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If you are looking for cover images
of Blue Beetle comic books, they are available on the
Blue Beetle Gallery page.
My goal is to create a complete bibliography of Golden Age Blue Beetle appearances. I have included information from price guides and other sources. Some of my information about appearances of the Blue Beetle feature in comics other than Fox's Mystery Men and Blue Beetle is taken from descriptions given by people selling these comics on the internet; I usually do not have direct access to these comics, and can not verify the sellers' statements. If you know of any omissions or errors, please contact Robert J. Bowman at bob@wonderworldcomics.com.
Fox Features Syndicate
MYSTERY MEN
Fox Features Syndicate: August 1939- February 1942
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 1 | August, 1939 | First Blue Beetle story Ever |
| 2-6 | ||
| 7 | First Blue Beetle Cover | |
| 8-25 | ||
| 26 | February 1942 |
ALL TOP COMICS (My Experience No. 19 on)
Fox Features Synd/Green Publ/Norlen Mag 1945- February 1942
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 1 | 1945 | Funny Animal comics dominate first 7 issues (no Blue Beetle) |
| 2-7 | Sum, 1946 | no Blue Beetle |
| 8 | January, 1947 | Blue Beetle debuts in this title; Cover by Kamen. |
| 9-13 | Among these issues are some of the most notorious crime comics of this era. BB story in #12 features decapitation. | |
| 14 | No Blue Beetle in this issue. This issue was so lurid that Dr. Wertham sighted it it Seduction of the Innocent. | |
| 15 | 8 | No Blue Beetle |
| 16-17 | 9-10 | |
| 18 | Mar, 1949 | This final issue did not include a Blue Beetle appearance |
BIG-3 (Fox Comics' big three were Blue Beetle,
The Flame, and Samson)
Fox Features Syndicate Fall, 1940 - Jan, 1942
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 1 | Fall 1940 | Blue Beetle, The Flame, Samson begin |
| 2 | Winter 40/41 | |
| 3 | Spring 41 | |
| 4 | Summer 41 | |
| 5 | Fall 41 | |
| 6 | Winter 41 | last Samson, |
| 7 | January 1942 | V-Man App. |
The Blue Beetle
Fox Publications #1-11, 31-60; Holyoke No. 12-30; Winter 1939, 1940; No. 57, 7/48; No. 58,
4/50, No 60, 8/50
After February of 1943, the publishing schedule became very irregular and I have had
trouble determining publication dates for that period.
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 1 | Winter 1939/40 | Reprinting stories from Mystery Men 1-5, Blue Beetle is shown in 4 different costumes. |
| 2 | May/June 1940 | |
| 3 | July/August 1940 | |
| 4 | Fall 1940 | |
| 5 | January/February 1941 | |
| 6 | Marc/April 1941 | |
| 7 | June 1941 | |
| 8 | August 1941 | |
| 9 | October 1941 | |
| 10 | December 1941 | |
| 11 | February 1942 | |
| 12 | June 1942 | Holyoke published issues 12-30. Quality declined, but the publication schedule became more consistent. |
| 13 | August 1942 | |
| 14 | September 1942 | |
| 15 | October 1942 | Sparky debuts. |
| 16 | November 1942 | |
| 17 | December 1942 | For no particular reason, Sparky is called "Spunky" in issues 17-19 |
| 18 | January 1943 | |
| 19 | March 1943 | |
| 20 | April 1943 | |
| 21 | May 1943 | |
| 22 | June 1943 | |
| 23 | July 1943 | |
| 24 | August 1943 | |
| 25 | September 1943 | War theme Cover |
| 26 | October 1943 | |
| 27 | November 1943 | |
| 28 | December 1943 | |
| 29 | January 1944 | |
| 30 | February 1944 | Last Holyoke issue. |
| 31 | June 1944 | |
| 32 | July 1944 | |
| 33 | August 1944 | |
| 34 | September 1944 | |
| 35 | October 1944 | |
| 36 | November 1944 | |
| 37 | Spring 1945 | |
| 38 | Summer 1945 | |
| 39 | Fall 1945 | |
| 40 | Winter 1945-46 | |
| 41 | March/April 1946 | |
| 42 | July/Aug 1946 | |
| 43 | Fall 1946 | |
| 44 | September/October 1946 | |
| 45 | June 1947 | |
| 46 | July 1947 | |
| 47 | August 1947 | |
| 48 | September 1947 | |
| 49 | October 1947 | |
| 50 | November 1947 | |
| 51 | December 1947 | |
| 52 | January 1948 | |
| 53 | February 1948 | |
| 54 | March 1948 | |
| 55 | April 1948 | |
| 56 | May 1948 | |
| 57 | July 1948 | |
| 58 | April 1950 | |
| 59 | June 1950 | |
| 60 | August 1950 |
Weekly Comic Magazine (Samples sent to newspapers for supplement that was never published; similar to the Spirit Section which it pre-dated by three weeks)
| Version | Cover Date | Comment |
| Version 1 | May 12, 1940 | 8pp. Blue Beetle story |
| Version 2 | May 12, 1940 | 7 2pp Blue Beetle stories |
| Comic Section Version | May 12, 1940 |
Phantom Lady (There were two Phantom Lady series published by Fox. This was the first.)
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 13 | August, 1947 | As Fox's headliner, a Blue Beetle story could turn up in any Fox title |
Charlton Comics
Space Adventures (Blue Beetle returned in this magazine, after a few
year's absence.)
Charlton Comics
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 13 | 10/11/54 | The Blue Beetle returns!!! (in reprints) |
| 14 | 12/54,1/55 | Another reprint, but new material would see print next month in Charlton's The Blue Beetle |
The Blue Beetle
Charlton Comics #18, Feb, 1955-No21, Aug, 1955
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 18 | Feb, 1955 | |
| 19 | April | |
| 20 | June | |
| 21 | Aug, 1955 |
Mystery in Space: the Perils of Blue Beetle
Charlton Comics
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 2 | Unknown | I only know of this magazine from a cover scan posted to eBay with minimal information. I have been unable to find this comic in the Overstreet guide. |
Nature Boy
Charlton Comics
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 3 | March, 1956 |
Americomics
Americomics (this publisher had the rights to Charlton's characters only briefly before DC bought the rights.)
| Issue Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 3 | 1983 | Ted Kord battles his predecessor. |
The Americomics book makes the claim that the golden and silver age characters were one-and-the-same. This story was ignored by DC's later series about Ted Kord.
DC Comics
DC Comics Cosmic Cards
DC Comics and Impel Marketing, 1992
| Card Number | Cover Date | Comment |
| 1 | 1992 |
DC has never featured the character in a comic book story, but acknowledged and honored him by making him Card #1. He is also mentioned in the editor's notes of an issue of "Secret Origins" featuring the origins of his two successors.
The Golden Age and Kingdom Come:
Annotations of these limited comics series' on the Internet claim that the golden age Blue Beetle made cameo appearances.
The alleged Kingdom Come appearance is in a frame showing a crowd of heroes in the background. Most characters in the crowd are drawn very small, with a few simple brushstrokes. I can't find the Blue Beetle in this picture that also features Captain America and other non-DC characters.
There is also a reported appearance in James Robinson's The
Golden Age The
Golden Age.Writer James Robinson is known for his revivals of obscure characters in
series such as Starman. The Beetle is said to be in the
background of one panel, partially obscured by foreground clutter. This could have been
the Fox Blue Beetle, or it could have been any
character that wore a blue Phantom-inspired costume.
Special thanks to Nick Pope, who provided me with more accurate Blue Beetle cover date listings.
The Legacy
Lives !!!
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