Captain America Comics #40
In "The Jester of Death," Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes investigate a sinister twist at the House of Pranks, where a masked jester with a personal vendetta turns the party deadly. Written by an unknown hand and illustrated with sharp, dynamic flair by Syd Shores—whose inks by Vince Alascia bring the dread to life—this 1944 classic blends wartime suspense with a chilling psychological thriller. The cover, also by Syd Shores, captures the eerie spectacle with haunting precision.
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When Steve and Bucky visit the House of Pranks they are met by a jester whom the guests think is a man named Bryce but is really Johnnie Pinkham. Johnny overpowered Bryce a week ago and locked him up in a room in the subbasement. Johnnie wants revenge for a childhood hazing stunt when several of the guests locked him in a graveyard overnight. He manages to kill two of them before Cap and Bucky stop him. When Johnnie attempts to escape, he plunges to his death in an elevator shaft where the elevator automatically returns to the bottom floor.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).