Star Spangled Comics #6
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStar Spangled Comics #6 holds a quiet but real place in Golden Age DC history as the final chapter of an experiment: it is the last issue to feature multiple Star-Spangled Kid stories per issue, closing a format that had defined the title since its debut in October 1941. The issue also marks the first appearance of Breezy, a street-urchin supporting character whose introduction prompted an editorial plea for reader feedback—an early example of DC directly gauging audience appetite for a new cast addition—and the debut of the humor feature Penniless Palmer, which would continue running through the title's Simon-and-Kirby era. Together, these introductions show editors actively road-testing new characters on the cusp of a major editorial overhaul, since the very next issue handed the lead spot to Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Guardian and the Newsboy Legion. The issue also reflects the wartime patriotic atmosphere at its peak, featuring plots about Nazi plots against the Statue of Liberty alongside domestic crime stories.
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Star Spangled Comics #6 was published by Detective Comics Inc., carrying a March 1942 cover date and an on-sale date of January 2, 1942, under editor Whitney Ellsworth (credited in the indicia as F. W. Ellsworth), with business manager Jack Liebowitz overseeing production. The Star-Spangled Kid stories were scripted by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and drawn by Hal Sherman, who also provided the cover art; the Armstrong of the Army installment was handled by artist Cliff Young, the Tarantula feature by Harold Sharp, and the debut Penniless Palmer story was both written and drawn by R. L. Ross, while the Captain X entry was scripted and drawn by Jon L. Blummer. The issue arrived at a pivotal moment for the series, as DC was already planning to install Simon and Kirby's new characters in issue #7, making this the last gasp of the original all-Star-Spangled-Kid format.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date March 1942 (on-sale January 2, 1942); published by Detective Comics Inc., edited by Whitney Ellsworth.
- First appearance of Breezy, a young orphan who aids the Star-Spangled Kid; the story's ending included an editorial appeal asking readers whether they wanted to see more of the character—he never returned.
- First appearance of Penniless Palmer, a humor-strip character whose debut story ('Introducing Penniless Palmer') was written and drawn by R. L. Ross; the feature continued into the Simon-and-Kirby era of the title.
- Designated by the DC Database as the last issue to feature multiple Star-Spangled Kid stories per issue, ending a format that had run since Star Spangled Comics #1 (October 1941).
- Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy stories were scripted by Jerry Siegel (co-creator of Superman) and drawn by cover artist Hal Sherman; the issue contains two separate Kid adventures, one involving the villain Dr. Weerd and the Sunnydale Home orphanage scheme, another depicting a Nazi plot to destroy the Statue of Liberty.
- The Tarantula (John Law) and Armstrong of the Army also appear with their own standalone stories; both characters debuted in Star Spangled Comics #1 and were continuing features by this issue.
- Captain X of the R.A.F. appears with a story featuring a decoy air raid, scripted and drawn by Jon L. Blummer—one of the last Captain X entries before the title's format shift.
- Issue #7 (April 1942), arriving the following month, installed Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Guardian and Newsboy Legion as the new lead feature, permanently reducing the Star-Spangled Kid to a single backup strip.
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