One of the most prolific comics publishers over multiple decades, Charlton Comics owed its existence in part to the fact that printing cereal boxes can be an expensive concern. Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Yellowjacket Comics #1 awaits!

YELLOWJACKET COMICS #1

Writer: Uncredited
Penciler: Ken Battefield
Inker: Ken Battefield
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Uncredited
Editor: Uncredited
Publisher: Frank Communale Publishing (Charlton Comics)
Cover Price: 10 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $1,000.00
Release Date: July 26, 1944

Previously in Yellowjacket Comics: Beginning its (legitimate) publishing history circa 1935, the company that would give us Charlton Comics started out as a publisher of song lyrics in magazine form. Thanks to their elderly printing press (which was expensive to start and stop, a process which ideally took place during semi-annual cleanings), Charlton Publications required a lot of material. Their comics output came from multiple packagers, but once acquired, the company handled everything in-house, including the distribution of their books to retailers. By 1951, Charlton had their own in-house editorial and creative staff, featuring future Marvel mainstay Steve Ditko, among other luminaries, creating war, horror, Western, and even a few superhero books. The same printing presses that made the comics necessary in the ’40s were falling apart by 1985, with the company finally going under in 1985.

The first comic book to come off those secondhand, persnickety cereal box printing presses was Yellowjacket Comics #1.

Vince Harley was a writer of mystery stories for Dark Detective magazine but found that his usual tricks were no longer working as audiences got more sophisticated and his editor got choosier. Heading home to spend time with his bees, Vince suddenly finds himself in the company of a lovely woman with a crime story of her own… and a mysterious bag full of precious jewels.

Unfortunately for Mr. Harley, she wasn’t the only one pursuing the mysterious gems.

The thugs give Vince a good beating, but rather than kill him, they decide to give him an ironic end, smashing his beehives and throwing them into the room, expecting the enraged insects to swarm and kill him. Instead, when the woman returns, she finds Harley unharmed, albeit covered in bees!

The art here isn’t actually credited anywhere in the story, but the style of the figures and faces make historians quite certain that it’s the work of Ken Battefield, best known for his work at America’s Best Studios, home of Fighting Yank and Black Terror, to name a couple of their characters that modern audiences likely remember. I’m actually a fan of his work, especially Doc Strange, partial inspiration for Alan Moore’s Tom Strong. After the attempt on his life using his “yellowjacket bees,” whatever those are, Vince Harley decides to use that mystique to his advantage. Criminals are a superstitious, apiphobic lot, after all.

Leaping into action with only his wits and his good guy naivete, Yellowjacket makes short work of the criminals, while making it quite clear that “immunity to bee stings” isn’t his only extraordinary ability.

Yellowjacket even lets one of his bees score the coup de gras, which seems cruel give that a bee sting is a literal death sentence for his flying friends. It’s the start of a short career for Vince Harley, twelve appearances, before disappearing into limbo by 1946. Unlike many of his peers, Vince stayed mostly unseen for the following decades, with a memorable exception being his return in the pages of Multiversity, finally joining the Action Heroes that DC purchased from Charlton in ’84 or so. Long story short, Yellowjacket Comics #1 isn’t exactly a super-memorable comic book, but it’s one that holds a place in my heart (and, apparently, Grant Morrison’s), with a short but sweet lead feature and a few others pulling down 3 out of 5 stars overall.

For those wondering, I’ve got no idea who that cat swinging through heroically on the cover is, as he doesn’t appear in the issue or actually exist.

Dear Spoilerite,

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.