Before Captain America made his debut in 1941, M.L.J. Magazines, Inc. introduced the first red, white and blue clad superhero with The Shield in the pages of Pep Comics #1 (January 1940). The Shield was very popular along with M.L.J.’s other heroes, the Hangman and The Wizard. I devoted an entire podcast to The Shield way back in 2006. While The Shield had good succes for M.L.J., his popularity wanned with the introduction of Archie Andrews and his friends in Pep Comics #22 (December 1941). Archie became such a big hit that M.L.J. Magazines later published all of its titles under the Archie Comics brand.
To celebrate the Fourth of July, here’s a classic Shield cover from 1941. This also happens to be issue #22 where Archie made his debut.
Pep Comics #22 (December 1941)
Happy Fourth of July from the Golden Age of Comic Books!
