Years ago, just as I was escaping the mundane horrors of high school, I happened upon an odd tabloid-sized book in a flea market that caught my eye. The cover was loose, so the dealer only charged me a couple bucks. This was The History of Comics Volume Two by Jim Steranko, focusing mainly on comic books that were published during WW2, and I read straight through all its ponderous, profusely illustrated pages in a single night.
For the very first time, I was introduced to Airboy, Valkyrie, The Heap, Sky Wolf, Black Angel (that's her on the lower right of Steranko's cool cover), and many other terrific war-time characters.
I would never be the same again.
You can readily imagine my excitement when Joe Gentile, Publisher of Moonstone Books, told me of his plans to revive the classic Air Fighters comics and offered me the choice of a few characters still not yet spoken for. The moment I saw Black Angel's name, I knew she was the one I wanted, instantly seeing endless possibilities for her.
Joe even allowed me to choose my own artist and again it was no contest. The superb Ver Curtiss was born to draw Black Angel.
And so, this Wednesday, the Air Fighters return in a massive quarterly comic book anthology, loaded with 72 action-packed pages. I've already seen a number of these new war stories, and they pack a classy wallop.
Here's the rest of the cast. Good eggs, all.
(Click on pictures for larger images.)
Hope you'll join us! The sky's the limit!
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