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White pgs; Universal holder; Unrestored
scarce; WWII cover (12/43)


This classic Catman comic features a typically wild Charles Quinlan cover as a laughing Catman and Kitten leap across rooftops while battling gun-toting Japanese soldiers. Backup stories include a Little Leaders tale featuring Kitten and Mickey (the sidekick of regular Catman backup star The Deacon) in civilian clothes. (Here, the typical teens go after Japanese saboteurs.) There's more wartime action as heroic (and blind) Blackout takes on the Son of the Red Baron, while The Deacon and Mickey fight crime at home when bank robbers start dressing as demons.

Catman Comics was publisher Frank Z. Temerson's attempt to cash in on the sudden superhero boom, resulting in a colorful costumed crimefighter with an origin combining elements of Tarzan, Batman, and Captain America. Catman (aka David Merrywether) originally fought crime as a private detective, and later became a U.S. Army officer. He'd also adopted child acrobat Katie Conn, saving her from a life of crime as she became his sidekick Kitten.

The beloved Axis-bashing hero found a dedicated following despite an often-troubled distribution. (In a unique twist, Catman and Kitten were also the only superhero team who'd age somewhat realistically over the years.) The scarcity of the run, due to scattered distribution and WWII paper drives, has made Catman Comics one of the toughest and most rewarding of hero titles to collect. There's also the challenge of Golden Age collectors particularly drawn to the book's amazing WWII-era covers from Quinlan and (occasionally) L.B. Cole.