L.B. Cole, Russ Heath and More in Captain Aero Comics, Up for Auction

Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: holyoke, l.b. cole, russ heath

Captain Aero Comics featured an eclectic mix of characters including Miss Victory and Alias X, and art by Russ Heath and L.B. Cole.

Captain Aero Comics was a World War II-era aviation, adventure, and superhero comic book published 1941-1946 for 23 issues.  The title was published by Frank Z. Temerson imprints Helnit Publishing Co., Et-Es-Go Magazines, and Continental Magazines as well as Sherman Bowles’ Holyoke Publishing Company.  In addition to the wartime exploits of fighter pilot Captain Aero and associates, the title included an eclectic mix of features including patriotic superheroes such as Miss Victory and Flagman, a master of disguise called Alias X, a magician named Solar, and many others.  The series also includes  stand-out covers by Charles Quinlan and L.B. Cole and interiors by Quinlan among others, including Russ Heath’s first-ever comic book work.  The series overall is much tougher to get than people realize with some ridiculously low CGC census numbers, but there are a number of issues of Captain Aero Comics, including a highest graded Captain Aero Comics #23 Big Apple Pedigree CGC NM- 9.2 up for auction in the 2024 May 30 Adventures in the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40261 at Heritage Auctions.

The movement of the title from Temerson to Holyoke and back again is explained in detail by a 1945 suspension order issued by the War Production Board, which controlled publisher usage of paper during WW II. “Holyoke Publishing Company. Inc., located at 1 Appleton Street, Holyoke, Massachusetts, is engaged in the magazine publishing business. Since April 1944, it has been engaged in the publication of a magazine entitled ‘Sparkling Stars’. It claims that during 1942, the base period under Order L-244, it published three magazines entitled ‘Cat Man’, ‘Captain Aero’ and ‘Blue Beetle’. Frank Z. Temerson was the creator of ‘Cat Man’ and ‘Captain Aero’, and Victor A. Fox was the creator of ‘Blue Beetle’. During 1942, and prior thereto, Temerson and Fox, or corporations which they control, were indebted to Holyoke Magazine Press, an unincorporated association owned and controlled by the same interests which own and control the Holyoke Publishing Company, Inc. ‘Cat Man’, ‘Captain Aero’ and ‘Blue Beetle’ magazines were published during 1942 over the imprint of Holyoke Publishing Company, Inc., pursuant to several agreements between Holyoke Publishing Company and the Temerson and Fox interests. It was the purport of these agreements that all the rights, privileges and benefits attaching to the publishing enterprises were to be returned to the original proprietors or their legal successors and assigns and that Holyoke Publishing Company’s proprietorship of the enterprises in 1942 was temporary only, and for the sole purpose of enabling it to obtain sufficient profits from the Publications to pay off debts previously incurred by the Temerson and Fox interests to the Holyoke Magazine Press. ‘Cat Man’ and ‘Captain Aero’ magazines were returned to Temerson in the middle of 1943 and “Blue Beetle” was returned to Fox early in 1944.”

Interestingly, similar to Quality Comics’ Blackhawk with its use of the experimental Grumman XF5F Skyrocket, in his debut issue Captain Aero test-piloted a prototype Curtiss P-60 while the real-life warplane was still early in its testing phase.  Of the issues available here, Captain Aero Comics #14, the second-published Russ Heath artwork in comics, is one of the tougher issues of the run.   The issue #23 highest graded copy featuring an L.B. Cole cover is from the Big Apple pedigree, a unique collection assembled by a man named James Hilton beginning in 1939 and continuing for 30 years to the end of the Silver Age. But there are a number of issues of Captain Aero Comics up for auction in the 2024 May 30 Adventures in the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40261 at Heritage Auctions.

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