Airboy #1

This first issue of Airboy is from around the time of my first introduction to serious comic collecting, when I used to head into Boston to the original Newbury Comics location to pick up my weekly subscription, mostly of 80s b/w books from independent publishers. Airboy was not a title I followed then, although I was aware of it, and I acquired this copy much more recently, although I don't recall the circumstances.

Title: Airboy
Issue: 1
Publisher: Eclipse Comics
Date: July, 1986
Writer: Charles Dixon, Timothy Truman
Penciller: Timothy Truman
Inker: Tom Yeates
Colorist: Ron Courtney
Letterer: Tim Harkins
Editor: Timothy Truman, Cat Yronwode

This series brings back the Golden Age war comics hero Airboy, the teenaged flying ace who appeared in Air Fighters Comics and his own title in the 1940s.

The new story sees the original character's son taking over the role, and operating as a vigilante, seeking revenge against his father's enemies. The plot of this issue is straightforward, jumping right into the action as assassins storm the monastery where sixteen-year-old Davey Nelson practices martial arts while his father watches from the seclusion of his office.

It's non-stop action from there, and by the time it's done the Airboy legacy has been passed to the new generation.

While not all that original in terms of plot, this was effective in introducing the characters while delivering plenty of mayhem.

The comic story is bookended by an excellent editorial by Cat Yronwode on the relationship between art and politics, and a prose history of the Airboy character and his comics in the 1940s.

Rating: 6.5/10