Silver Streak Comics #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSilver Streak Comics #1 (December 1939) marks the debut of The Claw, one of the Golden Age's most enduring and viscerally realized supervillains — a shape-shifting, world-conquering despot created by Jack Cole, who would later invent Plastic Man. At a moment when the superhero genre was still crystallizing, Cole introduced a monstrous antagonist without a costumed hero to oppose him, a structurally bold choice that set the Claw apart from nearly every other Golden Age villain and proved that a featured menace could anchor an anthology title on his own charisma. The issue also launched the long-running Silver Streak Comics anthology, which over 23 issues would become a key showcase for the Lev Gleason line and eventually introduce the Golden Age Daredevil. The cover's distinctive silver metallic ink printing made it physically unlike anything else on 1939 newsstands, and the title's content — sourced through the same packager supplying Timely Comics — illustrates how tightly interconnected the earliest superhero publishers actually were.
"The Tom-Tom" in Silver Streak Comics #1 (1939) introduces a Western tale of quiet precision, where a dignified Sheriff of Green Gulch—deceptively calm and deliberate—proves his mettle when trouble arises. Written by Ray Gill and illustrated by Bill Everett, with a striking cover by Jack Cole, the story captures a moment of tension where old-school composure meets unexpected action.
This non-fiction piece explores the history and cultural significance of the tom-tom drum in Native American traditions, tracing its use from medicine men seeking to drive away evil spirits to its role in stirring warriors to battle and accompanying joyful feast ceremonies. The article reveals how the drum's rhythmic beat could influence and unite the tribe, building from slow, steady pulses to fierce, frenetic tempos depending on the occasion.
In the shadow of a forgotten island, Jerry Morris and Ambassador Eloise Pearsall find themselves stranded in Ricca—unaware that it’s the secret stronghold of The Claw, a shadowy figure who has chosen Eloise as the key to his grand design. As the island hums with unseen danger, their journey to China takes a sudden, perilous turn.
When a stolen army plane blueprint surfaces in criminal hands, Burton Slade—reporter and secret identity of the masked vigilante known as the Wasp—infiltrates a dangerous spy ring operating out of a house in Northbay. With the gang planning to flee on a freighter anchored at the docks, the Wasp must outmaneuver Philip Wingate, Rudolph Lake, Dan Roberts, and their foreign contacts before they escape with classified military secrets. A battle on the high seas and a call to the Coast Guard await as this case reaches its explosive conclusion.
Barry Lane answers Sheriff Pat Bowers' call for help when a gang of cattle-rustlers called the "Hooded Ravens" threatens Pine Gulch, Wyoming—so the adventurous young deputy devises a bold plan to infiltrate the outlaw band by posing as a hardened gunslinger. With insider knowledge of the gang's operations, Barry must navigate a dangerous double life while working to bring the rustlers to justice with Sheriff Bowers and his posse waiting in the wings.
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Silver Streak Comics #1 was published in December 1939 under the indicia name Your Guide Publications, Inc. — the corporate predecessor to what collectors know as Lev Gleason Publications — with offices at 67 West 44th Street, New York. The publishing house commissioned an anthology package for the launch title, with content supplied through Funnies, Inc., the same packager that simultaneously provided material to Timely Comics (explaining the presence of a Marvel Mystery Comics #2 advertisement on the inside back cover). Jack Cole, who had been hired by Lev Gleason in 1939 to serve as editor of Silver Streak Comics, created The Claw for the debut issue; one contemporaneous account places the character's conception within the Will Eisner studio, though that attribution is not corroborated by multiple sources. Cole drew on the visual and narrative conventions of the adventure pulps and 'Yellow Peril' fiction of the era to shape The Claw, and the issue's 68-page anthology format featured additional features including The Wasp (Burton Slade), Spirit Man, Mister Midnite, Red Reeves, and Captain Fearless.
Trivia · 10 facts
- First appearance of The Claw (debuting as ruler of the Pacific island nation of Ricca), created by Jack Cole — published in Silver Streak Comics #1, December 1939.
- The Claw is depicted as a grotesque sorcerer capable of growing to enormous size, wielding hypnotic powers, and commanding an underground-boring war machine; he is referred to throughout eastern Asia as the 'God of Hate.'
- Jack Cole, creator of The Claw, was simultaneously serving as editor of Silver Streak Comics in 1939; he would later create Plastic Man for Quality Comics' Police Comics #1 (1941).
- The indicia of Silver Streak Comics #1 names the publisher as 'Your Guide Publications, Inc.' — the precursor entity to the company history knows as Lev Gleason Publications, which formally took over with later issues.
- The cover features silver metallic ink printing, an extremely uncommon production technique for a 1939 newsstand comic book.
- The issue's back-cover ad for Marvel Mystery Comics #2 (a Timely Comics title) exists because both publishers sourced content through the same packager, Funnies, Inc.
- The Claw appeared on the covers of Silver Streak Comics #1 through #6 but was featured inside only issues #1 and #2 before returning in #6 and then clashing with the Golden Age Daredevil across a five-part story in issues #7–11.
- After transitioning to Daredevil Comics, The Claw continued appearing through issue #31 (July 1945); the character subsequently fell into the public domain and was later revived in Roy Thomas's Alter Ego (1986), Dynamite Entertainment's Project Superpowers (2008), and Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon.
- The named alias 'The Crimson Claw' does not originate in Silver Streak Comics #1; per the GCD, that alias first appeared in Alter Ego (First Comics) #1 (May 1986).
- The title's full 68-page debut anthology also introduced The Wasp (Burton Slade), Spirit Man (a one-time-only appearance), Mister Midnite, Red Reeves the Boy Magician, Captain Fearless, and The Wasp spy-ring story illustrated by Arthur Pinajian.
Cast · 3 characters
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (1939)
Reprinted in Daredevil #21 (1944), Silver Streak Comics #[22] (1946), Comic Reprints #[4] (1974), Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics #1 (2011), The Bill Everett Archives #2 (2013)
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