Feature Comics

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Feature Comics
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Feature Comics #77 (April, 1944), featuring Doll Man.
Publication information
Publisher Quality Comics
Schedule Monthly
Format Ongoing series
Genre , humor/comedy, superhero
Publication date June 1939 – May 1950
Number of issues 124
Main character(s) Doll Man, Spider Widow, The Clock

Feature Comics was a comic book anthology title published in the United States by Quality Comics from 1939 until 1950, that featured short stories in the superhero and humor genres. The series was a continuation of Feature Funnies, a reprint collection of newspaper comic strips that was published by Harry "A" Chesler between 1937 and 1939, for twenty issues. Feature Comics continued the numbering with issue #21, and ran until #144.

Recurring features[edit | edit source]

  • Doll Man: a shrinking superhero written and created by Will Eisner (under the Pen name "William Erwin Maxwell") debuted in #27 and was the lead feature through #139.
  • The Clock: George Brenner's masked crime-fighter was featured was carried over from Feature Funnies, running in every issue of Feature Comics from #21–31 (Apr. 1940), when he moved over to the new Quality Comics title Crack Comics.
  • Jane Arden: Reprints of the popular newspaper strip featuring a spunky gal reporter were carried over from Feature Funnies, running in every issue of Feature Comics from #21–31 (Apr. 1940), when the strip also moved over to Crack Comics.
  • Spider Widow: a female crime-fighter dressed as a stereotypical Hallowe'en witch, with a green-faced old crone mask, a floppy black hat, and a long black dress. Frank Borth's strip ran from issue #57 (June 1942) to #72 (June 1943).
  • Stunt Man Stetson: a story about an amateur detective in Hollywood was the lead from #140 until #144.

Other notable characters that appeared in Feature Comics include Phantom Lady, as well as many strips serving as backups, including Boody Rogers' "Babe" and "Dudley", "Rube Goldberg's Side Show," Louis Cazeneuve's "Yank and Doodle," and the sports strip "Ned Brant." (Like the Clock and "Jane Arden," the "Ned Brant" feature also moved over to Crack Comics after issue #31, making room for new Feature Comics features.)

References[edit | edit source]