Star Spangled Comics #7 - First Appearance of Jim Harper, Printings and Contents

Identification plate

Series: Star Spangled Comics (DC, 1941 series)
Issue: #7
Publication date: April 1942
Key date: April 1942
On-sale date: February 1, 1942
Indicia publisher: Detective Comics Inc.
Price: $0.10
Pages: 68

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

First appearance (cover) of Jim Harper - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

First appearance (cover) of The Guardian - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

First appearance of Robotman - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance (cover) of Tommy - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

First appearance (cover) of Big Words - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

First appearance (cover) of Gabby - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

First appearance of Robert Crane / Paul Dennis - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance (cover) of Scrapper - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

First appearance of Dan the Dyna-Mite - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Dan Dunbar - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of TNT - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Tex N. Thomas - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Chuck Grayson - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Joan Carter - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Seq	Story	Type	Pages	Credits	Characters
0	-	cover	1	pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Joe Simon; colors: Jack Kirby	Big Words First, Gabby First, The Guardian First, Jim Harper First, Scrapper First, Tommy First
1	Editorial Advisory Board	promo (ad from the publisher)	0.33	letters: typeset
2	Smoke Eater	in-house column	0.67	script: Josette Frank
3	The Story of the Newsboy Legion	comic story	13	script: Joe Simon, Jack Kirby; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Joe Simon; letters: Howard Ferguson	Big Words First, Gabby First, The Guardian First, Jim Harper First, Scrapper First, Tommy First
4	The Crime Escadrille	comic story	8	script: Manly Wade Wellman; pencils: Hal Sharp; inks: Hal Sharp	John Law, Tarantula
5	The Gas Bombs	comic story	7	pencils: Arturo Cazeneuve; inks: Arturo Cazeneuve	Captain X, Buck Dare
7	The Birth of Robotman	comic story	13	script: Jerry Siegel; pencils: Leo Nowak, Paul Cassidy; inks: Paul Cassidy	Chuck Grayson First, Robotman First, Joan Carter First, Robert Crane / Paul Dennis First
8	Editorial Advisory Board	promo (ad from the publisher)	0.33	letters: typeset
9	Don't Tread on Me	in-house column	0.67	script: Josette Frank
10	The Dwarf	comic story	6	pencils: Paul Norris; inks: Paul Norris	Dan the Dyna-Mite First, Dan Dunbar First, Tex N. Thomas First, TNT First
11	The Fix	text story	1.67	script: Eric Carter
13	The Picture That Killed	comic story	13	script: Jerry Siegel; pencils: Harold Sherman; inks: Harold Sherman	Pat Dugan, Sylvester Pemberton, The Star-Spangled Kid, Stripesy, Dr. Weerd, The Needle, Professor James Stanton

Plus 3.33 pages of advertisements and other matter across 4 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #141	1971	On eBay ›
Adventure Comics #503	1983	On eBay ›
The Newsboy Legion by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby #1 ISBN 978-1-4012-2593-3	2010	On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

Golden-age paper is brittle. Ask about page suppleness and check edges for chips in the photos.
Check for trimmed edges, married covers, and clipped coupons - all common on books this old.
Confirm the indicia matches this plate; many golden-age titles changed names mid-run.

Series context

‹ #67 of 130#8 ›

Sources

Grand Comics Database, issue record (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Found an error in this file? corrections@comicrecord.com