Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
From Hey Kids Comics
Personal History
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson was raised in an iconoclastic, intellectual home in Portland, Oregon. His family were host to such guests as Rudyard Kipling and Theodore Roosevelt. Wheeler-Nicholson had an extraoridnary career in the military becoming one of the youngest, if not the youngest, majors in the U.S. Cavalry. His military career took him all over the world, from the Philipines to Siberia to France the Mexican border where he drew upon his far-flung experiences to become a sucessful writer of pulp fiction.
Professional History
New Fun Comics Vol 1
In the fall of 1934, having seen the emergence of Famous Funnies and other oversize magazines reprinting comic strips, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications and published New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). A tabloid-sized, 10-inch by 15-inch, 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover, it was an anthology of humor features, such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger", mixed with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the "yellow peril" adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu-styled villain, Fang Gow.
Most significantly, however, whereas some of the existing publications had eventually included a small amount of original material, generally as filler, New Fun #1 was the first comic book containing all-original material.
The first four issues were edited by future Funnies, Inc. founder Lloyd Jacquet, the next by Wheeler-Nicholson himself. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought the comic-book debuts of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the future creators of Superman, who began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval" (doing the first two installments before turning it over to others) and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", the supernatural adventurer Doctor Occult.
Notes
- No special notes.
Trivia
- No trivia.
See Also
Work History
- Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson/Executive Editor
- Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson/Editor
- Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson/Writer
Official Website
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson Family Website