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in: Comics, Motion Picture Funnies Weekly Vol 1, Fred Schwab/Cover Artist,
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Motion Picture Funnies Weekly Vol 1 1

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Quote1 Here is the Sub-Mariner! --An ultraman of the deep... lives on land and sea... flies in the air... has the strength of a thousand men... is a youth of dynamic personality... quick thought and fast action... From whence does he come and what is his mission? Quote2
—Narrator

Appearing in "Here is the Sub-Mariner!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Other Characters:

Races and Species:

Locations:

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "Here is the Sub-Mariner!"

A diver from the salvage ship S.S. Recovery is exploring a wreck to find a treasure when he finds a knife and brings down another diver. They search the wreckage and are attacked by Namor, the Sub-Mariner! He savagely attacks both men, stabbing one and crushing the diving helmet of the other. Namor then turns his attention to the ship, wrecking the propeller and running it aground. He heads back to his underwater home, where he is greeted by the "Holy One", who commends him on his attack against the humans. Namor brings the bodies of the two divers as trophies. His mother, Fen, congratulates him on beginning his war of revenge in such a decisive manner. Namor asks her why their people hate the white Earth-men so much.

She explains that in the year 1920, a research vessel called the Oracle had journeyed to Antarctica and was doing "experiments" with explosives that killed many of their fellow citizens. Since Fen looked most like a human, she was sent to find out more about what was going on. She fell in love with Commander Leonard McKenzie, and became pregnant by him. The sailors could not understand how she was able to swim in the freezing water. She learned their language and sent back messages to the undersea army that the white men were too strong for them, but they sent an army to fight them anyway. The white men's bombardment annihilated most of their race, and now, 20 years later, they are ready once again to press an attack against Earth-people, and Namor will begin this war.

Appearing in "Kar Toon and his Copy Cat"

Featured Characters:

Other Characters:

  • Dudley (Kar Toon's uncle) (Mentioned)

Races and Species:

Synopsis for "Kar Toon and his Copy Cat"

A boy (presumably named Kar Toon) wants to make an animation, so he draws a cat and starts recording with some kind of camera with two lightbulbs connected to it. An explosion occurs, the kid determines that it's because of a mouse who caused a short-circuit, but more shockingly, the drawing repeats what he says. He thinks that maybe the explosion affected his hearing, or even worse, he might be going nuts.

When he is about to get a solution for the mouse, the cat leaves the canvas and goes inside the camera, hunting the mouse successfully. The boy is amazed by this phenomenon and discovers that the cat can shrink or enlarge it's body, and also can repeat what he says (thereby, calling it Copy Cat). The boy then is excited to tell his uncle about the cat, but then he regrets that thought when he remembered that his uncle said to him that he will break his neck if he caught him fooling around.

He proposes to keep it a secret and sneaks out to get milk; the cat repeats the word "milk" and the kid proceeds to explain to the cat what milk is, drawing a cow in the canvas; the cat disappears, it seems that it's scared of the drawing, so he erases it to draw a calf instead, but then the cat reappears with a cow, soon after doing the same with a calf. The cartoon ends with the three animals and the boy looking at the door as the boy states that his uncle just arrived.

Appearing in "Jolly the Newsie"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • June Hart
  • Harry Mason
  • Peter Brunt

Races and Species:

Vehicles:

  • Taxi
  • Police car

Synopsis for "Jolly the Newsie"

Jolly is an orphan who sells copies of "The City" newspaper on the streets. One day he accidentally walks into a reporter named Fred Coby who writes for The City newspaper, causing Jolly to spill his papers all over the ground. His frustration with losing his newspapers is quickly overcome by excitement when Jolly realizes what Fred's profession is. Jolly and Fred like each other and decide they are friends.

Later, a frustrated Fred is at the newspaper office, trying to find a scoop that he can quickly report on so he doesn't lose his job. He is annoyed to receive a phone call at the office from Jolly, who surreptitiously tells Fred to meet him in the city. Fred eventually relents, and takes a taxi to see Jolly.

Jolly shows Fred a building fire that not a single other reporter has arrived to write about yet. Fred talks to the police officer Harry Mason present at the fire, who tells him that nine firemen and three police officers have already been hospitalized due to the blaze. Jolly, standing nearby, realizes that the burning building is the same building that he himself lives in, and he rushes inside to save his money from burning. Seeing this, Fred runs in after the child. Jolly rescues his money, but then hears a cry from the next room over. He finds a lady named June Hart, Fred Coby's sweetheart, trapped inside, and he slings her over his shoulders. As he tries to exit the building, Jolly's foot gets stuck in some weakened floorboards, but Fred arrives just in time to save him and his lover. The trio make it outside just in time as the entire building collapses from the fire.

Fred takes his written story to his newspaper editor Peter Brunt , who is ecstatic to hear that Fred was the only one who reported on the event. The editor is even more thrilled to hear that Jolly, the hero who saved a woman from the inferno, is present in the office, and he demands photos be taken of Jolly. Fred tells the editor that the boy needs a job, and the elated Jolly is hired on the spot.

Appearing in "Spy Ring"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Daily Free Press
    • Editor Wilson

Antagonists:

  • B-8 (Wingate)
  • K-2 (Lake)
  • Dan Roberts
  • Captain Ludwig

Other Characters:

  • Jim
  • Max

Races and Species:

Synopsis for "Spy Ring"

When a spy ring steals special plans for an army plane from an air base, reporter Burton Slade, secretly the vigilante The Wasp, infiltrates the gentleman's club that serves as its front.

Appearing in "Origin of the American Ace"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Queen Ursula ⏵ (First appearance)
  • Castile D'or Army (First appearance)
    • Josef (First appearance)
    • Unnamed Assassin (Impersonates Attanian soldier) (First appearance)
    • Numerous unnamed soldiers

Other Characters:

  • Numerous unnamed citizens of Attania
  • Minister of Castile D'or (First appearance; dies)
  • Numerous unnamed citizens of Castile D'or
  • Unnamed Attanian Monarch (First appearance)
  • Attania Army (First appearance)
    • Numerous unnamed soldiers

Races and Species:

Locations:

Synopsis for "Origin of the American Ace"

Queen Ursula decides to finally avenge her exile from Castile D'or to a lonely Atlantic islet. After she is smuggled back to her country to regain her power, she plots with Josef to hire a professional killer, dress him as an Attainian soldier and assassinate the minister from Castile D'or to get those nations to war. The scheme is put to work and a man jumps out in front of the minister's passing car. He shoots the minister and kills him. He then jumps into another car and speeds away. Queen Ursula greets a large crowd and declares a war with Attainia. Meanwhile, an American mineral hunter named Perry Wade, flies over the Attainian countryside. He lands at the capital and walking around the town he hears air raid sirens blaring. He looks up to see the bombs dropping on the town.

Spotting a girl about to be crushed in a pile of burning rubble, Webb comes to her rescue. The girl, Jeanie, is distraught as her parents were killed and has no will to live. However, having been saved by Webb, she agrees to be taken to safety.

Perry flies her to a cottage, where her sister and grandfather are living. Arriving there, Perry is introduced to her family. After Jeanie explains the tragic events to her sister, Perry is invited to stay.

Meanwhile at the palace of the queen, she is more and more desperate to crush her foes and reveals her plans to take over the world. Even though her minister Josef thinks she's mad, he is too frightened to do anything but to follow her. In order to gain support from her subjects, she begins publishing propaganda encouraging the people of Castile D'or to fight back against their "oppressors" from Attainia.

While back at Jeanie's family farm, Perry decides it is time to leave, as he must continue to find a source of radium for his business. As he flies away he is soon tracked by some fighter planes from Castile D'or. The pilots begin shooting at his plane even though he is unarmed. He is shot down and soon crashes his plane into Jeanie's home.

Jeanie, Marie and their grandfather pull Perry from the wreckage and place him into bed. As he recovers, Perry tells Jeanie, that he realizes now something. He has a more important job than mineral hunting -- taking down the evil queen and her oppressive regime.

Notes

Publisher Notes[]

Motion Picture Funnies Vol 1 1 page unknown

Fun-O-Graphs

  • Motion Picture Funnies Weekly was an unpublished 36 page promotional book that was intended to be a giveaway to movie theaters in April, 1939. It was produced by the independent studio Funnies Inc., and was their only complete comic produced.[1]
  • According to comics historian Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, the existence of this book would be unknown to most until 1974.[2]
  • This book was printed completely in black and white, excluding the cover.
  • The story Here Is The Sub-Mariner! would be reprinted later that year as the first 8 pages of "The Sub-Mariner" in Marvel Comics #1.
  • The Origin of the American Ace story was colored and reprinted later that year in Marvel Mystery Comics #2 and Marvel Mystery Comics #3. The last page is different that the one from the printed in Marvel Comics #1, but the story overall is the same.
  • Although American Ace is introduced in this story as "Perry Wade", he is shown in Marvel handbooks to be named "Perry Webb" in Marvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special #1. He later introduces himself as "Ace Masters" in All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes #4.
  • Other stories (that aren't owned by Marvel) included in this comic:
    • The single activities page in the magazine titled "Fun-O-Graphs" which had cartoon faces that readers could cut out, fold, and combine together to make new faces as well as a small brain teaser and an optical illusion image for readers to play with. It was published in Green Giant Comics(1940) #1 by Pelican Publications.[1]
    • Kar Toon and His Copy Cat was later published in Green Giant Comics #1 in 1940 by Pelican Publications.
    • The Spy Ring (The Wasp) was later published in Silver Streaks Comics #1 in 1939 by Lev Gleason. Another adventure of the character Wasp would be published in issue 2
    • Jolly the Newsie is the only story that is exclusive to this issue.

Trivia

  • Bill Everett's first appearance of Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner was in this comic as an eight page black and white story released six months before Marvel Comics #1.
  • For much time, a copy of the Jolly the Newsie story was not able to be located as it has never been reprinted and scans of the story have never been published online. This was remedied in 2021 when photos of the story were taken and uploaded to the Marvel Database.[3]

See Also

Links and References

References

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