Crestwood Publications
| Company type | Publisher |
|---|---|
| Industry | Comic books, magazines |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Headquarters | United States |
Key people | Teddy Epstein (publisher), Mike Bleier (publisher), Maurice Rosenfeld (general manager, 1940s), M.R. Reese (general manager, 1950s), Nevin Fidler (office manager/business manager) |
| Products | Prize Comics, Black Magic, Fighting American, Young Romance, Young Love, Young Brides, In Love, Sick magazine |
Crestwood Publications, also referred to as Feature Publications, operated as a publisher of magazines and comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its leading title, Prize Comics, is notable for featuring what is widely regarded as the first continuous horror comic series, Dick Briefer's "Frankenstein". Crestwood gained recognition primarily for its Prize Group imprint, which was issued from the late 1940s until the mid-1950s via the packaging talents of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Their collaboration produced influential works such as the horror anthology Black Magic, the creator-owned superhero parody Fighting American, and the groundbreaking romance comic Young Romance.
Key figures in management included publishers Teddy Epstein and Mike Bleier. During the 1940s, Maurice Rosenfeld held the position of general manager, a role later assumed by M.R. Reese in the 1950s. Nevin Fidler served as office manager in the mid-1950s before advancing to become business manager for Simon & Kirby.
Besides Simon and Kirby, prominent contributors encompassed industry veterans like Leonard Starr, Mort Meskin, John Prentice, Joe Maneely, John Severin, Will Elder, Carmine Infantino, and Dick Briefer.
Beginnings: Prize Comics
Established in 1940, Crestwood's Prize Publications transitioned from pulp magazine production into comic books with the launch of Prize Comics. The initial issue (March 1940) introduced K the Unknown, a crime-fighting character without superpowers who was later renamed the Black Owl.
In Prize Comics #7 (December 1940), writer-artist Dick Briefer introduced "New Adventures of Frankenstein," an eight-page feature that reimagined Mary Shelley's iconic monster. This series is acknowledged as America's first ongoing horror comic, featuring a formidable creature named "Frankenstein" set against a circa-1930 New York City backdrop. This addition represented a pivotal development in Crestwood's offerings, broadening its influence within emerging comic genres.
Young Romance
Debuting in September 1947, Young Romance set itself apart from typical superhero comics by featuring a cover banner aimed at "more adult readers." Narrated from a first-person viewpoint with claims of "true" stories, it quickly became Simon and Kirby's most successful title, selling millions of copies and achieving a remarkable 92% sell-through rate. In response, Crestwood tripled its print run by the third issue and transitioned the publication schedule from bimonthly to monthly starting with issue #13 through #72 (September 1949 – August 1954).
Building on this achievement, Simon & Kirby introduced related titles for Crestwood including Young Love (February 1949), which mirrored its predecessor’s strong sales and storytelling approach. Further spin-offs such as Young Brides, focusing on married couples, and In Love, noted for longer narratives, were also produced by the Simon & Kirby team.
Black Magic
The horror and suspense title Black Magic launched in 1950. Jack Kirby notably credited this series as inspiring the concept behind Spider-Man; he and Simon had developed "The Silver Spider," a character intended for Black Magic but ultimately unused. After Crestwood ceased operations, this script remained unpublished but motivated Kirby to conceive Spider-Man as a revived superhero figure—a vision later realized alongside Stan Lee. Additionally, Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko contributed artwork to a six-page story featured in Black Magic vol. 4, #3 (December 1953).
Dispute
In 1954, a Crestwood/Prize representative advised Kirby and Simon to launch their own comic book enterprise, Mainline Publications, while still fulfilling their contractual obligations to Crestwood. When they reissued artwork from an earlier Crestwood publication in Mainline's In Love, Crestwood declined to make payment. Following legal examination, Simon & Kirby’s lawyer concluded that Crestwood owed them $130,000 accumulated over seven years; the company eventually settled by paying $10,000 along with outstanding recent payments.
Downturn
Crestwood ended its comic book production in 1963, transferring its remaining romance comic titles to DC Comics. The company persisted in publishing humor magazines such as Sick until 1968, when Sick was sold to Hewfred Publications.
Comic-book characters
- Airmale
- American Eagle
- Atomic Man
- Black Owl
- Blue Streak
- Bulldog Denny
- Captain Gallant
- Dr. Dekkar, Master of Monsters
- Dr. Frost
- The Futureman & Jupiter
- Green Lama (also appeared in pulp magazines and through Spark Publications)
- Junior Rangers
- Master Magician
- Power Nelson
- Ted O'Neil
- Yank & Doodle
Published titles
| Title | Series | Issues | Publication Dates | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All for Love | #1 – vol. 3, #4 [#17] | 1957–1960 | Paused publication and later revived as Young Love. | |
| Black Magic | #1 – 50 | 1950–1961 | Renamed to Cool Cat. | |
| Cool Cat | #51 – 53 | 1962 | ||
| Charlie Chan | #1 – 5 | 1948–1949 | ||
| Fighting American | #1 – 7 | 1954–1955 | ||
| Frankenstein Comics | #1 – 33 | 1945–1954 | ||
| Headline Comics | #1 – 77 | 1943–1956 | ||
| Justice Traps the Guilty | #1 – 92 | 1947–1958 | ||
| Prize Comics | #1 – 68 | 1940–1948 | ||
| Prize Comics Western | #69 – 119 | 1948–1956 | Continuation of Prize Comics. | |
| Strange World Of Your Dreams | #1 – 4 | 1952–1953 | ||
| Treasure Comics | #1 – 12 | 1945–1947 | ||
| Western Love | #1 – 5 | 1949–1950 | ||
| Young Brides | #1 – 30 | 1952–1956 | ||
| Young Love | Series 1 | #1 – 73 | 1949–1957 | |
| Series 2 | #18 – 126 | 1960–1963 | Followed on from All For Love, continued by DC Comics. | |
| Young Romance | #1 – 208 | 1947–1963 | Continued under DC Comics. |