B-Mystery Men

Mystery Men & Women:

The B's

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Mystery Men Encyclopedia Home	Cash Gorman Home

	Flint Baker: 1940, Planet Comics #1 (Fiction House). When his scientist father died, Flint was left with the duty to completing his spaceship to be sent to Mars. He does so and explores space with his girlfriend and reporter Mimi Wilson and some ex-cons with hearts of gold: Harry Parks, Cliff Grant, and Phil Godwin. In issue #26, he teams up with the explorer Reef Ryan and become part of the crack team of Space Rangers commanded by Borla, the Martian.
	Bald Eagle: 1941, Air Fighters Comics #2 (Hillman). Jack Gatling lost his hair flying through a fire. He fights the Japanese, in his plane, the Fying Coffin.
	"Buzz" Balmer: 1941, Bang-Up #1 (Progressive). Teenage Buzz is accidentally shrunk down to doll size by his father, Professor Balmer. His father shrinks a plane for him and he has Doll Man-esque adventures.
	Inspector Bancroft: 1939, Mystery Men #1 (Fox Features). Inspector Bancroft, a Scotland Yard detective.
	Biff Bannon: 1939, Speed Comics #1. Biff is an adventurous U.S. Marine.
	Banshee: 1941 Fantastic Comics #21 (Fox) When Jim O'Donnell's stepfather is killed in Ireland by the masked villain the Scorpion, he follows the villain to the U.S. and defeats him by pure luck. Despite this less than auspicious beginning, he decides to continue fighting crime.
	Barry Kuda: 1941, Yankee Comics #2 (Harry A Chesler). No, really. "Barry Kuda." He is a water-breathing hero in the Aquaman mold." He helps Merma in its fight against "the neighboring midget kingdom." He is helped by Algie, native of Merma. Other than breathing underwater, he possesses no obvious super powers.
	Jeff Barter: 1941, Bang-Up #1 (Progressive). Jeff Barter and his assistant Ted Collins are traders in Africa and having the standard adventures fighting evil and helping good natives.
	Edison Bell: 1940, Blue Bolt Comics v1#1 (Novelty). Teenage boy inventer and builder. When he and his pal Jerry started out, they were younger and he was able to invent things like a robot, a rocket car, and able discover how to smash the atom. By the end of the decade, he was decidedly teen-age and put together things like a bicycle garage (in 4 Most). Just goes to show, it doesn't pay to peak too early. Whatever his project was, he always seemed to attract the attention of very bad men.
	Bert and Sue: 1946, Super-Mystery Comics v6n1 (Ace). A pair of romantic amateur sleuths in the manner of William Powell and Myrna Loy's Thin Man performances down to the pencil thin mustache.
	Black Wings: British commandoes dressed head to toe in black costumes. There are at least 9 agents as the one story Ive read deals with agents 5 & 9.
	Blast Bennet: 1940, Weird Comics #1 (Fox). Space adventurer, he and his pal/ kid sidekick Red travel through space in their fast spaceship.
	Bird Man/Birdman: 1940, Weird Comics #1 (Fox). In the American Southwest, this young Indian man flies and the keen senses of a bird of prey. The only clue to his origin is in the text that claims his lineage as a descendant of an ancient Indian god. In most of the pics, it seemed to me that his wings were black, but then it could be artistic license. He's armed with bow and arrow and knife and a skilled fighter with and without his weapons. The time period of the early stories are ambiguous but by issue 4, he's clearly in the present day and the wings are definitely white. They are also more like angel wings, sprouting from his back as opposed to being attached to his arms ala the Black Condor. That issue also claimed that his ancestors lived for many centuries on a bleak island in the North Atlantic. Issue 3 or 4 (I don't have issue 3 to read) seems to be an issue where the looks of several characters changed, Blast Bennet went from a brunette in a blue miliary style suit to a blondish redhead in green, and the foe of Voodoo Man, Bob Warren lost his dashing dark hair and mustache to become clean-shaven and sandy-blonde with a new assistant and no girlfriend.
	Black Ace: 1941, Four Favorites #2 (Ace Periodicals). His only appearance, presumably an aviation hero.
	Black Angel: 1941, Air Fighters Comics #2. Sylvia Manners lives in an ancient English castle and is a delicate young woman, prone to things like feeling faint from the least bit of excitemnt. Secretly, when she's needed, she goes into an underground hangar, puts on a skin-tight black costume, and flies a special plane against the Nazis and whatever strange dangers they throw her way. She frequently works with the dashing hunk "Black Prince," Colonel Prince of the RAF.
	Black Bird: 1941, Blue Beetle #9 (Fox). Jake Baxter is the inventor and pilot of his own special airplane and is the heroic Blackbird when trouble arises. He's helped out by his mechanic Raftery (sic).
	Black Buccaneer: 1944, Blazing Comics #1 (Enwill Publishing). Jeffrey Scott: fencing instructer at Versailles, a spy and the legendary privateer, the Black Buccaneer travelling the seas in his black ship, the Raven. His number one man is Boris and he's sometimes helped by his brother Ronnie.
	Black Cat: 1941, Pocket Comics #1 (Harvey). Linda Turner is one of Hollywood's biggest and most glamorous stars but is bored of that life. Daughter of a stuntman, she trains to become an expert in judo and fights crime secretly as the Black Cat. She takes in the orphan Kit Weston and makes him her sidekick, Kitten. She also has a pet white cat that wears an outfit that turns her into a black cat when helping Black Cat out.
	Black Cobra: 1941, Dynamic Comics #1 (Dynamic); 1944, Captain Flight Comics (Four Star Publications); 1954, Black Cobra (Ajax Farrell). The rights to the Black Cobra transferred several times. One version of his story, he's supposed to be Jim Hornsby who teams up with his younger brother, Bob, aka the Cobra Kid, and fights crime. Which may or may not be correct. Ajax Farrell comics picked up the character, he became a commie buster. He would prove to be an inconsistant character, there. In one adventure, his costume contained bullet proof plastic (although an unexploding shell from a tank would knock the wind out of him). In another, as the Black Cobra he apparently had some superpowers and ran into trouble when a secret chemical formula kept him from being able to change. His secret id in these stories was Steve Drake and worked for the FBI who worked with an office boy that was Cobra Kid.
	Black Commander: 1941, Air Fighters Comics #1 (Hillman). Barry Haynes is a devil-may-care pilot who is sentenced to death by firing squad for treason. However, it's a plot for him to uncover the real spy ring and his escape is engineered. He escapes but is shot down by the Germans, who capture him and alter his looks so that he can work for them as a German agent. Unfortunately, the British Chief of M.I. , the only man who knows the truth about him has been captured. Haynes steals an experimental plane, the Black Commander and fights the Nazis, but must avoid the allies as well until he can prove his innocence and loyalty.
	Black Crusader: 1941, Red Dragon #6 (Street and Smith). When his father is killed by the head of the Gestapo known only as #1, Joe Mills dons an all black costume save for the white cross (one vertical and two horizontal lines) to hunt him down. The Black Crusader has one special weapon, a quick drying plastic spray that allows him to cast instant masks and become a master of disguise. NOTE: The above comes from the one story that I've actually read. Other sources give a very different background and I cannot personally verify at this time.
	Black Diamond: 1949, Black Diamond Western #9 (Gleason). When his family is slain by outlaws, Bob Vale adopts the masked identity of the Black Diamond, doing his Lone Ranger thing in the Old West. Like his pulp forebears, he had a habit of leaving a token, a playing card of his namesake suit. and eventually became an official U.S. Marshal, possibly the only masked one in history. His horse is Reliapon and sidekick is circus strong man Bumper.
	Black Dwarf: 1945, Red Seal Comics #14 (Harry "A" Chesler). Shorty Wilson abandons professional football in order to use his athletic skills fight the underworld. He is aided in his endeavor by his girlfriend and crack shot: Arsenic, explosives expert Nitro, and a human fly they call the Human Fly.
	Black Friday: 1942, Cat-man Comics #8 (Holyoke). Military Intelligence Officer Lee Ainsley is gunned down and reported dead. However, an un-named doctor saves his life, fakes a death certificate and gives him a new face and he's now a secret secret agent known as Black Friday as he brings bad luck to the enemies of America..
	Black Fury: 1940, Fantastic Comics #17 (Fox). John Perry puts on a disguise to investigate and solve crimes for his crime reports in the Daily Clarion where he is also a gossip columnist. His sidekick is the son of a slain cop, Chuck Marley. His costume is remarkably similar to that of the Black Terror although Fury came first.
	Black Fury II: April 6, 1941. The Black Fury (comic strip distributed by the Bell Syndicate). and created by artist Tarpe Mills. Marla Drake wears a skintight catsuit left to her by her uncle. While she doesn't seem to have any powers beyond regular superheroic athleticism and fighting ability, but the strip says the costume has strange powers. Originally called "Black Fury", she eventually was called Miss Fury. The Miss Fury strip ran until 1952. Her strip was reprinted by Timely Comics for several years. Created by Tarpe Mills, one of the few Golden-age female creators.
	Black Fury III: 1941, Super-Magic Comics #1 (Street & Smith), Adventurer Rex King lives in the jungle with Kato, his faithful black panther. When danger threatens the adopted home he loves, he puts on a costume that allows him to glide and protect his peaceful jungle home from a variety of evils. He eventually travels to the Far East and becomes a thorn in the side of the Japanese. NOTE: It looks like Rex only went by the name of the Black Fury in his first outing. After that, the strips and even his enemies just called him by his name. The one story I've read with him in costume, his legs are bare and his faithful black panther has a white star on his/her forehead and goes by the name "Jet".
	Black Lion: 1941, Wonderworld Comics #21 (Fox). George Davis is one of those big game hunters who decides hunting criminals would be more challeging. He is helped by his teen sidekick Cub who is in reality his nephew Larry. Over the course of their 6 issue run, they fought the villainous Blitz. It's hard to tell by the size of the graphics, but while the Black Lion's chest emblem is that of a lion's head, Cub's is appropriately enough of a cat without a mane, a lion cub.
	Black Orchid: 1944, Tops Comics (Lev Gleason). Diana Dawn is secretary to D.A. Richard Day. Thanks to a magic ring, she's also the mysterious sleuth Black Orchid. The ring releases black paralyzing gases. She also carries a gun.
	Black Orchid: 1943, All-New Comics #2 (Harvey). Judy Allen and Rocky Ford are partners in a detective agency, although Ford is chauvanistic enough to try to keep Judy out of the way on cases. What he doesn't know is that Allen is in reality the heroine the Black Orchid. Likewise she's unaware that the hero the Scarlet Nemesis who she frequently works with is Ford.
	Black Owl (I & II): 1940 & 42/43, Prize Comics. Bored Playboy Doug Danville first adopted the identity of K, the Unknown. After one outing, he became the Black Owl and frequently helped his private investigator girl friend on cases. Deciding to go into the service over seas, he passed his Black Owl identity to Walt Walters who had recently discovered his sons were the kid heroes Yank & Doodle and decided to use the Owl identity to keep watch over them. Walters developed a flying owl-ship to aide him in his battles against crime. Note: his flying ship is very similar to the later Ted Kord Blue Beetle's flying bug. And Blue Beetle was used as inspiration for Nite Owl I & II in Watchmen, and Nite Owl II had a flying owl-ship.
	Black Panther: 1941, Stars & Stripes #3 (Centaur). Little is known today of this character. But at the time of his one published case he was well-known enough to be instantly recognized and feared by his foe. No known powers.
	Black Phantom: 1948, Return of The Black Phantom (Vital Pubs). In a dark business suit, gloves, and hooded cloak, Roy Dare is the Black Phantom.NOTE: A small giveaway comic packaged with Fleer bubblegum.
	Black Rider: 1941, Weird Comics #17 (Fox). Decked in black with mask, Jack Cody is a modern western cowboy riding his horse Black Devil.
	Black Sheep Squadron: 1941, Air Fighters Comics #1 (Hillman). From battle torn countries over the world come the men who make up the the toughest squadron in the RAF of Britain. They are headed by the tough as nails Captain Logan Black..
	Black Satan: 1941, Yankee Comics #1 (Harry "A" Chesler). "A district attorney during the daytime, Harold Flynn adopts the role of the dreaded Black Satan for his nightly crusade against crime" runs the description on the first page of his adventure. Interestingly he has a mustache on the splash page but nowhere else. He carries a special gun that can blind his foes.
	Black Spider: 1940, Super-Mystery Comics #3 (Ace). D.A. Ralph Nelson belongs to that subset of mysterymen who are lawyers by day and costumed vigilantes by night. His shtick is large black spiders he keeps to terrorize crooks, because they are a cowardly and superstitious lot. He's assisted by his secretary Peggy Dodge
	Black Terror: 1941, Exciting Comics #9 (Better Publications). Pharmacist Bob Benton is inspired by the incredible strength of ants and invents a formula of "formic ethers" that gives him superpowers. The Black Terror's powers were the generic superstrength and being bullet proof though susceptible to blows to the head. He uses these to fight crime and the Axis powers. His sidekickTim Roland wears the same costume and has the same powers. His girlfriend is Jean Starr. For most of the characters' run, Tim was one of those sidekicks that seemed to go by their real name. However, in his last outing (and his only sole outing), he's known as Kid Terror and in Black Terror #24 he's referred to as the Terror Kid, though whether that was meant to be an actual name vs. a description as in "those meddling kids" is unclear. The character was briefly wonderfully done by the team of Mort Meskin (Vigilante, Johnny Quick) and Jerry Robbins (Batman). During that time, the duo showed no indication of superpowers.
	Black Terrors of Mexico: 1947, Black Terror #20 (Standard). In the little town of Teoquita, Mexico, Porfirio Juarez Rivera and Miguel are so inspired by a Black Terror film they found in a movie projector, that they decide to dress up as the Terror Twins to fight off and scare the desperados. Even though he has a mustache, talks with a Spanish accent and wears a sombrero, spurs and sash instead of a belt, and his sidekick has dark hair instead of blonde, they are mistaken for the real deal and reports bring the real Black Terror down to investigate. The duo's hearts are in the right place so they are allowed to keep their uniforms, with an admonition to be careful when they wear it, implying that they may continue in some capacity as the Mexican Black Terrors. NOTES: It's interesting to note, that in this story when the two duos confront some crooks, they claim they see FOUR Black Terrors, implying that Tim/Kid Terror is sometimes also called the Black Terror. I've covered faux-heroes in the villains side, bad guys that disguise themselves as the heroes, but it's the first I've found for this site, a faux-hero dressed as the hero in order to do good. And, this may be significant. The Batmen of All Nations/Club of Heroes wouldn't debut until 1955. So, this may indeed be the very first time that a story has a hero inspiring someone to take on a near-duplicate identity, especially one of another nation.
	Black Venus: 1944, Contact Comics #5 (Aviation Press). Mary Roche is a physical therapist who puts on a costume to go after crooks who pick wounded and disabled veterans. She's a good fighter and ace pilot with her own special plane.
	Black Widow: 1941, Catman Comics #1 (Holyoke). After the murder of her husband, Linda Masters adopts the identity to hunt criminals. She carries and uses a gun.
	Black Wings: British commandoes dressed head to toe in black costumes. There are at least 9 agents as the one story I've read deals with agents 5 & 9.
	Blackout: 1941, Captain Battle #1 (Comic House Publications). Basil Brusiloff is a scientist in Belgrade when his lab is bombed by the Nazis leaving his body pitch black and with fantastic powers. While some sources claim he becomes covered in hair, but the text makes it clear that it's just his skin that has been darkened. The hair seen in some of the artwork could be just as easily his own body hair.
	Blackout II: 1942, Catman #10 (Holyoke). Jack Wayne is a more conventional hero than his English namesake. He and Pop Simms are American correspondents in Germany when they are taken by the Gestapo for questioning. Tortured with a whip, Pop is killed and Jack is scarred and blinded. He fights his way free and a kindly hunchback takes him to see Dr. Dismal and his secret laboratory underneath Gestapo headquarters. Despite his super-villain style name, Dismal ascertains that the reporter's optic nerves aren't totally dead and manufactures special goggles that allow him to see by magnifying the light into his eyes. He finds that Dismal is the head of a German Underground, victims and native Germans who hate the Nazis. Dismal must wear a metal skull cap as his skull had been shattered while the hunchback had also been a victim of the Gestapo's whips which left his face with a perpetual tortured smile. Jack Wayne stays with them and the rest of the Underground as a nemesis of the night, the hero Blackout. Later, it's called the Underground Society with Blackout as one of the chiefs and top operatives. In issue #22, when he confronts Baron Von Richtofen II, he claims to have flown with his father in WWI FOR Germany and his father was an honorable man unlike junior who took joy in gunning down women and children.
	Inspector Blake: 1940, Whirlwind Comics #1 (Nita).Super-sleuth of Scotland Yard.
	Blanda: 1940, Miracle Comics #1 (Hillman). Blanda is "the Jungle Queen."
	"Blaze" Baylor: 1941, Catman Comics #1 (Holyoke). "When the famous fire chief `Smoky' Baylor is killed in an incendiary fire...his son vows vengeance and dedicates his life to the task of tracking down all who profit from the crime of arson." Blaze does this with a fireproof and bulletproof costume and a special "gun" that is both flamethrower and fire-extinguisher. He's also helped by his assistant Chuck, a taxi driver.
	Blazing Scarab: 1939, Champion Comics #2 (Harvey). Archaeologist Walt Worthington discovers a magical blazing scarab in a hidden tomb in Egypt and it gives him superpowers.. Walt's servant is a racist stereotype named "Snowball."
	Blond Garth: 1940, Colossus Comics #1 (Funnies). Blond Garth is a one of those popular Tarzan clones, this time apparently in the South Seas.
	Blue Beetle: 1939, Mystery Men Comics #1 (Fox). When rookie cop Dan Garrett is gunned down, a mysterious Dr. Franz decides to help save his life by injecting him with a super vitamin 2-X. In addition to the vitamin, he gives him a bulletproof suit and Garrett moonlights as the Blue Beetle. However, his partner has vowed to hunt down the Blue Beetle (elements of an insect themed hero of another color). He later gains a sidekick Sparky. Beetle's powers were originally of the generic kind, but eventually he had almost any power the story demanded. His first costume was more pulp inspired, before taking on the more familiar chainmail hooded body suit.
	Blue Bolt: 1940, Blue Bolt #1 (Funnies, Inc). One of the more convoluted origins, Fred Parrish is a Harvard star football player and gets struck by lightning. He then climbs into a plane to fly for help but crashes in a valley inside the earth where he's brought into an underground laboratory where a Dr. Bertoff explains that he survived due to Bertoff's work and some "radium deposits". He now has the standard superpowers joins the fight to stop the invasion of the forces of the Green Sorceress, ruler of a rival underground kingdom. Over time, he returns to the surface to fight crime and fight in the war effort. He is eventually partnered with Lois Blake, who has the same powers that Parrish does. In addition to his powers, he uses a "lightning gun." Near the end of his run, he seems to have given up the superhero lifestyle in favor of one as a soldier. He becomes a pilot in the Army. Oddly, it's under the name Blue Bolt and his rank is inconsistant as one story has him as a captain and a later story, he's a lieutenant. One of, if not the, first teamings of Simon & Kirby, Blue Bolt's design probably owes more to Simon at this point of their careers..
	Blue Circle: 1944, Blue Circle Comics #1 (Rural Home Publishing). In Midtown, Len Stafford fights crime helped by the Blue Circle Council, made of seven other "past masters in crime" who have received pardons for helping the Blue Circle out. Council members include Mike Tyler, expert in hijacking; Fixer, big time crooked gambler; Frank Craven, who now works at a bank; Saunders, who specialized in crimes similar to theft of a Rembrandt from a museum. As Stafford, he has full force privileges, an honorary member of the police.
	Blue Fire: 1940, Wham #2, (Centaur). From an explosion, scientist Jack Knapp gets the power to turn himself into a blue flaming human
	Blue Flame: 1947, Captain Flight #11 (Four Stars). Another Human Torch riff, we don't get an origin or name. When not on fire, he sorta looks like a grown up Toro with a mustache,clad only in trunks and boots. In his single adventure, he fights jewel thief S. Aitan, a pseudonym for Satan perhaps?
	Blue Lady: 1941, Amazing-Man Comics #24 (Centaur). Lucille Martin, an adventurous novelist, was returning from a trip to China when she came into possession of a special Oriental blue bird ring. Accidentally releasing and breathing in some gas from the ring, she gained various super-powers and became a mystery-woman helping out her fiance Larry Grant As the Blue Lady, she has many powers, able to appear and disappear in a mist (and use the mist to hide her), super strength and invulnerability, though vulnerable to gasses.
	Blue Streak (I): 1940, Crash Comics #1 (Holyoke). "Defender of the People" and the "self-appointed foe of ruthless dictators" Don-Vin goes about his business with the aid of his oriental chauffeur and friend Tago.
	Blue Streak (II): 1945, Headline Comics #13 (Prize). Jim Dare is an aeralist. When gangsters kill his son, he uses his skills to become the Blue Streak to track them down. An interesting turn of events, his acrobatic skills are to the degree that people at one time assume he can fly.
	Bob and Bill: 1940, Crackajack Funnies #26 (Dell). "...the Scout twins when exploring a great cave were caught in an underground landslide and carried to a strange world of giants and very tiny people below the Earth's surface.
	Bogey Man: 1945, Red Band Comics #1 (Enwil). The Bogeyman is a Spirit riff with the addition of a mustache. In reality, he's Kendall Richards, a mystery writer who is such a big help to the police that gangster Rusty Blade decides to rub him out. Richards proves too tough for Blade's thugs, but they manage to swipe his manuscript for his next book which includes how to commit the perfect murder. Of course Blade has his thugs follow it. Richards knows what's coming so manages to avoid death but without the gangsters realizing it. So he adopts the id of the Bogey Man to take on the Blade and his thugs.
	Bombshell: 1942, Boy Comics #3 (Lev Gleason). On the planet Mars, the god Mars has grown disgusted with the Nazis who have turned war into a mindless slaughter. Impressed with the skill and bravery of his son, Bombshell, he sends his son to Earth knowing that once he's made the trip he cannot return. He sometimes teams up with Young Robin Hood. He has a magic sword which won't harm humans but will cut through most anything else and an indestructible shield. While we are supposed to believe that it's the god Mars, the story reads as if this Mars is a king of a civilization on Mars.
	Boomerang (I): 1944, Terrific Comics #2 (Et-Es-Go Magazines). Lloyd Raleigh joins U.S. Army Intelligence as a captain where he undertakes special missions against the Axis powers. He is also secretly the Boomerang, a man incredibly gifted with the use of the weapon of that name. His girlfriend Diana finds out his secret identity and reveals she was England's champion archer before the war. Not long before she adopts a similar costume to his and is skewering foes with arrows but goes by her regular name.
	Bouncer: 1944, The Bouncer #11 (Fox). Sculptor Adam Antaeas, Jr. creates a statue of the Greek "god" Antaeus that magically comes to life when danger threatens. When that happens both Adam and the statue possess super-strength and the ability to bounce like a rubber ball, knocking opponents out. Llike the mythical Antaeus who was vulnerable when separated from the earth, the duo are vulnerable when in mid-bounce.
	Boy Explorers: 1946, Boy Explorers Comics #1 (Harvey). Mister Zero, Gashouse, Smiley and Gadget are orphans, one from America and three from European countries. They travel around the world in a Yankee Clipper skippered by their pal, the short grizzled redhead Commodore Sinbad. They have no powers but are doughty adventurers nonetheless.
	Boy Heroes: 1943/44 All-New Comics #6 (Harvey). Another kid-gang, this time it's Corny, Punchy, Trigger, and Prince (an actual Dutch prince) who decide to join together to help the war effort.
	Boy King: 1943, Clue Comics #1 (Hillman). Centuries ago, Nostrodamus creates the "Giant", a large statue, as a secret weapon for the defense of Swisslakia. When Nazis invade and kill the ruling king, young prince David activates the statue which comes to some semblance of life. Boy King and the Giant take a boatload of surviving Swisslakians to America from where he'll help fight the Germans, one of his chief foes, the Crane. In America, he comes across his twin brother Muggsy, a leader of Hell's Kitchen gang of children. Boy King is not averse to using a gun or knife if the situation demands it but he's good with his fists in a fight.
	Boy Rangers: 1943, Clue Comics #1 (Hillman). In matching sweat shirts, Jackie Law along with Buck, Corny, Froggy, and Gorilla were the Boy Rangers. On occassion, they also made use of a giant robot that they controlled from inside.
	"Slim" Bradley: 1939, Amazing Man #5 (Centaur). Slim is a heroic forest ranger at Spearhead National Forest keeping order astride his horse Buck. The strip's setting manages to combine the sensibilities of the Old West with the modern day.
	Joe Brailey: 1936 Funny Picture Stories v1#1 (Centaur). Joe Brailey travels the world in search of adventure.
	Boom Boom Brannigan: 1944, Prize Comics #44 (Prize). Professor Dennis "Boom Boom" Brannigan is an adventurous boxer
	Shark Brodie: 1940, Fight Comics #1 (Fiction House). Shark is a soldier of fortune working about the South Seas.
	Bronze Man: 1945/46? Blue Beetle 42 & 44 (Fox). Major Randy Ronald is an ace of aces whose face was marred when escaping from the enemy and is presumed dead by the general public. In reality he goes around wearing the impassive bronze mask and waging war against injustice. An interesting gimick, the artist never drew his face front on unobstructed unless he was wearing the mask.
	Bronze Terror: 1941, Daredevil Comics #2 (Lev Gleason). Apache Jeff Dixon returns to the reservation after graduating from law school. Finding his father has been framed for murder, he puts on a horrific costume to fight against injustice. His girlfriend is Lily, also a Native American. In keeping with the title, they are colored more of a yellowish color ala Asians of the time than the deep red usually used for Indians.
	Buck Brady: 1940, Prize Comics #1 (Prize). Buck Brady is an FBI agent. His first published case pitted him against his counterfeiter brother.
	Jack Bradley: 1945, Red Circle Comics #1 (Enwil/Rural). Naval commander of a Destroyer and mine squadron, he fights the War in the South Seas
	Buckskin Blake: 1941, Super-Mystery Comics vol 2, 1. Seeking to inspire his students, Principal Robert Blake wears a blue (!) buckskin costume and mask. Trained by his ex-Indian Scout grandfather, Buckskin is really good pretty much at everything. Buckskin is sometimes helped by his pet eagle, Talon and the Liberty Club, a group of youths.
	Buckskin Boys: 1941, Spitfire Comics #1 (Harvey). Hank and Pudge, are colonist lads during the Revolutionary War.
	Bulldog Denny: 1943, Prize Comics (Hillman). The Bulldog is really Denny Dunsan, a relative (descendent?) of Dr. Frankenstein, who tries to capture or destroy the monster. To this end he even once recruited the help of the Green Lama, Black Owl, Yank & Doodle, Dr. Frost, and the General and Corporal (a comedy duo).. His power is to gain the tenacity of ten bulldogs.
	Bull's-Eye Bill: 1940, Target Comics #1 (Funnies, Inc) . "Bull's-Eye" Bill Target is your typical cowboy hero, capable in shooting riding, and fighting. His adventures take place in the present day, instead of the Old West.
	Buck Burke: 1940, Crash Comics #1 (Tem Publishing). Buck Burke is a zoologist and a live game trapper ala "Bring 'Em Back Alive". Naturally he works in Africa where he confronts all sorts of injustices.
	Detective Sgt. Burke: 1940, Startling Comics #1 (Standard).
	"Powder" Burns: 1940, Wings Comics #1 (Fiction House). "Powder" and his pal Sven are pilots and adventurers.
	"Rip" Burns: 1936 Funny Picture Stories v1#4(Centaur). Rip Burns is the "Ranger Detective". He has a way with the animals but he's helped by his dog/wolf named Rascal.
	Lucky Byrd: 1940, Target Comics #1 (Funnies, Inc). "Lucky Byrd is a flying cadet at Randolph Field, Texas...our "West Point of the Air.'"