Hap Hazard Comics #21
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeHap Hazard Comics #21 is a late-run entry in Ace Magazines' flagship teen-humor title, appearing in 1948 at precisely the moment the series was beginning its editorial pivot toward romance content — the final three years of the run would see the book retitled Real Love with issue #25 in April 1949, carrying the same numbering forward. As one of the earlier dedicated teen-humor comic titles in the American market, the series as a whole preceded and ran parallel to the Archie boom, offering Ace a commercially viable alternative to superhero fare as the Golden Age costume heroes faded. Issue #21 thus sits in the historically interesting twilight zone of a humor title in mid-transformation, representing the waning issues of a format the publisher would shortly abandon in favor of romance. It is also a document of the recurring supporting cast — Stella the Starlet, Flophead, Zippermouth — who gave Ace's teen-humor universe a bench of characters beyond the title star.
Hap Hazard attempts to fix a record player but ends up destroying it, creating chaos with flying records. When his aunt visits and he borrows a dog for a dog show contest, the animal escapes during the show, causing the judge to pronounce Hap the "prize dog" instead. The story escalates into a fire at the auditorium, with Hap blamed for the disaster, and concludes with arguments among the characters about who is responsible for the mess.
When Hap Hazard's allowance runs out fast and he can't cover a soda bill with Babs, he accidentally lands a job as a groom for a racehorse named Annabelle—and ends up in way over his head when race day arrives. This 1948 humor tale spins into chaos as mistaken identities and comic mishaps pile up at the racetrack, with Hap finding himself in the saddle for a steeplechase he never saw coming.
When Hap attempts to impress his crush Babs by posing as a fearless guy, her best friend Aggie—who constantly belittles him—keeps getting in the way. After a nerve-wracking evening at the movies, Hap's bluster about being unafraid gets put to the test when he accidentally stumbles into a real situation at the local museum. This 1948 humor tale plays the chaos for all it's worth as Hap's cover gets blown, rebuilt, and tested in the most unexpected ways.
When Dotty volunteers to spruce up Lester's apartment before his visiting aunt Agatha arrives, a well-meaning mishap with the junk dealers leaves the place completely bare. Now Dotty has to scramble to find replacement furniture and get the apartment looking presentable before Lester and his aunt walk through the door in this lighthearted 1948 romp.
When Hap Hazard scores a stray dog to impress Babs just before the big school dog show—especially after learning that movie star Greggory Grant will be entering his own pup—the whole town gets caught up in the excitement. But Babs' father has other ideas about keeping the "fur-covered mack truck" around, and soon a mysterious dognapping note throws everything into chaos. With Hap now stuck as presiding judge of the show and everyone's prize hopes hanging on one missing mutt, things are about to get delightfully messy.
Hap Hazard, the school paper's photographer-reporter, snaps a candid picture of Principal Meek that lands on the front page—and accidentally sets off a chain reaction of chaos when the image gets misinterpreted by angry parents and the local press. As the mix-up spirals out of control, Hap finds himself caught between trying to fix his mistake and discovering that sometimes the truth is stranger (and funnier) than the story you meant to tell.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Hap Hazard Comics launched with issue #1 in Summer 1944 under Ace Magazines' Reader Research imprint, with publisher A. A. Wyn overseeing the line. The title character — a bumbling, well-meaning teenager identified in early issues as a copy boy at the Daily Star — had already appeared in Ace's anthology title Four Favorites before graduating to his own book. Artist Sam Singer, identified by Golden Age historian Jerry Bails, was the primary visual voice of the feature for much of the run. The series maintained a consistent 52-page, full-color format throughout its life, priced at ten cents, before Ace redirected the title into romance comics as Real Love beginning with issue #25 in April 1949.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published in 1948 by Ace Magazines under the Reader Research imprint; part of a 24-issue run (Summer 1944–February 1949).
- Issue #21 falls in the final stretch of the series, which was retitled Real Love with #25 (April 1949), carrying the same numbering continuously.
- The series format throughout — including issue #21 — was 52 pages, full color, on newsprint stock, at a cover price of ten cents.
- Recurring features in late-run issues alongside the Hap Hazard lead stories include 'Stella the Starlet' and the illustrated joke section 'Slap-Haps, Compiled by Hap Hazard.'
- The title character originated as a teenage copy boy at a fictional newspaper called the Daily Star, before evolving into a generalized teen-antics protagonist in the Archie mold.
- Sam Singer was the primary artist on the Hap Hazard feature, as identified by Golden Age comics historian Jerry Bails via the Grand Comics Database.
- The Hap Hazard character first appeared in Ace's anthology title Four Favorites before receiving his own dedicated series in 1944.
- Ace Magazines was headed by publisher Aaron A. Wyn; the company was a significant second-tier Golden Age publisher, particularly noted for its romance output from 1949 onward.
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Reprinted in Hap Hazard Comics #21 (1948)
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