Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Kin Platt, Ned Pines

The American Eagle's Debut in Exciting Comics #22, Up for Auction

"Accidentally endowed with the strength and buoyancy of an eagle", Exciting Comics #22 is the first appearance of the American Eagle by Kin Platt.

Published Thu, 11 Dec 2025 18:10:03 -0600

by Mark Seifert

Comments

Article Summary

Exciting Comics #22 features the first appearance of the patriotic superhero American Eagle by Kin Platt.
The American Eagle’s debut reflects specific wartime concerns of 1942 America.
The issue’s stories address real-life events, including Nazi threats and the struggle to secure crucial rubber supplies.

Serious Golden Age collectors know Exciting Comics #22 for the debut of the American Eagle, one of several patriotic hero debuts that followed the success of Captain America Comics. But a year and a half after the debut of that series, Exciting Comics #22 hits a very specific wartime nerve. Cover-dated October 1942 and on sale in mid-August, it arrived at the moment when Americans were just beginning to come to grips with how fragile the Allied supply chain really was. We've seen several instances of the comic book reaction to Operation Drumbeat, a devastating U-boat offensive against merchant shipping along the U.S. East Coast. The issue that brought us the first appearance of the American Eagle also involved a completely different logistical crisis, plus Tibetan geopolitics, fifth column fears, and quite a bit more.

A colorful comic book illustration featuring the American Eagle, a superhero in a blue costume with a red and white striped chest, engaged in a dynamic fight against a villain in a red outfit. The background includes urban elements and onlookers, creating a sense of action and excitement. — Exciting Comics #22 (Nedor, 1942)

The American Eagle's origin story, "The Machine That Raised the Dead," by Kin Platt tells of a man "accidentally endowed with the strength and buoyancy of an eagle" without actually showing that bizarre-sounding origin. Instead, the plot dives straight into the equally strange scheme of a Nazi agent operating in the United States who steals a device that can raise the dead. He uses it to resurrect an army of some of the greatest villains of all time, like the pirate Blackbeard, and in giant, super-strong form as well. The plot heavily implies that Fascism is these same types of brutes in a modern uniform.

Larry North, U.S.N., with art by Max Plaisted, gives us perhaps our most historically timely feature of the issue, with its plot about a vital shipment of rubber leaving Brazil bound for American assembly lines mirrors the actual scramble to replace Southeast Asian rubber with Amazonian supply and the German U-boat threat along the Brazilian coast. The Battle for Rubber was certainly ongoing at the time this story was being created, and Brazil subsequently declared war on Germany just days after this comic hit stands.

There are 22 entries for Exciting Comics #22 on the CGC census, with arguably only two of those in high grade. It's been over a decade since a high-graded copy than this Exciting Comics #22 (Nedor, 1942) CGC VG/FN 5.0 Cream to off-white pages copy has hit public auction, and it's up for auction at the December 11 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction IV.