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Pep Comics #9

Nov 1940 · Archie · 8d [0-0-8 AUP]

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About this Issue

Pep Comics #9 (November 1940) is a mid-run chapter of one of the Golden Age's most consequential anthology titles — the series that had already introduced the Shield, America's first flag-costumed patriotic superhero (a full fourteen months before Captain America), and the Comet, who would soon become the first superhero in comics history to be killed in the line of duty. Issue #9 represents the mature stride of MLJ's signature superhero lineup, with the Shield and the Comet both headlining alongside a dense ensemble of adventure and crime features that made Pep Comics the template for the multi-strip anthology format DC and Marvel would refine for decades. The issue sits near the close of the series' original superhero phase, just two issues before the Press Guardian strip concluded and thirteen issues before the entire title was transformed by Archie Andrews' debut — making it a vivid document of the brief, fertile window when MLJ was purely a superhero publisher.

The Shield battles criminals who have obtained a disintegrating ray weapon capable of destroying steel structures; the weapon is hidden in a truck and later transported by airplane, and The Shield works to recover it before the criminals can use it against important buildings. A separate story features a military captain and his associate attempting to stop a sabotaged train and prevent enemies from reaching a secret airfield, leading to a crash landing and rescue efforts. An advertisement promotes the November issue of Blue Ribbon Comics, featuring Corporal Collins fighting Nazis.

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Good) $294

CGC 9.8 $34,972*

CGC 9.6 $21,456*

CGC 9.4 $13,899*

CGC 9.2 $8,984*

CGC 9.0 $6,303*

CGC 8.5 $4,456*

Show all 22 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 $3,399*

CGC 7.5 $2,828

CGC 7.0 $2,078

CGC 6.5 $1,906*

CGC 6.0 $1,642*

CGC 5.5 $1,390*

CGC 5.0 $1,294

CGC 4.5 $1,095*

CGC 4.0 $1,041

CGC 3.5 $884*

CGC 3.0 $765*

CGC 2.5 $621

CGC 2.0 $563*

CGC 1.5 $410*

CGC 1.0 $332*

CGC 0.5 $290*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

Pep Comics was the third anthology title launched by MLJ Magazines Inc. — the company founded by Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John Goldwater that would eventually become Archie Comics — following Blue Ribbon Comics (November 1939) and Top-Notch Comics (December 1939). The series was edited by Abner Sundell through the early run that includes issue #9, and its multi-strip format packed roughly 64 pages with short features written and drawn by a rotating stable of Golden Age talents. The Press Guardian strip running through #9 was the work of Jack Binder and Mort Meskin (with later creative contributions by Abner Sundell and Meskin), while the Sergeant Boyle war feature was written by George Biro; individual issue-level creative credits for #9 have not been fully catalogued in public databases, so specific writer and penciler attributions for each story in this issue remain incomplete.

Trivia · 8 facts

Cover-dated November 1940; published by MLJ Magazines Inc. (the predecessor to Archie Comics), per the Archie Comics Wiki issue listing.
The issue features eleven stories across genres: superhero (the Shield, the Comet), crime-adventure (Perry Chase the Press Guardian vs. the Claw's Beast-Men), science-fiction (the Rocket and the Queen of Diamonds), military adventure (Sergeant Boyle), naval adventure (the Midshipman), detective (Fu Chang, Bentley of Scotland Yard), and boxing (Kayo Ward).
The Shield — headlining feature of the issue — is the first explicitly patriotic, flag-costumed superhero in comics, predating Captain America by approximately fourteen months.
The Comet (John Dickering), also featured in this issue, was created by Jack Cole and debuted in Pep Comics #1 (January 1940); he would go on to become the first superhero ever killed in the line of duty, dying in Pep Comics #17 (July 1941).
The Press Guardian story in #9 pits Perry Chase against the Claw and his Beast-Men; the strip was created by Jack Binder and Mort Meskin (later with Abner Sundell and Meskin) and ran from Pep Comics #1 through #11, making #9 one of its final appearances.
Fu Chang, International Detective — whose adventure 'The Treasure of Money Pit Island' appears in this issue — was a long-running feature of Pep Comics from #1 through #11, written by Joe Blair with art by Jim Streeter.
Pep Comics #9 was published thirteen issues before Archie Andrews debuted in Pep Comics #22 (December 1941), the event that would permanently transform the title's identity from superhero anthology to teen-comedy flagship.
The series was edited by Abner Sundell through approximately issues #22–23, after which Harry Shorten assumed editorial control through issue #65 (January 1948).