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23-585: Ian Karkull first appeared in More Fun Comics #69, and was created by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman. In the late 1930s, Ian Karkull is a scientist and archaeologist working in the Sahara Desert with partner Everett Dahlen to find Ragnor, a mystic city rumored to possess great wealth and a knowledge of dark powers. However, Dahlen betrays Karkull and leaves him for dead, during which he learns magic before being rescued by nomadic Arabs . After returning to

46-460: A cardstock, non-glossy cover, it was an anthology of humor features, such as the talking 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. The first issue also featured humor strip "Caveman Capers", an adaptation of

69-468: A completed comic-book page — written, drawn and lettered — was $ 7. For comparison, he recalled that at Eisner-Iger — where Eisner wrote the features and created characters, hiring novice artists — the page rate was approximately $ 3.50 to $ 5.50; publishers were charged $ 5 to $ 7 per finished page. Funnies, Inc. was eventually made obsolete by the growing medium's success, allowing publishers to hire their own staffs. As Simon recalled, he stopped freelancing for

92-425: A fellow by the name of Max Neill a chance to go in with him and two other guys, John Mahon and Frank Torpey ... We took a small loft office on 45th Street. The idea was to become publishers. But we didn't have the money or credit to publish our own books so we became an art service. We'd put the whole book together, deliver the package to the publisher and get paid for it. Torpey was Centaur's sales director, and Mahon

115-570: A multitude of corporate entities, eventually used Timely Comics as the umbrella name for his comic-book division. Other early companies that bought material from Funnies, Inc. include Centaur, Fox Feature Syndicate , and Hillman Periodicals . For the Novelty Press division of the Premium Service Company, writer-artist Joe Simon created Blue Bolt and Basil Wolverton devised Spacehawk . Simon said that his Funnies, Inc. rate for

138-448: A publisher for one of Centaur's early iterations. Other Centaur staffers who followed Jacquet, on at least a freelance basis, included artists Carl Burgos , Paul Gustavson , and Ben Thompson; writer Ray Gill ; and business manager Jim Fitzsimmons. Others who worked for Funnies, Inc. included future novelist Mickey Spillane ; Leonard Starr , future creator of the comic strip On Stage ; and artist Bob Davis, who for Funnies, Inc. created

161-462: A set of features that included two nascent star characters: Burgos' original Human Torch and Everett's Sub-Mariner , expanding an origin story Everett had created for the never-released Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1. Among the other characters introduced was Gustavson's the Angel , a modest hit who would appear in more than 100 Golden Age stories. Goodman, whose business strategy involved having

184-684: Is a 1935–1947 American comic book anthology that introduced several major superhero characters and was the first American comic book series to feature solely original material rather than reprints of newspaper comic strips . It was also the first publication of National Allied Publications , the company that would become DC Comics . In the latter half of 1934, having seen the emergence of Famous Funnies and other oversize magazines reprinting comic strips, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications and published New Fun #1 on January 11, 1935 ( cover-dated February 1935). A tabloid-sized, 10-inch by 15-inch, 36-page magazine with

207-759: Is trapped underground and needs his help to escape. The two relocate to a hidden city in the Arctic , getting Fate's attention when they kill U.S. Navy scientists who come too close to their lair. After defeating the two, Fate leaves the city to burn to the ground. Karkull later manipulates Obsidian to gain access to the Shadowlands. The same story reveals that the Justice Society were exposed to Karkull's energy during World War II , which slows their aging and enables them to remain healthy despite their advanced age. Eventually, Obsidian kills Karkull and uses his energy to expand

230-768: The 1819 novel Ivanhoe , spy drama "Sandra of the Secret Service", and a strip based on an early Walt Disney creation Oswald the Lucky Rabbit . 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. Additionally, it carried advertising, whereas previous comic books were sponsored by corporations such as Procter & Gamble , Kinney Shoes , and Canada Dry beverages, and ad-free. The first four issues were edited by future Funnies, Inc. , founder Lloyd Jacquet ,

253-567: The Shadowlands across the world. Ian Karkull wields magic derived from Shadowlands energy, which enables him to manipulate darkness. He later transforms into a shadow entity, becoming intangible and no longer aging. Karkull appears in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "The Hand of Fate", voiced by Ted Levine . This version is a demon who Doctor Fate imprisoned in a tablet. More Fun Comics More Fun Comics , originally titled New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine ,

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276-490: The United States, Karkull builds a machine that can transform men into intangible shadows. He kills Dahlen out of revenge, but attracts the attention of Doctor Fate . Karkull transforms into a shadow to evade him, but Fate destroys the machine that would return him to human form. For an undetermined period, Karkull wanders Earth, plotting his revenge. At some point, he is contacted by Wotan , another enemy of Doctor Fate, who

299-461: The boy hero Dick Cole in Novelty Press ' Blue Bolt Comics . As Everett described, "Lloyd ... had an idea that he wanted to start his own art service — to start a small organization to supply artwork and editorial material to publishers. ... He asked me to join him. He also asked Carl Burgos. So we were the nucleus ..." I don't know how to explain it, but I was still on a freelance basis. That

322-467: The company when he became Timely Comics' editor: "Soon, we were buying only 'The Human Torch' and 'Sub-Mariner' from Jacquet and irritating the hell out of him with demands for script and art changes in the hopes that he would resign the features he had helped to build". Toward the end of 1940, Jacquet sold Goodman the rights to the characters. Business relations evidently remained cordial; in an Aug. 14, 1942, photo given to attendees and widely published by

345-426: The contents of early comics, including that of Marvel Comics #1 ( cover-dated Oct. 1939), the first publication of what would become the multimedia corporation Marvel Comics . American comic books originated as oversized magazines that reprinted newspaper comic strips in color. These strips, coming from "the funny pages", were colloquially called "the funnies". Gradually, new material began to be created for

368-571: The emerging medium of comic books . In the late 1930s, with the huge sales success of Superman , many magazine publishers and entrepreneurs jumped on the trend. One of the many comics companies founded during this time was Centaur Publications , where Lloyd Jacquet was art director and where comic creators included writer and artist Bill Everett . Jacquet then broke off to form Funnies, Inc., initially called First Funnies, Inc. Located at 45 West 45th Street in Manhattan , New York City , it

391-479: The latter title through issue #32 (June 1938), following the magazine's retitling as More Fun (issues #7–8, Jan.-Feb. 1936), and More Fun Comics (#9-on). In issue #101 (Feb. 1945), Siegel and Shuster introduced Superboy , a teenage version of Superman, in a new feature chronicling the adventures of the Man of Steel when he was a boy growing up in the rural Midwestern United States . With issue #108 (March 1946), all

414-442: The next, after a three-month hiatus, 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 . They would remain on

437-522: The premiere issue, as continuing the numbering of Motion Picture Funnies Weekly , but this is unconfirmed. Funnies, Inc.'s first actual sale was to pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman . As Everett recalled, Funnies, Inc., sales manager Frank Torpey "had a friend, Martin Goodman, who was in the publishing business, and Frank talked Martin into going into publishing comics ..." For what would be called Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), Funnies, Inc. created

460-563: The superhero features were moved from More Fun into Adventure Comics . More Fun became a humor title that spotlighted the children's fantasy feature "Jimminy and the Magic Book". The series was canceled with issue #127 (Dec 1947). Funnies, Inc. Funnies, Inc. was an American comic book packager of the late 1930s to 1940s period collectors and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books . Founded by Lloyd Jacquet , it supplied

483-587: Was Motion Picture Funnies Weekly , a promotional comic planned for giveaway in movie theaters . The idea proved unsuccessful, and seven of the only eight known samples created to send to theater owners were discovered in an estate sale in 1974. Additionally, proof sheets were found there for the covers of issues #2–4. The "Comic Books on Microfiche" collection of the University of Tulsa 's McFarlin Library lists Centaur Publications' Amazing Man Comics #5 (Sept. 1939),

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506-407: Was one of that era's "comic book packagers" that would create comics on demand for publishers. Its competitors included two other comics packagers formed around this time: Eisner & Iger , founded by Will Eisner and Jerry Iger , and the quirkily named Harry "A" Chesler 's studio. Everett recalled in the late 1960s that, When Lloyd split with [Centaur partner] John [Harley], he offered me and

529-621: Was the agreement we had. The artists, including myself, at Funnies, worked on a freelance basis." Comics historian Hames Ware added that, The Jacquet shop was distinct from the other major shops. It was set up more like a clearinghouse that a conventional shop. While at the other classic shops there were actually buildings and offices housing ... many artists who often collaborated on jobs, most of Jacquet's artists worked from home and did solo work and, also unlike other shops, got credit for whatever job they did. (Jacquet also allowed writer credits from time to time). Funnies, Inc.'s first known project

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