Zip Comics #35
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeZip Comics #35 (March 1943) marks the debut of Ginger Snapp, a red-headed teenage girl from the fictional town of Hillwood who would go on to headline her own ten-issue solo series in the 1950s and remain an active Archie Comics character into the 21st century. Her arrival in this issue was no accident: it signals the precise pivot point at which MLJ Magazines began deliberately dismantling its Golden Age superhero line in favor of the teen-humor format that would define the company for decades — the same editorial shift that had already made Archie Andrews a star. In that sense, #35 is a structural hinge of publisher history, the issue where 'Wilbur' gets a companion strip and where costumed-hero features (Black Jack and Zambini both bow out here) yield the floor to high-school comedy for good.
In "Lisbon," a Secret Service agent in Portugal is framed by German operatives, setting off a high-stakes mission for Looney, who races against time to recover the incriminating evidence before the trial. With the aid of the mysterious Steel, Looney navigates a web of deception in a tense, wartime thriller. The story, illustrated by Irv Novick, unfolds in a 1943 setting, with a cover by Bob Montana.
In the shadowed streets of Lisbon, a Secret Service agent faces arrest on fabricated charges planted by German operatives. Sent to retrieve the incriminating evidence before it can be used, Sgt. Looney teams up with the resourceful Steel Sterling to unravel a dangerous web of deception—before the trial begins.
In "Dame of Fate," Black Jack finds himself whisked back to the chaos of the French Revolution, where he risks everything to save a noblewoman from the guillotine—only to face a fate just as perilous before being hurled back to his own time. With Judy by his side, the mystery of his journey deepens, and the line between past and present blurs in ways he never expected.
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The issue was published in March 1943 by MLJ Magazines Inc. — the company that would formally rebrand as Archie Comics Publications in 1946 — under the editorship of Harry Shorten, who oversaw the entire Zip Comics run. The Ginger debut story, titled 'Introducing Ginger,' was drawn by Harry Sahle, a prolific MLJ staff artist who would remain closely associated with the character through her subsequent appearances in Zip and Suzie Comics. The cover was provided by Bob Montana, the co-creator of Archie Andrews who was simultaneously contributing cover art to several MLJ titles while on the verge of being drafted into the Army Signal Corps, making his work on this transitional issue a brief overlap between the company's superhero era and its humor future.
Trivia · 9 facts
- First appearance of Ginger Snapp (initially spelled 'Ginger Snap' in this story), a teenage girl from Hillwood who debuted in a story titled 'Introducing Ginger,' drawn by Harry Sahle.
- Ginger's introductory plot has her trying to avoid her school's Principal Grump at a football game after being banned from cheering following a megaphone mishap; her supporting cast — parents J. Whipper and Lotta Snapp, and best friend Dotty — all debut alongside her.
- The football game in the story is played between Hillwood High and 'MLJ Sub-Normal Academy,' whose coach is named 'Silverkleit' — a transparent in-joke referencing MLJ co-founder Louis Silberkleit.
- This is the final appearance of 'Zambini the Miracle Man,' a costumed crime-fighting magician who had run as a feature in every issue of Zip Comics from #1 through #35. His swan-song story involves a war-profiteer villain.
- This is also the final appearance of 'Black Jack' in Zip Comics (#20–35); the feature would not be reprinted until Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Double Digest Magazine #50 in August 2000.
- Steel Sterling's story in this issue, titled 'Lisbon,' involves a Secret Service agent framed by German agents in wartime Portugal — reflecting the title's consistent WWII-era patriotic content.
- The Web's entry, 'The Web and the Book,' features a murder mystery tied to a rare book collector, with the trail leading to a prison warden.
- The cover was drawn by Bob Montana, who was simultaneously one of the primary architects of MLJ's teen-humor line as Archie Andrews' co-creator, and who continued providing cover art for Zip and sister titles during his wartime service period.
- Ginger went on to earn her own 10-issue solo series beginning in 1952 and continued as a recurring Archie Comics character through multiple eras, including a 2023 Archie Horror appearance.
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Reprinted in Gwandanaland Comics #1068 (2017)
Key issues in Zip Comics
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