Miss Victory

Obscure comic book publisher Holyoke cranked up the level of cheesiness to an 11 for this comic – known as Holyoke One-Shot #3 (1944).  My copy is an exceedingly rare “triple cover.”  The book has gained fame for containing the origin story of The Cat Man reprinted from Crash Comics #4 (1940).  Note The Cat Man’s striking, not so coincidental, resemblance to Bob Kane’s Batman.

The Cat Man

Triple cover copy of Holyoke One-Shot #3 (1944)

The cover of Holyoke One-Shot #3 is a reprint of the splash page from Miss Victory’s second appearance in Captain Fearless Comics #2 (Sep 1941). Curiously, while Miss Victory is featured on the cover she does not appear in any inside stories.

During the WWII era comic pages were filled with red, white and blue superheroes – like Flagman (also from Holyoke).  The era of Rosie the Riveter further gave way to numerous superheroines – like Silver Scorpion and Purple Tigress.  Miss Victory was riding the popularity waves of both those powerful trends.

Miss Victory’s appearances ran in Captain Fearless Comics issues #1-2, Captain Aero Comics issues #6-17, 21-26 and one issue of Veri Best Sure Fire Comics #1.  (Note like the cover of Holyoke One-Shot #3, Captain Aero Comics issue #6 was also a reprint of the Miss Victory story from Captain Fearless Comics #2).  Miss Victory’s first three appearances and story from Veri Best Sure Fire are shared below for your reading pleasure.

Miss Victory

Miss Victory was the alter ego of Joan Wayne (no relation to John or Bruce) a stenographer working at the office of the Secretary of the Department of Commerce in Washington D.C..  Given her position exposed her to the interworkings of government, Joan soon realized she could root out crime, corruption, and saboteurs by becoming Miss Victory.

It would seem her superpowers were derived from simply putting on her costume as there is no origin story to explain her amazing abilities.  These skills included moving “as quick as a flash,” jiu-jitsu, ability to survive explosions and strength to punch out heavy weight spies and thugs who were looking to thwart the war effort or other such criminal mischief.

Artwork was by Charles Quinlan.  Miss Victory’s complete adventures are available on Amazon.