Guest blog by Sergeant Clayton Brown
The 1940’s – The war
In the 1940’s, Police Officers were out patrolling and walking the beat. In Miami, H. Leslie Quigg helped the Miami Police Department become a major Metropolitan Police Force by the 1940’s. John Edgar Hoover founded the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) and Franklin Roosevelt (the U.S. President at the time) asked the War Department to devise a way to bring war criminals to justice. By the 1940’s, in Ontario, the OPP had extended coverage to all areas of the Province not served by Municipal Police Forces. In 1941 the OPP added marked Chevrolet Coupes to replace the motorcycles of the Highway Patrol and by 1947 the OPP had installed the most modern police radio system, of the time (OPP Museum Website). In 1942, in the U.S., the New York City Police Department made it a requirement for female officers to have a college degree.
Outside of policing, the bombing of Pearl Harbor happened on December 7, 1941 which started World War II and the Supreme Court decided that African Americans had the right to vote. Al Capone was still involved in criminal activity until he died of a heart attack in 1947 and Charles Luciano was involved in Prostitution and drug trafficking in New York City until he was deported to Italy in 1946.
In the 1940’s, as is to be assumed, the most significant event was, of course, the war. Although no one can dispute the horrific nature of war, the fact is that it had a positive effect on the comic book industry. There was huge demand for reading material for the troops stationed overseas and nearly 30 percent of the reading material being sent over was comic books. These colourful books provided escape and were a connection to home for the soldiers. The war saw the creation of many great characters — many are still with us today. Captain America, with his American patriotism, was an obvious favourite at the time and is still huge to this day having recently been in a string of blockbuster movies both as a solo character and as part of the Marvel’s Avengers franchise. Many of the Captain America comics of the time would not be considered politically correct by today’s standards however — they were in step with what was societally acceptable at the time.
Captain Marvel (now renamed Shazam due to a lost lawsuit with DC comics in the 1970’s) was a character so popular at the time that he outsold superman. His popularity has faded somewhat since those glory days but he was still popular enough to star in his own feature film in 2019. Batman, Wonder Woman and, of course, Superman were all popular and selling well during this time period. Captain America’s popularity did fade after the war however, he was brought back in 1964 as a member of the Avengers in issue #4. He not only joined the Avengers team that he has been with, on and off, to this day, he also gained back his own comic book that has been in publication to this day as well.
During this time period Crime Comics became quite popular and their popularity continued into the 1950’s. Crime Comics began in 1942 with the publication of ‘Crime does not pay’ published by Lev Gleason. As sales for superhero comics declined after WW2 other publishers began to emulate the format and subject matter of Crime does not pay. Eventually a host of imitators such as Headline Comics and Real Clue (Hillman Periodicals – 1947), Official True Crime (1947) and Crimes by Women (1948) were on the scene. By the end of 1948, there were approximately 30 different crime comics on the newsstand and one in seven comics were crime comics. As crime comics came under scrutiny in the late 1940’s and 1950’s due to the violence and content depicted within, legislation was put in place to limit the degree and kind of criminal activity that could be depicted in comic books. This effectively sounded the death knell for crime comics and their adult themes and graphic (for the time) gore and violence.
In 1940, Officer Betty Dean appeared as a Police Officer created by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #3 and she was created by Bill Everett. She is one of Marvel Comics oldest characters. She was a swimming champion that became a Police Woman and later became a romantic interest of Namor (the Sub Mariner) in his comic book. Initially her role was to apprehend Namor as he rampaged through New York City due to a misunderstanding. As they developed an attraction for each other she convinced him to aid the Allied Forces against Nazi Germany. Although the two were separated for a time they eventually reconnected and rekindled their romantic relationship.
In 1940 we also saw the creation of the Spectre and his alter ego, Detective Jim Corrigan. Jim first appeared in More Fun Comics #52 in 1940 and was created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily. Unfortunately, the first appearance of Jim is also the issue in which he dies in the line of duty due to a mob hit. “The Spectre, in order to become the Spectre, had to go through the grimmest origin process of a super hero: he had to be murdered” (The Great Comic Book Heroes – Jules Feiffer – Bonanza Books – 1965).
DC Comics
On his way to his engagement party he is killed, stuffed in a barrel filled with cement and then thrown in the river. However, his spirit is refused entry into the afterlife and he is sent back to earth to eliminate evil. Now bonded with ‘The Spectre’ and all manner of supernatural power, it is the soul of Police Officer Jim Corrigan that determines that those punished are truly guilty of committing a crime and that determination is done through old-fashioned police work. Thus, in many of the stories, although the Spectre persona is the character with the power, it is the Detective work of Corrigan that determines those that are truly guilty. Although different artists have written the character over the decades, the character has always remained at his core a hardworking Police Officer who is always looking for justice. The Spectre has been an icon of DC Comics since the 1940’s and while his popularity has waxed and waned (as has the level of violence in the book), he still remains in use to this day having made an appearance in WB TV show the Arrow in 2019.
On June 2, 1940, we saw the first appearance of the Spirit. A masked crimefighter created by cartoonist Will Eisner. The Spirit comic book lasted until 1952. The Spirit fights crime with the blessing of the Police Commissioner and in his other identity he is Police Detective Denny Colt. After his first appearance, he was rarely referred to by his other identity and for all intents and purposes he was simply ‘The Spirit’. His stories were presented in a wide variety of styles from straightforward crime to mystery to horror, comedy and even love stories and often with hybrid elements that twisted genre and reader expectations. The character was brought back in 2008 as a feature film in which the lead character is a former Police Officer killed in the line of duty who mysteriously comes back to life to fight crime.
Also, in 1940 we are introduced to Bulletman, created by Bill Parker and Jon Smalle. Bulletman first appeared in Nickle Comics, which, as the name implies, was a nickel — half the price of the other comics of the time but at half the normal 64 pages of other comics. There is no explanation of why the publisher chose this strategy. The main character, Jim Barr was the son of a police officer killed in the line of duty. Even though he was rejected from the police academy for physical reasons, he got a job with the police in ballistics. Just like many of the characters of the time, he used chemistry to develop superpowers gaining super strength and brain power. He also invented a bullet shaped helmet that allowed him to fly. Shortly after he began his crime fighting career, he made a second helmet for his girlfriend and later wife who was the daughter of a police Sergeant. The couple became known as the “flying Detectives” (The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains by Jon Morris – Quirk Books, 2016) and were popular enough to have been brought back in modern times before being updated and replaced by a new modern female character called the Bulleteer (2005) who has no connection to law enforcement whatsoever.
In 1942, we gained what was possibly the first costumed cop in comics although by no means the last. Jim Harper was a beat cop who first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #7 in 1942. He was created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. He worked the streets of ‘Suicide Slum’ and took it upon himself to protect those who resided there. He put on a blue uniform, a gold helmet and a shield shaped like a badge and then took to the streets to ensure justice was done and that the criminals of the city were brought to account for their crimes. The character was so popular that he was brought back again in the 1990’s and 2000’s in Superman’s books. The character has gone through changes through the years but has remained, at his core, a beat cop.
One of the earliest attempts at diversity in comics (although his nickname would make people cringe by modern standards) was Pow Wow Smith who made his first appearance in Detective Comics #151 in 1949. He was created by Don Cameron and Carmine Infantino. Ohiyesa Smith, nicknamed ‘Pow Wow’ by the white citizenry he swore to protect, was the first deputy and ultimately the sheriff of the small western town of Elkhorn. The citizens (despite the nickname they gave him) saw the Sheriff as their equal and in turn he protected them from all manner of threats to their being and the town. He had a sense of fairness and justice that served him and his community well. An ancestor of Smith was introduced in modern comic book continuety as a U.S. Marshal showing that his legacy of equality and justice was carried on and lasted for centuries.
Join us next month when the ongoing special about Policing in Comics continues with a look at the 1950’s
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