Ace Magazines


Ace Magazines was a comic book and pulp magazine publishing company headed by Aaron A. Wyn and his wife Rose Wyn. The Wyns had been publishing pulp fiction under the Periodical House and A. A. Wyn's Magazine Publishers names since 1928, and published comics between 1940 and the end of 1956.

Overview

Its most successful and longest-running superhero title was Super-Mystery Comics featuring Magno the Magnetic Man and his boy partner Davey, who appeared in 28 issues of the title's 48-issue run. Magno is nearly unique among superheroes for having neither an origin for his powers or any apparent secret identity. Horror comics included Baffling Mysteries, Hand of Fate, and Web of Mystery, while their contribution to the crime comics was Crime Must Pay the Penalty. Ace's longest running series were the company's romance comics Glamorous Romances, Love At First Sight, Love Experiences, and Real Love, which began in the late 1940s as the superhero books faded away, and continued until the company ceased publishing comic books in 1956. Other long running romance titles such as Complete Love Magazine and Ten Story Love began as pulp-magazine titles before switching to comics format in the early 1950s.
A number of Ace stories were used as examples of violent and gruesome imagery in the 1950s U.S Congressional inquiries into the influence of comic books on juvenile delinquency that led to the Comics Code Authority, namely Challenge of the Unknown #6, Crime Must Pay the Penalty #3 and Web of Mystery #19. Western Adventures Comics #3 was used as an example in Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, and in the United Kingdom Atomic War #4, Beyond #18 and World War III #2 were cited as examples by Geoffrey Wagner's 1954 book on the same subject, Parade of Pleasure — A Study of Popular Iconography in the U.S.A.
Although characters with the same names as Ace Comics characters have appeared elsewhere, after the early 1950s all their characters remained unused until 2008, when Lash Lightning and Lightning Girl appeared in flashback in Dynamite Entertainment’s Project Superpowers. In the one-shot Project Superpowers: Chapter Two Prelude, it was stated that the two of them will appear in this line as part of a team called The Super-Mysterymen.

Comics published

Imprints

Ace Magazine comic-book series were published through at least 17 affiliated entities:
  • A. A. Wyn, Inc.
  • Ace Books, Inc.
  • Ace Magazines, Inc.
  • Ace Periodicals, Inc.
  • Ace Publications
  • Ace Publications, Inc.
  • Current Books, Inc.
  • Humor Publications, Inc.
  • Junior Books, Inc.
  • Junior Magazines, Inc.
  • L. B. Fischer Publishing Corp.
  • Periodical House, Inc.
  • Publishers Specialists, Inc.
  • RAR Publishing Co., Inc.
  • Readers' Research, Inc.
  • Red Seal Publications, Inc.
  • Unity Publishing Corp.

    Titles

  • All Love Romances #26 ; from Ernie Comics, see All Love - under Ace Periodicals / Current Books imprint
  • All Love #27–32 ;l from All Love Romances - under Ace Periodicals / Current Books imprint
  • All Romances #1–6 ; see Mr. Risk - under AA Wyn / Ace Periodicals & Humor Publications imprints
  • Andy Comics #20–21 ; from Scream Comics, see Ernie Comics - under Current Publications imprint
  • Atomic War! #1–4 - under Ace Periodicals / Junior Books imprint
  • Baffling Mysteries #5–8 ; from Indian Braves, see Heroes of the Wild Frontier - under Periodical House imprint
  • Banner Comics #3–5 - under Ace Periodicals / Periodical House imprint
  • The Beyond #1–30 - under Ace Magazines, Unity Publishing, and Periodical House imprints
  • Captain Courageous Comics #6 ; from Banner Comics - under Periodical House imprint
  • Challenge of the Unknown #6 ; from Love Experiences - under Ace Magazines imprint
  • Complete Love Magazine #158–191 ; continued from the pulp magazine - under Ace Periodicals / Periodical House imprint
  • Crime Must Pay the Penalty #1 –46 ; from Four Favorites, see Penalty! - under Current Books imprint
  • Dotty #35–40 ; from Four Teeners, see Glamorous Romances - under AA Wyn imprint
  • Ernie Comics #22–25 ; from Andy Comics, see All Love Romances - under Current Books imprint
  • Four Favorites #1–32 ; see Crime Must Pay the Penalty and Four Teeners
  • Four Teeners #34 ; from Four Favorites via Crime Must Pay the Penalty #33
  • Fun Time #1–4 - under Ace Periodicals imprint
  • Glamorous Romances #41–90 ; from Dotty - under AA Wyn imprint
  • The Hand of Fate #8–26 ; from Men Against Crime
  • Hap Hazard Comics #1–24 ; see Real Love - under Reader Research imprint
  • Heroes of the Wild Frontier #27–28 ; from Baffling Mysteries - under Ace Periodicals imprint
  • Indian Braves #1–4 ; see Baffling Mysteries - under Ace Magazines imprint
  • Lightning Comics #1–13 ; from Sure-Fire Comics
  • Love At First Sight #1–43 - Under RAR Publishing Co / Periodical House imprints
  • Love Experiences #1–38 - under AA Wyn / Periodical House imprint
  • Men Against Crime #3–7 ; from Mr. Risk, see The Hand of Fate - under Ace Magazines imprint
  • Monkeyshines Comics #1–27 - under Ace / Publishers Specialists / Current Books / Unity Publishing imprints
  • Mr. Risk #1–2 ; see Men Against Crime - under Ace Magazines imprint
  • Our Flag Comics 1–5
  • Penalty #47–48 ; cover titled Penalty!
  • Real-Life Secrets ''- under Ace Periodicals imprint
  • Real Love #25–76 ; from Hap Hazard Comics - under AA Wyn imprint
  • Real Secrets #2–5 ; from Real-Life Secrets - under Ace Periodicals imprint
  • Real-Life Secrets #1 ; see Real Secrets - under Ace Books imprint
  • Revealing Romances #1–6 - under Ace Periodicals imprint
  • Science Comics #10û5 - under Humor Publications imprint
  • Scream Comics #1–19 ; see Andy Comics - under Humor Publications / Current Books / Ace imprint
  • Space Action Comics #1–3 - under Junior Books imprint
  • Super-Mystery Comics #1–48 - under Periodical House and Ace Periodicals imprints
  • Sure-Fire Comics #1–4 ; see Lightning Comics - includes 2 issues #3's
  • Ten-Story Love #177–210 ; continued from the pulp magazine - under Ace Periodicals imprint
  • Trapped! #1–4 - under Periodical House imprint
  • Vicky Comics #1–5 - under Ace Magazines imprint
  • War Heroes #1–8 - under Ace Magazines imprint
  • Web of Mystery #1–29 - under AA Wyn imprint
  • Western Adventures Comics #1–6 ; see Western Love Trails - under Ace Magazines imprint
  • Western Love Trails #7–9 - under AA Wyn imprint
  • World War III #1–2 - under Ace Periodicals imprint''

    Characters

  • Ace McCoy
  • The Black Ace
  • The Black Spider
  • Buckskin
  • Buck Steele
  • The Clown
  • Captain Courageous
  • Captain Victory
  • Corporal Flint of the RCMP
  • Doctor Nemesis. A version of this character has been adapted to Marvel Comics stories.
  • The Flag
  • Green Arrowhead
  • Hap Hazard
  • The Lancer
  • Lash Lightning and Lightning Girl
  • Lone Warrior and Sidekick Dicky
  • Magno the Magnetic Man
  • Marvo the Magician
  • Mr. Risk
  • The Raven based on Ace pulp character Moon Man.
  • The Sword
  • The Unknown
  • The Unknown Soldier
  • Vulcan
  • Whiz Wilson, Time Traveler
  • X The Phantom Fed based on Ace pulp character Secret Agent X.