Master Comics #34
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMaster Comics #34 is a wartime Golden Age showcase for one of Fawcett's most compelling rivalries: the rematch between Captain Marvel Jr. (Freddy Freeman) and his arch-nemesis Captain Nazi (Albrecht Krieger), scripted by Otto Binder and rendered entirely by Mac Raboy, whose photo-realistic, deeply shadowed linework set the Captain Marvel Jr. feature apart from virtually every other superhero comic of the era. The issue represents the ongoing payoff of a multi-title origin arc — Captain Nazi had crippled Freddy Freeman back in Master Comics #21 and Whiz Comics #25 — and each subsequent clash between the two carried genuine emotional stakes rarely seen in Golden Age superhero comics. Raboy's covers and interior pages for the Captain Marvel Jr. run are now widely regarded as among the finest draughtsmanship the Golden Age produced, and this issue exemplifies why: the villain's aerial action is the focal point of both the cover and the lead story, titled 'Capt. Nazi Flies!' As part of an anthology that also ran Bulletman, Minute Man, Balbo the Boy Magician, and Hopalong Cassidy, the issue is a time-capsule anthology of Fawcett's mid-war lineup at its operational peak.
In "Capt. Nazi Flies!", Bulletman tracks a rampaging gorilla to the circus, only to uncover a sinister plot to flood the black market with counterfeit war bonds—hidden in the animal's cage. With art by Ken Bald on both pencils and inks, this 1942 Fawcett classic blends wartime intrigue and circus spectacle, all framed by Mac Raboy’s dynamic cover.
In "Killer Gorilla," Bulletman tracks a rampaging ape to a traveling circus, where he uncovers a sinister plot to flood the black market with counterfeit war bonds—hidden in the gorilla's cage and orchestrated by a cunning criminal mastermind. The story blends pulp suspense with wartime urgency, as the hero races to expose the deception before the fraud undermines the nation’s war effort.
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By late 1942, Mac Raboy had been the defining visual voice of Captain Marvel Jr. since the character's launch, having been tapped in the fall of 1941 after earning his Fawcett credentials on backup features including Bulletman and Spy Smasher. Raboy brought a Fine Arts sensibility shaped by WPA etching work and deep admiration for Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon — an approach diametrically opposed to C.C. Beck's clean cartoon style on the senior Captain Marvel — and the contrast gave the Junior feature its own distinct identity within the Fawcett line. The lead Captain Marvel Jr. story was scripted by Otto Binder, who wrote the bulk of the character's Fawcett adventures, with Rod Reed serving as editor; Bert Whitman handled the Balbo story (later reprinted as Mighty Midget Comic #12 in 1943), and Ken Bald and Phil Bard contributed additional art. The issue carried a cover date of January 1943 with an on-sale date of late December 1942, placing it squarely in the height of America's wartime engagement.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: January 1943; on-sale date approximately December 30, 1942; published by Fawcett Publications.
- Lead story titled 'Capt. Nazi Flies!' — a 12-page Captain Marvel Jr. vs. Captain Nazi adventure scripted by Otto Binder, penciled and inked entirely by Mac Raboy.
- Captain Nazi (Albrecht Krieger) had first appeared in Master Comics #21 (December 1941), created by writer William Woolfolk and artist Mac Raboy; his attack on Freddy Freeman's grandfather directly caused Freddy's transformation into Captain Marvel Jr., making him Freddy's most personal nemesis.
- Mac Raboy served as both cover artist and full interior artist on the Captain Marvel Jr. story — his meticulous, photo-realistic style, influenced by Alex Raymond, made him one of the most distinctive and praised draughtsmen of the Golden Age.
- The issue is a multi-feature anthology also containing: 'Killer Gorilla' (Bulletman and Bulletgirl, with Ken Bald art); a Minute Man story; 'The Painted Bandit' (Balbo the Boy Magician, written and drawn by Bert Whitman); and a Hopalong Cassidy story illustrated by Harry Parkhurst.
- The Balbo the Boy Magician story from this issue was reprinted as Mighty Midget Comic #12 (Samuel E. Lowe & Co., 1943 series), one of the small-format promotional comics Fawcett distributed through that partnership.
- Rod Reed is credited as editor on the issue per the DC Database; Otto Binder — who would go on to co-create Supergirl at DC — was the primary scripter for Captain Marvel Jr. throughout this period.
- Captain Nazi's design and recurring role as a wartime super-soldier antagonist proved durable enough that DC Comics revived him in Shazam! #34 (1978) and gave him a full modern retelling in Jerry Ordway's The Power of Shazam! series beginning in 1995.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Balbo, the Boy Magician [Mighty Midget Comic] #12 (1943), Men of Mystery Comics #80 (2009), Justice League: Cry for Justice #5 (2010), Action! Mystery! Thrills! Comic Book Covers of the Golden Age: 1933-45 #[nn] (2011), Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comic Books of the Second World War #[nn] (2017), Un Faux Livre #[nn] (2017)
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