COMIC BOOK | WHIZ COMICS #4 FACSIMILE: Golden Age Tribute by Bob McLeod

About the Whiz Comics:
In 1939, Fawcett Publications was trying to capitalize on the ongoing superhero boom spearheaded by characters like Superman and Batman. It was then that writer Bill Parker came up with the idea for a team of superheroes, each possessing the power of a different mythical characters. The idea was eventually modified into a single character with all these powers, and thus Captain Marvel, known later as Shazam, was born. 

The first issue published of Whiz Comics was issue #2, published with a cover-date of Feb. 1940. Fawcett created two black-and-white ashcan #1 issues to solicit advertisers and to secure the copyrights to the material. The two copies were identical but carried different titles: Flash Comics and Thrill Comics; the Captain Marvel character was called “Captain Thunder” in a near-identical story. When Fawcett went to press with the magazine, the first issue was retitled as Whiz Comics, a name inspired by the company’s bawdy humor magazine, Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang. Further complicating matters, when they got to issue #3, Fawcett, through either mistake or intent, used the number twice. Thus, if viewed from the perspective of the second #3 (and, therefore, all the issues that followed it), Whiz #2 unofficially became Whiz #1.

About the Artist:
Bob McLeod, born in Florida in 1951 is a Hall of Fame comic art legend who is best known for co-creating Marvel Comics’ The New Mutants with writer Chris Claremont. Bob’s illustrious credentials also include work on The Incredible Hulk, Conan the Barbarian, Legion of Super Heroes, Detective Comics, Wonder Woman and The NewTitans, Star Wars and Spider-Man.

Shop more art ‘Made by’ Bob McLeod

Comic Book Details

• Brand: Whiz Comics
• Production / Publication: Fawcett Publications
• Character: Captain Marvel, Shazam
• Genre: Golden Age, Superhero
• Product: Comic Book
• Program:  Golden Age Tribute
• Subject:  Published Art