The Holyoke Publishing Company was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 comic-book publisher founded by Frank Temerson in 1940, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books

Golden Age of Comic Books

The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...

. Based in Holyoke

Holyoke, Massachusetts

Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, its best-known original characters were the superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

 duo Cat-Man

Cat-Man

Cat-Man, in comics, may refer to:* Cat-Man , the name of a couple of different characters in the Marvel Universe* Cat-Man and Kitten, a pair of Golden Age superheroes* Catman , an enemy of Batman...

 (later rendered as Catman, sans hyphen) and Kitten, created by an unknown writer with artist Irwin Hasen

Irwin Hasen

Irwin Hasen is an American cartoonist, best known as the co-creator of the Dondi comic strip.-Early life:...

 in Crash Comics Adventures #4 (Aug. 1940).

Holyoke also was an early licensor of radio

Radio programming

Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....

 heroes, having success with comic books starring the costumed crimefighter the Green Hornet

Green Hornet

Green Hornet may refer to:* The Green Hornet, a fictional character created by Fran Striker for the 1930s radio program and adapted into several media versions...

.

History

Holyoke was originally known as Helnit. The company acquired the rights to such Fox Feature Syndicate

Fox Feature Syndicate

Fox Feature Syndicate was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S...

 characters as the Blue Beetle

Blue Beetle

Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...

 in 1942, following publisher Victor A. Fox's bankruptcy in 1942.

Creators

Among the well-known comics creators who did some of their earliest work there are Joe Kubert

Joe Kubert

Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...

, on features starring Volton the Human Generator, Flagman and Alias X for Cat-Man Comics and Captain Aero Comics.

Titles

• Blue Beetle
  Blue Beetle
  Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
  
  — 18 issues, June 1942–Feb. 1944
• Captain Aero Comics — 23 issues, Dec. 1941–Aug. 1946
• Captain Fearless — 2 issues, 1941
• Cat-Man Comics (Catman Comics from mid-1944) — 33 issues
• Crash Comics Adventures — 5
• Cyclone Comics —5 issues, plus ashcan
  Ashcan copy
  An ashcan copy is a term that originated in the Golden Age of Comic Books, meant to describe a publication produced solely for legal purposes , and not normally intended for distribution.-Origins:...
  
   edition
• Foodini —4 issues
• Holyoke One-Shot —10 issues
• Power Comics —4 issues
• Sparkling Stars —33 issues
• Sure Fire
• Sure Shot Comics

Characters

• Alias X
• Black Out
• Black Widow (Holyoke)
• Black Venus
• Blaze Baylor
• Blue Beetle
  Blue Beetle
  Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
  
   (between runs at Fox)
• Blue Streak
• Boomerang (Holyoke)
• Captain Aero
• Captain Fearless
• Cat-Man
  • Kitten
• The Deacon
• Dr. Diamond
• Flagman
• Gargoyle (Holyoke)
• Golden Archer (Holyoke)
• Grey Mask (Holyoke)
• The Hood (Holyoke)
• Jag
• Miss Victory
  Miss Victory
  Miss Victory is an American comic book superheroine who first appeared in Captain Fearless #1 , published by Helnit, a publisher that soon afterward evolved into Holyoke Publishing. Ceasing to be published after 1946, she was revived and updated in 1984 as a central character in the Femforce...
  
  
• Mr. Miracle (Holyoke)
• Pied Piper (Holyoke)
• Phantom Falcon
• Ragman (Holyoke)
• The Reckoner (Holyoke)
• Red Cross (Holyoke)
• Red Knight
• Robo of the Little People
• Solar (Holyoke)
• Tornado Tom
• Strongman
• Volton the Human Generator

External links

• The Golden Age of Comic Books: Podcast of February 7, 2006