Captain Compass is a character in the DC Comics universe first appearing in 1948 in an issue of Star Spangled Comics, as a replacement for the original Robotman strip. As a "naval detective", Captain Compass's early stories were primarily genretales of detection, but in later stories an element of the supernatural came to be included. His design was created by artist Jimmy Thompson, though the writer who originally created him is unknown.
Fictional biography
A former private detective, Mark Compass is hired by the "Penny Steamship lines" shipping company as a troubleshooter. In his early appearances his adventures take places aboard the fictional "SS Nautilus", but later stories have Compass venturing to other settings. At various points in his career, he's depicted as being employed in different contexts; for example, in one strip he's demoted to steamship captain. He fights criminals, pirates and people who live on lost islands.
Early stories in Star Spangled Comics are almost exclusively standard genre tales of detection on the high seas. In later issues of that series, an element of the supernatural is introduced. This first occurs in Star Spangled Comics #96, Captain Compass and his ship sail through a whirlpool to another dimension. Other adventures include conflicts with mechanical whales and prehistoric dinosaurs. Though created by Jimmy Thompson, the regular penciller on these Compass strips was Paul Norris. When Star Spangled Comics switched formats, the Captain Compass strip was replaced by a Doctor Thirteen strip, though Compass reappears in World's Finest Comics the next year. After this, his strip switches to Detective Comics, where it remains until the end of Captain Compass's history as a distinct strip. The last Captain Compass strip is in Detective Comics #224. After this, Compass's slot in the magazine was taken by the introduction of new character Martian Manhunter.
Modern appearances
Compass appeared alongside the Martian Manhunter when J'onn J'onnz signed onto his ship to investigate the murder of a sea captain's daughter. Compass also aided the Justice League after Green Arrow decided to depart to battle his personal demons. Captain Compass appeared in several subsequent issues of Detective Comics, including #500 where he joined forces with other detective characters such as Slam Bradley and the Human Target to solve one last case. After this issue, he appears in a DC Comics reprint set Best of DC Digest in 1982, and then possibly in an unverified cameo in Swamp Thing #46. He has not been depicted in any published comic since that time.
