| Crimebuster | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Charles (Chuck) Chandler |
|
First Appearance |
Boy Comics #3 (April 1942) |
|
Original Publisher |
Lev Gleason |
|
Created by |
Charles Biro |
Origin[]
Chuck Chandler, a cadet at Custer Military Academy, is outraged by the deaths of his parents at the hands of the Nazis, the villainous Iron Jaw. Wearing his hockey uniform plus a cape, Chuck attacks first Iron Jaw and then the Axis forces and crime. His partner is Squeeks, a pet monkey.
From Boy Comics #8 until Boy Illustories #107, Crimebuster worked for Jay Loover, head of FBI's New York City section. Loover always made sure to provide his young charge with back-up, resources, and occasional advice, and Crimebuster was happy to help him solve whatever crime happened to come across his desk. In Boy Illustories #60, Loover manipulated Crimebuster into changing his costume into a more civilian-looking outfit, ditching the cape and trading the bottom half of his hockey uniform for jeans and sneakers. Since this manipulation involved Loover's pretty niece, Crimebuster didn't particularly mind.
Chuck and Stew
In Boy Illustories #107, Crimebuster discovered that his trustee blew his parents' trust fund in bad investments, leaving him penniless. This gave the young hero an impetus to attend college, so he enrolled in Curtis Technical Institute to study aviation. Although he still solved some crimes in his free time, his life started to increasingly revolve around Curtis Tech and the friends that he made there. He and his roommate, Stew, became best friends, while Squeeks was gradually pushed into the background. While his new acquaintances referred to him as "C.B." at first, he soon started using his civilian name for the first time in (published) decades. By the time the series ended, Chuck was just another college kid.
Public Domain Appearances[]
- Boy Comics #3-42
- Boy Illustories #43-119
- Daredevil Comics (text stories) #9-11, 13-20, 22-23, 25-28, 30-39, 41-50, 52-59, 61-68, 70-73, 75-99