealism unique to the earliest years of the medium. The title's lasting cultural footprint was confirmed when Image Comics revived it in 2008 as Fantastic Comics #24 under Erik Larsen's Next Issue Project, picking up the numbering directly from Fox's 1941 cancellation.
"The Coming of Samson" in Fantastic Comics #1 (1939) introduces a strikingly original hero in a story written and illustrated by Fletcher Hanks, showcasing his distinctive, bold style. The tale begins with Stardust, a mysterious figure, confronting a group of criminals by trapping them mid-air and forcing them to face the spectral remains of their victims—a haunting visual that sets a dark, unforgettable tone. The cover, by Lou Fine, captures the issue’s dramatic flair with its dynamic composition and striking imagery.
In "The Arrival of Stardust," the enigmatic hero Stardust confronts a criminal syndicate, using a mysterious power to halt them mid-motion and force them to face the haunting echoes of their victims—silent skeletons rising from the past. Written by an unknown hand and illustrated by an uncredited artist, this 1939 fantasy superhero tale delivers a stark, otherworldly vision of justice.
When empire-minded dictator Raxola and his forces from North Poleria launch a sudden invasion of U.S. territory, the nation mobilizes for total war—and Yank Wilson, appointed Stratosphere Commander, leads the aerial assault while the military coordinates a multi-front defense against both enemy fleets and a devastating freezing gas. As the conflict escalates across the skies, seas, and land, American scientists race to develop countermeasures while Wilson pursues the enemy's advantage, fighting to repel the invasion and protect the homeland.
In the year 10,000, Sub Saunders, a young naval captain, pilots his custom submarine into the depths of the Atlantic to find the legendary sunken city of Atlantis—and discovers far more than he bargained for. When Sub and Lt. Dirk encounter the frog-men servants and meet Queen Lantida herself, they're thrust into the heart of a conspiracy that threatens the throne, forcing them to choose between exploration and survival.
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Victor S. Fox and business associate Bob Farrell launched Fox Feature Syndicate in New York City in the late 1930s, contracting the Eisner & Iger packaging studio — one of a handful of firms supplying complete comic books on demand — to produce the contents of their early titles, including this one. The cover was painted by Lou Fine, a rising Eisner & Iger talent already recognized by peers as one of the finest draftsmen in the nascent industry. Fletcher Hanks, who contributed both the Stardust the Super Wizard and Space Smith features to this issue, was also working through Eisner & Iger and was noted for his punctuality and arrestingly strange visual style. At least some of the characters originated in pitches prepared for other formats: the Samson origin material that later appeared in Samson #1 (1940) was noted to have originally been developed as a proposed daily newspaper strip, reflecting the fluid, opportunistic content recycling common to Golden Age comics production.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover-dated December 1939, published by Fox Feature Syndicate; 68 pages.
- First appearance of Samson: writer uncredited but attributed by stylistic analysis to Will Eisner; art by Alex Blum under the pseudonym 'Alex Boon.'
- First appearance of Stardust the Super Wizard, written and drawn by Fletcher Hanks — a character who would run for 16 issues of Fantastic Comics and later gain cult status via Fantagraphics reprints.
- Fletcher Hanks also contributed the Space Smith feature to this issue under his pen name Hank Christy, making him the issue's most prolific single contributor.
- Additional first appearances in this issue include Flick Falcon (art by Don Rico), Sub Saunders, Queen Lantida, and Captain Kidd (a pilot, not the pirate).
- The cover was produced by Lou Fine, whose cover art across the Fantastic Comics run became among the most admired of the Golden Age.
- Samson was later given his own solo title in fall 1940 and simultaneously appeared in Big 3 comics alongside The Flame and the Blue Beetle; his full origin was not revealed until Samson #1.
- Most characters debuting in Fantastic Comics — including Samson and Stardust — eventually fell into the public domain; Image Comics revived the title in 2008 as Fantastic Comics #24, the first installment of Erik Larsen's Next Issue Project.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Samson #1 (1940), I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! #[nn] (2007), You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation! #[nn] (2009), Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comic Books of the Second World War #[nn] (2017), Fletcher Hanks : œuvres complètes #[nn] (2018)
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