More Fun Comics #11
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMore Fun Comics #11 (July 1936) is one of the most Siegel-and-Shuster-dense issues in the pre-Superman DC catalog, introducing two new features from the pair in a single issue. The debut of 'Calling All Cars, Starring Sandy Kean and the Radio Squad' — the strip that would run for seven years as Radio Squad — brought a radio-dispatched police procedural to comics at a moment when two-way radio cars were genuinely cutting-edge law-enforcement technology, grounding superhero-adjacent adventure fiction in recognizable contemporary life. Simultaneously, the issue contains Part 1 of the Dr. Occult 'Werewolf' storyline, an early example of monster-horror storytelling in American comics and part of the ongoing run that historians cite as a direct creative laboratory for Superman. Taken together, the issue illustrates just how rapidly Siegel and Shuster were expanding DC's storytelling vocabulary in the two years before Action Comics #1.
In "The Gavonian Affair, Part 11," the Hispaniola sets sail toward the Land of Treasure, its crew shadowed by secrets. As Jim hides in a barrel of apples, he stumbles upon a dangerous mutiny brewing beneath the deck. With land finally in sight, tension mounts aboard the ship. Written by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson and Robert Louis Stevenson, with art, inks, and letters by Sven Elven, and a cover by Vin Sullivan, this 1936 adventure captures the early days of a classic tale in a 10-cent comic.
This exact issue on ebay
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
By mid-1936, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster — still working out of Cleveland and contributing under pseudonyms to National Allied Publications — had become the most prolific creative team in Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's nascent line. The Dr. Occult feature had been running since New Fun #6 (October 1935) under the byline 'Leger and Reuths,' partial anagrams of the creators' surnames. 'Calling All Cars' was their fourth distinct series for the publisher, and it debuted in this issue alongside a fifth Siegel-and-Shuster contribution, 'The Purple Tiger,' which was actually the debut story arc embedded within that same Radio Squad feature. The cover for the issue was drawn by editor and artist Vin Sullivan, who was also contributing story pages to the anthology at the time.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Sandy Kean, police officer hero of 'Calling All Cars, Starring Sandy Kean and the Radio Squad' — the fourth series Siegel and Shuster created for DC, scripted by Siegel and drawn by Shuster.
- First appearances of Doris Bailey (the Police Commissioner's daughter) and Police Commissioner Bailey, introduced in 'The Purple Tiger, Part 1,' the debut story arc of the Calling All Cars feature, also by Siegel and Shuster.
- The 'Calling All Cars' feature was later retitled Radio Squad and continued through More Fun Comics #87 (January 1943), a run of roughly seven years.
- Dr. Occult story 'The Werewolf: Part 1' appears in this issue, scripted by Siegel (as 'Leger') and drawn by Shuster (as 'Reuths'); the antagonist is a man named Westly who has been cursed to transform into a werewolf against his will — one of the earliest werewolf stories in American comic books.
- The 'Calling All Cars' feature was likely inspired by the newspaper strip 'Radio Patrol' (1933) and shared its name with a popular radio program; the strip reflected the genuine novelty of radio-dispatched police cars as emerging technology in 1930s American cities.
- This issue also marks the first More Fun Comics appearance of the 'Sam the Porter' feature (by Russell Cole/Alger), transferred from New Comics, and the debut of 'The Three Musketeers' adaptation scripted by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson with art by Sven Elven — while simultaneously closing out Wheeler-Nicholson and Elven's 'Treasure Island' adaptation after only two of the novel's six parts.
- Dr. Occult — the feature running continuously through this issue — is regarded as the oldest recurring, originally created character still used in the DC Universe, and scholars such as Les Daniels have cited him as a prototype for Superman.
Cast · 5 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The Hispaniola begins its voyage to the Land of Treasure. Long John Silver signs on as cook. One night out at sea, Jim climbs into a barrel of apples to get one on the bottom. While thus concealed he overhears Silver and several other men plotting a mutiny. Land is spotted.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
Key issues in More Fun Comics
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.