Dan Dunn, Secret Operative #48

"The thrilling exploits of Dan Dunn, Secret Operative Number Forty Eight are
known to some seventy-five million readers. Now at last, this famous newspaper
cartoon character created by Norman Marsh is brought to the airwaves
in a sensational series of new adventures that will enthrall new and old..."

Dan Dunn was a no-nonsense hard-boiled detective who wasn't afraid to use violence against those who deserved it. Well, so was Dick Tracy, but Dick Tracy was able to pull it off with more flair, however. Dick Tracy debuted on Oct 4, 1931.

Detective Dan, Secret Operative No. 48 was published in 1933 by Humor Publications Co. The company soon folded, but Norman Marsh took his creation to Publisher's Syndicate (which later merged into King Features.) Dan Dunn appeared in a newspaper strip beginning Mon, Sep 25, 1933.

The art and attitude remained faithful to their Dick Tracy inspiration; Dunn having a similar squared jaw and snap-brimmed hat. While Tracy's crusade was mostly against inner city bad guys, Dan Dunn was often called to face baddies with designs towards world domination. Tipped off by the Chief of the fictional Secret Service, Dunn would foil the bad guys with a combination of Holmes-like deduction and gun-slinging bravado.

There is some dispute on the demise of the character. Writer Marsh claims that he was so upset by the attack on Pearl Harbor he immediately joined the Marines. Other sources say he was drafted. It is also stated that he left the publisher so upset that when he left, he slammed the door so hard the glass shattered. Temporary writers were hired, but eventually Dan Dunn followed his creator to War on Sun, Oct 3, 1943.

Dan Dunn took his fight to the radio in 1937 for 78 fifteen minute episodes. This collection contains the two rare episodes still known to be in existence. These recordings are also in the Rare Detective and Crime Collection.