Crimebuster (Boy Comics)

Crimebuster
Boy Comics #9, featuring Crimebuster and Iron Jaw along with other characters appearing in the publication; art by Charles Biro
Publication information
Publisher	Lev Gleason
First appearance	Boy Comics #3 (Apr 1942)
Created by	Charles Biro, Bob Wood[1]
In-story information
Alter ego	Chuck Chandler
Abilities	military cadet training

Crimebuster – also known as Chuck Chandler – is a fictional boy hero, appearing as the lead feature in Boy Comics in the 1940s and 1950s. Dressed in a hockey uniform and cape, and accompanied by a performing monkey named Squeeks, he fights crime to avenge his parents' deaths. He is described by Joe Brancetelli in The World Encyclopedia of Comics as "a hero, yes, but first a boy... arguably the best-handled boy's adventure feature ever to appear in comics."^[2] Some sources credit the character solely to Charles Biro;^[3] others co-credit Bob Wood,^[1] co-credited on the first cover of the new Boy Comics title.

Publication history

Crimebuster was introduced in Boy Comics #3 (the first issue of the periodical following a revamp, after two issues as Captain Battle). In that issue the character's father, a heroic war correspondent, is killed by a Nazi criminal called Iron Jaw (due to his metallic prosthetic lower face). Iron Jaw has also abducted Chuck's mother, so the boy travels to France to rescue her, but during their escape she is killed by Germans. Chuck adds his military school's cape to the contemporary hockey uniform he is wearing at the time this adventure begins (which conveniently features the school's initial "C" on the chest), and takes on the name "Crimebuster". He pursues Iron Jaw until issue #15, in which the character is killed, but continues his crusade. (Iron Jaw returns later in the series.)^[1][3]

Although his initial adventures focused on his "crimebusting" agenda, as the superhero genre became less popular, stories focused more on the character's school life. With the war over, the school changed from Custer Military Academy to Curtis High School.^[3] He stopped wearing the costume (explained in-story by a girl suggesting that it looked silly), and later dropped the "Crimebuster" name altogether (his friends continued to call him "C.B.")^[3] when the Comics Code Authority – with its restrictions on the use of the word "crime" – was established. Boy Comics ceased publication in 1956 with issue #119.^[4]

The character was revived briefly by AC Comics, a publisher focusing on Golden Age superheroes.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} International hero profile
2. ^ Brancatelli, Joe, "Biro, Charles (1911-1972)" in Maurice Horn (ed.), The World Encyclopedia of Comics (Chelsea House Publishers, 2nd ed., 1999) ISBN 0-7910-4853-4, pp. 134-135
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Toonopedia profile
4. ^ Golden Age of Comic Books