Wonderworld Comics #3
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeWonderworld Comics #3 (cover-dated July 1939, on sale May 28, 1939) marks the debut of The Flame — alter ego Gary Preston — making it one of the earliest superhero comics to feature a character with genuine fire-based superpowers, arriving a full three months before the Human Torch's debut in Marvel Comics #1. The issue is also historically inseparable from the first copyright lawsuit in comic book history: Fox publisher Victor Fox had been forced by a court ruling to retire his Superman imitation Wonderman, and this issue was his direct creative response, introducing an entirely new lead character and retiring the old title name. Beyond its legal backdrop, the issue showcases the early Eisner–Iger studio operating at peak creative intensity, with Will Eisner writing and Lou Fine delivering artwork that collectors and historians have consistently recognized as among the finest draftsmanship of the entire Golden Age. The Flame went on to headline Wonderworld Comics through its full 31-issue run and graduate to his own self-titled solo series, cementing this issue as the starting point of one of Fox Feature Syndicate's most durable characters.
The Grim Reaper combats Nazi forces in a military conflict, battling enemies who have discovered a legendary flying saucer city redeemed from the Kulu Empire. Meanwhile, a separate storyline follows investigators searching for a missing woman named Cherry using photographs and telegrams, leading them to Brooklyn where they uncover a scheme involving Mr. Markwell and uncover criminal activity at an employment agency. The issue combines wartime superhero action with detective mystery, both featuring patriotic appeals to purchase war stamps and bonds.
In "Captain Flagg's River Pirates," the daring hero Captain Flagg takes to the waterways in a high-stakes chase against a band of ruthless river pirates. With cunning and courage, he navigates treacherous currents and hidden dangers, determined to outwit his foes and protect the innocent.
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The issue's existence is a direct product of legal crisis: DC Comics had sued Fox over Wonder Comics #1 (March 1939), in which Eisner's Wonderman was ruled by SDNY Judge John Munro Woolsey on April 7, 1939 to infringe DC's Superman copyright. Fox moved quickly, retitling the book Wonderworld Comics and putting a brand-new Eisner–Iger studio creation — The Flame — on the cover of issue #3, which reached newsstands approximately six weeks after the ruling. The cover and lead story were written by Will Eisner and drawn by Lou Fine, both working for the Eisner & Iger studio that packaged much of Fox's early output; Fine was one of the studio's most talented draftsmen, and Eisner later called him 'the epitome of the honest draftsman.' The copyright for the issue was registered to Bruns Publications, Inc., the legal publishing entity behind Fox Feature Syndicate at the time.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of The Flame (secret identity: Gary Preston), created by writer Will Eisner and artist Lou Fine — cover-dated July 1939, on sale May 28, 1939.
- This is the first issue published under the Wonderworld Comics title; the series had previously run as Wonder Comics for issues #1 and #2, with numbering carried over continuously.
- The Flame predates the Human Torch's debut in Marvel Comics #1 by approximately three months, making Gary Preston one of the earliest fire-powered superheroes in the medium.
- In his debut, The Flame's powers are limited to fire-based teleportation (materializing within any open flame, even a match) and a pistol-sized flamethrower gadget; his fuller origin and expanded pyrokinetic abilities were not established until Wonderworld Comics #11.
- The debut story, written by Eisner and drawn by Fine, pits The Flame against a river pirate called Captain 'Black' Flagg; the issue also includes the second appearance of Yarko the Great, plus backup strips by other Eisner–Iger studio contributors.
- The Flame became Wonderworld Comics' primary cover feature and headline character, eventually earning his own self-titled solo series (The Flame, 8 issues, Summer 1940–January 1942) and membership in Fox's 'Big 3' title alongside Blue Beetle and Samson.
- The character has remained in public domain and was revived in Dynamite Entertainment's Project Superpowers limited series (2008), and Lou Fine's Flame artwork has been collected in Pure Imagination's Lou Fine Reader (2003).
Cast · 2 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Blue Beetle #1 (1939), The Flame #2 (1940), The Flame #3 (1940), L'Aventureux #10/1941 (1941), Continuum #3 (2007), Continuum #7 (2009), L'histoire des super-héros #[nn] (2016)
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