History:
DAVE DEAN
Real Name: David "Dave" Dean
Identity/Class: Human (World
War II Era)
Occupation: Captain of the S.S. Happy-Go-Lucky,
sailor, diver, hunter; naval intelligence observer
Group Membership: U.S. Naval Intelligence Service
Affiliations: Shorty, Capen, Jay Connors, Commander Evans, Janet, Kinkaid, Natalie, Commander Rollins, Swanson
Enemies: Andre, Bainter, Cranston, Ivan, Peter Kamroff, Muller, Philip, Randa, Wing Po
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile in the Pacific Ocean aboard the S.S. Happy-Go-Lucky
First Appearance: (Ultem) Funny Pages II#1
(September, 1937)
(Marvel Comics) Mystic Comics I#1 (March, 1940)
Powers/Abilities: Dave was an able seaman and deep sea diver. When guised in his diving suit he carried a knife.
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Red
History:
(Funny Pages II#3/text - (fb) - BTS) - In 1930, Dave broke up a criminal ogranization run by Randa.
(Mystic Comics I#1/5/Funny Pages II#1/18) - Dave and Shorty took their ship in the Pacific Ocean to go diving for pearls while their rival Wing Po watched from afar. Below the water, Dave found himself near the wreck of a yacht but before he could explore further he was attacked by "the Devil of the Deep" who cut his air hose. Dave returned to the surface and was rescued by Janet, who was a guest of Philip on his nearby yacht. Dave soon recovered from his near-death experience and thanked Janet. Dave and Janet went to see Wing Po, wondering if he were responsible for the attempt on his life, but one of Wing Po's men turned up murdered at the hands of "the Devil of the Deep." Dave then returned to the undersea wreck and was again attacked by "the Devil of the Deep." This time Dave stabbed the figure in his chest with a knife. Exploring the wreck, Dave discovered the remains of Philip's cousin and evidence that Philip had dynamited the yacht to inherit his cousin's fortune. Dave brought "the Devil of the Deep" to the surface and unmasked him as Philip, who was still alive as his costume had taken the brunt of Dave's knife. Dave promised to turn Philip over to the authorities for his crimes.
(Funny Pages II#2/text) - Dave and Shorty's ship was transporting diamonds supposedly for the Maharajah of Nechal when they responded to an S.O.S. from the Mandora. They received a group of survivors: an English scientist named Cranston, a German named Muller, a miner named Kinkaid, a man claiming to be a Hindu priest (actually Dave's old foe Randa) and a Dutch coffee firm employee named Swanson. Boarding the ship, Dave and Shorty found the vessel's entire crew had been killed by some sort of acid chemical. Dave discovered a bomb inside the ship's hold and evacuated the ship with Shorty before the explosion destroyed the Mandora. Dave and Shorty realized that one of the survivors they rescued must be responsible for what happened.
(Funny Pages II#3/text) - Dave finally recognized the Hindu priest as Randa; further, Randa explained he had posed as the Maharajah of Nechal in order to arrange the theft of the diamonds Dave was carrying. Cranston and Muller proved to be Randa's confederates, while Kinkaid and Swanson were unaware of the plot. Randa forced Dave to release the diamonds to him then planned to kill Dave and the others on the ship with the same acid mist they had used to kill the crew of the Mandora while Randa and his allies escaped to another yacht which had arrived for them. Dave led Shorty, Kinkaid and Swanson to the deck to evade the gas then revealed that Randa's men had left a bomb on their ship as they had done before on the Mandora, so Dave had placed it into one of the diving suits used by Randa's men. The bomb went off and destroyed the yacht carrying Randa and his men. Further, Dave revealed that the stones Randa took from the ship's vault weren't real diamonds because Dave had suspected a trap.
(Funny Pages II#2/18) - The Russian man Kamroff hired Dave and Shorty to sail the S.S. Happy-Go-Lucky to the coast of Russia, where they received Ivan and other men who had escaped from a Soviet prison camp and taken the prison director's daughter Natalie as a hostage. Kamroff forced Dean at gunpoint to accept Ivan, his fellows and Natalie as passengers. When Dave struck Ivan for threatening Natalie Kamroff forced him to comply by tying Shorty to the boat's mast and threatening to whip Shorty every time Dave disobeyed an order. Kamroff ordered Dave to sail them to Alaska. Natalie befriend Dave and revealed some of Ivan's men had stolen jewels in their escape from the USSR. Dave knocked out Shorty's guard while Natalie steered the ship. Dave untied Shorty and they ventured into the cabin, eliminating the lights then fighting Kamroff's allies in the dark and stole their jewels. They then returned to the deck and Dave tied up Shorty then relieved Natalie at the wheel. Kamroff accused Dave of stealing their jewels but he feigned innocence and suggested Kamroff's subordinate Andre did it. Kamroff killed Andre, believing Dave's story. This infuriated Ivan, who now assumed Kamroff was the thief and had killed Andre to conceal his own crime. While Ivan and Kamroff fought, Dave set Shorty free again. With just Kamroff, Ivan and one other Russian remaining they easily defeated and tied up the men. They planned to return them to the USSR and use the jewels to buy a new freighter from Seattle.
(Funny Pages II#3/14) - Dave and Shorty went out shark hunting and killed more than a half-dozen sharks for profit. They encountered a yacht staffed by drug smugglers who were awaiting a rendezvous with a freighter from South America. The men on the yacht tried to force Dave and Shorty leave those waters but they refused. The men on the yacht fired on them with a machine gun, forcing Dave and Shorty to comply and pull away. However, once it was dark they returned to the area in their rowboat to spy on the yacht as its crew met with those of the freighter to receive drugs. Discovered by the smugglers, Dave and Shorty were cast into the ocean to be eaten by the sharks but by then the sharks were so well-fed they had no appetite for the two men. Dave and Shorty disabled the yacht's engine then returned to the ship to alert the U.S. Coast Guard. They were present as the Coast Guard took the drug smugglers into custody.
(Funny Pages II#4/text) - Dave was recruited into the Naval Intelligence Service and was given a lieutenant's uniform. Commander Rollins of Naval Intelligence wanted an outsider to help investigate the sinking of submarine S-38, on which Dave's friend Jay Connors had been among the crew. Dave was present as Connors' body was retrieved from the ocean, dead. Dave questioned Elisha Abbott, the inventor of the S-38, Bainter the navigator and Capen the engineer, who had all survived the submarine's sinking. Dave joined the three men under the command of Commander Evans aboard Abbott's newest submarine, the S-39. While Dave was examining the torpedo room the lights went out and he was assaulted by Bainter who shoved him into a torpedo tube to expel him from the submarine. Dave forced himself free of the torpedo tube but Bainter escaped without his identity being revealed. Dave realized that Connors must have been killed using the same method as his body was found outside the S-38. Returning to the others, Dave learned that all but two life vests had been sabotaged.
(Funny Pages II#5/text) - Dave questioned the crew of the S-39 to discern which of them might have assaulted him. He suggested the S-39 surface until the mystery was resolved. As they did this, the S-39's air pumps failed, making it impossible for them to safely break surface. Commander Evans suggested they dispatch a diver to get help but Dave insisted on maintaining their peril until the killer was discovered. As Dave went over the state of the ship with Bainter he realized Bainter was far too knowledgeable about the S-39 for a navigator and Bainter had an oily smear on his coat; Dave's hands had been covered in oil when he scuffled with his assailant in the torpedo room. Realizing Bainter would try to escape when close to the surface Dave had the S-39 descend. Dave confronted Bainter publicly and identified him as the saboteur and killer. Bainter drew a gun and shot Dave but only glanced his arm and Dave quickly disarmed him. Dean forced Bainter to reveal where he had hidden a bomb to destroy the S-39 and it was safely removed. By then a diver had been sent to learn why the S-39 hadn't surfaced and they explained htheir need of a new air hose. With the new air hose they would be able to surface safely. Dave admitted to Capen that he had initially assumed he was the saboteur; Capen replied he had likewise assumed Dave to be the saboteur!
Comments: Created by Norman Daniels and Fred Guardineer.
Dave Dean's only Marvel Comics adventure appeared in Mystic Comics I#1. However, he had previously been published by publishers Ultem and Centaur. In fact, the Mystic Comics story was originally published in Funny Pages II#1 (September, 1937). They then reprinted that story two more times (Amazing Mystery Funnies I#3 and Amazing Mystery Funnies II#6). Dave's other adventures were presented in Funny Pages II#2-5. I've summarized them all above in italics to note that they're not Marvel continuity - but then again, since they're public domain Marvel has a free hand to use them.
As this story was a reprint and all of Centaur and Ultem's work has fallen into the public domain, Marvel probably doesn't "own" Dave Dean. Gad, that means anyone could publish a Dave Dean comic book! Quick, let's arrange a Dave Dean vs. Dracula comic! Those million dollar mice'll never know what hit 'em!
The S.S. Happy-Go-Lucky was named in Funny Pages II#2/18.
The text stories in Funny Pages were illustrated on every page by Fred Guardineer but I find them very difficult to read. That is, they have some of the worst layouts I've ever seen in a text feature - paragraphs were frequently published out of sequence, making it nigh-impossible to follow the plot. The comics are only a little better - important incidents frequently occurred between panels and characters' names would appear at random. A very choppy attempt at early adventure comics that were probably originally produced in the hopes of being picked up as comic strips.
He has a handbook entry in the Marvel Mystery Handbook. There, Shorty is called Fred "Shorty" Baxter but in non-Marvel stories his name was Shorty Blaine.
This profile was completed on 11/24/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Dave Dean should not be confused with:
Janet was Philip's female companion on his yacht, although she was entirely unaware of his involvement in his cousin's death. When she saw Dave Dean diving near the wreck where Philip's cousin died she was immediately taken by his good looks. After Philip nearly killed Dave, Janet went out in a rowboat to rescue Dave from the ocean. She brought Dave aboard the yacht and helped him recuperate. She then assisted Dave as he investigated the identity of the figure who tried to kill him, confronting Wing Po about the murder of one of hs own men. Ultimately Dave exposed Philip as the killer.
--Mystic Comics I#1/5/Funny Pages II#1/18
She was called "Jane" in one panel.
Philip was a wealthy man who owned a yacht. He set dynamite on his cousin's yacht somewhere in the Pacific Ocean so that his cousin would be killed and he would inherit the family fortune. While touring the area near where his cousin sank alongside his female companion Janet, Philip pretended to be upset at nearing the scene of his cousin's death. Noticing that Dave Dean and Wing Po were both diving for pearls, Philip donned a disguise as "the Devil of the Deep" and dove underwater to attack Dave. He cut Dave's air hose but Dave escaped Philip to the surface and Janet saved his life. Subsequently one of Wing Po's men went pearl diving and Philip stabbed him to death underwater. Finally Dave returned underwater and fought with Philip then stabbed his suit in the chest. Dave explored the remains of Philip's cousin's yacht and found evidence of how Philip killed his cousin. Philip had survived being stabbed as his suit took the brunt of the damage but Dave brought him back to the surface to be arrested.
--Mystic Comics I#1/5/Funny Pages II#1/18
Fred "Shorty" Baxter was Dave Dean's best friend and ally in his adventures. When Dave was nearly killed by Philip while diving for pearls, Shorty took a vigil over Dave while he recovered.
--Mystic Comics I#1/5/Funny Pages II#1/18 (Funny Pages II#2/text, II#3/text, II#2/18, II#3/14
Wing Po was a Chinese entrepreneur who commanded his own boat. He had a somewhat stormy relationship with Dave Dean and resented that Dave was diving for pearls in the same area where his men were operating. When Dave was nearly killed by Philip while diving nearby the wreck of Philip's cousin's yachet, Wing Po sent one of his divers to find pearls there but Philip attacked the diver and stabbed him to death. Wing Po then supported Dave's efforts to catch the killer.
--Mystic Comics I#1/5/Funny Pages II#1/18
images: (without ads)
Marvel Mystery Handbook, Dave Dean entry (main)
Mystic Comics I#1/5, page 6, panel 4 (diving suit)
Mystic Comics I#1/5, page 4, panel 1 (Jane)
Mystic Comics I#1/5, page 2, panel 3 (Philip)
Mystic Comics I#1/5, page 3, panel 2 (Philip as Devil of the Deep)
Mystic Comics I#1/5, page 4, panel 2 (Shorty)
Mystic Comics I#1/5, page 2, panel 1 (Wing Po)
Appearances:
Mystic Comics I#1/5 (March, 1940) - Norman Daniels (writer), Fred
Guardineer (artist), Martin Goodman (editor)
First posted: 09/27/2026
Last updated:
11/24/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel
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should check out the real thing!
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