Blue Ribbon Comics

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Blue Ribbon Comics
MLJ Comics
ScheduleMonthly (actually irregular)
Publication dateNovember 1939 – March 1942
No. of issues22
Main character(s)Mr. Justice
Captain Flag
The Fox
Rang-a-Tang the Wonder Dog
Loop Logan, Air Ace
Corporal Collins, Infantryman
Ty-Gor, Son of the Jungle

Blue Ribbon Comics is the name of two

Archie Adventure Series
banners.

Blue Ribbon Comics was also the title of an unrelated six-issue comic book series published in 1948–1949 by St. John Publications.

MLJ Comics/Archie

Volume 1 (1940–1942): MLJ

The first series of Blue Ribbon Comics #1–22 (Nov. 1939 – March 1942) was a 64-page anthology comic published by MLJ Magazines Inc., commonly known as MLJ Comics, the precursor to what would become the publisher Archie Comics. Issues #9–18 and #22 were cover-titled Blue Ribbon Mystery Comics. The series was edited by Harry Shorten.[1]

The first title published by MLJ, Blue Ribbon Comics initially ran a mixture of content, in the manner of most early comic books. These included the

U.S. Postal Service
requirements for magazine rates, Blue Ribbon Comics also contained text stories, sometimes about characters from the comics features, such as the titular cowboy Buck Stacey.

With the exception of a reprinted Little Nemo newspaper comic strip story by Winsor McCay in #1, all stories in the comic were new. Reader participation was encouraged; in issue #3 (Jan. 1940) MLJ offered $5 for the prize letter of the month and $1 for 10 runners-up, and issue #4 (June 1940) introduced the Rang-a-Tang Club, boasting its own registered veterinarian to answer questions on dog health and training.

Future

Spirit, produced a single humor strip, "Boodini the Great" in issue #1.[3]

By issue #4, however, MLJ replaced the humor strips with more adventure and crime stories, and introduced

mythological Hercules in modern-day America (#4–8); the Doc Savage-like Doc Strong by Sam Cooper, set on a desolate Earth 100 years in the future soon after World War II had ended (#4–12); and the Green Falcon, a medieval adventurer whose feature was drawn by one of very few women then working in the comics, Ramone Patenaude (#4–15).[4] Two long-running features were "Loop Logan, Air Ace", about an American pilot in WWII prior to U.S. involvement (#4–20),[5] and "Ty-Gor, Son of the Jungle", drawn by Mort Meskin, about a jungle boy taken to America (#4–20).[3]

The first superhero introduced to Blue Ribbon Comics was in the two-issue feature "

Bob Phantom, the Scourge of the Underground" (#2–3), with early work by artist Irv Novick. Bob Phantom moved to Pep Comics and was shortly followed by the Fox (#4–22), a costumed adventure hero created by writer Joe Blair and artist Irwin Hasen who would return during the 1960s in several Archie comics series. Next was Mr. Justice (#9–22), a ghostly superhero also created by writer Blair although mainly scripted by Charles Biro with artist Sam Cooper. Inferno the Flame-Breather, originally a supporting character seen in Steel Sterling tales in Pep Comics, was given his own feature by writer Blair and artist Paul Reinman (#13–19). The patriotically themed Captain Flag
, created by Blair and artist Lin Streeter in #16 (Sept. 1941), completed the Blue Ribbon Comics superhero cluster. Mr. Justice was the cover feature from his debut in #9 (Feb. 1941), then shared the cover with Captain Flag from #16–18, and took over from #19 (Dec. 1941) until the end of the title's run.

Blue Ribbon Comics #21 (Feb. 1942) introduced a new direction, advertising on the cover 'new sensational true life features' , with an inside-front cover editorial explaining the title would now mix superhero and adventure stories with real-life tales: 'Just as many thrills, just as much red-blooded reading pleasure' . The last two issues had features on the life of

Beethoven, and a tale about malaria in Cuba. Incongruously, MLJ also introduced a short horror story
feature, "Tales from the Witches Cauldron" (#20–22) at this time. Despite the change of direction, Blue Ribbon Comics ended with issue #22 (March 1942).

Features

Volume 2 (1983–1985): Archie Comics

Blue Ribbon Comics vol 2
Martin L. Greim, Pat Boyette
Penciller(s)Trevor Von Eeden, Dick Ayers
Inker(s)Alex Niño, Tony DeZuniga
Editor(s)Rich Buckler

The second series to carry the Blue Ribbon Comics name was initially published by the

Archie Adventure Series, which Archie Comics had used for its superhero line in the 1960s. Concurrently, the printing format changed from glossy Baxter paper to standard comics print.[6]

Blue Ribbon Comics vol. 2 published a combination of new and reprinted work featuring a variety of Archie superheroes. Reprints including

Adventures of the Fly #1–2 (Aug–Sept. 1959), and Simon/Kirby Lancelot Strong: Shield
stories primarily from The Double Life of Private Strong #1 (June 1959).

However, the second volume largely comprised new stories of previous MLJ/Archie characters: a Mr. Justice origin story by writers Robin Snyder, who also provided a Blue Ribbon Comics checklist over various issues of the comic's run, and

Jaguar, by writers Rich Buckler and Stan Timmons, with art by Trevor Von Eeden in #4 (Jan. 1984), and a two-part Fox story by Buckler and Timmons, with art by Dick Ayers and Tony DeZuniga, in #6–7 (March–April 1984). A revival of Black Hood by Gray Morrow took up issue #8 (May 1984).[7]

As well as revivals of MLJ/Archie inventory characters, volume two introduced the underwater adventures of "Agents of Atantis" in #9 (June 1984). On the

John Carbonaro appears to have bought the work from Archie to publish in JC, then paid Archie to reprint the tale in Archie/Red Circle Comics.[8]

Characters from other publishing companies were featured in the following issues: First came

Web and the Jaguar. A "next-issue" box in #14 announced that a planned but ultimately unpublished issue #15 would feature a sword-and sorcery adventure, "The Cat Queen", featuring Catgirl by writer Paul Kupperberg and artist Pat Boyette
. The series by then had been canceled, along with the rest of the Archie Adventure Comics" line.

St. John Publications

Terry Toons' talking animal characters Heckle and Jeckle in issues #1 & 3; the romance-themed Diary Secrets in issues #2, 4 & 5 (the last two fully titled Teen-Age Diary Secrets), and, in the final issue, the talking-animal feature "Dinky", starring Dinky Duck.[10]

Blue Ribbon Fanzine

In the 2000s came two issues of a fan publication, Blue Ribbon Fanzine (Nov. 2005 & March 2006), published by Mike Bromberg and dedicated to Blue Ribbon Comics. These reprinted selected Mr. Justice, Captain Flag and Fox stories from the 1940s MLJ Blue Ribbon Comics that were then in the public domain.[11]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Shorten in the 1960s was publisher of Tower Comics and also a comics writer, credited with creating MLJ/Archie characters the Black Hood and the Shield (Archie Comics). He maintained his links with MLJ/Archie, whose Blue Ribbon Comics #12 (Sept. 1984) contained a story starring Tower property the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents after Tower ceased publication.
  2. ^ an almost identical premise to a later MLJ character, "Sergeant Boyle" in Pep Comics, who was stranded in England at the start of the war
  3. ^ a b Blue Ribbon Comics, Archie, MLJ imprint, 1939 Series at the Grand Comics Database.
  4. ^ Davin, Eric Leif. Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926–1965, p. 172
  5. ^ echoing "Corporal Collins, Infantryman" and other MLJ characters: "Sergeant Boyle" in Pep Comics and "Wings Johnson of Air Patrol" in Top-Notch Comics
  6. ^ "Blue Ribbon, Red Circle's monthly $1.50 Baxter Book will be downgrading to Mando", The Comics Journal #84 (1983)
  7. ^ Blue Ribbon Comics, Archie, Red Circle / Archie Adventure Series imprint, 1983 Series at the Grand Comics Database
  8. ISBN 1-893905-43-8
  9. ^ The best-selling issue of Blue Ribbon Comics vol. 2, according to Carbonaro in Cooke, p. 116
  10. ^ Blue Ribbon Comics, St. John, 1949 Series at the Grand Comics Database
  11. ^ .Blue Ribbon Fanzine at the Grand Comics Database

References

External links
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