Police Comics #13
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freePolice Comics #13 (November 1942) holds a firm place in Golden Age history as the debut issue of Woozy Winks, the rotund, supernaturally invulnerable sidekick who would become Plastic Man's most enduring partner across decades of Quality Comics and later DC stories. Jack Cole's decision to anchor the strip's comedy in a distinct second character — a bumbling, magically protected ne'er-do-well who begins as a small-time crook before being talked into going straight — deepened Plastic Man's world in a way that distinguished it sharply from the grim-faced heroics dominating the wartime newsstands. The issue also marks a double editorial threshold: it is the final Golden Age appearance of both Firebrand and the Mouthpiece, closing the book on two of the anthology's founding characters and clearing the deck for Plastic Man's total dominance of the title. Scholars have described Woozy as the 'apotheosis' of the theatrical buffoon archetype and one of the most distinctive sidekicks the Golden Age produced — a judgment that begins right here.
In "Presenting the Man Who Can't Be Harmed," Jack Cole introduces a unique hero with a twist: Woozy, a man who can't be harmed, must decide his fate after being granted invulnerability. With a coin flip guiding his path, he plunges into crime—only to be swayed by Plas into helping the police, leading to an unusual partnership where his powers are both a gift and a challenge. The story, written and illustrated by Jack Cole, features a striking cover by Reed Crandall, and is a standout in the 1942 issue of Police Comics #13, a 10-cent comic that blends crime, humor, and the surreal.
In "Presenting the Man Who Can't Be Harmed," a 1942 tale from Police Comics #13, Woozy’s chance rescue of the mysterious Zambi the Soothsayer grants him the bizarre gift of invulnerability and immunity to pain. With a coin toss guiding his fate, he chooses a life of crime, teaming up with the cunning Eel O'Brian—until Plas convinces him to surrender. But when the police find they can’t hold him, a new arrangement emerges: Woozy will help Plastic Man bring down his former partner.
Steele Kerrigan's old cellmate Butch Riker arranges a prison break for the notorious "Machine Gun" Clarkson—and frames Kerrigan's own apartment as the hideout, forcing the paroled ex-con into the crosshairs of both the gangster and the police. When Clarkson takes refuge in Kerrigan's place during a shootout, Kerrigan must outmaneuver a dangerous criminal while proving his own loyalties haven't changed since his release.
When the Phantom Lady is falsely accused of bombing a neutral consul building, the real hero finds herself captured by spies who plan to use her to infiltrate the White House. With the nation on edge and her reputation in ruins, she must outwit her captors before they carry out their deadly scheme.
In "null," The Human Bomb ventures into the eerie Skull Valley, where he confronts a group of seemingly undead foes—only to uncover their true identity as Nazis. With quick thinking and a clever use of paralyzing gas, he turns the tide against the enemy.
The Mouthpiece springs into action when a mysterious bombing strikes a tank factory at Hacklehead Mountain—hit from the air with no planes in sight. Donning his black mask, the vigilante district attorney Bill Perkins investigates the strange crime, uncovering a sabotage plot involving a cable car rigged across the mountain valley. When The Mouthpiece catches the culprits red-handed, a desperate struggle erupts high above the factory floor, with bombs and combat determining who lives to answer for the attack.
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Police Comics was published by Quality Comics under its 'Comic Magazines, Inc.' imprint, with Everett M. 'Busy' Arnold serving as executive editor and publisher throughout the title's run. By the time issue #13 reached newsstands with a cover date of November 1942, the book had already undergone a clear creative pecking order: Firebrand, the original lead feature, had been displaced from the cover by Plastic Man as early as issue #5, and Jack Cole had taken over the lead story slot by issue #9. Cole wrote and drew the Woozy Winks introduction himself — titled 'Presenting the Man Who Can't Be Harmed' — while the cover was produced by Reed Crandall, who was working extensively for Quality at this period through the Eisner-Iger studio pipeline before Arnold reportedly hired him on a more exclusive basis.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of Woozy Winks (full name Wolfgang Winks), Plastic Man's comic-relief sidekick, in the story 'Presenting the Man Who Can't Be Harmed' — written and drawn entirely by Jack Cole.
- Woozy's origin: he rescues a wizard (named Zambi the Soothsayer in some accounts) from drowning while fishing; the grateful wizard bestows upon him supernatural protection from all harm by the forces of nature.
- In his debut, Woozy begins as a small-time criminal who uses his invulnerability for theft; Plastic Man persuades him to surrender by appealing to his conscience, after which Woozy becomes Plastic Man's crime-fighting partner.
- Cover date: November 1942; published by Quality Comics under the 'Comic Magazines, Inc.' imprint; cover art by Reed Crandall.
- Final Golden Age appearance of Firebrand (Rod Reilly) — the character who had originally headlined Police Comics #1; Firebrand would not appear again until Justice League of America #193.
- Final appearance of the Mouthpiece, and the final appearance of Steele Kerrigan, both long-running supporting features in the anthology.
- The Spirit story reprinted in this issue ('Johnny Marston') originated as a Will Eisner newspaper comic-strip section dated June 30, 1940; it was later collected in The Spirit Archives, Volume 1.
- The Plastic Man lead story from this issue has been reprinted in DC Special #15, Plastic Man 80-Page Giant #1, and Plastic Man Archives Volume 1 (DC, 1999).
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↩ Reprints The Spirit #6/30/1940 (1940)
Reprinted in DC Special #15 (1971), A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics #[nn] (1981), Gigant #5/1984 (1984), Gigant #5/1984 (1984), Plastic Man Archives #1 (1999), Plastic Man 80-Page Giant #1 (2004), Roy Thomas Presents Classic Phantom Lady Softee #1 (2013), Roy Thomas Presents Classic Phantom Lady #1 (2013), Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comic Books of the Second World War #[nn] (2017), Gwandanaland Comics #2673 (2020), DC Finest: Plastic Man: The Origin of Plastic Man #[nn] (2025)
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