Pep Comics #10
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freePep Comics #10 (cover-dated December 1940, on sale October 1940) represents the final chapter in the multi-issue arc of The Claw — the supervillain who had bedeviled the Press Guardian since his debut in issue #7 — making it a meaningful conclusion to one of MLJ's earliest ongoing villain storylines. The issue also sits at the tail end of the full original Pep anthology formula: within two issues, both the Press Guardian strip and the Fu Chang feature would be gone, signaling the gradual narrowing of the title's roster toward the characters who would carry it into the 1940s and beyond. As a December 1940 issue, it was published just as MLJ's Golden Age output was reaching its creative peak, with the same month seeing the Black Hood debut in a sister title — a character who would eventually migrate into Pep itself. The issue preserves a complete snapshot of the MLJ superhero and adventure universe in its fullest, most densely populated form.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Pep Comics was launched in January 1940 by MLJ Magazines Inc. — the company founded by Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John L. Goldwater — as its flagship superhero anthology, edited through its early run by Abner J. Sundell. The series was built around The Shield, the first patriotic superhero in American comics, created by writer Harry Shorten and artist Irv Novick, alongside a rotating roster of features by contributors including Jack Cole (The Comet), Jack Binder and Mort Meskin (The Press Guardian), George Biro (Sergeant Boyle), and Phil Sturm (Kayo Ward). By issue #10, Shorten had been named managing editor of MLJ, overseeing the interconnected line of titles that was rapidly expanding with characters like the Black Hood debuting in Top-Notch Comics that same month.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published by M.L.J. Magazines Inc. with a cover date of December 1940 and an on-sale date of October 15, 1940, edited by Abner J. Sundell.
- Features the last appearance of The Claw — the recurring supervillain of the Press Guardian strip — who had been introduced in Pep Comics #7 (August 1940) as Perry Chase's primary nemesis.
- The Press Guardian (Perry Chase) appears here in his penultimate story; the feature ends permanently with issue #11, making this the second-to-last chapter of one of Pep's original crime-fighting strips.
- The full early Pep roster is on display: The Shield (Joe Higgins) with supporting character Betty Warren, The Comet (John Dickering) with Thelma Gordon, Fu Chang, Sergeant Boyle, Lee Sampson (The Midshipman), Kayo Ward, Rang-A-Tang, and Queen of Diamonds / Sir Rocket.
- The Shield was created by writer Harry Shorten and artist Irv Novick, debuting in Pep Comics #1 (January 1940), and is recognized as the first patriotic superhero in American comics — appearing over a year before Captain America.
- The Comet, by Jack Cole, who runs concurrently through this issue, would go on to become the first superhero to die in comics history — killed in issue #17 (July 1941).
- The Press Guardian strip was originally created by Jack Binder and Mort Meskin, with Abner Sundell and Meskin later taking over; it ran from Pep Comics #1 through #11, retitled 'Perry Chase, The Press Guardian' from issue #7.
- Pep Comics ran for 411 issues total, eventually transitioning from a superhero anthology to the home of Archie Andrews (who debuted in issue #22, December 1941) and becoming one of the longest-running American comic book series.
Cast · 23 characters
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