Miss Fear

There are a great number of women throughout the golden age run of the Blackhawk team. Most are toss-away-at-the-end-of-the-issue girlfriends (i.e. Andre's love at the end of Military Comics #10). Some die sad deaths, caught by various violent ends. That is what being loved by the great hero Blackhawk often gets you. 

But in the mass of fallen loves and forgotten girlfriends there stands one women who comes back, and has she has captured the mind of fans like no other.

She is known as Fear.

It isn't fair to call Miss Fear a villain, but standard hero material she isn't. Her drive to punish those she decides are evil-doers started with the need to avenge her father, an assassinated Central Asian ruler. You will find out more below in her first appearance, Modern Comics #49 (May, 1946).

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Miss Fear returns to act with the Blackhawks total of 11 times. Often she appears due their interests in the area crossing, but on occasion because of unrequited feelings for Blackhawk.

Miss Fear becomes a mysterious figure with an independent agenda. She could easily slip into the pages of The Spirit. She is made from similar stuff to other Quality Comics anti-heroines. Perhaps this is why, despite their repeated interactions with her, Miss Fear was always pushed away by Blackhawk.

There may be another interesting reason for the separation though. After her father was avenged Miss Fear turn to international vigilantism, much like the Blackhawks did after the war ended. The difference lies in the detail of this turn. While Blackhawk was often ruthless with his enemies, Miss Fear was still a shade darker. Doc Hermes explains,

"Fear turned up in different countries, usually with a small band of followers, always tracking down bad guys and shooting them dead. This set her apart from your usual super-hero. Blackhawk and his team were soldiers after all and had killed many of the enemy in combat; they carried sidearms and used them when necessary. But the casual almost flippant way that Fear plugged whoever she decided was evil seemed to make even Blackhawk nervous" (source).


In a comic that supports the cringe worthy likes of Chop-Chop, the depiction of this Central Asian woman is positive in contrast, but not entrly free of stereotype. In some of her appearance she is depictions as a bit of a Dragon Lady.

The last time Miss Fear appeared was in the pages of Blackhawk #22 (Dec. 1948). Her fate was left unexplained.

You can read more Miss Fear Blackhawk #13 (1946) on Doc Hermes blog. Check back here for more of this mysterious adventurer and her time with the Blackhawks.

Song of the Blackhawks!

At the end of most stories, the Blackhawks would sing in victory at the end. "The songs provided a neat wrap up for the story and also created an identifying signature for the team"(source). Dick French wrote the Blackhawk verses.

"Hawkah - We're the Blackhawks,

Hawkah - We're on the wing,

Over land over sea,

We will fight to make men free

and to every nation 

liberty will bring.

Hawkah - Follow The Blackhawks,

Hawkah - Shatter your chains,

Seven fearless men are we,

give us death or liberty.

We are the Blackhawks,

remember our names."

You can see the song with sheet music in Military Comics #8 or here.

The Man in the Iron Mask (Part 3) - The Conculsion!

Read Part 1 // Part 2
Six months has passed since the battle that took Andre. The Blackhawks have retuned to the area in memorial only to meet with deadly foes. They are saved by man whose head has been encased in an iron mask.

They find this savior is their fallen friend, Andre. Andre has been horrifyingly disfigured by the circumstances of his supposed death, and has doomed himself to always wear the mask.

In attempt to save their teammate, the Blackhawks rescue a plastic surgeon from the axis powers only to find him to have gone mad while a prisoner.

Find out what will be come of Andre in the pages below!

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Blackhawk at the movies!

So, this happened.

Blackhawk finally received its screen debut in 1952, the time of serials decline. The timing really shows. This 15 part Columbia serial is...dull at best. Unable to even pull off hilariously bad, this serial is just notable for existing. More than a decade after their first appearance the Blackhawks were still so popular that they obtained not just a radio show but movie serial. It isn't something many comic characters can claim.

It stared Kirk Alyn (the first actor to play Superman in screen) who successively pulled off several dangerous stunts, but these cannot save those serial from it lack of...interesting things. For a more in depth look at this serial, check out Dr. Hermes's review or this Blackhawk movie serial review.

For some good Blackhawk, check out the tag at the bottom of the page. Below you will all find the find the serial's trailer.

The Man in the Iron Mask (Part 2)

Early in the Blackhawks' careers they lost a member, Andre, when he took a killing blow meant for Blackhawk and sacrificed his life to stop a Nazi plot.

That is in Military Comics #3, here we have number #9 and the loss of Andre is still felt by his team.

Enjoy part two of "The Man in the Iron Mask!"

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The Man in the Iron Mask (Part 1)

Blackhawk month continues with its first great saga, The Man in the Iron Mask!

No leonardo dicaprio here, don't leave.

This epic tale starts in Military Comics #3 which introduces “Chop-Chop.” Why they chose this plot to go with that introduction, I will forever wonder. Chop-chop will spend most of the issue stabbing at any drama that might hit the page. This is listed as being by Will Eisner, it more likely by Bob Powell or Dick French. Art is by Chuck Cuidera.

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Part two will be up tomorrow! 

And He Was Called Blackhawk

The Blackhawk team exists because of one man, known only as Blackhawk. When his brother and sister-in-law are killed, "the flyer," a Polish soldier, vows revenge against the Nazis that killed them.

This perhaps explains Blackhawk's often ruthless and cold demeanor. The exception is with his team, and occasionally with the ladies. (There are many ladies for Blackhawk.) According to Jim Steranko's History of Comics, "He was a man in total control - unapproachable, unforgiving, unfathomable. He was his own law and his own morality. He lived in a world dominated by an atmosphere of fatalism. He was the first comic book anti-hero."

Blackhawk debut in August 1941 as part of the new Quality Comics Anthology, Military Comics.

Military Comics # 01 pg 03 //04 //05 //06 //07 //08 //09 //10 //11 //12//13 [Scans by cimmerian32, cleaned by yours truly]

This vague origin for Blackhawk would soon not matter. He would be man without a past. Even the building of the Blackhawk team is never explained when they appear in #2. This mystery seemed to work for the nazi-fighting pilot as the Blackhawk sales soared, making them the lead title in the analogy. By 1944, Military Comics' newsstands sales were equal to Captain America, The Flash and Batman.

The mystery of Blackhawk would be dissolved by DC in the 1976 as the title was revived after seven years for a short run. Luckily, sliver age doesn't concern us here.

Who created the Blackhawks has long been debated. The clearest answer comes from the 1999 San Diego Comic Con in the 'Spotlight on BLACKHAWK,' with Will Eisner and Chuck Cuidera. The transcript is here. An interesting read and resource for any golden age fan.

The Story of Blackhawk

History has proven that whenever liberty is smothered and men lie crushed beneath oppression there always rises a man to defend the helpless…liberate the enslaved and crush the tyrant…such a man is Blackhawk…out of the ruins of Europe and out of the hopeless mass of defeated people he comes, smashing the evil before him...


May will be Blackhawk Month! Be Ready for a for learning about the legends.

"Lovely Little Mouse" from Campus Love #1

Maxie "Spaghetti Special"

Sometime the one page comics are the best.

From the hands from "Els Barthen" and the pages of Exciting Comics #28...

Parent's Magazine Press and the "Heroine of the Battle of Monmouth"

Parent's Magazine Press was one of the "safer" comic providers of the 1940s. They were also one of the more socially responsible, putting out comics like "There are no Master Races" (True Comics #39 (1944), read the story here or here). It is unsurprising they did well even through the comics drama of the 1950s. Still in 1965, they turned away from comics. The company became a children's mail order book club. Some of these titles became as collectable as the comics before them (source). After that the comapny went though a series on changes and owners (detailed here along with many beautiful illustrations from the children's books), and their comic titles fell into the public domain.

Real Heroes ran for 16 issues. There is nothing remarkable in the art or storytelling. They are writing heavy, doing little with the images for storytelling. There is nothing absolutely weird about them either. Being perfectly honest, I have to tell you unless you are looking for a cultural context of the time or you are a history fan this comic may not be as worth looking up as some of the other Parent's Magazine Titles.

From the pages of Real Heroes #1, "Heroine of the Battle of Monmouth"

To learn more about "Molly Pitcher" see the Wiki.

Panama Boy: Perdo Helps The United Nations

"Panama Boy: Perdo Helps The United Nations" was something of a random aside in Exciting Comics #51.

Here let us call it an artifact in time.