The company that would go through three name changes in its life time was run by Ned Pines. Pines was a magazine publisher since the 1920s that printed pulp magazines with the titles - Thrilling Wonder Stories, Thrilling Detecctive Stories, Thrilling Western Stories and Thrilling Love Stories. Better/Standard/Pines began its venture in to comics with an oversized comic book titled Best Comics (November 1939). The book was an experimental venture that required it to be read sideways. Needless to say it only lasted four issues.

Borrowing from its pulp magazines, the company’s next comic was fittingly titled Thrilling Comics (February 1940). The age of the super-hero was just beginning and many of the company’s comic book titles featured heroic figures. Doc Strange became the star of Thrilling Comics, while The Black Terror and The Fighting Yank took center stage in Exciting Comics and Startling Comics respectively. The Black Terror and The Fighting Yank were the only two heroes to be given their own self-titled comic books.

Below are the Better/Standard/Pines comics that featured the “Nedor Heroes”. The names of the heroes, along with their writers & artist, that appeared in these books are provided below. The majority of the Better/Standard/Pines comic books had their covers illustrated by Alex Schomburg.