Thrill
Comics #1 Ashcan Edition (Fawcett, January1940) The second half of
the Grand-daddies of the ashcan books, Thrill Comics (see its
companion Flash Comics) ended the
long-standing mystery of Whiz #1. For years, no one could explain
whatever happened to the first issue of Whiz until the mid-'80s, when
someone stumbled upon multiple copies of two strange-looking books
with Capt. Marvel on the cover. Both were identical except for the
titles; one was called Flash (eight existing copies), and the other
Thrill (three existing copies). The interior was composed of pages
1-7 and 13 of the Captain Marvel story from Whiz #2, yet he carried
the name of Captain Thunder. Fawcett apparently made a mad dash to
copyright these two titles, but was beaten to the punch by DC (who
nabbed Flash) and Nedor (who scored Thrilling). Even Captain
Thunder's name was scrapped, thanks to Terry Thunder at Fiction
House. Regrouping, Fawcett finally got their act together and put out
Whiz Comics a month later, re-lettering Capt. Marvel's name
throughout the story.
