Dell’s Answer to Batman, the Owl in Crackajack Funnies, Up for Auction

In between helping to pioneer the modern comic book with The Funnies and Famous Funnies, and becoming a juggernaut best known for Disney comic books, Dell Publishing made a brief excursion into superheroes along with the rest of the comics industry during the Golden Age. A character called the Owl was one of the most notable parts of that effort. The Owl was a crime-fighting costumed superhero published primarily from 1940-1943, first in Crackajack Funnies and then in Popular Comics. The definitive version of the character was created by Frank Thomas, likely from a concept by editor Oskar Lebeck, and debuted in Crackajack Funnies #25 in July 1940. The character is private detective and millionaire playboy Nick Terry, who used his wealth to fund his crime-fighting activities as the Owl, most notably with his Owl plane. Terry’s fiance, newspaper reporter Belle Wayne quickly discovers his secret identity and becomes his costumed sidekick Owl Girl. The Owl was Dell’s answer to Batman and there are a number of issues of Crackajack Funnies featuring the Owl, including his first cover appearance in Crackajack Funnies #31 up for auction in the 2022 May 15-16 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122220 from Heritage Auctions.

Although Crackajack Funnies is commonly referred to as a Dell Publishing title, that’s a bit of a simplification. Crackajack Funnies was technically never a Dell title, but the Popular Comics series featuring the Owl’s later adventures was published by Dell. Crackajack Funnies was a Whitman Publishing Co. series, and editor Oscar Lebeck worked for Whitman. Whitman was a publishing subsidiary of Western Printing & Lithographic Co. and Dell Publishing had a relationship with Western on a number of fronts at this time.

The Owl of Crackajack Funnies #25 was a significantly different character than the one that appeared the very next issue. Editor Lebeck was apparently dissatisfied by the initial rather basic Shadow-inspired concept and brought in Frank Thomas to revamp the character immediately into something pointedly more Batman-like. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the competition among publishers as the Golden Age got underway, and there are a number of issues of Crackajack Funnies featuring the Owl, including his first cover appearance in Crackajack Funnies #31 up for auction in the 2022 May 15-16 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122220 from Heritage Auctions.

In between helping to pioneer the modern comic book with The Funnies and Famous Funnies, and becoming a juggernaut best known for Disney comic books, Dell Publishing made a brief excursion into superheroes along with the rest of the comics industry during the Golden Age. A character called the Owl was one of the most notable parts of that effort. The Owl was a crime-fighting costumed superhero published primarily from 1940-1943, first in Crackajack Funnies and then in Popular Comics. The definitive version of the character was created by Frank Thomas, likely from a concept by editor Oskar Lebeck, and debuted in Crackajack Funnies #25 in July 1940. The character is private detective and millionaire playboy Nick Terry, who used his wealth to fund his crime-fighting activities as the Owl, most notably with his Owl plane. Terry’s fiance, newspaper reporter Belle Wayne quickly discovers his secret identity and becomes his costumed sidekick Owl Girl. The Owl was Dell’s answer to Batman and there are a number of issues of Crackajack Funnies featuring the Owl, including his first cover appearance in Crackajack Funnies #31 up for auction in the 2022 May 15-16 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122220 from Heritage Auctions.

Although Crackajack Funnies is commonly referred to as a Dell Publishing title, that’s a bit of a simplification. Crackajack Funnies was technically never a Dell title, but the Popular Comics series featuring the Owl’s later adventures was published by Dell. Crackajack Funnies was a Whitman Publishing Co. series, and editor Oscar Lebeck worked for Whitman. Whitman was a publishing subsidiary of Western Printing & Lithographic Co. and Dell Publishing had a relationship with Western on a number of fronts at this time.

The Owl of Crackajack Funnies #25 was a significantly different character than the one that appeared the very next issue. Editor Lebeck was apparently dissatisfied by the initial rather basic Shadow-inspired concept and brought in Frank Thomas to revamp the character immediately into something pointedly more Batman-like. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the competition among publishers as the Golden Age got underway, and there are a number of issues of Crackajack Funnies featuring the Owl, including his first cover appearance in Crackajack Funnies #31 up for auction in the 2022 May 15-16 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122220 from Heritage Auctions.