New Comics #9
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeNew Comics #9 sits near the very beginning of what would eventually become Adventure Comics, one of DC's longest-running titles, at a moment when the publisher had issued fewer than two dozen comics in its entire history. Its chief creative distinction is that it carries the middle chapter of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's 'Federal Men: The Invisible Empire' serial — a science-fiction thriller featuring giant robots and undersea villains that scholars of the medium now identify as one of the earliest depictions of mech-like machines in Western comics, predating the genre's better-known touchstones by decades. The issue also marks the debut of the Hardluck Harry strip by Bill Carney, and the Hardluck Harry story 'Shanghai Pete' was later retroactively designated the first appearance of Earth-C in DC continuity via the Crisis on Infinite Earths: Absolute Edition. Taken together, these elements make #9 a small but concrete data point in understanding how Siegel and Shuster were already pushing adventure comics toward science-fiction territory years before Superman.
In "The Train Robbery, Part 8," MacDougal races to save Sally as Blackface’s latest betrayal unfolds aboard a moving vessel, setting off a deadly clash with Jim Shark and a crushing threat from above. Written, drawn, and inked by Tom Cooper, this action-packed chapter delivers relentless tension, while Whitney Ellsworth’s cover captures the high-stakes peril of the moment. A 10-cent comic from 1936, it’s a gripping installment in an early DC adventure series.
In "Episode 4," Ian learns that Doris was taken from Peking to a Mongol compound near Kuei-Hua, where she escaped and made her way to his caravan. With her now part of the group, they set out to deliver a weapons caravan to the Ja-Lama, joined en route by a friendly band of Cossacks who offer their protection. As they travel, Mongol riders attack the advance patrol, but the Cossacks repel them. Soon after, the party spots Torgadoff leading a column of horsemen straight toward their caravan from behind.
In "Episode 8" from New Comics #9 (1936), MacDougal springs into action when he rescues Sally from peril aboard a ship, only to face a new threat as Blackface strikes a dangerous bargain with Jim Shark. With the stakes rising, Blackface betrays Shark and turns his treachery on MacDougal, sending a massive boulder crashing toward his vessel in a desperate bid to finish him off.
In "The Invisible Empire," Steve infiltrates the enemy's floating island by blending in with the crew, but before he can stop them, the Invisible Empire activates their massive metal robot and turns it on the city. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this 1936 detective-mystery tale delivers a tense, high-stakes showdown from the very first page.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
New Comics was the second continuing anthology title from Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Newspaper Syndicate — the company that would grow into DC Comics — and was notable for being the publisher's first half-tabloid-sized comic, the format that would become the industry standard. Issue #9 was edited by Wheeler-Nicholson, with Vincent Sullivan and Whitney Ellsworth serving as associate editors; Ellsworth also drew the cover, depicting two kids who have knocked each other out boxing. The issue was published under the indicia title 'New Comics: The International Picture Story Magazine' and was the final issue before the publisher transitioned to the Nicholson Publishing Co., Inc. imprint beginning with #10.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: October 1936; on-sale date: September 10, 1936 — one of only 23 DC comics published up to that point.
- Contains the middle installment of the 'Federal Men: The Invisible Empire' serial (New Comics #8–10), written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Joe Shuster, featuring underwater villain bases, outer-space elements, and giant robots.
- 'The Invisible Empire' arc is cited by Wikipedia's Mecha article and the Neo Encyclopedia Wiki as one of the earliest depictions of mech-like war machines in comics outside of Japan.
- The Federal Men episode in this issue is the only one in the entire run to carry the subtitle 'Invisible Empire' in its title header — all prior and subsequent episodes lack the name, though the story arc spans issues #8–10.
- First appearance of the Hardluck Harry strip by Bill Carney; the feature continued through New Comics #11 and then into New Adventure Comics.
- The Hardluck Harry story 'Shanghai Pete,' beginning its run here, was retroactively established as the first appearance of Earth-C per the Crisis on Infinite Earths: Absolute Edition.
- Cover art by Whitney Ellsworth; additional artists credited to the issue include Fleming, Elven, Ryan, Carney, and Alter.
- The title's lineage: New Comics → New Adventure Comics (#12 onward) → Adventure Comics (#32 onward), making this issue part of the direct ancestor run of one of DC's most storied titles.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Mirim #14 (1937), Mirim #15 (1937), Mirim #16 (1937), Cavalier Comics #2 (1945), DC Comics Before Superman: Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's Pulp Comics #[nn] (2018)
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