Issue #14* of Bulletman was published March 1943 by Fawcett. I’d say cover artist Jack Binder’s version of Bulletgirl is not quite as sexy as Mac Raboy’s version on the cover of #2. However, the argument over whose Bulletgirl was hottest is academic, as she was always appealing enough to grace fifteen out of sixteen Bulletman covers – helping the franchise become Fawcett’s second most popular after Captain Marvel and his family.
As part of the earliest, original wave of comic book superheroes Bulletman debuted in Nickel Comics (May, 1940) three years prior to the issue shown here. Susan Kent (aka Bulletgirl) first appeared in Master Comics #13 (April, 1941). After discovering her boyfriend Jim Barr’s secret identity as Bulletman he quickly whipped her up another Gravity Regulator Helmet (patent pending) so she could join crime fighting forces with him.
In a Captain America like rejection due to physical reasons from serving (in this case on the police force) Jim nevertheless managed to land a job in the ballistics lab. Using chemistry, he developed a formula that gave him sixty pounds of muscle mass and Nikola Tesla-ish brain power overnight. Then, in a Batman like move, he instantly turned to crime fighting to avenge the murder of his parents. Along the way he also invents the Gravity Regulator Helmet that allowed him and his gal pal to not only fly, but also magnetically deflect bullets.
As with nearly all good things, Fawcett kept adding more characters (such as the neighbor kid Bulletboy and even Bulletdog) until Bulletman finally “jumped the shark” and fizzled out a few years later in a final appearance in Master Comics #106 (August, 1949).
* Sold Copy
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