Joker Comics

Joker Comics, published by Bell Features from 1948 to 1949, was a short-lived but distinctive Canadian series featuring the company's original masked hero, the Joker—a crimefighter unrelated to Batman's iconic villain. Running for just seven issues, this title is a key artifact of the Canadian "Whites" era, when domestic publishers flourished under wartime trade restrictions. While the Joker himself was created by artist Ed Furness and writer John K. Bruce, the series is most remembered for its vibrant, pulp-inspired covers and its role in the brief, passionate boom of homegrown Canadian superhero comics.