Feature Comics #39
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFeature Comics #39 (December 1940) holds a firm place in Quality Comics history as the issue where Darrel Dane—already established as Doll Man, comics' first shrinking superhero—headlined a twelve-story anthology that also introduced a brand-new villain character, Sol Lang, known as The Eye, to Quality's expanding cast of Rance Keane adversaries. By this stage in the run, Doll Man had grown from a four-page back-of-book debut in Feature Comics #27 to the unchallenged lead feature of the title, a rapid ascent that demonstrated how strongly readers responded to Will Eisner's concept of a crime-fighter whose power derived entirely from ingenuity and chemistry rather than innate might. The issue sits squarely in Quality's creative peak—an era when publisher Everett M. Arnold was assembling one of the Golden Age's richest anthology lineups—and illustrates how even a single issue of Feature Comics could serve simultaneously as a continuing superhero showcase and a launching pad for new characters.
In "The Puritan Village," a 1940 issue of Feature Comics, writer and artist Harry Campbell crafts a story where Blackburn, inspired by a boy’s real-life imitation of a comic book hero named Colossal Guy, takes up a costumed identity to combat the so-called "Un-American Band." With bold visuals and a grounded, period-specific tone, the tale explores the line between heroism and vigilantism, all rendered in the distinctive style of Harry Campbell, whose work defines the issue’s interior art. The cover, by John Devlin, captures the era’s dramatic flair with a striking image of Blackburn in his new guise.
When a mysterious criminal known as the Eye orchestrates a robbery, Rance Keane suspects that the suspect he's holding—a young woman named Candida Kane—is merely a pawn being coerced by someone far more dangerous. Setting a trap at a warehouse rendezvous, Rance and his partner discover their quarry possesses an uncanny ability to move and strike in complete darkness. Now Rance must piece together the Eye's modus operandi before the villain claims another victim.
Pat West, a photographer determined to find the legendary Valley of Giants, sets out into the jungle with guide Samar and driver Buck—only to discover the valley is home to colossal prehistoric creatures and a wounded giant ape who becomes an unlikely ally. As the trio ventures deeper into this dangerous realm to capture photographs, they must navigate encounters with sabertooth tigers and mastodons while forging a bond with the massive primate that may be their only hope for survival.
In "The Demon of Destruction," Blackburn, inspired by a young fan who idolized comic book heroes as Colossal Guy, dons a new costumed identity to combat the so-called "Un-American Band" — a move that blends real-world espionage with the pulp-style heroism of the era. The story follows his transformation into a masked figure of intimidation, using fear and cunning to outmaneuver his foes in a shadowy game of wits and sabotage.
Butch, a circus performer with dreams of impressing the bareback rider Brenda, finally gets his chance when she admits she likes him—but his plan to dazzle her in street clothes backfires when she finds him hilarious without his clown makeup. This lighthearted Big Top tale shows that sometimes looking your best isn't what matters most.
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Feature Comics had begun life as Feature Funnies in 1937, a newspaper-strip reprint anthology, and retitled itself Feature Comics in 1939 as original superhero content gradually displaced the syndicated reprints. By issue #39 the transformation was nearly complete: Doll Man, created by Will Eisner and debuting in Feature Comics #27 (December 1939), had within a few issues displaced longtime cover staple Joe Palooka and become the flagship character under the in-house 'William Erwin Maxwell' pseudonym that Eisner's shop used for Quality work. The Doll Man story in #39, 'The Puritan Village,' is credited to John Celardo on art under that same Maxwell byline, reflecting the Eisner studio's practice of rotating artists while maintaining a consistent pen name—Lou Fine had handled the earlier issues in the run before passing the baton to other hands. Publisher Everett M. Arnold oversaw the issue as executive editor, maintaining the dense 68-page, ten-cent anthology format that defined Quality's titles throughout this period.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: December 1940; published by Quality Comics as part of the long-running Feature Comics anthology series.
- Doll Man (Darrel Dane) — Quality Comics' first super-powered character, created by Will Eisner — continues his run as the lead feature; his origin story had debuted in Feature Comics #27 (December 1939).
- The Doll Man story is titled 'The Puritan Village,' in which Dane pursues armed gangsters who stumble into a hidden community of Puritans; art on this installment is credited to John Celardo, scripted under the 'William Erwin Maxwell' house pseudonym.
- First appearance of Sol Lang, a.k.a. The Eye — a villain who poses as a blind man (complete with cane and guide dog) while orchestrating crimes, pitted against adventurer Rance Keane; scripted and drawn by William A. Smith (under the pen name 'Will Arthur').
- Cover art for the issue is by John Devlin; H. Weston Taylor is among the contributing artists across the anthology's multiple features.
- The issue is a 68-page, full-color anthology priced at ten cents, featuring roughly a dozen separate features including Spin Shaw, Samar, Rusty Ryan, Ace of Space, Zero Ghost Detective, and a Mickey Finn strip by Lank Leonard.
- Doll Man would graduate to his own self-titled quarterly series beginning with Doll Man #1 (September 1941), just nine months after this issue's publication.
- After Quality Comics ceased operations in 1956, DC Comics acquired the Quality character library; Doll Man was eventually re-introduced in Justice League of America #107 (October 1973) as a founding member of the Freedom Fighters.
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