National Comics #1 for Sale - First Appearance of Uncle Sam - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: National Comics (Quality Comics, 1940 series)
Issue: #1
Publication date: July 1940
Key date: 1940-07-00
On-sale date: 1940-04-14
Indicia publisher: Comic Magazines 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 Uncle Sam - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

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

First appearance of Sally O'Neil - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First appearance of Danny "Kid" Dixon - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

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

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

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

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

First appearance of Officer Pat Malone - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

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

Origin story on record for: Buddy, Danny "Kid" Dixon, Jock Kellog, Merlin the Magician, Wonder Boy.

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: Lou Fine; inks: Lou Fine	Buddy First, Uncle Sam First
1	The Coming of Uncle Sam	comic story	9	script: Will Eisner, Dave Berg; pencils: Will Eisner, Dave Berg; inks: Will Eisner	Buddy First, Uncle Sam First, Franklin D. Roosevelt
2	Death Rides the Airways	comic story	6	script: Toni Blum; pencils: Witmer Williams; inks: Witmer Williams	Prop Powers First
3	Sally Joins the Force	comic story	4	script: Toni Blum; pencils: Chuck Mazoujian; inks: Chuck Mazoujian	Sally O'Neil First
4	Dixon's First Fight	comic story	5	script: Bob Reynolds; pencils: George Tuska; inks: George Tuska	Danny "Kid" Dixon First
5	The Origin of Merlin	comic story	7	script: Lance Blackwood; pencils: Dan Zolnerowich; inks: Dan Zolnerowich	Jock Kellog First, Merlin the Magician First
6	Yankee Doodle Boy	text story	2	script: Anthony Lamb	Yankee Doodle Boy [Jimmy Jones] (first appearance, origin)
7	The Boy from the Meteor	comic story	6	script: Toni Blum; pencils: John Celardo; inks: John Celardo	Wonder Boy First
8	Race for a New Planet	comic story	6	script: Tony Rawlins; pencils: Henry Kiefer; inks: Henry Kiefer	Cyclone First
9	Corpse in the Bedroom	comic story	5	script: Klaus Nordling; pencils: Klaus Nordling; inks: Klaus Nordling	Pen Miller First
10	Introducing Paul Bunyan	comic story	6	script: Herman Bolstein; pencils: John Celardo; inks: John Celardo	Babe First, Paul Bunyan First
11	-	comic story	2	script: Bill Newcombe; pencils: Bill Newcombe; inks: Bill Newcombe	Windy Breeze (first appearance)
12	The Coming of the Kid Patrol	comic story	6	script: Toni Blum; pencils: Charles Nicholas; inks: Charles Nicholas	Sunshine Jones First, Officer Pat Malone First, Porky First, Spunky First, Suzy First, Teddy First

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Jerry Iger's National Comics #1 ISBN 0-932629-13-X	1985	On eBay ›
Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comic Books of the Second World War #[nn] ISBN 978-1-60699-987-5	2017	On eBay ›
The Complete Uncle Sam: Volume 3 ISBN 978-1546996170	2017	On eBay ›
The Golden Age Firsts of Quality Comics: Volume 1 ISBN 978-1719549844	2018	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

1 of 75#2 ›

Sources

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

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