Smash Comics #14
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSmash Comics #14 marks the debut of The Ray (Langford 'Happy' Terrill), one of Quality Comics' most enduring Golden Age creations and a character who has been continuously revived and reinvented under DC Comics ownership from 1973 to the present. The origin concept — a reporter transformed by cosmic radiation during an experimental stratosphere-balloon flight — predates the Fantastic Four's analogous accident by more than two decades, making it a notable early example of science-inflected superhero creation. Lou Fine's figure work on the debut story set a visual standard for the character that proved durable enough for Alex Ross to use it nearly unchanged decades later. After DC acquired the Quality library in 1956 and reintroduced the character as a Freedom Fighter on Earth-X in 1973, The Ray spawned a multi-generational legacy reaching through 1990s solo series and into the New 52.
In "The Legion of Living Bombs," the trio—driven by a family connection and a patriotic mission—sets off to expose a criminal conspiring with spies to sabotage a steamship company’s operations in the Dardanelles. With their uncle’s warning as their guide, the young heroes take it upon themselves to bring the culprit to justice, stepping into a high-stakes mystery with the help of their wits and daring. The story, illustrated by Alex Blum, features bold artwork and a globe-trotting adventure, while Gill Fox’s dynamic cover captures the explosive energy of the tale.
In "The Legion of Living Bombs," Black X grapples with a painful choice when his loyalty to Madame Doom clashes with her chilling plan to turn her men into human bombs—forcing him to reconsider his resignation and the path he thought he’d left behind.
King Archie O'Toole arrives in the exotic kingdom of Sultania on a diplomatic mission, only to find himself the object of Queen Fatima's affections—and her relentless pursuit. When the determined ruler demands he marry her and rule at her side, Archie enlists the help of her maid Ida Clare to find a way out of his predicament. What follows is a madcap race through the palace as Archie tries to outrun the queen's romantic advances.
Clip Chance, Cliffside's star athlete, agrees to substitute as driver for his friend Red in tomorrow's auto race—a $500 prize that could save Red's family home from foreclosure. But saboteurs have other plans: while one villain cuts Red's tires to force a pit stop, another plots to oil the track and take the lead with a dangerous trick. Clip must navigate treachery, damaged equipment, and a rigged racecourse to bring home the victory.
Dick Bartell, the scrappy shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, brings relentless energy to the diamond—so much so that opposing players and fans alike can barely keep up with his frenetic style of play. Hailing from Alameda, California, Bartell has earned the nickname "The Alameda Insect" for his tireless hustle, and despite expectations that his playing days were winding down, he continues to prove he's got plenty of fight left in him.
Ace Reporter Chic Carter travels a thousand frozen miles into Canada seeking the truth behind the disappearance of the famous explorer Grayson—only to discover that the man hasn't vanished at all, but has gone mad and established a brutal gold-mining operation deep in the treacherous Mountain of Madness. Captured and forced into the mines alongside other enslaved workers, Carter must outthink a madman and his savage wolf-beast guard to expose the operation and free the prisoners before Grayson's own dynamite destroys them all.
In "null," the trio answers a call from their uncle, the president of a steamship company, who fears a criminal is conspiring with spies to sabotage his fleet in the Dardanelles. With no hesitation, the boys set sail on a daring mission to expose the traitor and protect the shipping routes—before the enemy strikes again.
Knocky Knish hatches a scheme to rob detective Wun Cloo's reward money being delivered by armored car, but after drinking a experimental chemical to aid the heist, he's transformed into a child—and must now evade the very detective he targeted to get the antidote. A two-page romp that turns the tables on a would-be crook in the most unexpected way.
In "The Monster from the Graveyards," Bozo faces off against Brutus, a grotesque creation forged from stolen body parts and brought to life by a mad scientist’s twisted ambition. The clash between the two titans ends not in victory, but in a shocking, explosive resolution neither could have foreseen.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 21 grades ▾
Find on ebay
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was published by Everett M. 'Busy' Arnold's Quality Comics imprint under the E. M. Arnold indicia and edited by Ed Cronin, with an on-sale date of July 19, 1940. The Ray feature was credited on-panel to 'E. Lectron,' a playful pseudonym: Lou Fine used it for his pencil and ink work, while Will Eisner's role as scriptwriter is attributed by multiple sources though the GCD notes it with a question mark, reflecting some scholarly uncertainty. Fine had come up through the Eisner & Iger studio system and was simultaneously producing work on multiple Quality features under various house pseudonyms, a common practice at the publisher. The cover was provided by Gill Fox, who would later become Smash Comics' editor.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of The Ray (Langford 'Happy' Terrill), created by writer Will Eisner and artist Lou Fine for Quality Comics.
- Cover date: September 1940; on-sale date: July 19, 1940; published by E. M. Arnold / Quality Comics, edited by Ed Cronin.
- The Ray story was credited in-print to the pseudonym 'E. Lectron' — Lou Fine signed his art under that name; Will Eisner is the attributed (if disputed) scripter.
- Happy Terrill's origin: a cub reporter aboard Professor Styne's experimental strato-balloon is caught outside the craft during a cosmic storm in the upper atmosphere and gains the power to transform into and travel through light.
- In this debut installment only, The Ray's legs were colored bare rather than yellow, an error corrected from issue #15 onward when he also became the cover feature.
- The issue is a multi-feature anthology also containing ongoing serials: Espionage Starring Black X (Will Eisner/Dan Zolnerowich), Magno (Paul Gustavson), Abdul the Arab (Bob Powell), Archie O'Toole (George Tuska), Clip Chance (George Brenner), Wings Wendall (Vernon Henkel), and the Invisible Hood.
- The Ray ran in Smash Comics from #14 through #40 (February 1943); after DC acquired the Quality characters in 1956, Happy Terrill was reintroduced as a member of the Freedom Fighters on Earth-X in Justice League of America #107 (1973).
- The issue has been reprinted in Gwandanaland Comics #2005 — The Golden Age Firsts of Quality Comics: Volume 1 (May 2018), and a 15-cent cover-price variant of the issue exists.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Gibi Mensal #1 (1941), Special Edition Series #2 (1974), The Art of Will Eisner #[nn] (1982), Men of Mystery Comics #22 (2000), Vixens, Vamps & Vipers #[nn] (2014), Gwandanaland Comics #211 (2018), Gwandanaland Comics #2005 (2018)
Key issues in Smash Comics
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.