Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: golden age, MLJ

Captain Flag and Yank the Eagle in Blue Ribbon Comics #16, at Auction

A patriotic superhero with a weird helmet and an intelligent eagle sidekick, Captain Flag and Yank debuted in Blue Ribbon Comics #16.

Published Tue, 25 Apr 2023 07:47:09 -0500

by Mark Seifert

Last updated Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:50:43 -0500

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Article Summary

Captain Flag and intelligent eagle Yank debuted in Blue Ribbon Comics #16, September 1941.
Created by Joe Blair and Lin Streeter, this WWII-era superhero saga is unique and fascinating.
MLJ introduced Captain Flag post-Captain America, inspired by early WWII patriotic symbolism.
Eagly in Peacemaker HBO series was inspired by Jeff Guidry's real-life bond with his eagle, Freedom.

A patriotic superhero with a weird helmet and an intelligent eagle sidekick? That sounds like Peacemaker and Eagly, but before that, MLJ's Captain Flag and his impressive eagle sidekick named Yank also fit that description. Captain Flag and Yank made their first appearance in Blue Ribbon Comics #16, cover-dated September 1941, in a story written by Joe Blair and drawn by Lin Streeter. An obscure, unusual, and fascinating superhero saga from the WWII era, there's a CBCS VG/FN 5.0 copy of Blue Ribbon Comics #16 (MLJ, 1941) and several other issues of Blue Ribbon Comics featuring Captain Flag and others up for auction in the 2024 September 26 – 27 Heroes of the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40265 at Heritage Auctions.

Blue Ribbon Comics featuring Captain Flag and Yank (MLJ, 1941)

Eagly was created for the Peacemaker HBO Max series by James Gunn, and before his appearance in that series, there was no similar character in Peacemaker comic book history (Eagly has subsequently appeared in comics in Strange Love Adventures #1). Gunn revealed on Twitter that the relationship between Peacemaker and Eagly was inspired by the story of Jeff Guidry and his eagle named Freedom. Eagly has quickly become a fan favorite.

The creation of Captain Flag and Yank was inspired by the times of the early WWII era. Publisher MLJ, by that time, already had a major patriotic hero with the Shield, who debuted in Pep Comics #1 cover-dated January 1940. They added Captain Flag and Yank to their lineup about six months after rival Marvel/Timely introduced Captain America. It's little surprise that such a symbolic character as an eagle named Yank was used in the context of the war era, considering what was underway in the superhero comics of the period. In fact, Yank figures heavily in Captain Flag's origin story — saving him from certain death at the hands of America's enemies during his transformative moment.

Captain Flag only appeared in Blue Ribbon Comics #16-22 during the Golden Age, and Yank the Eagle was with him during several of those adventures. An obscure WWII era superhero saga that is deserving of more attention, there's a CBCS VG/FN 5.0 copy of Blue Ribbon Comics #16 (MLJ, 1941) and several other issues of Blue Ribbon Comics featuring Captain Flag and others up for auction in the 2024 September 26 – 27 Heroes of the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40265 at Heritage Auctions.