Airboy is a fictional
aviator hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...
of an American comic book series initially published by
Hillman Periodicals
Hillman Periodicals, Inc., was an American magazine and comic book publishing company founded in 1938 by Alex L. Hillman, a former New York City book publisher. It is best known for its true confession and true crime magazines; for the long-runni ...
during the World War II-era time period fans and historians call the
Golden Age of comic books. He was created by writers
Charles Biro
Charles Biro (May 12, 1911 – March 4, 1972) was an American comic book creator and cartoonist. He is today chiefly known for creating the comic book characters Airboy and Steel Sterling, and for his work at Lev Gleason Publications on '' Dared ...
and Dick Wood and artist Al Camy.
The character disappeared from publications until a 1980s revival under
Chuck Dixon that lasted for several years. He has appeared intermittently since then under multiple publishers, sometimes updating his story to the present day.
Publication history
Golden Age
Airboy debuted in ''Air Fighters Comics'' #2 (
cover-date
The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...
Nov. 1942), an anthology series featuring a variety of aviator heroes. The series was renamed ''Airboy Comics'' with the twenty-third issue, vol. 2, #11 (Dec. 1945), and ran 89 issues, through vol. 10, #4 (May 1953).
In the early issues, Biro wrote the scripts with Dave Wood and drew the covers, Al Camy was the initial story artist. He was followed by
Tony DiPreta
Anthony Louis "Tony" DiPreta (July 9, 1921 – June 2, 2010) was an American comic book and comic strip artist active from the 1940s Golden Age of comic books. He was the longtime successor artist of the comic strip ''Joe Palooka'' (1959–84 ...
and, beginning with ''Air Fighters'' #10 (July 1943),
Fred Kida
Fred Kida (December 12, 1920 – April 3, 2014) was a Japanese-American comic book and comic strip artist best known for the 1940s aviator hero Airboy and his antagonist and sometime ally Valkyrie during the period fans and historians call the ...
, who would become closely associated with the series.
became the regular artist with ''Airboy Comics'' #vol. 5, #11 (Dec. 1948), through the end of the series' run, with
Dan Barry, Maurice Del Bourgo,
Carmine Infantino, and others supplying an occasional story.
[''Air Fighters Comics'']
at the Grand Comics Database
The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...
[''Airboy Comics'']
at the Grand Comics Database The two consecutive series contained backup stories about other aviators, including Skywolf, Iron Ace, the Black Angel, the Bald Eagle, the Flying Dutchman, the Flying Fool, and the prototypical comic book swamp monster, the
Heap. Airboy's most frequently recurring supporting character was the German aviator Valkyrie, who fought on the side of the Axis but then defected to the Allies.
Hillman stopped publishing comics in 1953. Two issues were reprinted in 1973 and a trade paperback entitled ''Valkyrie!: From the Pages of Air Fighters and the Airboy'' was published in 1982 by Ken Pierce Books with five stories from ''Air Fighters Comics'' vol. 2, #s 2 and 7 and ''Airboy Comics'' vol. 2, #12, and vol. 3 #s 6 and 12.
Modern era
In 1986,
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...
published a new ''Airboy'' series, updated to the modern era, starring the son of the original character. The 50-issue comic (July 15, 1986 – October 1989), which ran as a half-sized (16-page) bi-weekly through issue #33 (November 1, 1987) and monthly thereafter, reintroduced many of the supporting characters from the old series, such as Valkyrie and a Japanese fighter pilot named Hirota, and guest-starred many of the characters who had appeared as backups in the original comics.
Chuck Dixon scripted with the occasional assistance of
Tim Truman, with Truman,
Ron Randall
Ron Randall (born November 22, 1956) is an American comic book artist best known as the creator of the character Trekker.
Career
A graduate of The Kubert School, Ron Randall's first published comic book work was a two-page backup story titled ...
and
Stan Woch the main illustrators.
[''Airboy'' (Eclipse, 1986 series)]
at the Grand Comics Database
Spin-offs from the Eclipse series include the
one-shots ''Airboy–
Mr. Monster Special'' (Aug. 1987),
[Airboy series]
at the Grand Comics Database ''Airboy Meets the Prowler'' (Dec. 1987),
''The Air Fighters Meet Sgt. Strike Special'' (Jan. 1988), ''Target: Airboy'' (March 1988),
and ''Airboy vs. the Air Maidens'' (July 1988).
Additional spinoffs starred related characters: ''Air Maidens Special'' (Aug. 1987), starring Black Angel, La Lupina, and Valkyrie; the
miniseries ''Skywolf'' #1–3 (March–Oct. 1988); and two Valkyrie comics, the one-shot ''Valkyrie: Prisoner of the Past'' (Dec. 1987), drawn by
Paul Gulacy
Paul Gulacy (; born August 15, 1953) is an American comics artist best known for his work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, and for drawing one of the first graphic novels, Eclipse Enterprises' 1978 '' Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species'', ...
, and the three-issue miniseries ''Valkyrie!'' (July–Sept. 1988), penciled by
Brent Anderson. In addition, the Air Fighters co-starred in the five-issue miniseries ''
Total Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
'' (May 1988 – April 1989), which featured most of the Eclipse stars together, and the one-shot ''Total Eclipse: The Seraphim Objective'' (Nov. 1988). ''Prisoner of the Past'' was collected as a
trade paperback, as were ''Airboy'' #1–5 entitled ''The Return of Valkyrie''. ''Prisoner of the Past'' was also published in a hardcover edition.
Starting in 1988, Eclipse also published ''Air Fighters Classics'', a six issue bimonthly series dedicated to reprinting the original Golden Age stories of Airboy and related characters.
In 2007,
Moonstone Books
Moonstone Books is an American comic book, graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based in Chicago focused on pulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales.
The company began publishing creator-owned com ...
announced plans to revive the World War II character in new stories written by 1980s ''Airboy'' writer Dixon. However, the revival did not see print until March 2009, when Moonstone released the one-shot ''Airboy – 1942: Best of Enemies''. Two issues of ''Airfighters'', featuring Airboy, followed in 2010.
The Valkyrie character was ranked 45th in ''
Comics Buyer's Guide
''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...
's'' "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.
In 2012,
Antarctic Press
Antarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes " Amerimanga" style comic books. The company also produces "how-to" and "you can" comics, instructing on areas of comic book creation and craft.
Beginning in ...
started publishing ''Airboy: Deadeye'' by
Chuck Dixon, Gianluca Piredda and
Ben Dunn
Ben Dunn (born April 17, 1964) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', June 10, 2005. Accessed February 1, 2011.WebCitation archive/ref> is an American comic book artist and publisher.
Biography
Dunn was born i ...
.
In 2014,
Image Comics began publishing a new Airboy comic, written by
James Robinson and illustrated by Greg Hinkle. This series begins with fictionalised versions of Robinson and Hinkle engaging in an orgy of drink, drugs and sex while trying to find the inspiration to write a new Airboy series, only for the "real" Airboy to enter their world, much to his horror.
Fictional character biography
The first Airboy was David ("Davy") Nelson II, the son of an expert pilot and, despite his youth, a crack flyer himself. His friend, inventor and
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
friar Brother Francis Martier, had created a highly maneuverable prototype aircraft that flew by
flapping its wings, like a bird. Martier, however, was killed while testing it, and Davy inherited both the plane and a uniform, which had apparently been in Martier's family since the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
. Davy soon christened himself "Airboy", and in his seemingly sentient new plane, "Birdie", helped the
Allies during World War II.
Airboy confronted such weird
antagonists as intelligent rats, the mysterious Misery – whose Airtomb imprisoned the souls of dead pilots – and his cleavage-baring Nazi nemesis, Valkyrie, a German
aviator who later became his ally. He also contended with a recurring villain, the occultist Zzed.
[
After the conclusion of World War II, David Nelson II continued to work as a freelance pilot and mercenary for a time, but he eventually retired from combat flying and stored Birdie in a barn outside his California estate. He had a son, whom he named David Nelson III, and founded an aircraft manufacturing company, through which he became very wealthy. In the mid-1980s, David Nelson II was assassinated by mercenaries from the South American nation of Bogantilla. When David Nelson III discovered that his father had been assassinated, he began to investigate the circumstances which had led up to his father's death. He soon discovered his father's mothballed plane and uniform and teamed up with a number of the surviving Air Fighters to face many of the same enemies as David Nelson II, as well as South American dictators, Soviets, pirates and corporate criminals.
]
Homages
The first volume in the ''Wild Cards
''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George ...
'' novel series edited by George R.R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels '' A So ...
includes a character called Jetboy
This is a list of characters from the ''Wild Cards'' book series.
Astronomer
The Astronomer is a character from the ''Wild Cards'' series of books. He first appeared in the short story "Pennies from Hell" by Lewis Shiner in ''Aces High (book), ...
, an Airboy analogue created by Howard Waldrop
Howard Waldrop (born September 15, 1946) is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021.
Personal life
Though born in Houston, Mississippi, Waldrop has spent ...
who wanted to write an Airboy story.
The lead character of publisher America's Best Comics
America's Best Comics (ABC) is a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics.
History
''America's Best ...
' graphic novel '' Top 10: The Forty-Niners'' is Jetlad, whom historian Jess Nevins
Jess Nevins (born 1966) is an American author. Nevins is the author of the ''Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana'' and other works on Victoriana and pulp fiction. He is employed as a reference librarian at Lone Star College-Tomball.
Comic boo ...
calls, "an analogue of Charles Biro
Charles Biro (May 12, 1911 – March 4, 1972) was an American comic book creator and cartoonist. He is today chiefly known for creating the comic book characters Airboy and Steel Sterling, and for his work at Lev Gleason Publications on '' Dared ...
's teenaged aviator Airboy".
Collected editions
Antarctic Press
*''Airboy: Deadeye'' collects ''Airboy: Deadeye'' #1–5, Softcover: 128 pages, Publisher: Antarctic Press, October 2013,
Eclipse Comics
Almost the entirety of Eclipse's Airboy content has been republished by IDW:
*''Airboy Archives Volume 1'' collects ''Airboy'' #1–16, Softcover: 312 pages, Publisher: IDW, March 2014,
*''Airboy Archives Volume 2'' collects ''Airboy'' #17–25, ''Valkyrie'' #1–3 (1987), Softcover: 300 pages, Publisher: IDW, September 2014,
*''Airboy Archives Volume 3'' collects ''Airboy'' #26–34, ''Airmaidens Special'', ''Airboy–Mr. Monster Special'', ''Airboy Meets The Prowler'', Softcover: 316 pages, Publisher: IDW, March 2015,
*''Airboy Archives Volume 4'' collects ''Airboy'' #35–40, ''Airfighters Meet Sgt. Strike'', ''Skywolf'' #1–3, Softcover: 292 pages, Publisher: IDW, April 2016,
*''Airboy Archives Volume 5'' collects ''Airboy'' #41–50, ''Valkyrie'' #1–3 (1988), ''Airboy vs. The Air Maidens'', plus a previously unpublished eight-page Skywolf story, Softcover: 380 pages, Publisher: IDW, April 2017,
Additionally, the one-shot ''Target: Airboy'' has gone uncollected and the character appeared alongside all of Eclipse's properties in the ''Total Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
'' crossover event.
Canton Street Press
*''The Complete Golden Age Airboy & Valkyrie'' collects ''Air Fighters'' #12; vol. 2. #2, #7; ''Airboy'' vol. 2, #12; vol. 3, #6, #12; vol. 4, #10; vol. 9, #2, Softcover: 136 pages, Publisher: Canton Street Press, September 2013,
Image Comics
*''Airboy Deluxe Edition'' collects ''Airboy'' #1–4, Hardcover: 120 pages, Publisher: Image, April 2016,
Moonstone Comics
*''Airboy and the Airfighters: Dangerous Liaisons'' collects ''Airboy: 1942, Airfighters'' #1, ''Air Fighters'' #2, ''Air Vixens'', plus the never-before-published ''Airfighters: L'Hospital St. Blaise'', Softcover: 256 pages, Publisher: Moonstone, January 2013,
Reception
Martin A. Stever reviewed ''Airboy'' in '' Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer'' No. 83. Stever commented that "the key to this book's success has been the balance Dixon has stuck between adventure, humor, mystery, and romance. This, along with break-neck pacing and plenty of action in every issue have made ''Airboy'' a monthly even I look forward to".
Footnotes
References
Airboy
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on March 15, 2012.
at An International Catalogue of Superheroes.
{{GoldenAge
Golden Age superheroes
1942 comics debuts
American comics characters
Antarctic Press titles
Aviation comics
Child superheroes
Eclipse Comics characters
Eclipse Comics titles
Fictional aviators
Image Comics characters
Image Comics titles