Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: golden age, Ned Pines, Standard/Better/Nedor

The Debut of American Eagle in America's Best Comics #2, at Auction

It was hard to be unique in the WWII patriotic hero market, but American Eagle's origin gave him "the strength and bouyances of an eagle."

While entering a field that had already become competitive with patriotic superheroes by 1942, American Eagle still managed to be unique — in powers and appearance, if not in name.  As explained in his origin and first appearance in America's Best Comics #2, his powers came from being "accidentally endowed with the strength and buoyancy of an eagle."  Publisher Standard/Better/Nedor must have thought they had something interesting on their hands, as the character would immediately start getting cover appearances in Exciting Comics after his America's Best Comics debut.  An unusual reflection of this moment in history, there's an American Best Comics #2 (Nedor Publications, 1942) Condition: Apparent FR/GD up for auction at Heritage Auctions in the 2023 February 23 The Thrillingly Exciting Heroes of Nedor Comics Showcase Auction #40219.

American Eagle was created by Richard E. Hughes and Kin Platt, and was the latest in a long line of patriotic superheroes that had emerged since 1940, when MLJ's the Shield had debuted. While MLJ's the Shield was ahead of the curve with his January 1940 cover-dated debut, 1941 unleashed a veritable army of patriotic American heroes, including Captain America, Fighting Yank, and U.S. Jones Super-American, the Flag and quite a few others.  And notably, Fox had already debuted their own patriotic character more simply named "The Eagle" as well.  But Standard/Better/Nedor's American Eagle was scientist Tom Standish, assisting another man named Dr. Wolf in the creation of a serum that can impart an eagle's "strength and bouancy." Standish accidentally spills a serum vial on a cathode-ray tube, and decides to try it in a projector. This results in a weird black ray striking him from the projector. Soon, Standish realizes that Dr. Wolf is a Nazi who intends to poison America's water supplies. He subsequently realizes he has great strength and the ability to sort of leap or float great distances into the air. A caped costume completes his transition by enabling him to fly. The character would make numerous appearances in both America's Best Comics and Exciting Comics.

Versatile writer/artist Kin Platt was the initial artist of Startling Comics' Captain Future and may have also been the writer and creator of this version of the character. Platt was also the creator of Supermouse for Standard's Coo Coo Comics, and that character would become the longest-running feature of the Pines comic book empire. Platt contributed work to various publishers during the Golden Age, including Marvel/Timely, Standard/Better/Nedor, Fawcett Publications, and MLJ. He took over the long-running Mr. and Mrs. newspaper comic strip 1947-1963. Platt did extensive writing work for TV animation during the 1960s, including for The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and Jonny Quest. The 1961 novel The Blue Man may be Platt's best-known work of science fiction.

While the copy up for offer here is raw, there are only 20 entries for America's Best Comics #2 on the CGC census, indicating that this a pretty tough get even by the standards of the 1942 era. This copy of America's Best Comics #2 has been graded Apparent FR/GD by Heritage Auctions, and is currently up for auction in the 2023 February 23 The Thrillingly Exciting Heroes of Nedor Comics Showcase Auction #40219 at Heritage Auctions. Prospective bidders who are new to Heritage Auctions should check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.

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