Owl (Dell Comics)

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The Owl is a fictional superhero character who first appeared in Dell Comics in 1940; not to be confused with the Marvel Comics villain of the same name.

[edit] Fictional biography

Police detective Nick Terry became The Owl so that he could more freely protect his home city of Yorktown from criminals. Not having superpowers, he instead relies on a number of gimmicks, such as his flying "Owlmobile," a cape that doubles as a parachute, and a hand-held "black light" that casts a beam of darkness. His girlfriend, newspaper reporter Belle Wayne, found out his secret and became his sidekick, Owl Girl.

[edit] History

One of the few original characters to be published by Dell, The Owl first appeared in Crackajack Funnies [sic] #25 (July, 1940); Owl Girl debuted in issue #32 (February, 1941). After Crackajack ended, the duo appeared in Popular Comics, from issue #72 (February, 1942) to #85 (March, 1943).

In the 1960s, Gold Key Comics revived The Owl and Owl Girl, inspired by the success of the Batman TV series; the duo was shown in campy, self-parodying stories. The two issues of Gold Key's The Owl came out in April, 1967, and April, 1968.

Most recently, The Owl is one of many public domain characters to appear in Dynamite Entertainment's miniseries Project Superpowers.