Big Shot Comics #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeBig Shot Comics #1 is the founding issue of Columbia Comics Corporation's entire publishing line, and it serves as a remarkably dense debut — introducing Skyman (created by Gardner Fox and Ogden Whitney), The Face (Tony Trent, created by Mart Bailey), and the espionage hero known as The Cloak all in a single package. The anthology model it established — blending original superhero features with licensed newspaper strip reprints from the McNaught Syndicate — was central to Columbia's identity for the title's full 104-issue run through 1949, making this issue ground zero for a distinct strand of Golden Age publishing. Its roster of characters, particularly The Face (a radio announcer who terrorizes criminals with a grotesque mask), represent an early experiment in the 'fear as a weapon' archetype that would recur throughout superhero history. The Charlie Chan strip reprinted here marks the character's comic-book debut in a serialized format, documenting how a then-massively popular cross-media property — one with deep roots in novels, film, and newspaper comics — could anchor the format at its earliest moment.
"Joe's Decision" in Big Shot Comics #1 (1940) sees The Face uncover damning evidence against Tony Grogan, who's allegedly diverting charity funds and supplying tainted turkey to children in a poor asylum—setting a tense moral showdown in motion. Written by Michael Blake and illustrated by Mart Bailey, with a striking cover by Ogden Whitney, this early entry in the series blends social conscience with the emerging superhero ethos of the era.
In "Food Shortage," the Face investigates a disturbing case of greed and neglect, uncovering a web of deceit tied to a charity that’s supposed to feed children in an asylum. With sharp instincts and a relentless pursuit of truth, he works to expose Tony Grogan’s exploitation—where the poor are fed poisoned turkey while the money meant for them vanishes into the hands of the powerful.
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Columbia Comics Corporation was formed in 1940 as a three-way partnership between the McNaught Syndicate, the Frank Jay Markey Syndicate, and Vin Sullivan — the editor who had previously shepherded Superman's debut in Action Comics #1 and presided over Detective Comics during the issue that launched Batman. After departing National Allied Publications (the future DC Comics) at the start of 1940, Sullivan was recruited by McNaught to build a comic book operation from scratch, and he brought his industry contacts with him: the creative roster for Big Shot #1 included Gardner Fox, Ogden Whitney, Mart Bailey, Fred Guardineer, and Alfred Andriola — all significant figures in the early Golden Age. The structural backbone of the title was McNaught's existing syndicate library, which gave Columbia instant access to established characters like Charlie Chan, Joe Palooka, and Dixie Dugan to surround the original superhero material.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Big Shot Comics #1 was published in May 1940 (cover date) by Columbia Comics Corporation, with the copyright registration recorded March 27, 1940, and an on-sale date during the week of April 14–20, 1940.
- The issue contains the first appearances of Skyman (Allen Turner, created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Ogden Whitney) and The Face (Tony Trent, created by artist Mart Bailey), both of whom would sustain the title for years and spin off into their own series.
- The issue also marks the first comic-book appearance of The Cloak (Jeff Cardiff, also billed as Spy-Master), a costumed U.S. spy character who would later be renamed Spy-Chief.
- The Charlie Chan installment — drawn by Alfred Andriola, who had launched the McNaught newspaper strip in October 1938 — represents a comic-book reprint of the ongoing newspaper strip; in Big Shot, it begins its series run in the comics format.
- Ogden Whitney provided both the cover and interior art for the Skyman feature; the Skyman story from this issue was later reprinted in Skyman #1 (Columbia, 1941) and twice in AC Comics' Men of Mystery Comics (issues #23 and #111, 2000 and 2019).
- The Face story from this issue was also reprinted in Skyman #1 (1941) and in What Is...The Face #1 (1986), an Ace Comics revival; the character later appeared in Dynamite Entertainment's Project Superpowers (2008).
- The issue functions as an anthology combining original superhero features with licensed McNaught Syndicate newspaper strip reprints — including Joe Palooka (Ham Fisher), Dixie Dugan (J.P. McEvoy and J.H. Striebel), and The Bungle Family (H.J. Tuthill) — a hybrid editorial model that defined Columbia's publishing identity.
- Editor Vin Sullivan himself contributed a text/comic feature called 'Jibby Jones' to this debut issue, appearing under his own name in the credits.
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Reprinted in Skyman #1 (1941), What Is... the Face? #1 (1986), Men of Mystery Comics #23 (2000), Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941 #[nn] (2009), Men of Mystery Comics #112 (2019), Men of Mystery Comics #111 (2019)
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