King Comics #4
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeKing Comics #4 (July 1936) is one of the earliest entries in a series that stands as a foundational document of the American comic book medium, gathering under one cover some of the most enduring characters in popular fiction — Flash Gordon, Popeye (via Thimble Theatre), Mandrake the Magician, and Brick Bradford — in their first collected comic book appearances (established in issue #1 of the same series). By the fourth issue, David McKay and King Features Syndicate had already demonstrated that the comic book format could sustain a broad, loyal readership for newspaper strip characters, a model that would shape the anthology publishing strategy of the emerging Golden Age. The issue's Flash Gordon pages, drawn by Alex Raymond and scripted by Don Moore, continued what became one of the most influential science-fantasy continuities in twentieth-century visual culture, with story chapters including 'The Storm Breaks,' 'Horrors of War,' 'The Conquest of Fire,' and 'Betrayed' — titles that signal the serial, cliffhanger-driven storytelling that the medium would refine for decades.
King Comics #4 is an anthology featuring multiple adventure stories. "Betty Hears Terrible Tidings" follows Betty as she becomes entangled with murderers and a temple, ultimately escaping with help and reuniting with her allies. "Dan Williams, Private Investigator" by Ray Thayer depicts Williams investigating racketeers and a liquor gang operation, with the investigation leading to confrontations at a warehouse where he faces off against gang members. "The Sphinx" features the masked hero battling police and criminals on rooftops and using a ladder as a lever to escape danger while pursuing his quarry through the city.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
King Comics was launched in April 1936 by David McKay Publications, a Philadelphia-based book house that had recognized the commercial potential of collected comic strips as early as 1935. The series was built entirely on reprinted Sunday pages licensed from King Features Syndicate, assembling strips by dozens of working cartoonists into a monthly anthology. The editorial helm was held by Ruth Plumly Thompson — best known as L. Frank Baum's successor on the Oz novels — who edited King Comics from its inception and sometimes contributed original text content under the whimsical pen name 'Jo King.' Covers throughout the early run were produced by Joe Musial, who gave the series a consistent visual identity during its formative years.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published July 1936 by David McKay Publications as the fourth issue of a series that ran continuously through issue #155 (1949), one of the longest-running anthology titles of the Golden Age.
- The series — including #4 — reprints strips licensed from King Features Syndicate; there is no original comic book content, making it an early and important example of the reprint-anthology format.
- Flash Gordon pages in this issue were drawn by Alex Raymond (art) and written by Don Moore, and shared page space with Jungle Jim, as the two strips were produced by the same creative team for the same newspaper page format.
- Story chapters reprinted in the Flash Gordon section include 'The Storm Breaks,' 'Horrors of War,' 'The Conquest of Fire,' and 'Betrayed,' continuing the serialized science-fantasy narrative set on the planet Mongo.
- Also featured in this issue: Mandrake the Magician (Lee Falk/Phil Davis), Popeye's Thimble Theatre (E.C. Segar), Brick Bradford (William Ritt/Clarence Gray), Bringing Up Father (George McManus), The Little King (Otto Soglow), Radio Patrol, Little Annie Rooney, Henry, King of the Royal Mounted, and Ted Towers, Animal Master, among others.
- The cover was produced by Joe Musial, who provided covers consistently across the early run of King Comics.
- Ruth Plumly Thompson served as editor, sometimes credited in the book under the pen name 'Jo King' — a pun-based pseudonym that matched the series title.
- King Comics #1 (the series debut, April 1936) is credited as the first standard comic book appearance of Flash Gordon, Popeye, Mandrake the Magician, and Brick Bradford; issue #4 continues all four strips, cementing their early comic book presence.
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Reprinted in Four Color #25 (1942)
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