Master Comics #9
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMaster Comics #9 (1940) represents one of Bulletman's earliest appearances in the Master Comics anthology, arriving shortly after Fawcett relocated the character from the short-lived Nickel Comics to its more prominent monthly showcase. The issue carries Susan Kent — the woman who would eventually become Bulletgirl — in a supporting civilian role, making it an early document of the partnership dynamic that would define one of the Golden Age's most distinctive superhero duos. Bulletman was Fawcett's second-most-popular character after Captain Marvel, and these early Master Comics issues helped cement that standing at a publisher that was rapidly building its superhero universe.
In "Boss Kizer's Political Power Play," District Attorney Jordan finds himself at the center of a dangerous game when the powerful crime boss Kizer throws his support behind Jordan’s gubernatorial campaign—only to manipulate him from the shadows. With art by Jon Small and a striking cover by C. C. Beck and Pete Costanza, this 1940 issue delivers a tense, early example of political intrigue in the Golden Age of comics.
In "Boss Kizer's Political Power Play," District Attorney Jordan finds himself caught in a dangerous game when the powerful mob boss Kizer throws his support behind Jordan’s gubernatorial campaign—only to secretly plan to manipulate him into shielding Kizer’s criminal empire. With politics and crime entwined, Jordan must navigate a web of deception where every promise could be a trap.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 18 grades ▾
Find on ebay
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Bulletman was created by writer Bill Parker and artist Jon Smalle, debuting in Nickel Comics #1 (May 1940) — Fawcett's experimental five-cent, bi-weekly format that ran only eight issues before folding. When Nickel Comics ended in the fall of 1940, Fawcett folded Bulletman into Master Comics beginning with issue #7 (October 1940), making #9 the character's third outing in that title. Bill Parker was already a central figure in Fawcett's editorial operation, having also co-created Captain Marvel, and Bulletman benefited from that same institutional momentum.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Master Comics #9 is an early appearance of Bulletman (Jim Barr) in the Master Comics anthology, part of his run from issue #7 onward after Fawcett closed Nickel Comics.
- Bulletman was created by writer Bill Parker and artist Jon Smalle, debuting in Nickel Comics #1 (May 1940); Master Comics #9 is among his first several appearances in the title.
- Susan Kent appears in Master Comics #9 in a supporting civilian role — she had been introduced alongside Bulletman in Nickel Comics #1 as his girlfriend and the daughter of a police sergeant.
- Susan Kent did not become Bulletgirl until Master Comics #13 (April 1941); her appearances in issues #7–12 of Master Comics are as a non-costumed supporting character.
- Jim Barr's origin: rejected from the police academy for physical reasons, he took a job in ballistics, developed a strength-enhancing 'crime cure' serum, and invented a bullet-shaped Gravity Regulator Helmet that granted flight and bullet deflection.
- Bulletman was Fawcett's second-most-popular character during the Golden Age, behind only Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family.
- The Fawcett characters, including Bulletman and Bulletgirl, were later licensed by DC Comics in 1972 and eventually purchased outright by DC in 1991.
- Master Comics ran for 133 issues (March 1940 – April 1953) as a monthly anthology that also eventually featured Captain Marvel Jr., Minute-Man, and other Fawcett heroes.
Cast · 3 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Men of Mystery Comics #38 (2003), Super Weird Heroes #[nn] (2016)
Key issues in Master Comics
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.