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Novelty from the Start

The fledgling comic book industry gained some respect when the prestigious Curtis Publishing Company, publishers of the Saturday Evening Post, entered the business under the name of Novelty Press. Their first entry in February 1940 was titled Target Comics. Their second, Blue Bolt, followed quickly in June of 1940.1

The talent behind both books came from Funnies, Incorporated studio, home to many of comic book's fundamental characters and concepts. This talented group of artists had broken away from Centaur Publishing in 1939 to form their own company.2 The collective genius of this group fueled innovation in the in the comic book industry for generations to come.

The title character for Blue Bolt comics was created by comic book legend, Joe Simon while working for Funnies, Incorporated. His evident talents and ambition in the comic book industry led him to Fox Features Syndicate, but he continued to produce Blue Bolt stories as freelancer. He teamed with an artist Jacob Kurtzberg, then only 21, to produce Blue Bolt stories out of a rented one-room office. Kurtzberg changed his name to Jack Kirby, and the legendary team of Simon and Kirby began. 3

Curtis Publishing, the parent company to Novelty Press, sought to maximize its revenue from comic book publishing. The major advertiser in both Target Comics and Blue Bolt was Treasure House Novelties, a department in Novelty Publishing, which sold novelty items. The ads in both these comics helped supplement the publisher's revenue by hawking inexpensive knickknacks and trinkets to their readers, with the revenue going directly to the publisher. For more information on novelty ads in these early comic books, see our exhibit, Novel Ideas.

Novelty Press never rose beyond a third tier comic book publisher to compete with the likes of Fawcett and D.C. However, they supplied a popular product and steady jobs for artists, writers and editors throughout the golden age of comic books. In doing so, they helped foster this growing artform.

1 The Illustrated History: Superhero Comics of the Golden Age, Mike Benton, Taylor Publishing Company, 1992 p.41

2 The Timely Comics Web Page, The Beginning

3 The Illustrated History: Superhero Comics of the Golden Age, Mike Benton, p.81