Police Comics #11 Values

Publisher: Quality Comics, 1942

About Police Comics #11

Spirit strip reprints by Will Eisner begin. First comic book appearance and first cover appearance of The Spirit. Gill Fox cover and art. Al Bryant, Jack Cole, Fred Guardineer, and Paul Gustavson art. art. Rated a "7" ("scarce") in the Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books Scarcity Index.

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COVER DETAILS

Characters: Plastic Man [Patrick "Eel" O'Brian]; The Spirit [Denny Colt] (inset); Manhunter [Dan Richards] (inset); #711 [Daniel Dyce] (inset); Chic Carter (inset); The Human Bomb [Roy Lincoln] (inset)

Pencils: Gill Fox

Inks: Gill Fox

Colors: Gill Fox

Notes: Art credits confirmed by Gill Fox. Fox's color guides were found with the original art.

STORY DETAILS

(14 Stories)

Title: The Brain of Cyrus Smythe

Characters: Plastic Man [Patrick "Eel" O'Brian]; Captain Murphey (Mammoth City Policeman); Tad Wilkins (introduction, death); Mr. Wilkins (death); Mrs. Wilkins (death); Valda; Shirley; Father Time (cameo); Cyrus Smythe (villain, introduction)

Synopsis: Cyrus Smythe was a super-powered villain who was killed in 1642 by a monster of his own creation, and left in a vat of chemicals that allowed his body to die but the brain to remain alive. Soldier Tad Wilkins died centuries later near the grave of Smythe, and medics mistakenly implanted Smythe's brain into Wilkins and Smythe assumed the soldier's life in America. Soon he came into conflict with Plastic Man and his body died.....but the living brain was once again buried.

Pages: 9.000

Script: Jack Cole (signed)

Pencils: Jack Cole (signed)

Inks: Jack Cole (signed)

Letters: Jack Cole

Notes: DC villain, the Ultra-Humanite, also had a mobile brain, first appearing in Action Comics #20 (1940). A similar freak, Giganta, appeared in Wonder Woman #9 (1944), having elements of both size-changing and brain transference.

Title: The Runt's Revenge

Characters: #711 [Daniel Dyce]; The Runt (villain)

Pages: 5.000

Script: George Brenner [as George E. Brenner] (signed)

Pencils: George Brenner [as George E. Brenner] (signed)

Inks: George Brenner [as George E. Brenner] (signed)

Characters: The Human Bomb [Roy Lincoln]; Hoiman Schtrugmeyer (villain)

Synopsis: The Human Bomb faces his first costumed super villain, a master of physics who plays a destructive flute.

Pages: 5.000

Script: Paul Gustavson [as Paul Carrol] (signed)

Pencils: Paul Gustavson [as Paul Carrol] (signed)

Inks: Paul Gustavson [as Paul Carol] (signed)

Letters: Paul Gustavson

Notes: Mike Kooiman and Jim Amash state in the Quality Companion that Gustavson created the strip and wrote it. Gustavson's son, Terry Gustafson, concurs. Letters credit from Terry Gustafson, Paul Gustavson's son.

Title: The Laughing Gas Crimes

Characters: Manhunter [Dan Richards]; Thor; Professor Hooker; Matelli; Egghead; Jim Kelly; Kit Kelly; Chief Brannigan; Uriah Heap (villain, the professor's assistant)

Synopsis: Professor Hooker invents a laughing gas that is stolen by his lab assistant. Soon, Manhunter is on the trail and he discovers the antidote to the gas: onions!

Pages: 6.000

Pencils: Alex Kotzky (signed)

Inks: Alex Kotzky (signed)

Notes: Manhunter wears new costume without a mask, red armlets or chest symbol (which has moved onto his belt).

Title: The Origin of the Spirit

Characters: The Spirit [Denny Colt] (introduction, origin); Commissioner Eustace Dolan (introduction); Ebony White (introduction, unnamed); Dr. Cobra (villain, introduction)

Pages: 7.000

Script: Will Eisner

Pencils: Will Eisner

Inks: Will Eisner

Letters: Zoltan Szenics ?

Notes: This appears to be the first "The Spirit" story to receive national magazine distribution. The original newspaper comic-book inserts appeared in only a handful of markets, and none were further west than Minneapolis. Ebony White, the hero's future sidekick, appears in only one panel as an unnamed cab driver. The character, who is African-American, was written and drawn as a racist caricature.

Title: The White Gardenias

Characters: The Firebrand [Rod Reilly]; Slugger Dunn; Joan Rogers; Senator Barrow; The White Gardenias [Senator Beep; others](villains)

Synopsis: Firebrand must battle a local hate group that is attempting to halt the activities of a U.S. Senator that promises to expose the group.

Pages: 5.000

Script: S. M. Iger

Pencils: Lee J. Ames (signed)

Inks: Lee J. Ames (signed)

Notes: The Order of the White Gardenias were a true-life branch of the KKK.

Title: The Spy Ring Murder

Characters: Phantom Lady [Sandra Knight]; Don Borden; Lieutenant Bob Forbes (of U.S. intelligence, death); the Nazis (villains)

Synopsis: Sandra and Don witness the murder of a U.S. intelligence officer who had been working on the suspected sabotage of an American re-fueling station. The Phantom Lady discovers some Nazis are responsible and they are operating through the office of a wealthy jeweler.

Pages: 6.000

Pencils: Arthur Peddy (signed)

Inks: Arthur Peddy (signed)

Data Courtesy of Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license

GoCollect Price Guide Report for this comic

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CGC Census Report*

Grade	0.5	1.0	1.5	1.8	2.0	2.5	3.0	3.5	4.0	4.5	5.0	5.5	6.0	6.5	7.0	7.5	8.0	8.5	9.0	9.2	9.4	9.6	9.8	9.9	10.0	Total
Universal	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	3	4	4	3	0	2	2	2	3	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	33
Qualified	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Signature Series	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Restored	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Total	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	3	4	4	6	3	0	3	2	2	3	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	39

*All information listed is intended to be as accurate as possible, but errors are possible. No item may be returned or refused based on this information which is provided as a service to our customers. You should contact each pricing source directly to determine the accuracy of this information.

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