A Congressional Committee Gone Awry, Shield-Wizard Comics 2 at Auction

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Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Harry Shorten, Irv Novick, MLJ Comics, the shield

The investigation of a Congressional Committee goes horribly wrong in 1940’s Shield-Wizard Comics #2 from MLJ by Irv Novick and Harry Shorten

Article Summary

Shield-Wizard Comics #2 delivers a gripping wartime narrative by Irv Novick and Harry Shorten from MLJ in 1940

The plot draws inspiration from the real House Committee on Un-American Activities and its historical context

The Shield battles Dr. Wang, who attempts to sabotage America through a dramatic plot of sabotage and disease

A rare find among Golden Age comics, Shield-Wizard #2 stands out for both its story and collecting scarcity

We’ve previously discussed the rather unusual take on the elements that played into the run-up to World War II in early issues of Top-Notch Comics from MLJ, particularly in the historic Shield/Wizard crossover saga in Top-Notch Comics #5-7. That crossover directly set up the Shield-Wizard Comics series, so it’s no surprise that this sophisticated brand of war-era storylines continued in the new title. Of particular interest in this issue of the Shield stories by Harry Shorten and Irv Novick are the plot elements, which are obviously inspired by the real-life House Committee on Un-American Activities, often referred to as the Dies Committee in the press, after Texas Congressman Martin Dies, Jr. Of course, as we saw in the run-up to this saga, there are some rather surprising plot twists along the way, and there’s a CGC VF- 7.5 Off-white to white pages copy of the completely fascinating Shield-Wizard Comics #2 (MLJ, 1940) up for auction in the 2025 October 16 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction III at Heritage Auctions.

An illustration of The Shield, a superhero dressed in patriotic colors with a star-patterned cape, holding scales of justice in one hand. The background features bold text that emphasizes his role as a symbol of truth, justice, and patriotism. — Shield-Wizard Comics #2 (MLJ, 1940)

As the Shield saga opens in this issue, supervillain Dr. Wang has reemerged with a plan to smuggle cholera victims from New York’s Hoffman Island, a real quarantine station, under hypnosis and place them in vital defense industry jobs to spread a deadly epidemic and cripple America’s war capabilities. The Shield learns of a Senate report on just this sort of activity from the “Hives Committee.” This is an obvious stand-in for the House Special Committee on Un-American Activities, typically known at the time as the Dies Committee, after its chairman, Martin Dies. In the comic, the committee head, Martin Hives, declares that his investigation has found no evidence of sabotage, dismissing such talk as a result of war hysteria. The Shield becomes suspicious of Martin Hives, and soon discovers that he is Dr. Wang in disguise.

Shield-Wizard Comics #2 is tougher than you might think, particularly in high grade. There are only 17 unrestored entries for the issue on the CGC census, and only five of those are graded higher than CGC 7.5. Furthermore, only one higher graded copy has been available at public auction within the past decade. A fascinating and rare war-era MLJ comic book, there’s a CGC VF- 7.5 Off-white to white pages copy of the completely fascinating Shield-Wizard Comics #2 (MLJ, 1940) up for auction in the 2025 October 16 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction III at Heritage Auctions.