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Target Comics Archived Ads from this Book |
Don't forget
to visit:
The flavor
of the times
reflected in
the movies
On Target
Curtis Publishing's (Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal) first entry into comic book publishing, Target Comics volume 1, number 1, was distributed in February 1940. The book was published by Curtis subsidiary, Novelty Press, and was the innaugural effort for Novelty. The book itself, however, was packaged and sold to Curtis by the very innovative and talented group behind Funnies, Incorporated.
Basil Wolverton's Spacehawk, appeared beginning in Target vol. 1 no. 5 and ran through vol. 3 no. 10. Wolverton's work was always unique, and Spacehawk proved to be a successful early feature for the book.
Surprisingly,
the charaters that would seem to be the title characters for the book,
Target
and the Targeteers, did not appear in first issues of the book. In
fact, they didn't appear until Vol
1 no 10, almost a year into publishing the book, running until Vol
10 no 1.
Curtis Publishing had the money to attract and pay talent, so many young freelancers sought work there. Young detective writer, Mickey Spillane, worked for Novelty Press and his early writing can be seen in Target and Targeteers stories.
The issue above is from February 1943. In February, America would receive good news from the war in the South Pacific. The long and costly campaign for Guadalcanal came to an end in early February when the Japanese evacuated their troops from the area.
Target
readers in February '43 wre treated to a line-up of: Kit Carter, the Cadet,
building on the success of Dick Cole; part 3 of a retelling of Gulliver's
Travels, as retold in pictures by Harold DeLay, Al T. Tude, by Art Gates;
Bulls-Eye Bill for cowboy fans; Lil' Abner rip-off, Dan'l Flannel; The
Target and the Targeteers; Spec, Spot and Sis...; and Pete Stockbridge,
the Chameleon.
Advertising
remained scarce. Treasure
House Novelties continued its run on the inside back cover. This time,
merchandise truly reflected American fear and determination toward the
war. The lead novelty for sale in this issue was headlined with an invitation
to "Bomb Tokyo in your own Parlor!" Note the graphic with burning
buildings and Japanese flags, that acompanied the ad.
The outside back cover of Target this month featured a young miitary cadet, Novelty Press's leading fiction genre niche for the moment, snapping a salute to hawk 4Most Comics.
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