Jumbo Comics #13
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeJumbo Comics #13 (March 1940) is a solid representative issue of Fiction House's flagship anthology during the critical period when the series had just transitioned to full-color standard comic-book size — a format shift that arrived around issue #9 and repositioned the book squarely within the exploding Golden Age market. The issue continued Sheena, Queen of the Jungle's ongoing adventures and sustained the anthology format that made Fiction House a notable alternative to the superhero-dominated titles of the era. As a product of the Eisner-Iger shop — one of the most important content-packaging studios in early American comics — it stands as a snapshot of professional assembly-line comics production at its early peak.
An anthology issue featuring multiple adventure and mystery stories. "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" follows the title character battling threats in the jungle while dealing with a mysterious ship and plot involving caleb. "Stuart Taylor in Weird Stories of the Supernatural" depicts the scientist attempting to project himself into the future using a laboratory experiment, only to encounter strange beings who threaten his life. Additional features include stories of "The Hawk" seeking treasure on Skull Isle, "Wilton of the West," and boxing and action sequences depicted in the later pages.
Sheena guides elephant hunters Bob Reynolds and Mr. John through dangerous jungle territory in search of ivory, but their greed leads them to the legendary elephant's graveyard—a sacred place the jungle queen knows they should never enter. When the herd rises up in fury to protect their burial ground, Sheena must rely on her bond with the animals and her wits to save herself and her companions from a stampede of raging elephants and other jungle perils.
When three suspects with murder on their minds gather in Tom Peerce's home and the lights go out, a body hits the floor—and a detective faces three potential killers standing over the victim. Inspector Bannon arrives to find a locked-room mystery that demands solving, with the evidence pointing in multiple directions and the case file wide open.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Jumbo Comics was launched in September 1938 by Fiction House publisher Thurman T. Scott, who contracted the Eisner & Iger packaging studio to produce ready-to-print content after recognizing that pulp magazine revenues were declining. The first eight issues were oversized black-and-white reprints of material originally prepared for the British tabloid Wags; by issue #9 the book converted to standard full-color format. Issue #13, dated March 1940, was edited by Malcolm Reiss with art direction by Jerry Iger and Will Eisner, and featured contributions from Lou Fine, Bob Powell, Vernon Henkel, and Will Eisner himself, all working under pseudonyms typical of the shop system.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published March 1940 by Fiction House under the Real Adventures Publishing Co., Inc. imprint — the same corporate banner used for the entire Jumbo Comics run.
- The issue is part of the transition era when Jumbo Comics had recently standardized to full-color, standard Golden Age dimensions (approximately 7.75" x 10.5"), having previously been an oversized black-and-white tabloid through issue #8.
- Recurring features in this issue include Sheena Queen of the Jungle, The Hawk, Inspector Dayton, ZX-5 Spies in Action, Peter Pupp, Weird Stories of the Supernatural, Spencer Steel, Ken Hammond, and Wilton of the West.
- The cover, depicting Sheena confronting a giant gorilla, is attributed to Will Eisner — a memorable image typical of the 'good girl art' aesthetic that became a Fiction House hallmark.
- Inspector Dayton, a whodunit-style police detective strip that debuted in issue #1 and ran until issue #60 (February 1944), wraps up the 'Brudd case' in this issue, per contemporary retailer documentation.
- The Hawk feature in this issue continues 'The Treasure of Skull Isle' arc, representing Will Eisner's swashbuckling serial work produced under the pseudonym 'Willis B. Rensie.'
- Art and story credits for the issue include Will Eisner, Jerry Iger, Lou Fine, Vernon Henkel, and Bob Powell — all core members of the Eisner-Iger shop working under house names.
- CATALOG TAG FLAG — SEE FLAGGED SECTION: The character 'Clayface' indexed against this issue in the catalog does not appear in Jumbo Comics #13; all corroborated sources place the first appearance of Clayface (Basil Karlo) in Detective Comics #40 (June 1940, DC Comics), a separate publisher entirely.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Jerry Iger's Golden Features #4 (1986), Pulp Fiction #3 (1997), Gwandanaland Comics #702 (2017), Gwandanaland Comics #858 (2017)
Key issues in Jumbo Comics
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