Created by Tedd Steele
Other pseudonyms include Ted Stelle, T.A. Steele, Theodore Steele, David Benedict, Jack Benedict, David Forrest, Gerald Laing, Jack Romaine
(1922-??)
SPEED SAVAGE, who appeared regularly in the Canadian-published Triumph Comics in the 1940s, was many things.
A “brilliant young criminologist.” A private detective. But mostly he saw duty as the mysterious WHITE MASK, a costumed crimefighter.
Mind you, the “costume” was I— at least at first — nothing special. Strictly off the rack, it was a homemade job consisting of a trench coat, fedora, cape and a simple Lone Ranger-style mask. Later on, he donned a more traditional, skin-tight onesie (all the better to show off his amazingly powerful physique), complete with twin holsters, cowl, gloves, boots and trunks. He may have looked like just another musclebound super-doofus in his new duds, but White Mask, we were assured, was “hated and feared by those who deal in crime.”
But, like I said, he was many things, depending on the requirements of the story. Over the course of a couple of dozen stories, he went undercover as a championship athlete, a race car driver, an Olympic-class skier, and a motorboat racing champ. Whatever it took.
From his home base in Toronto (and yes, it’s actually addressed as such), he regularly took on assorted supervillains, notably Black Raven and The Mole, and even went toe-to-toe one time with Adolph Hitler, always accompanied by his assistant, the lovely Veronica “Ronnie” Lone.
So, yeah… a “private eye,” according to the stories themselves.
But come on!
This was almost total super-hero malarkey. Did he ever have an actual client? Still, he must have been popular back in the days of the Canadian Whites.
Looking for a real, non-spandex Canadian private eye from the forties? Try Nels Grant.
* * * * *
Triumph Comics was published by Bell Features, a Toronto-based comic book publisher. It was one of those so-called Canadian Whites that appeared in the early forties, when the government deemed American comics “non-essential” imports under war-time restrictions, and a whole new, home-grown industry was born. They were called “Whites” because most of them had colour covers but black and white interiors, due to printing costs. The Whites only lasted about six years — after the war, the restrictions were lifted, and American comics once more flooded the market.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Writer and artist Tedd Steele born on April Fool’s day in 1922, and by the ripe old age of 19, had made his professional debut as an artist, with the cover of the Canadian pulp, Uncanny Tales No. 5. From there it was off to the comics, riding the wave of the “Canadian Whites.” His earliest job for Toronto publisher Bell Features was taking over the popular Dixon of the Mounted feature, before moving on to his first original creation, Pvt. Stuffin Joke Comics # 1, although his most significant creation was Speed Savage, which made its debut Triumph Comics #7. Tedd Steele’s last comic work was the last Savage story in Triumph Comics #31 in 1946. About the same time, he began writing short fillers and working as an editor for some of the detective and western pulps by Export Publishing, and when they began publishing paperbacks, Steele became an author. Among his books were Artists, Models and Murder (featuring private eye Steve Black), Trail of Vengeance, Pagans and Torch of Violence, published under assorted pseudonyms over the years, such as David or Jack Benedict, David Forrest, or Jack Romaine. Sadly, he never did any art for these books, although he did return to art in the fifties, working in advertising and as a freelance artist and writer in Toronto until the eighties.
Torch of Violence (1949), by the way, holds a secure place in Canadian literature as the first novel to feature the word “shit”.
COMICS
- TRIUMPH COMICS
(1942-46 Bell Features)
32 issues
Anthology of mostly crime stories, some humorous. Published in Toronto.
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- “Introducing Speed Savage” (May, 1942; #7)
- “Vacation with Death (Part One)” (June 1942; #8)
- “Vacation with Death (Part Two)” (August 1942; #9)
- “The Hunchback Strikes!” (September 1942; #10)
- “Blood on the Snow” (November 1942; #11)
- “Untitled” (January 1943; #12)
- “Untitled” (March 1943; #13)
- “The Bite of the Black Raven” (May 1943; #14)
- “Speed Savage as the New White Mask” (July 1943; #15)
- “Untitled’ (September 1943; #16)
- “Death to a Spy” (November 1943; #17)
- “Speed Savage Meets Captain Wonder” (January 1944; #18)
- “Untitled” (March 1944; #19)
- “The Mystery of the Lightning Menace” (June 1944; #20)
- “Untitled” (August 1944; #21)
- “A Cargo of Death!” (October 1944; #22)
- “Untitled” (December 1944; #23)
- “Now you can be the White Mask!” (February 1945; #24)
A cut-out mask of White Mask that runs over the interior front and interior back pages. - “Untitled” (February 1945; #24)
- “The Riddle of the Crawling Murderer” (April 1945; #25)
- “The Witch of Fire!” (June 1945; #26)
- “Meet the Mole! (Part One)” (August 1945; #27)
- “Meet the Mole! (Part Two)” (November 1945; #28)
- “Meet the Mole! (Part Three)” (February 1946; #29)
- “The Murdering Doll (Part One)” (April 1946; #30)
- “The Murdering Doll (Part Two)” (June 1946; #31)
- SPEED SAVAGE COMICS
(1944, Bell Features)
Two issues
Reprints several Speed Savage stories, originally published in Triumph Comics.- (October 1944; #1)
- SPEED SAVAGE: CANADIAN ACE OF ACTION!!
(1945, Bell Features)
Two issues
Reprints several Speed Savage stories, originally published in Triumph Comics.- (October 1944; #1)
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
