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Publisher: Ace Magazines
Years in Operation: 1940 - 1956
Disclose Detail
Country: Flag United States Web Site: Brands: 2 Indicia Publishers: 17 Series: 48 Printings: 668 Disclose Notes: 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.

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 (the title later shortened to Penalty for the final two issues). 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.
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Series Name Years in Print Issues (Printings)
All Love {Comic Books} Public Domain 1949 - 1950 6
All Love Romances {Comic Books} 1949 - 1
All Romances {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: numbering continues with Mr. Risk (Ace Magazines, 1950 series) #7 Tracking information from the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Periodicals, July-December 1950, page 232, entry for Mr. Risk.
Public Domain
1949 - 1950 6
Andy Comics {Comic Books} Public Domain 1948 - 2
Atomic War! {Comic Books} Public Domain 1952 - 1953 4
Baffling Mysteries {Comic Books} Public Domain 1951 - 1955 22
Banner Comics {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: The series begins with issue 3, yet does not appear to continue from any other series.
1941 - 1942 3
The Beyond {Comic Books} Public Domain 1950 - 1955 30
Captain Courageous Comics {Comic Books} 1942 - 1
Challenge of the Unknown {Comic Books} Public Domain 1950 - 1
Complete Love Magazine {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: This comic's title and numbering is continued from the pulp magazine "Complete Love Magazine" which started in 1938. Published by Aaron A. Wyn and his wife Rose Wyn. The first two issues of the comic features 16 pages of pulp stories with two tier print plus black and white illustrations. Issues from 1951-1952 were printed in Canada. Whole issue numbers started with #176.
Public Domain
1951 - 1956 34
Crime Must Pay the Penalty {Comic Books} Public Domain 1948 - 1955 46
Dotty {Comic Books} Public Domain 1948 - 1949 6
Ernie Comics {Comic Books} Public Domain 1948 - 1949 4
Four Favorites {Comic Books} Public Domain 1941 - 1947 32
Four Teeners {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Four Favorites switched to the teen genre with issue 30 and the characters were continued in Four Teeners, after an issue of Crime Must Pay the Penalty.
Public Domain
1948 - 1
Fun Time {Comic Books} 1953 - 1954 4
Glamorous Romances {Comic Books} Public Domain 1949 - 1956 50
The Hand of Fate {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Two number 25 issues. Indicias in issues 14 and 23 confirm that the indicia title is "THE HAND OF FATE".
Public Domain
1951 - 1955 19
Hap Hazard Comics {Comic Books} Public Domain 1944 - 1949 24
Heroes of the Wild Frontier {Comic Books} Public Domain 1956 - 2
Indian Braves {Comic Books} Public Domain 1951 - 4
Lightning Comics {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Volumes run from June-May, not January-December.
Public Domain
1940 - 1942 10
Love at First Sight {Comic Books} Public Domain 1949 - 1956 43
Love Experiences {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Numbering continues in Challenge of the Unknown (Ace Magazines, 1950 series); numbering also continues in Love Experiences (Ace Magazines, 1951 series).
Public Domain
1949 - 1950 5
Love Experiences {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: There are two #38s (June 1956 and August 1956), though the August issue (date from cover) still says June 1956 in the indicia.
Public Domain
1951 - 1956 34
Men Against Crime {Comic Books} Public Domain 1951 - 5
Monkeyshines Comics {Comic Books} Public Domain 1944 - 1949 27
Mr. Risk {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: numbering continues from All Romances (Ace Magazines, 1949 series) #6 numbering continues with Men Against Crime (Ace Magazines, 1951 series) #3 Tracking information from the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Periodicals, July-December 1950, page 232, entry for Mr. Risk.
Public Domain
1950 - 2
Our Flag Comics {Comic Books} Public Domain 1941 - 1942 5
Penalty {Comic Books} Public Domain 1955 - 1956 2
Real Life Secrets {Comic Books} 1949 - 1
Real Love {Comic Books} Public Domain 1949 - 1956 52
Real Secrets {Comic Books} Public Domain 1949 - 1950 4
Revealing Romances {Comic Books} Public Domain 1949 - 1950 6
Science Comics {Comic Books} 1946 - 5
Scream Comics {Comic Books} Public Domain 1944 - 1948 19
Space Action {Comic Books} Public Domain 1952 - 3
Super-Mystery Comics {Comic Books} Public Domain 1940 - 1949 48
Sure-Fire Comics {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Two issues numbered Vol 1, #3
Public Domain
1940 - 4
Ten-Story Love {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Some issues are numbered, some just have Volume and Number.
Public Domain
1951 - 1956 34
Trapped! {Comic Books} Public Domain 1954 - 1955 4
Vicky Comics {Comic Books} 1948 - 1949 5
War Heroes {Comic Books} Public Domain 1952 - 1953 8
Web of Mystery {Comic Books} Public Domain 1951 - 1955 29
Western Adventures {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Cover title "Western Adventures Comics", indicia title "Western Adventures" (checked on February 1949 issue).
Public Domain
1948 - 1949 6
Western Love Trails {Comic Books} Public Domain 1949 - 1950 3
World War III {Comic Books} 1952 - 2

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