Holyoke Publishing
| Status | defunct, 1946 |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1940 |
| Founder | Frank Temerson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Holyoke, Massachusetts |
| Key people | Joe Kubert |
| Publication types | Comic books |
| Fiction genres | Superhero |
| Imprints | Bilbara Publishing Continental Publishing Narrative Publishers |
The Holyoke Publishing Company was an American comic-book publisher founded by Frank Temerson[1] in 1940, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Based in Holyoke, Massachusetts, its best-known original characters were the superhero duo Cat-Man (later rendered as Catman, sans hyphen) and Kitten, created by an unknown writer with artist Irwin Hasen in Crash Comics Adventures #4 (Aug. 1940).[2]
Holyoke also was an early licensor of radio heroes, having success with comic books starring the costumed crimefighter the Green Hornet.
Contents |
[edit] History
Holyoke was originally known as Helnit.[3][4] The company acquired the rights to such Fox Feature Syndicate characters as the Blue Beetle in 1942, following publisher Victor A. Fox's bankruptcy in 1942.[5]
[edit] Creators
Among the well-known comics creators who did some of their earliest work there are Joe Kubert, on features starring Volton the Human Generator, Flagman and Alias X for Cat-Man Comics and Captain Aero Comics.[6]
[edit] Titles
- Blue Beetle — 18 issues, June 1942–Feb. 1944
- Captain Aero Comics — 23 issues, Dec. 1941–Aug. 1946
- Captain Fearless — 2 issues, 1941
- Cat-Man Comics (Catman Comics from mid-1944) — 33 issues
- Crash Comics Adventures — 5
- Cyclone Comics —5 issues, plus ashcan edition
- Foodini —4 issues
- Green Hornet Comics Dec. 1940, 6 iss.
- Holyoke One-Shot —10 issues
- Power Comics —4 issues
- Sparkling Stars —33 issues
- Sure Fire
- Sure Shot Comics
[edit] Characters
- Alias X
- Black Out
- Black Widow (Holyoke)
- Black Venus
- Blaze Baylor
- Blue Beetle (between runs at Fox)
- Blue Streak
- Boomerang (Holyoke)
- Captain Aero
- Captain Fearless
- Cat-Man
- The Deacon
- Dr. Diamond
- Flagman
- Gargoyle (Holyoke)
- Golden Archer (Holyoke)
- Grey Mask (Holyoke)
- The Hood (Holyoke)
- Jag
- Miss Victory
- Mr. Miracle (Holyoke)
- Pied Piper (Holyoke)
- Phantom Falcon
- Ragman (Holyoke)
- The Reckoner (Holyoke)
- Red Cross (Holyoke)
- Red Knight
- Robo of the Little People
- Solar (Holyoke)
- Tornado Tom
- Strongman
- Volton the Human Generator
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Tony DiPreta interview, Alter Ego vol. 3, #60, July 2006
- ^ Cat-Man and Kitten at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- ^ Captain Fearless #1 at the Grand Comics Database.
- ^ Miss Victory at Don Markstein's Toonopeida
- ^ Fox Feature Syndicate at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- ^ Joe Kubert at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
[edit] References
- Grand Comics Database
- Jess Nevins' The Golden Age Heroes Directory
- Holyoke at An International Catalogue of Superheroes
- Hughes, Bob. "Frank Temerson", SupermanArtists.Comics.org, June 6, 2010. WebCitation archive.
