Super-Mystery Comics #6
Super-Mystery Comics vol. 3 #6 (October 1943) is a snapshot of Ace Magazines' wartime anthology at full operational strength, fielding six recurring strips under one cover at the height of Golden Age superhero publishing. Most significantly, the issue introduces Merlin — the eccentric old man alter ego of plant worker Moe Lynn — as a new addition to The Sword's supporting cast, deepening the Arthurian mythology that distinguished that strip from its contemporaries. The issue also preserves one of the Golden Age's more unusual heroes-to-Marvel-canon pipelines: Doctor Nemesis, whose appearances in Ace titles eventually led Roy Thomas to revive the character (as a public-domain figure) decades later, planting him in the Marvel Universe where he has remained an active presence ever since.
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Super-Mystery Comics was Ace Magazines' flagship superhero title, launched in July 1940 under publisher Aaron A. Wyn and his sister Rose Wyn, who had been in pulp publishing since about 1928. According to testimony from a 1941 lawsuit, the early content — including the lead hero Magno — was packaged by a commercial art studio run by Patrick Lamar. By the time vol. 3 #6 appeared in late 1943, the book was published under the Periodical House Inc. indicia; contributing artists on this period of the run included Louis Ferstadt (whose bondage cover graces this issue) and L. B. Cole on The Sword strip, with Harvey Kurtzman providing art on the Paul Revere Jr. backup.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published October 1943 by Ace Magazines under the Periodical House Inc. indicia; part of a 48-issue run spanning July 1940 to July 1949.
- Introduces Merlin (alter ego: Moe Lynn, a plant worker) as a new recurring character in The Sword strip — the first appearance of this eccentric Merlin figure in the Ace line.
- The Sword story features Arthur Lake and Lancer pitted against recurring Nazi spy villain Faye Morgana.
- The Magno and Davey story pits the magnetic hero against his arch-nemesis The Clown, who attempts to steal a device capable of generating an impenetrable force field.
- Doctor Nemesis — surgeon Jim Bradley, who fights crime behind a surgical mask using a hypodermic truth serum — appears in a murder-at-a-dinner-party storyline; his original debut was in Lightning Comics #6 (April 1941).
- Art credits for this issue include Louis Ferstadt (cover and interiors), L. B. Cole (The Sword strip), and Harvey Kurtzman (Paul Revere Jr. backup).
- Mr. Risk, the globetrotting crimefighter who also appeared in Four Favourites and his own title, is among the roster of strips in this issue.
- Doctor Nemesis, as a public-domain Ace character, was later revived by writer Roy Thomas at Marvel — first appearing as 'Doctor Death' in Invaders vol. 2 #1 (1993) and subsequently reintroduced under his original name in Uncanny X-Men #504 (2009), where he became a fixture of the X-Men line.
Cast · 11 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Pop Larkin wonders whether he is too old at 65 to remain sheriff while trailing a couple of outlaws.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).