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Black Cat
Black Cat -1

Real Name

Linda Turner

First Appearance

Pocket Comics #1 (August 1941)

Original Publisher

Harvey

Created by

Alfred Harvey & Al Gabriele

Origin[]

Linda Turner, daughter of a movie star and a stunt woman, became one of Hollywood's biggest stars who got bored with the make-believe life of Hollywood. When she came across a plot by Nazi spy and director Garboil she realized she could help her country and have fun by taking on the identity of the Black Cat. She has no superpowers but is a skilled fighter, knows karate and acrobatics, and is good with javelin and lariat. She was assisted by Rick Horne, a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily Globe, and her sidekick Black Kitten.

In Speed Comics #23, the Black Cat teamed up with Shock Gibson, Captain Freedom, Ted Parrish, War Nurse and the Girl Commandos to repel the Japanese invasion of Hollywood. She also teamed up with Gibson and Captain Freedom in several text stories based on covers of Speed Comics.

In Pocket Comics #4, Black Cat teamed up with Spirit of '76 and Agent 99 in two separate adventures. Black Cat ran into Agent 99 while he was in Los Angeles rounding up Gestapo agents at the request of the FBI. Black Cat, Rick Horne and Agent 99 worked together to bring the Gestapo agents to justice. Before the adventurers parted ways, Black Cat gave Agent 99 a kiss. Noticing Rick's jealous reactions, the British agent said that much as he would love to stay with the beautiful heroine, his work would always have to come first.

Among her more notable enemies are Fire Bug, The Sceptre, Cleopatra, and the Crimson Raider.

Public Domain Appearances[]

  • Black Cat #1-30, 54-56, 63-65
  • Pocket Comics #1-4
  • Speed Comics #17-38, 40, 44
  • All-New Comics #6
  • Super-Dooper Comics #6, 15
  • Joe Palooka Comics #8, 10, 15-16, 23-24
  • Terry and the Pirates #5, 12, 15, 23
  • Humphrey Comics #1
  • Thrills of Tomorrow #20
Black-cat-paper-doll-L-2

Notes[]

In the Golden Age, publishers were required to pay a registration fee to start a new series, they often used the numbering of canceled series for new ones. Thus, Black Cat changed titles and genres several times. Issues 16-19 were Black Cat Western, which featured Linda Turner's adventures in the West. With #30, it changed to a horror title, Black Cat Mystery, with, after appearing on only one cover, Linda Turner was dropped. Eventually changing back to just Black Cat, the series featured gory stories and covers that helped lead to the creation of the Comics Code Authority. To comply with them, the title changed back to Black Cat Western for three issues (the first one was actually called Black Cat Western Mystery) featuring reprint stories before changing to the toned-down Black Cat Mystic.

See Also[]

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