More Fun Comics #78

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The table includes 4 guide observations and 1 catalog references. These are reference values, not guaranteed sale proceeds.

Graded population

CGC records 27 graded copies for More Fun Comics #78 (1942). Population is the number recorded by this grading source, not the total print run or all surviving copies.

Green Arrow: "The Black Raider"

| Appearing1 = **Featured Characters:** * Green Arrow) * Speedy) **Antagonists:** * Captain Kilgore ** his pirate crew: Lefty, et. al. **Other Characters:** * Johnny James **Locations:** * New York City ** New York Harbor **Vehicles:** * Arrowcraft * Kilgore's pirate ship

| Editor2_1 = Mort Weisinger | Writer2_1 = Gardner Fox | Penciler2_1 = Howard Sherman | Inker2_1 = Howard Sherman | Letterer2_1 = Howard Sherman

| StoryTitle2 = Dr. Fate: "The Wax Museum Killers" | Synopsis2 = A group of criminals start a crime spree across the city, disguised as wax figures of evil men from ancient times that have come to life and escaped from the Wax Museum. Doctor Fate) intervenes when the criminals crash a wealthy party and kidnap Inza Cramer). Although Fate manages to rescue Inza, he is unable to stop the criminals, reason why Fate asks the Police Commissioner's collaboration in capturing the thugs. Like this, Fate and members of the Police Department disguised as ancient heroes put an end to the criminal spree of the Wax Museum Killers.

| Appearing2 = **Featured Characters:** * Dr. Fate) **Supporting Characters:** * Inza Cramer) **Antagonists:** * Wax Museum Killers: * unnamed boss ** Trigger ** Lefty ** the Duke **Other Characters:** * Sam Winslow * the Police Commissioner **Items:** * Doctor Fate's Half-Helmet * Great Globe of Pure Crystal

| Writer3_1 = | Penciler3_1 = Cliff Young | Inker3_1 = Cliff Young | StoryTitle3 = Radio Squad: "The Case of the Phantom Fugitive" | Synopsis3 = | Appearing3 = **Featured Characters:** * Radio Squad) ** Sandy Keene) ** Larry Trent) **Antagonists:** * the Phantom Fugitive **Locations:** * New York City * Tower of Fate * Carter Waxworks Museum

| Penciler4_1 = Paul Norris | Inker4_1 = Paul Norris | StoryTitle4 = Aquaman: "The Sargasso Sea" | Synopsis4 | Appearing4 = **Featured Characters:** * Aquaman) **Antagonists:** * Sargasso ** his pirate crew **Locations:** * Sargasso Sea

| Writer5_1 = | Penciler5_1 = Mort Meskin | Inker5_1 = Mort Meskin | StoryTitle5 = Johnny Quick: "Death's Dividends" | Synopsis5 = | Appearing5 = **Featured Characters:** * Johnny Quick) **Supporting Characters:** * Theodore "Tubby" Watts) **Antagonists:** * Dr. Clever) ** Foxx, his attorney ** Silky Smith, henchman ** Cannonball Carter, henchman **Other Characters:** * A.V. Kieth, industrialist * Smith, industrialist **Items:** * Johnny Quick's secret formula%23Powers)

| Penciler6_1 = Bernard Baily | StoryTitle6 = The Spectre: "The Magic Crimes" | Synopsis6 = One night on a country road outside Cliffland, the Spectre rescues a very bad driver from a deadly accident, and thus Jim Corrigan and Percival Popp both meet Kati Lugi, professional magician and hypnotist. Popp seemingly abandons his long-running pursuit of a partnership with Corrigan, and gets himself hired as Lugi's assistant.

Jim attends that evening's magic show at the Midtown Theater, and sees a gigantic golden manlike figure appear, announce itself as "The Glowing One," and demand tribute from the audience. On stage, Kati Lugi shrinks back and cries out in seeming terror. The Spectre emerges from Corrigan and confronts this apparition, but before the Grim Ghost can get a grip, the luminous figure explodes in a burst of colors, and is gone. And when Jim reports these events to his boss, the chief decides that the Glowing One is just some new trick of "our old foe the Spectre," and yet again assigns Corrigan the task of finding and arresting the Spectre.

A crime wave sweeps Cliffland, and the Spectre pitches in with the police, first invisibly, by speed-pushing police cars to crime scenes, then overtly, by intervening in a shoot-out, slapping some bullets out of the air, then growing gigantic and scooping up the thugs, and tossing them into a paddy wagon. But an interview by Corrigan with one crime victim implicates Percival Popp as having been one of the hoodlums, and Corrigan's miraculous occult powers confirm this. But Corrigan keeps this to himself, and the mismatched pair leave the crime scene together, to interview Kati Lugi, who presents a preposterous theory about the nature and origin of "The Glowing One". Corrigan might or might not believe him, but as they leave Lugi's apartment building, Jim gets jumped by two hoodlums. He takes them out in two punches, but Percival Popp pulls out a pistol and almost shoots Jim. Corrigan's keen eye detects Popp's hypnotized condition; he freezes him in place with a stare, then frees him from the hypnotic spell. An awkward conversation follows, then Corrigan reluctantly sends Popp to return to work as Lugi's assistant, instructing him to resist the hypnotic influence by keeping a picture of the Spectre in mind.

This technique proves effective, and the evening's planned robbery proceeds smoothly until it is disrupted by the sudden arrival on stage of the Spectre. Cornered, Kati Lugi grabs an electrical circuit-breaker, claims to have planted bombs around the theater, and threatens to trigger them. Spectre magically expands the detonator switch to an enormous size, too big and heavy for the pudgy magician to operate, then whisks him away to the police chief's office, along with Percival. There he turns over the robber, and vouches for Percival's innocence. The chief has never liked or trusted the Spectre, and now fruitlessly attempts to arrest him.

Later, Jim Corrigan later is able to quietly razz his boss about that encounter, but the chief seems to have believed the Spectre's exoneration of Percival, or at least the police have stopped hunting for the persistent pest. But Percival Popp has not stopped annoyingly seeking to team up with Jim Corrigan. | Appearing6 = **Featured Characters:** * The Spectre) **Supporting Characters:** * Percival Popp) **Antagonists:** * Kati Lugi) **Other Characters:** * Police Chief of Cliffland **Locations:** * Earth-Two ** Cliffland, New Jersey

| Notes = * Published by Detective Comics, Inc. * **Johnny Quick** villain *Dr. Clever)* is called *the Man of a Million Murders* in this issue's story. This name was previously used by the villain *Mr. Zero)*, in More Fun Comics #75 (Jan 1942). * Dr. Clever was previously seen in More Fun Comics #76, and will return in More Fun Comics #89. * Dr. Fate: "The Wax Museum Killers" is reprinted in The Golden Age Doctor Fate Archives Vol. 1 (Collected).

| Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = * Read [https://fourcolorshadows.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-spectre-bernard-baily-1942.html *Spectre: "The Magic Crimes"*] online.

Creative credits

Writers: Gardner Fox

Interior art: George Papp, Howard Sherman, Cliff Young, Paul Norris, Mort Meskin, Bernard Baily

Source records & attribution

Panel Profits keeps each source identity attached to its edition record.

COMICBASE: comicbase:767256

GCD: 2099

PANEL PROFITS: 2347780