Flag-draped superheroes arose in World War II era
Comic books and patriotism have gone together since their earliest incarnations. On Independence Day this weekend, the column looks at American flag-draped heroes of the 1940s and 1950s who sprung out of the World War II era. Next week, we'll look at some patriotic heroes of other eras, and examine how each era reflects American patriotism in its comic books.
In 1940, The Shield, created by Harry Shorten and Irv Novick, became comics' first flag-draped hero, fighting in the pages of “PEP” Comics, later to be the publisher of red-headed teen Archie Andrews. But he was eclipsed the next year by the bestknown patriotic character of them all.
Marvel (then called Timely) followed with Captain America in 1941, in the pages of “Captain America Comics.”
On the first issue's cover, he's seen socking Adolph Hitler. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Cap became one of the most popular war-time heroes.
Simon and Kirby packaged a number of comics for a variety of publishers before Kirby was called to service in World War II.
In 1943, Kirby was stationed overseas as a combat infantryman in the Fifth Division, Third Army, commanded by Gen. George S.
Patton.
In November 1943, Marvel's “Miss America” became the third female character to get her own comics title, behind Wonder Woman and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.
The World War II era brought out a host of costumed superheroes in patriotic garb.
Craig Yoe examines the host of Captains and Majors and other USA-themed characters from the 1940s in “Super Patriotic Heroes,” a reprint volume from IDW.
“During World War II, young adults fighting Nazis for real were devouring millions of comics bought at PXs and sent in care packages from the home front,” Yoe writes in the introduction.
Cap and other wartime heroes saw their popularity wane in the postwar era. Cap briefly became a Communist basher before his magazine gave over to weird tales of mystery, and then was canceled.
Simon and Kirby gave the flag-waving hero genre another shot in the 1950s, as well. "Fighting American," originally created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in 1954, started as a Communist-bashing AllAmerican hero in 1954, but as the series went on, he became more of a precursor to Adam West's Batman, with lots of goofy gags and camp elements.
Psychiatrist Fredric Wertham's book “Seduction of the Innocent” painted comics as precursors to juvenile delinquency and led to Senate hearings in 1954. With concerned organizations holding comic-book burnings, could Captain America and other patriotic heroes rise from the ashes? We'll look at what followed in next week's column.