List of Quality Comics characters

Quality Comics was a comic book company from the Golden Age of Comic Books that sold many anthology comic books that starred superheroes, many of which were adopted by DC Comics when they purchased Quality Comics, and others were not, entering the public domain.

#711

#711 was created by George Brenner and published by Quality Comics. #711 first appeared in Police Comics #1 (August 1941) and lasted until #15 (January 1943), when he was killed.

Daniel Dyce was a District Attorney who was almost an exact twin of his friend, Jacob Horn. Jacob was in prison, but wanted to see his wife give birth, so Daniel agreed to become a prisoner while Jacob was with his wife. However, Jacob is killed in a car crash on the way to the hospital, so Daniel was stuck in jail. Daniel was able to tunnel himself free, but instead of escaping, he decided to return to his cell. Each night he uses his tunnel to go outside and fight crime, then returns before the morning. Dyce adopts the name #711, a reference to his prisoner number. After two years of adventures Daniel Dyce was killed by the mobster Oscar Jones. The hero Destiny sees this take place, and starts his crime fighting career when #711 died, replacing his feature in Police Comics.

Like many early comic book heroes, #711 did not wear a traditional costume but rather was modeled after the traditional pulp magazine heroes. He wore a green cape, a brown business suit, and a wide-brimmed fedora which cast his eyes in shadow. #711's trademark was a calling card made of a mirror with bars painted over it; when an unlucky criminal would look at the card, they would see themselves behind bars.

Following the Golden Age, many of the Quality Comics characters were purchased by DC Comics, while others lapsed into the public domain. DC has used #711 only once in their publications, a Millennium Edition reprint of his first appearance.

Black Condor

Blackhawk

Black X

Black X or Black Ace (Richard Spenser) is an espionage spy that first appeared in Feature Funnies #13. He later starred in Smash Comics.

Blue Tracer

Blue Tracer first appeared in Military Comics #1 (August 1941). It is also the name of his super-vehicle, which can become a tank, airplane, or submarine.

Blue Tracer first appeared in issues 1 through 16 of Military Comics. The character was acquired by DC, along with the rest of Quality Comics' properties in the 1950s. However, the character had lapsed into public domain before that. The Blue Tracer has not been used by any company since his original publication, nor have his original adventures been reprinted, other than a Millennium Edition of his first appearance.

Blue Tracer's origin story is told in his first appearance, in Military Comics #1.^[1] William "Wild Bill" Dunn is an American engineer working with the army in a secluded section of Ethiopia. While working, his team is attacked by a group of supernatural beings named the M'bujies. The M'bujies wound Dunn and kill his teammates. Dunn is rescued by "Boomerang" Jones, an Australian soldier who had been given up for death and is now fighting his own private war against the Nazis. After Dunn regains his strength, the two men create a super-vehicle out of captured Nazi equipment that they name the Blue Tracer. It can become a tank, airplane, or submarine. They then use it to destroy the M'bujies and escape the jungle.

The two travel the world and fight the Axis forces during the rest of the war, with Dunn at the head and Jones as his sidekick. The last appearance of the Blue Tracer was in Military Comics #16, according to the Grand Comics Database ^[2]

Neither Dunn nor Jones have any superpowers, but Dunn is a good fighter and skilled engineer. The Blue Tracer allows Dunn and Jones to travel on land, under the sea, and in the air. It has many weapons, and can deflect small arms fire easily.

Bozo the Iron Man

Captain Triumph

Clock

Doll Girl

Doll Man

Firebrand

Human Bomb

Invisible Hood

The Invisible Hood (Kent Thurston) debuted in Smash Comics #1. Little is known about Kent Thurston's origins or the origins of the cloak and chemical he used. What is known is that he began fighting crime in Smash Comics #1 as the Invisible Hood. He later changed his name to Invisible Justice. He was featured in Smash Comics #1-32, often sharing the book with other characters, such as Archie O'Toole and Wings Wendall.

Hours before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Thurston was recruited by Uncle Sam to join the Freedom Fighters in defending the base. The entire team, except for Uncle Sam, seemed to get killed. It was later revealed that all of the team except for Magno had lived (Secret Origins #26).^[3]

The Invisible Hood survived until 1974, when he was apparently murdered by Icicle and the Mist (Starman (vol. 2) #2). Tyson Gilford (Blindside) from the superhero team Relative Heroes believes that Kent Thurston is his grandfather.

His great grandson Ken Thurston would soon be the next Invisible Hood.

Jester

The Jester was created by Paul Gustavson and first appeared in Smash Comics #22 (May 1941). Like most of Quality's characters, the Jester was later purchased by DC Comics and incorporated into their universe. Though little used by the company, he appeared in All-Star Squadron #31 and #60 and Starman #46.

Rookie cop Chuck Lane learns that he is a direct descendant of a medieval court jester. Because of this, and the fact that he feels he is not doing enough good as a cop alone, he becomes a colorfully costumed adventurer known as the Jester. The Jester is a comical crime fighter who makes laughing-stocks out of the criminals he fights. He is known to be an unpredictable hero whose eerie laugh and jingling bells are an ominous sign to his enemies. His costume is worn under his police uniform.

The Jester becomes a member of both the All-Star Squadron and Uncle Sam's Freedom Fighters. His last recorded mission is in 1952, and sometime after that he gives up being the Jester to become a normal cop again.

In modern times, an aged Jester is the head of a group of patriotic radicals known as The Arcadians, seeking to "cleanse" America of its "corrupt" governments. To this end, he has his underlings (among whom is his grandson, Charles, who has taken on his costumed identity) kidnap the Vice President and his wife, with the ransom being the recovering of mystical artifacs by the Freedom Fighters.^[4] When government agents track the group's communications to Lane's home, he sets off powerful explosives, killing the agents and himself along with them.^[5]

The Jester has no superpowers, but is an Olympic-level athlete and a brilliant hand-to-hand combatant and in some later adventures is aided by a small flying sphere with a smiling face and handles on the side called Quinopolis. He is also a skilled detective, trained in various techniques of police procedure.

Kid Eternity

Lady Luck

Madame Fatal

Magno

Magno was created by Paul Gustavson and sis first appearance was in Smash Comics #13 (August 1940). He was one of the characters that were purchased by DC Comics when Quality Comics sold their assets. However, the copyright on these comics expired before that, making them public domain. Aside from a brief appearance in All-Star Squadron, he hasn't been utilized in any significant way by DC Comics since.

Tom Dalton was a lineman for an electric company until he was shocked and killed by 10,000 D.C. volts of electricity. He was brought back to life by a coworker, who used 10,000 A.C. volts. Tom Dalton became Magno. He was powered by the very electricity that saved his life, and he used it to fight crime with his magnetic and electrical abilities. He sometimes ran out of power and had to recharge himself by touching exposed wires. He was featured in Smash Comics #13-21.

Magno was contacted by Uncle Sam hours before the attack on Pearl Harbor to join the Freedom Fighters and defend the base. Magno accepted, and died while fighting the Japanese, along with the other members of the Freedom Fighters. While most of the other members were revealed to have survived, Magno was not.^[6]

A new version of Magno has appeared in the 2007 Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters series, as a member of the government-sponsored superteam The Crusaders.

Manhunter

Merlin the Magician

Merlin the Magician first appeared in National Comics #1 (July 1940). The character is a direct descendant of the Arthurian wizard Merlin and spent most of his time fighting Nazis, using, as his title page frequently read, "occult powers to aid democracies in their fight against oppression."

In 1940, while unhappily contemplating his waning fortunes, playboy Jock Kellog is contacted by a messenger who tells him his eccentric, wealthy uncle is ill and might be dying. Kellog races to the scene in rural England, hoping his financial troubles will be ameliorated by a great inheritance. Instead of the palatial residence he expected, Jock arrives at a modest cottage. Upon entering, he discovers it is filled with numerous antiques of Arthurian vintage. Kellog's uncle is indeed dying, and he tells the young playboy that he is the last of a line of men who can trace their descent directly from Merlin. Before dying, the old man gives Kellog a green, hooded cloak and tells him that, while wearing it, he will inherit all the powers of Merlin himself.

At first, Kellog disbelieves his uncle's story. However, while wearing the cloak, Kellog instinctively uses magic to save a woman falling from a building, and comes to accept his uncle's story as true. He thereafter resolves to use his newfound abilities to aid mankind. Kellog assumes the name of his magical ancestor, Merlin, and goes about roaming Europe, fighting Nazis wherever he encounters them.

In 1945, Merlin the Magician was one of several magic and occult heroes who were contacted by Hourman to help defeat an entity known as "Stalker". Although the heroes were victorious, Merlin was killed in the battle. The disposition of his cloak remains unknown, perhaps because there is no one left of Merlin's line to use it, making the cloak useless.

Merlin possessed somewhat ill-defined but reputedly powerful magical abilities when wearing his magic cloak. He was shown able to produce virtually any effect that he could conceive. He could battle gods single-handedly, instantaneously teleport anywhere in the world, or summon mythological creatures to do his bidding. He also possessed astral projection, telekinesis, reality manipulation, and the ability to bring anyone back to life. Often, he could use his magic by speaking backwards.

Like numerous other magical heroes of the era, Merlin the Magician shares some similarities with Lee Falk's popular Mandrake the Magician strip, particularly in his appearance, which was a stereotypical prewar "stage magician" look, with a suit, mustache and cape. Like Zatara, who was similarly descended from a famous predecessor (Leonardo da Vinci), Merlin the Magician frequently invoked his magical effects by speaking them backwards (this attribute was given to him in National Comics #12 by writer-artist Fred Guardineer, who had himself previously created the backwards-talking Zatara for Action Comics).

Merlin the Magician's final Quality Comics appearance was in National Comics #45. The last Merlin feature in National Comics appeared in issue #26. and thereafter followed an almost fifty-year hiatus for Merlin during which Quality Comics (or a large part of its stable of characters) was essentially folded into DC Comics. He made an appearance in All Star Comics v.2 #1 (May 1999), as a part of the Justice Society Returns storyline. In that two-part arc, it was revealed that Merlin the Magician had actually died in battle with the supernatural entity known as "Stalker" in 1945.

In 1985, Blackthorne Publishing released some black and white reprints of early issues of National Comics, including Merlin the Magician's appearances.

Midnight

Miss America

Mouthpiece

Mouthpiece first appeared in Police Comics #1 (August 1941), along with the heroes Plastic Man, Firebrand, and the Human Bomb, and lasted until #13. He was created by Fred Guardineer. Although, like all Quality characters, he is ostensibly owned by DC Comics after it acquired Quality's assets, he lapsed into public domain prior to the said acquisition.

Bill Perkins was a District Attorney who thought that the law was not strong enough. He decided to don a costume to apprehend criminals that escaped justice. He became the Mouthpiece. He was ruthless, and was prepared to kill criminals when he needed to. Once, he even threw a harpoon into the back of a fleeing opponent (he'd run out of bullets), rather than let him get away.

He was a skilled brawler and marksman, an above-average detective and an expert in criminal law.

Neon the Unknown

Plastic Man

Phantom Lady

Quicksilver

Ray

Red Bee

Red Torpedo

Spider Widow

Spider Widow was created by Frank Borth and debuted in Feature Comics #57, which bore a cover date of June, 1942. Both continued to write and draw the Spider Widow feature until the end of its run in Feature Comics #72 (June, 1943).

Spider Widow is the secret identity of Dianne Grayton, a bored and wealthy athlete who decides to fight crime and foreign saboteurs after discovering she has the ability to control deadly black widow spiders. She disguises herself in a costume very similar to a stereotypical Hallowe'en witch, wearing a green-faced old crone mask, a floppy black hat, and a long black dress.

In Feature Comics #60, Nazi agents set a trap for Spider Widow by posting an advertisement in the newspaper that requests her assistance, and then knock her out when she shows up. She is rescued from a boat bound for Germany by the bird-costumed Raven on his first heroic outing, and the two reveal a hidden U-boat to the U.S. Navy. She becomes romantically involved with the Raven (who is later revealed to be Tony Grey); however, neither initially knows what the other looks like without their mask on because they shared their first kiss in the dark. The two later team up with Phantom Lady in a multi-part crossover that spanned between Feature Comics #69-71 and Police Comics #20-22. Though Spider Widow initially worries that Phantom Lady is a potential rival for the Raven's affections, they nevertheless became allies.

Spider Widow has the ability to psychically control black widow spiders. The reason for her gaining this power is never explained. She is also a trained athlete.

Uncle Sam

Wildfire

(Carol Vance Martin) first appears in Smash Comics #25-37, in solo adventures drawn by Jim Mooney. She, along with many other Quality Comics superheroes, was purchased by DC Comics after Quality went out of business in the mid-1950s.

Carol Vance was orphaned by a huge forest fire but was rescued by a god of fire who imbued her with his power to create and control flame. Adopted by the wealthy John Martin and his family, the teenage superheroine uses her powers to combat criminals, sabotuers, and supernatural menaces.

Her only appearance in a DC comic is in The Golden Age miniseries, by writer James Robinson and artist Paul Smith.

Wonder Boy

References

1. Military Comics 1, Blue Tracer feature
2. "GCD search for Blue Tracer". Retrieved 2007-07-21.
3. Greenberger, Robert (2008), "Freedom Fighters", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 131, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
4. Freedom Fighters (vol. 4) #1
5. Freedom Fighters (vol. 2) #4
6. Greenberger, Robert (2008), "Freedom Fighters", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 131, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017