Rocky Baird: 1937, Funny Picture Stories v1n4 (Comics Magazine Company/Centaur).. James J. “Rocky” Baird is ex-prize fighter and got tired of living a regular life so he set out for adventure, in this case in the East. He proves to be as good a pilot as a fighter.

Bert and Sue: 1946, Super-Mystery Comics v6n1 (Ace). A pair of romantic amateur sleuths in the manner of William Powell and Myrna Loy's Thin Man performances down to the pencil thin mustache.

Black Cobra I: 1941, Dynamic Comics #1 (Dynamic). Jim Hornsby is the son of the District Attorney and works as a clerk in his father's office. His father dismisses him as having no ambition and being a "panty-waist", but in reality Hornsby uses the inside knowledge to fight crime as the Black Cobra. His costume is very different than the later version of the character including a cobra like headgear. In a later story his costume is all black-blue and his younger brother Bob is the Cobra Kid. On the cover of #10, it shows the heroes having a stylized plane though nowhere in the comic itself. Their dad is so disappointed in them and trying to get them to take action, to the point that it looks like he's trying to get them killed.

Black Cobra II: 1954, Black Cobra (Ajax Farrell). The Black Cobra would later get his own series, the company now calling itself Ajax Farrell. He would prove to be an inconsistant character, there. In one adventure, his costume contained bullet proof plastic (although an unexploding shell from a tank would knock the wind out of him). In another, as the Black Cobra he apparently had some superpowers and ran into trouble when a secret chemical formula kept him from being able to change. His secret id in these stories was Steve Drake and worked for the FBI who worked with an office boy that was Cobra Kid. Note: Ajax-Farrell and Four Star are possibly the same company.

Black Fury/Miss Fury: April 6, 1941. The Black Fury (comic strip distributed by the Bell Syndicate). Like many superheroines and a few male superheroes, Marla Drake originally planned on attending a costume party only to end up becoming a hero when stopping the crime. The skintight catsuit was left to her by her uncle and is reputed to have magical powers. While she normally doesn't seem to have any powers beyond regular superheroic athleticism and fighting ability, the costume is supposed to grant the wearer luck. However, she is warned by friend Albino Joe that such things come at a cost. She eventually tries to avoid wearing the costume, fearing that for every bit of good luck it grants, it will deliver bad luck in equal measure which her love life seems to attest. Her former fiance ends up marrying her arch-enemy, Baroness Erica Von Kampf, and fathering a child. Marla rescues the child and adopts him without ever knowing his parentage. Interestingly, while she and the Baroness often worked against each other, the only time they actually met and fought was in a situation where neither knew who the other was. Note: Originally called "Black Fury", she soon was called Miss Fury. The Miss Fury strip ran until 1952. Her strip was reprinted by Timely Comics for several years. Created by Tarpe Mills, one of the few Golden-age female creators and one of the few of either gender to successfully transition from comic books to comic strips. Before Miss Fury, Tarpe Mills created characters for Centaur Comics such as the Purple Zombie.

Black Phantom: 1948, Return of The Black Phantom (Vital Pubs). In a dark business suit, gloves, and hooded cloak, Roy Dare is the Black Phantom.NOTE: A small giveaway comic packaged with Fleer bubblegum.

Black Raider(s): 1944, Power Comics #3 (Narrative). Gordon Summers and Red Crandall are ex-commandos and decide to use those tactics and fight crime as the black clad Black Raiders. As a duo, they are referred to as the Black Raiders, plural. However, the name of the strip is the Black Raider, and crooks seem to regard Gordon as THE Black Raider, singular. However, Red is the one who has the way with the ladies, too many for him to even keep their names straight.

Mask Comics gives their origin. Gordon Summers and Harold “Red” Crandall are Army Rangers of the Black Raiders. They are part of the invasion force of Normandy and are wounded some time after as they make their way towards Germany. Against their wishes, they are medically discharged but find civilian life is now tame and dull. Witnessing a brutal crime only to see the crooks released on bail and the D.A. refusing to try the case, Gordon decides to use his all-black rangers outfit and a mask to fight the war at home. His departure to track the criminals is observed by Red who puts on an identical costume.

Blazing Scarab: 1939, Champion Comics #2 (Harvey). Archaeologist Walt Worthington discovers a magical blazing scarab in a hidden tomb in Egypt and it transports him and his servant Snowball to a magical city called Baracs ruled by an evil Egyptian priest of Set named Oo-Lhat who had been there for centuries. With Walt, he is able to re-establish the broken link between Baracs and our world where they can raid for supplies and slaves. Leaving Walt and his servant behind Oo-Lhat leads a group back to our world for conquest. Walt and Snowball find they are not alone though, as they discover the women, worshippers of Isis. Walt falls hard for the lead priestess of Isis and Snowball for another of the women. The Priestess is convinced that they are there to liberate them and lead them back to their homeworld. Eventually the blazing scarab reaches maximum brightness and the two heroes and women travel back through the portal it opens. Only Walt and Snowball find themselves alone amidst a field of skeletons, that upon travelling back, the women (and presumably Oo-Lhat's forcres before them) aged to their true ages. Thus ends the story of The Blazing Scarab.

Snowball is sadly done as the typical racist caricature.

The Blitz Buster: 1941, Four Favorites #1 (Ace). Major John Chalmers is an expert at make-up and impersonation. He uses these skills on behalf of the US Secret Service to take aid in US interests across the lines even though the country is not officially at war yet. The moniker of "Blitz Buster" is not a code-name but an honorific he is toasted to as after helping smash a German blitzkreig attack.

Blond Garth: 1940, Colossus Comics #1 (Sun). Blond Garth is a one of those popular Tarzan clones, this time apparently in the South Seas.

He was a young lad, washed on the shores of the island clinging to a water cask, the sole survivor of a shipwreck. He was raised by by the Rangipu tribe's medicine man Bubu, who taught him wisdom until he grew up to be a mighty hunter, swimmer and good with spear and knife. He was in love with the chief's daughter Tara but was plotted against by the evil Draca, priestess of Iktas and in league with Cimbaru, an enemy tribe on another island (because he apparently had spurned Draca's daughter). Cimbaru finds a giant shark and releases it in the waters near the island of Rangipu where it kills the chief's son and he dies of grief. The island is dependent on the pearls to trade for food and the islanders find themselves isolated, bereft of king and threatened with starvation if they don't leave. Draca then works up the tribe against Garth, claiming him to be a golden devil hated by the gods. Sacrificed to the giant shark Malie, he places a giant shell in its mouth, prying the jaws open and battles tirelessly for an hour until killing it. Finding also an horde of pearls, he is declared "King of the Isles." Having fallen into the waters at the start of the sacrifice, Draca is presumed drowned since the shark itself ignored her scrawny body but no mention is made of her after that point.

Blue Fire: 1940, Wham #2, (Centaur).Jack Knapp is a young scientist (from references, in college, possibly a graduate student) and is about to imbibe a potion of his own concoction when a formula explodes. It doesn't do any damage but leaves Jack surrounded in a corona of blue flames. The flames do not burn or consume and Jack soon discovers that it leaves him mostly immaterial. He can gently pick things up and a test shows that he can put handcuffs on, but with little effort, can pull his hands apart and through the handcuffs. As this makes him bulletproof, he decides to fight crime. As he faces his first opponent, a frozen saboteur calling himself the Frost, he discovers that the powers have a drawback. He cannot be shot or punched, but likewise he cannot punch his opponent.

The powers fade after about two hours, so Jack has made a supply of small bombs made from the formula to power up when needed. He has some foreign language skills and his father has some pull with either the authorities or the shiplines as Jack is able to get a pass to investigate the strange acts of sabotage aboard some ships. An interesting nod to another feature by the artist, the skiff that Jack takes to the ship is called "The Shark".

In the text story in the same comic, Jack is called Dick.

Blue Lady: 1941, Amazing-Man Comics #24 (Centaur). Lucille Martin, an adventurous novelist, was returning from a trip to China when she is asked by Lotus, a Chinese woman and aquaintanc,e if she'd take possession of a statue, and deliver it if anything happened to her. In payment for the favor, Lotus gives Lucille a ring with a bluebird on it, that supposedly grants powers to its owner. Inspecting the ring, Lucille breaks it, accidentally releasing and breathing in some gas released from the ring which gives her some super powers (just strength at first but others manifest themselves later). She makes a costume, including the figure of a blue bird on her cap and becomes a mystery-woman carrying out her vow to Lotus as well as helping her fiance Larry Grant.

As the Blue Lady, she has many powers, able to appear and disappear in a mist (and use the mist to hide her), super strength and invulnerability, though vulnerable to gasses.

Blue Monk: 1948, Crime Reporter #1 (St. John). Stubby Watson is a shorter than average man who fights crime as the dreaded Blue Monk. The Blue Monk leads a crew of ex-crooks: 3 men by the names of Gypo, Scorpion, and the Human Fly, and a sultry woman named Satana.

Note: This is a repackaging of the hero the Black Dwarf only with names changed.

Boomerang (I): 1944, Terrific Comics #2 (Et-Es-Go Magazines). Lloyd Raleigh joins U.S. Army Intelligence as a captain where he undertakes special missions against the Axis powers. He is also secretly the Boomerang, a man incredibly gifted with the use of the weapon of that name. His girlfriend Diana finds out his secret identity and reveals she was England's champion archer before the war. Not long before she adopts a similar costume to his and is skewering foes with arrows but goes by her regular name.

Top Bowers: 1944, Captain Flight #4 (Four Star). Top is an ace pilot and part of the Death Squad who seem to have a bit of autonomy ie may not be reporting to any official chain of command. The only other pilot mentioned by name is Jimmy. Bowers' girlfriend is Wendy who apparently travels with him on some missions. For some reason, Top and his men pilot bi-planes even this late in the War.

The Buzzard: 1940, Wham Comics 2. (Centaur). A man is given by the Mayor a device that releases a gas that plays with the perceptions of others, thus providing an instant disguise. Pressing the button on the other side counteracts the effects. The Mayor tells the man that the mayor's niece will also help and they will be the only three to know the secret. Other inventions will come as needed. As no one else knows his secret, the police see him as another crook. However, he's really Flash, the police chief's son and college star football player. The mayor even gets Flash a job on the police force during vaction period, to the consternation of the Chief who doesn't want Flash to be a copper due to the dangerousness of the job.

Thinks to the gas disguising him, the Buzzard cuts an interesting figure. He wears a gray suit with tails, is a small thin man with receding hair and a large beaked nose and glasses. He wears large oversized gloves with claws that he can throw with accuracy (and presumably help him climb) and he carries a ray gun. He also has a way of casting a silhouette of a buzzard on the walls to spook crooks and annoy the police. He's a very good fighter, partly due to the deceptive nature of his appearance. The odd nature of the hero fits the slightly big-foot nature of Martin Filchock's artwork.