In 1948, for some reason Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin did a couple of stories for THE FIGHTING YANK and THE BLACK TERROR. #25 was the first FIGHTING YANK that I owned and I was in for a surprise in that under Robinso's pencils and Meskin's inks, there was a pretty different character than the one on the cover. He was slender, not muscular and his shirt was loose-fitting, the flag on the front mostly gone. Also gone was his mask but he sported a powdered wig with pig-tail. And he was not very super, little more than human in his abilities, a trait they also gave the Black Terror (notice how the Fighting Yank needs to use a knife provided by his ancestor to break simple rope bonds in this story). Plus, unlike the earlier tales, Robinson and Meskin told more human interest/morality plays with their stories. There was a shade more characterization to the villains that crossed the hero's path. As is the case with this story, it's less about the Fighting Yank as it is about the couple he is trying to help.

Another thing I immediately noticed upon reading this tale, the artwork reminded me of Steve Ditko's style almost 20 years later, in the depiction of the faces and the flames. Not sure how much of it's Robinson or the heavy inking style of Meskin. But there's a quality here that seems somewhere between the flourishes of Simon & Kirby of the 40's and Ditko of the 60's. It's good work and a good tale. Just wish we could have had a little more of the guy on the cover as he looked there.