Tops Comics
Entry updated 14 April 2025. Tagged: Comics, Publication.
US Comic (1944). Consolidated Book Publishers. Number of issues discussed below. Artists and scriptwriters include Henry Boltinoff, Vic Herman, Albert Magarian, Florence Magarian and Rick Yager. The first issue (#2000) boasts it has 128 pages and describes itself as "four big comics books in one": the purchaser was apparently expected to remove the staples and fold the pages to create separate comics with their own (unnumbered) covers, each having a lead character with two stories plus filler material (mainly cartoons and jokes). There are four subsequent 32-page comics, which might have the same format, but their covers are individually numbered #2001-#2004, suggesting they do not.
The 128 page #2000 features four characters. The first is "Glamorous Diana Dawn ... masquerading as the mysterious female sleuth The Black Orchid who solves crime with the aid of her magic ring" (and judo skills), doing so whilst the secretary to the oblivious District Attorney Richard Day. In her first adventure famous Scientist Doctor Marvane dies, whilst the body of Orbit, an executed criminal, is handed over to Doctor Arso for "scientific experimentation". Shortly after the resurrected Orbit breaks into the DA's office, steals Marvane's research papers on plastic surgery and – after shooting the pursuing Diana – takes them to Arso, who promptly kills him with the jagged blade he has instead of a left hand. Marvane had perfected grafting body parts (see Medicine) and Arso wants to replace his blade hand with a normal one: all he needs is a donor, and then Richard pays a call. Fortunately Diana's injuries were minor and, in the guise of The Black Orchid, has also made her way to Arso's laboratory. Her ring releases paralysing gas that temporarily overcomes the Villain's attacking Zombie assistants, though not before they tear off her costume so she has to fight in her underwear. Richard is freed and Arso killed by his now recovered zombies, who upon his death die themselves. Diana's second adventure has villains trying get hold of the patents for a new type of flame thrower (see Weapons): wearing helmets with flame throwers on the crown, they kidnap the inventor, who is rescued by The Black Orchid despite her costume being burnt off and having to fight in her underwear. The ring again only releases a paralysing gas; the claim that it is Magic seems exaggerated.
The cover for Ace Kelly succinctly describes the plot: "test pilot carried into stratosphere by new army super-plane. Lands on fantastic planet! Battles weird men and monsters!" Ace's plane is carried by a "strange and irresistible space flow" to another planet where Aliens capture him and take him to their City, Ur. The beautiful Queen of Ur tells him their males are "considered dead, until they prove their right to live"; he too must perform the requisite "sacred ordeal", which occurs in part two of the story and involves opening six of twelve doors in an arena. Three of those Ace chooses open on Monsters and another a warrior: all are bloodily killed. Yet another reveals wealth; whilst behind the sixth is the Queen, who is to be his bride. Not smitten, he uses his riches to buy a Spaceship and flees.
#2000's other two comics are Humour-focused and not genre: one stars Dinky Dinkerton, a private detective who dresses like Sherlock Holmes but does not use his methods; the other is Don on the Farm, about a city boy working on a farm.
#2001-#2003 each feature a hero with two stories (or one story in two parts): Jack of Spades, Rip Raider ("the navy's hottest pilot") and Red Birch (a hillbilly in the L'il Abner mould) respectively; #2004 consists entirely of jokes ("Hilarious gags! Side splitting cartoons and laughs!"). The Rip Raider and Red Birch strips were not seen, but their genre content is probably small; but Jack of Spades is sf. A Superhero, his origin story involves being born – fully costumed – from the winning card in the hand of a murdered gambler and declaring "your last breath became my first – because of this I dedicate my life to aiding the downtrodden, the weak, and the innocent"; and so Jack will burst from a pack of cards whenever needed. His first adventure features two villains – one from the Far East, the other from Persia (see Race in SF) and is mundane. The second has winged "Hawkmen" who carry off nurses bound for the World War Two Pacific front. They are ruled by Mad Scientist Mercuro, who also has wings, not on his back but on his ears; he plans to use the nurses to create Hawkwomen for his Hawkmen, then conquer the world. One nurse is taken to his laboratory and transformed into a winged woman before Jack of Spades – who is immune to Mercuro's disintegrator Ray – kills him. Monsters created by Mercuro now run wild, but are destroyed when Jack and the winged men team up; thanks to the goodwill thus created, Jack is allowed to depart with the nurses.
Reprints aside, these characters appeared only in Tops Comics (Black Orchid being unconnected with the DC Comics superhero of the same name). Though the plots are Clichéd, full of bad science and poor logic, the Black Orchid, Ace Kelly and the second of the Jack of Spades tales are lively. Black Orchid losing her costume and having to fight in her undergarments seems intended to be a recurring event (see Women in SF), a pity as she was a fairly early female superhero and clearly competent (see Feminism). Black Orchid and Jack of Spades were co-created by husband and wife Albert and Florence Magarian: they also (individually) provided interior artwork for Fantastic Adventures and Amazing Stories during the 1940s. [SP]
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