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Novelty Press 1940-1949
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(a.k.a. Premium Service Co., Inc.; a.k.a. Novelty Publications; a.k.a. Premier Group) was the comic book imprint of Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of The Saturday Evening Post.
Among Novelty's best-known and longest-running titles were the companion titles Blue Bolt and Target Comics.
During its nine-year run, Novelty had a roster of creators that included Al Avison, Dan Barry, Carl Burgos, L.B. Cole, Bill Everett, Al Gabriele, Joe Gill, Tom Gill, Jack Kirby, Tarpé Mills, Al Plastino, Don Rico, Joe Simon, Mickey Spillane, and Basil Wolverton.
Novelty's first title, Target Comics featured such stars as Bull's-Eye Bill, Lucky Byrd, and The White Streak (Target's first superhero). Material for the book was supplied by Funnies, Inc.
Basil Wolverton's Spacehawk made its Target Comics debut with issue #5, and ran for many issues.
The superhero Target, created by Dick Briefer under the pen name "Dick Hamilton", was introduced in issue #10 (Nov. 1940).
Blue Bolt's title character superhero was created by Joe Simon, and Blue Bolt #2 (July 1940) featured the first pairing of the longstanding and pioneering creative team of Simon and Jack Kirby.
In 1949, due to the growing criticism over violence in comic books, Novelty Press sold its assets to Blue Bolt cover artist L.B. Cole. Using his new assets, Cole began his own company, Star Publications.
-From Wikipedia |