''Fightin' Air Force'' is a bimonthly

war comic War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began inc ...

that was published by

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...

from

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. Telling fictional stories of American military pilots, it was a sister title of the other Charlton war comics ''

Fightin' Army ''Fightin' Army'' is a bimonthly war comic that was published by Charlton Comics from 1956–1984 (though it was primarily a reprint title from 1978 to the end of its run). Telling fictional stories of the United States Army, it was a sister title ...

'', ''

Fightin' Marines ''Fightin' Marines'' is a bimonthly war comic magazine that was published by St. John Publications from 1951–1953, and Charlton Comics from 1955–1984, although it was primarily a reprint title from 1978 to the end of its run. Telling fiction ...

'', and ''

Fightin' Navy ''Fightin' Navy'' is a bimonthly war comic that was published by Charlton Comics from 1956 in comics, 1956–1966 in comics, 1966, and then again from 1983–1984 (though it was then a reprint title). Telling fictional stories of the United State ...

''. Regular contributors to ''Fightin' Air Force'' included

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

(who illustrated many early covers),

Sam Glanzman Samuel Joseph Glanzman (December 5, 1924 – July 12, 2017) was an American comics artist and memoirist. Glanzman is best known for his Charlton Comics series ''Hercules'', about the mythological Greek demigod; his autobiographical war stories ab ...

, Jack Keller,

Rocke Mastroserio Rocco A. "Rocke" Mastroserio (June 8, 1927 — early March 1968Dates per Additionamade June 15, 2010. Note: The Social Security Death Index lists Rocco Mastroserioof New York City, born September 15, 1901, died December 1966.) was an American comi ...

, Bill Molno,

Charles Nicholas "Charles Nicholas" is the pseudonymous house name of three early creators of American comic books for the Fox Feature Syndicate and Fox Comics: Chuck Cuidera (1915–2001), Jack Kirby (1917–1994), and Charles Wojtkoski (1921–1985). The name o ...

Jack Abel Jack Abel (July 15, 1927 – March 6, 1996)
at the

Vince Alascia Vincent Alascia (January 14, 1914 – September 3, 1998),
at the

Pat Masulli Patrick J. Masulli (July 31, 1930 – June 10, 1998) was an American comic book creator. During the Silver Age of Comic Books, he was the executive editor of Charlton Comics from 1955–1966. Besides editing over thirty titles in ten years, Masul ...

helmed the book for most of its run.

Publication history

As with many comic book titles published at the time, ''Fightin' Air Force'' did not start with issue number one; it was a renaming of a Charlton war comic called ''Never Again'', which published two issues starting in August 1955. The first issue of ''Fightin' Air Force'' was #3, published in February 1956. Early issues sported the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

"Jet Aces in Action". Issue #12 (Oct. 1958) was a 100-page special. ''Fightin' Air Force'' ceased publication with issue #53, dated Feb./Mar. 1966. Altogether, the title published 51 issues. Beginning in June 1966, Charlton created a new war title, ''War and Attack'', which took over the numbering of ''Fightin' Air Force''. ''War and Attack'' mostly featured infantry stories based during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; it published ten issues before it was cancelled with issue #63 (Dec. 1967).

Features

Most of the stories in ''Fightin' Air Force'' take place during

, telling tales of American pilots battling the Japanese and the Germans. Despite the title of the comic, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

wasn't formed as a separate branch of the military until 1947, after the conclusion of World War II; before that it was part of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

.United States Air Force (September 2009)
"The U.S. Air Force".
United States Air Force website. Washington, DC: U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 2009-09-27. Some issues featured

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

stories, and a few went back to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

for material. Regular text features told true stories of notable aircraft and famous aviation missions. The title's last four issues (#50–53) hosted a recurring feature called "American Eagle", with art by

and

Vince Alascia Vincent Alascia (January 14, 1914 – September 3, 1998),
at the

References

Notes

Sources consulted

External links

''Never Again / Fightin' Air Force / War and Attack'' cover gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fightin' Air Force Comics magazines published in the United States War comics Comics set during World War II 1956 comics debuts 1966 comics endings Charlton Comics titles Aviation comics Defunct American comics Magazines established in 1956 Magazines disestablished in 1966