Captain Marvel and Don Winslow

I've already mentioned that I used to run to the dime store in Tulsa Oklahoma each month to buy the latest edition of Captain Marvel comics.

Another one of my favorite comic books was Don Winslow, a naval intelligence officer who sometimes appeared in marine or coast guard uniforms. I even remember Don Winslow appearing in Little Big Books, a series of adventure books in novel form.

A few years ago I decided to google Don Winslow. What I learned was astounding: "The idea for Don Winslow was conceived by Lieutenant Commander Frank V. Martinek USNR [in 1934], himself a storied veteran of World War I Naval intelligence, after Admiral Wat T. Cluverius complained to him about the difficulties of recruiting in the Midwest."

I read the passage to my wife, who looked at me with a knowing smile. "It worked, didn't it?" she observed.

I also didn't know that Don Winslow was introduced to Fawcett's comic book readers in 1943 by none other than Captain Marvel.