Owl (Dell Comics)

The Owl
Publication information
Publisher	Dell Comics
First appearance	Crackajack Funnies #25 (July, 1940)
Created by	Frank Thomas
In-story information
Alter ego	Nick Terry
Partnerships	Owl Girl
Abilities	Excellent fighter; armed with various gimmicks and devices.

The Owl is a fictional superhero character who first appeared in Dell Comics in 1940; not to be confused with the Marvel Comics villain of the same name or with DC Comics’ Owlman.

Fictional biography

Police detective Nick Terry became The Owl so that he could more freely protect his home city of Yorktown from criminals. Not having superpowers, he instead relies on his fighting skills and a number of gimmicks, such as his flying “Owlmobile,” a cape that functions as a hang glider, and a hand-held “black light” that casts a beam of darkness. His girlfriend, newspaper reporter Belle Wayne, found out his secret and became his sidekick, Owl Girl. ^{[1] [2]}

History

One of the few original characters to be published by Dell, The Owl first appeared in Crackajack Funnies (sic) #25 (July, 1940); Owl Girl debuted in issue #32 (February, 1941). After Crackajack ended, the duo appeared in Dell’s Popular Comics, from issue #72 (February, 1942) to #85 (March, 1943). ^[1]

In the 1960s, Gold Key Comics revived The Owl and Owl Girl, inspired by the success of the Batman TV series. The two issues of Gold Key’s The Owl — in which the duo was shown in campy, self-parodying stories — came out in April, 1967, and April, 1968. ^[1] In the 1970s, The Owl appeared in issue #22 of Gold Key’s The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor. ^[3]

In 1999, The Owl appeared in issue #17 of the AC Comics title Men of Mystery Comics. ^[4] Most recently, The Owl is one of many public domain characters to appear in Dynamite Entertainment’s 2008 miniseries Project Superpowers. ^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Don Markstein's Toonopedia: The Owl
2. ^ The Owl at the Comic Book DB
3. ^ Big Comic Book Database: Occult Files of Dr. Spektor #22
4. ^ Men of Mystery Comics #17 at the Comic Book DB
5. ^ Superpowers (team) at the Comic Book DB