Leading Comics #12

Price history & market evidence

Price observations belong to this edition. Guide estimates, catalog references and completed sales are separate kinds of evidence.

Reading this edition’s market

Compare the same cover, printing and grade before setting a bid. A raw guide or a higher-grade price does not establish a slab’s value. Include selling fees, shipping and the depth of completed-sale evidence when assessing an exit price.

The table includes 3 guide observations and 0 catalog references. These are reference values, not guaranteed sale proceeds.

Graded population

CGC records 31 graded copies for Leading Comics #12 (1944). Population is the number recorded by this grading source, not the total print run or all surviving copies.

Seven Soldiers of Victory: "Million Dollar Challenge"

A personal ad warns the Seven Soldiers to stay away from the home of eccentric millionaire Wendell Darrel, which is of course the opposite of what they do. While standing guard against predicted malfeasance, however, they find themselves trapped by Darrel himself. He issues them a challenge: go to five locations and recover treasure he's had hidden. If they succeed, he'll donate $1,000,000 to any charity they like. Though suspicious after the hostile reception they received, their heroic consciences compel them to agree. | Synopsis2 = Vigilante follows the clue he's been given to a plot of land out in Wyoming that's never been worked. He finds a group of claim jumpers who've been digging up gold dust there, but catches them and also recovers the hidden treasure. Which, ironically, is worth more than the gold dust the criminals have stolen, but which he's happy to add to the haul he's taking back to Darrel. | Synopsis3 = Crimson Avenger and Wing follow their clue to a small rural newspaper, figuring out the loot they've been directed to recover is hidden in the paper's old printing press that was just sold for scrap. They manage to find the hidden loot, but the man who'd bought it calls the police, insisting the hidden wealth in it is legally his too. Crim and Wing insist he's wrong, and are attacked by opportunistic crooks. Crim gets the criminals to fight among themselves by pretending to surrender the loot, and then the cops arrest them all for attempted murder while the mystery men return home in triumph. | Synopsis4 = Green Arrow and Speedy follow their clue to a large meteor Darrel's lending to a museum, but the curator refuses to let them inspect it even though Darrel gave his permission. The curator even calls the police to guard the space rock. In spite of this, the archers are determined to complete their quest and secretly melt the meteor with their arrows to reveal a box of valuable negotiable bonds inside. Though successful, the archers are left very confused. | Synopsis5 = Shining Knight follows his clue to a pyramid of steel built in the desert, but has to postpone his search when he hears a call for help that turns out to have come from a security guard at a nearby mansion. He catches some thieves robbing a safe and is knocked out while tussling with them. With the word going around that other members of the Seven Soldiers are going crooked because of fighting to get their hands on hidden sums of money, they decide to frame Shining Knight by putting his fingerprints on the safe. He comes to and captures them, and thinking that the gang leader called himself "Alex the Great" gives Shining Knight an idea. Instead of making a careful search of the pyramid for the crooks, he draws his magic sword and smashes down the entire structure as Alexander solved the Gordian Knot. Inside he finds baby shoes and old wooden toys, a curious treasure. | Synopsis6 = Star decodes his clue to mean a reformatory Darrel once ran in a cave, full of a tiny toy city. There they run into the infamous gangster Kansas City Kane, who insists he's gone straight and is just the caretaker of the miniature city (although he's puzzled by how Darrel stopped coming to inspect it a few weeks ago). They find the loot in the miniature town's bank, but are attacked by a bunch of notorious crooks, these ones still practicing. Star and Stripesy put up a valiant fight but are eventually knocked out and "put on trial" by the criminals. Found guilty, Star saves their bacon by ordering the toy soldiers to fire, knocking down the criminals and making them easy prey. Finding the whole affair extremely strange, Star decides they need to convene with the rest of the Seven Soldiers. | Synopsis7 = The suspicious Seven Soldiers convene to meet with Wendell Darrel again, but instead of handing over the wealth they've discovered, they confront him with an accusation: everything was suspicious, and it was because this man isn't the real Wendell Darrel. He's an impersonator who issued his challenge to the heroes, knowing they were most likely to be able to find and recover the hidden wealth (in Shining Knight's case, not knowing the "treasure" only had sentimental value). He tries to drop them through a trapdoor but Shining Knight carves a way out for them. After fighting through the fake Darrel's henchmen and finding the real one, he gladly hands over the promised million bucks.

| Appearing1 = **Featured Characters:** * Seven Soldiers of Victory) **Crimson Avenger) ** Green Arrow) **Shining Knight) **Speedy) **Star-Spangled Kid) **Stripesy) **Vigilante) **Supporting Characters:** * Wing) **Antagonists:** * **Other Characters:** * Weldon Darrel (fake) **Locations:** * Estate of Weldon Darrel **Items:** * **Vehicles:** *

| Appearing2 = **Featured Characters:** * Vigilante) **Supporting Characters:** * **Antagonists:** * Pete and his gang **Other Characters:** * Weldon Darrel (fake) **Locations:** * **Items:** * **Vehicles:** *

| Appearing3 = **Featured Characters:** * Crimson Avenger) **Supporting Characters:** * Wing) **Antagonists:** * Unnamed thugs **Other Characters:** * Mr Blake * Weldon Darrel (fake) **Locations:** * **Items:** * **Vehicles:** *

| Appearing4 = **Featured Characters:** * Green Arrow) * Speedy) **Supporting Characters:** * **Antagonists:** * **Other Characters:** * Crimson Avenger) * Director of the "Museum of Future Inventions" * Mulcahy * Weldon Darrel (fake) **Locations:** * **Items:** * Trick Arrows **Vehicles:** * Arrowcar

| Appearing5 = **Featured Characters:** * Shining Knight) **Supporting Characters:** * Winged Victory) **Antagonists:** * Unnamed thugs **Other Characters:** * Crimson Avenger) * Green Arrow) * Weldon Darrel (fake) **Locations:** * Egypt **Items:** * **Vehicles:** *

| Appearing6 = **Featured Characters:** * Star-Spangled Kid) * Stripesy) **Supporting Characters:** * **Antagonists:** * Judge Charlie Chowderhead **Other Characters:** * Kansas City Kane * Weldon Darrel (fake) **Locations:** * **Items:** * **Vehicles:** *

| Appearing7 = **Featured Characters:** * Seven Soldiers of Victory) **Crimson Avenger) **Green Arrow)| **Shining Knight) **Speedy) **Star-Spangled Kid) **Stripesy) **Vigilante) **Supporting Characters:** * Wing) **Antagonists:** * Weldon Darrel (fake) and his gang **Other Characters:** * Mr Blake * Weldon Darrel (real) **Locations:** * Estate of Weldon Darrel **Items:** * Trick Arrows **Vehicles:** *

| Notes = * *Million Dollar Challenge* is reprinted in The Seven Soldiers of Victory Archives Vol. 3 (Collected). | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links =

Creative credits

Writers: Joe Samachson, Joe Samachson, Joe Samachson, Joe Samachson, Joe Samachson, Joe Samachson, Joe Samachson

Interior art: Arthur Cazeneuve, Arthur Cazeneuve, Arthur Cazeneuve, Arthur Cazeneuve, Arthur Cazeneuve, Arthur Cazeneuve, Arthur Cazeneuve

Source records & attribution

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

COMICBASE: comicbase:650751

GCD: 3867

PANEL PROFITS: 24201