Monday, March 24, 2008

From The Dust Bin: The American Crusader


The American Crusader originally appeared in Thrilling Comics #19 (Better Publications, 1941), however as a public domain character he has been revived by several modern publishers including AC Comics, Alan Moore’s ABC Comics and Dynamite.

Professor Archibald (Archie) Masters, an astronomy professor at an unnamed university in the Eastern United States, created a device called an atom-smasher. When the experimental device went awry during a test, instead of killing him, the accident blasted him with radiation, which endowed him with the superhuman abilities of flight, superhuman strength, invulnerability to bullets, and electromagnetic pulse generation. He used these powers to fight crime as the American Crusader.

Prof. Masters had a secretary named Jane Peters (around whom he maintained a mousy persona) and a teen sidekick named Mickey Martin.

The Crusader appeared in the golden age titles: America's Best Comics 6 and Thrilling Comics 19-35, 37-39, 41.

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