Crack Comics: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:55, 28 September 2021

Revision as of 20:59, 28 September 2021

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== Publication history ==

[[Image:CrackComics5.jpg|thumb|left|''Crack Comics'' #5 (Sept. 1940), first use of the "Quality Comic Group" logo (to right of "COMICS"). Cover art by [[Gill Fox]].]]

''Crack Comics'' started off as a monthly anthology of 68 pages, often with as many as 15 features. At first edited by [[Ed Cronin]], much of its material was originally "packaged" by the [[Eisner and Iger Studio]].<ref name="Steranko" /> "[[Clock (comics)|The Clock]],", as well as such newspaper strip reprints as "[[Rube Goldberg]]'s Side Show,", "[[Jane Arden (comics)|Jane Arden]],", and "[[Ned Brant]]"," moved over from Quality's ''[[Feature Comics]]''.

The first use of the publisher name "Quality Comic Group" was on the cover of ''Crack Comics'' #5 (Sept. 1940).<ref name=chs>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927212535/http://www.chs.org/comics/quality.htm|archivedate=September 27, 2007|title=Quality Comic Group: A Brief History|publisher=[[Connecticut Historical Society]]|url=http://www.chs.org/comics/quality.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

With issue #26 (Nov. 1942), at the height of [[World War II]], the title dropped down to a bi-monthly schedule due to wartime paper shortages; and with issue #33 (Spring 1944) it became quarterly, also reducing its page-count to 60. It was around this time that publisher Arnold dropped Eisner & Iger as a "packager" and began producing much of the material in-house.<ref name="Steranko" /> The syndicated newspaper strip reprints "[[Jane Arden (comics)|Jane Arden]]" and "Ned Brant" disappeared during this period, as well as such recurring features as "[[Black Condor]]"," "[[Don Q (comics)|Don Q]]"," and "[[Snappy (comics)|Snappy]]"."

Cartoonist [[George Brenner]] became editor of ''Crack Comics'' with issue #31 (Oct. 1943) (Cronin having left the post in Feb. 1942), a few issues before Brenner's character [[Clock (comics)|The Clock]] stopped appearing in the book's pages.<ref name="Clock">Markstein, Don. [http://www.toonopedia.com/clock.htm "The Clock,",] {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/66tXLHj7l?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/clock.htm |date=2012-04-13 }} Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Accessed Nov. 15, 2011.</ref> Beginning with issue #42 (May 1946) the title went back to a bimonthly schedule, which it maintained until its cancellation with issue #62. (Duringduring this time, the title also gradually reduced its page-count from 60 to 52 to 36.). Brenner stayed on as editor almost to the end, leaving the post after issue #61 (July 1949).

=== ''Crack Western'' and ''Jonesy'' ===

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=== Next Issue Project ===

Following the demise of ''Crack Comics'' and later the publisher itself, many of Quality Comics' characters lapsed into the [[public ___domain]]. In November [[2011 in comics|2011]], as part of editor [[Erik Larsen]]'s "[[Next Issue Project]],", [[Image Comics]] published ''Crack Comics'' "#63,", containing the following stories:

* [[Captain Triumph]], written and penciled by [[Alan Weiss (comics)|Alan Weiss]]

* The Space Legion, written and illustrated by [[Chris Burnham]]