New Fun #5
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeNew Fun #5 is the penultimate issue of the very first comic book series published by National Allied Publications — the direct ancestor of DC Comics — and the only all-original-material anthology of its era. As the fifth of six issues in a run that proved a comic book could survive on wholly original strips rather than newspaper reprints, it occupies a pivotal position in the medium's early development. The issue also represents the first time publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson took sole editorial control of his own flagship title, and it introduced new continuing features that would carry forward into More Fun Comics, cementing the anthology model that DC would build on for decades.
In "The Gavonian Affair, Part 5," a sudden clash erupts when Jim’s thrown rock stuns a lurking Indian attacker, waking the wagon train just in time to repel the assault. With the danger passed, the group scrambles to regroup—only to realize Mary Halliday has vanished without a trace. Written, drawn, and inked by Tom Cooper, this thrilling chapter unfolds with tense pacing and bold visuals, while the cover by W. C. Brigham captures the drama in striking detail. A 10-cent comic from 1935, it’s a standout in early DC’s adventure lineup.
In "On the Road, Part 4," Linda and Buddy head to the police station, where a surprising discovery unfolds: Buddy's uncle Wilbur Stone has passed away, leaving behind a mysterious inheritance. The sudden turn of events sets the young duo on an unexpected path, with the weight of a legacy they never saw coming.
In "Indian Ambush, Part 5," Jim’s quick thinking with a thrown rock takes down an attacking Indian, startling the wagon train into action. As the group fights off the assault, chaos ensues—only to find Mary Halliday gone, leaving the survivors scrambling to understand what happened.
In "The Haunted House, Part 1," Slim inherits a spooky old house from a distant relative, ignoring warnings that it’s haunted. Armed with nothing but bravado and a flashlight, he ventures inside—only to be met by a flurry of ghoulish-looking creatures that make his nerves fray.
This is a non-fiction educational piece about the historical development of the needle as a tool. "The Needle" traces how early humans, particularly the Cro-Magnon people thirty thousand years ago, solved the practical problem of fastening animal skins together for protection against harsh glacial winds—eventually developing the bone needle through generations of ingenuity. A straightforward account of one of humanity's most fundamental inventions.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
After Lloyd Jacquet edited the first four issues, a roughly three-month production gap separated New Fun #4 (on sale April 12, 1935) from New Fun #5 (on sale July 12, 1935), with Wheeler-Nicholson framing the absence on the cover as a 'Vacation Number.' Behind the scenes, the printing had shifted from the Brooklyn Eagle's presses to World Color Press in St. Louis — a logistical reorganization that the indicia of this issue records by listing the office of publication as 420 DeSoto Avenue, St. Louis. The issue was produced under the strain of the Great Depression and the financial precariousness that would eventually force Wheeler-Nicholson out of his own company by 1938, but it also signaled a creative surge, with Wheeler-Nicholson personally writing at least one new strip and bidding a warm farewell to founding art director Richard Loederer.
Trivia · 10 facts
- Cover-dated August 1935; on-sale date July 12, 1935 — the fifth of only six issues published under the New Fun title before it became More Fun Comics.
- First issue personally edited by publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, after founding editor Lloyd Jacquet had handled issues #1–4.
- Branded 'Vacation Number' on the cover, acknowledging a roughly three-month gap since New Fun #4 (April 12, 1935) — widely attributed to production and financial difficulties mid-Depression.
- Production shifted to World Color Press in St. Louis, reflected in the indicia's listing of 420 DeSoto Avenue, St. Louis as the office of publication — a significant operational change from earlier issues.
- First appearance of the strip Bob Merritt, written by Wheeler-Nicholson himself with art by Leo O'Mealia, one of two new features debuting this issue.
- First appearance of Along the Main Line, a railroad-crew adventure strip by Tom Cooper (who signed it under the pseudonym 'Mac Fergus').
- Standardized the spelling of recurring Barry O'Neill character Inspector Le Grande's name to 'Le Grand,' a continuity housekeeping note recorded in the DC Database.
- Last issue featuring Richard Loederer as art director and on his strip Brad Hardy; the issue contained a farewell editorial tribute to Loederer, who was replaced by Tom McNamara from issue #6 onward.
- Ongoing anthology features continued from prior issues include Jack Woods, Sandra of the Secret Service, Barry O'Neill, Ivanhoe (adapting Sir Walter Scott), Treasure Island (adapting Robert Louis Stevenson), Bobby and Binks, Don Drake, Wing Brady, and others — all of which migrated intact to More Fun Comics #7 after New Fun ceased.
- The issue was later reprinted/documented in the Hermes Press volume DC Comics Before Superman: Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's Pulp Comics (2018).
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Reprinted in Cavalier Comics #2 (1945), DC Comics Before Superman: Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's Pulp Comics #[nn] (2018)
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