Suspense Comics
Entry updated 27 October 2025. Tagged: Comics, Publication, People.
US Comic (1943-1946). Et-Es-Go Magazines Inc/Continental Magazines Inc. 12 issues. Artists include George Appel and L B Cole. Scriptwriters include Nina Albright and Jack Grogan. Initially 60 pages, eventually reducing to 52. 7-8 long strips and 1-3 short text stories per issue, plus occasional short strips as filler.
Though mainly consisting of unremarkable crime and adventure stories, Suspense Comics' early issues included a handful of tales with sf elements, a couple of which were interesting.
#1's "Prelude to Death" included an Invention that screens "three dimensional pictures" without requiring 3D glasses. "Death in the Fourth Dimension" (#2) has a Scientist building a Time Viewer who asks an elderly professor of Mathematics to resolve a focusing problem: he does so, but protests on learning the other intends to use it to film people committing crimes, then blackmail them; he is threatened as a result, but is rescued by the Superhero The Mask, the professor's foster-son. "Diamond Master" (#3) features a scientist who can make synthetic diamonds. "Invitation to Horror" (#4) has several horror movie Clichés, including a Mad Scientist plus assistant, revealed to be horror actors Bela Gulosi (Bela Lugosi) and Horace Furloff (Boris Karloff), who wanted to find out whether "the average persons who see our pictures really are shocked by them". "Adventure into Yesteryear" concerns a French scientist claiming to be 170 years old, explaining that 85 years previously he'd concocted the elixir of youth and injected it: overnight he was Rejuvenated to 25 years, but found his now young mind was unable to grasp the wisdom and knowledge acquired by his 85 year old self, and so couldn't coherently explain what had happened to the authorities: furthermore he continued to grow younger, until – now a baby – he was adopted; he grew old again but recalled nothing of his previous life until today, his 85th birthday. Having told his story, the man dies. "Satan" (#5-#6, #8-#12) features the exploits of Satan (see Gods and Demons; Religion), initially having to deal with a gangster he put in charge of Hell whilst taking a break, who tries to stay in the post; then having adventures on Earth. Aside from this strip and the devil's appearance in another tale, from #5 the comic focuses on non-fantastic tales, mainly crime. One exception is #10's "A Matter of Text" where a note scribbled in Arabic by a dancer kills whoever can read it; they either drop dead or commit Suicide, one remarking it is a "forbidden message". Neither Magic nor curses are invoked; the text is arguably a Basilisk.
A regular strip was the crime-fighting Grey Mask (#1, #3-#12), but despite wearing a domino mask he has no Superhero attributes, nor are his stories of genre interest. Devil-worshippers appear in #4, but turn out to be Japanese agents (see World War Two); why one has pointed ears is not explained. Additionally #1 and #4-#12 have crime tales narrated by Mr Nobody, who has some supernatural powers. [SP]
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