The Human Torch #5[b] for Sale - First Appearance of Citizen V - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: The Human Torch (Marvel, 1940 series)
Issue: #5[b]
Publication date: Fall 1941
Key date: 1941-10-08
On-sale date: 1941-10-08
Indicia publisher: Timely 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 of Citizen V - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of John Watkins - 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: Alex Schomburg; inks: Alex Schomburg	Jim Hammond, Human Torch, Namor, Sub-Mariner
1	You! Brought Back Daring Comics and Made it Better Than Ever!	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	letters: ?; typeset	Elizabeth Barstow, Blue Diamond, Captain Daring, Jerry Carstairs, Citizen V First, The Fin, Elton T. Morrow, Peter Noble, Silver Scorpion, The Thunderer, John Watkins First
2	The Human Torch Battles the Sub-Mariner as the World Faces Destruction!, Part 1	comic story	20	script: Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Hank Chapman, Jack D'Arcy; pencils: Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Mike Roy, Harry Sahle, George Kapitan; inks: Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Mike Roy, Harry Sahle, George Kapitan	The Angel, Thomas Halloway, Jim Hammond, Human Torch, Ka-Zar, Jeff Mace, Sub-Mariner, The Patriot, Fen, David Rand, Thomas Raymond, Toro, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler
3	Tubby an' Tack	comic story	1	script: Ray Houlihan; pencils: Ray Houlihan; inks: Ray Houlihan; letters: Ray Houlihan	Tubby; Tack
4	The Human Torch Battles the Sub-Mariner As the World Faces Destruction!, Part 2	comic story	20	script: Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Hank Chapman, Jack D'Arcy; pencils: Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Mike Roy, Harry Sahle, George Kapitan; inks: Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Mike Roy, Harry Sahle, George Kapitan	Jim Hammond, Human Torch, Ka-Zar, Namor, Sub-Mariner, David Rand, Thomas Raymond, Toro, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin
5	Murder in the Underground	text story	2	script: Bill Jay	Inspector Horatio Crown; the Cockney; Bennett (villain, a Nazi)
6	The Human Torch Battles the Sub-Mariner As the World Faces Destruction!, Part 3	comic story	20	script: Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Hank Chapman, Jack D'Arcy; pencils: Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Mike Roy, Harry Sahle, George Kapitan; inks: Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Mike Roy, Harry Sahle, George Kapitan	Jim Hammond, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Thomas Raymond, Toro, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Namor
7	Unsolved Mysteries	comic story	1		Peer Baason

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Thunderbolts: Distant Rumblings #-1	1997	On eBay ›
Timely Presents: Human Torch #[nn]	1999	On eBay ›
Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Human Torch #2 ISBN 978-0-7851-2250-0	2007	On eBay ›
The Human Torch	1971	On eBay ›
Decades: Marvel in the '40s - The Human Torch vs. the Sub-Mariner #[nn] ISBN 978-1-302-91658-9	2019	On eBay ›
Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Human Torch by Carl Burgos Omnibus #[nn] ISBN 978-1-302-91933-7	2019	On eBay ›
Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Sub-Mariner by Bill Everett - The Pre-War Years Omnibus #[nn] ISBN 978-1-302-91935-1	2019	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

‹ #5[a]5 of 38#6 ›

Sources

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

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