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X, the Phantom Fed: 1940, Sure Fire Comics #1 (Ace). X, the phantom of the FBI, is a master of disguise whom no one knows who he is or what he really looks like. Just as the Raven is the comic version of Ace's pulp hero the Moon Man, X is the comic version of Ace's pulp hero, Secret Agent "X". Down to the creator of the strip is "Brand House" while the writer of the pulp is "Brant House" (puns intentional, I'm sure) and the first strip is lifted, title and all, from Secret Agent "X"s first recorded adventure, "Ambassador of Doom." He's even called "Secret Agent X" at the end. |
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X-23: 1938, Crackajack Funnies #1 (Dell). Tom Traylor is the G-man known as X-23. |
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Yank and Doodle:
1941, Prize Comics #13 (Prize). Rick (Yank) Walters and Dick (Doodle)
are the twin sons of Walt Walters (The Black Owl II). When they
were babies, their mother was killed by an early supporter of Hitler,
and Walt promised her he'd raise them as lovers of their country
and freedom. When they become teen-agers, they become patriotic
heroes. No overt powers, but they seem to fight better as a duo
than when separated. For awhile they operate as heroes unbeknownst
to their father, but he finds out right around the same time that
the original Black Owl asks him to take over for him. Walters agrees
so that he can secretly keep an eye on his sons. |
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The Yank and the Rebel: 1941, The Flame #7. (Fox). The Yank and the Rebel are two Civil War soldiers who while fighting at Gettysburg in 1863 fall into a fissure and put into suspended animation by a radioactive pool. In 1941, soldiers are on maneuvers and vibrations from the modern cannons open the fissure back up, reviving the two foes. Told that neither side won, but the Union of the nation was preserved (which kind of tells you which side DID win), they are inspired and work together in flushing out a spy and saboteur. They stay with the Army, though keeping their Civil War uniforms. NOTE: Like many such buddy strips of the time, it's a humorous action strip with two men who are at odds with each other but inseperable. The idea of making it time tossed Civil War soldiers is a neat gimmick, but only lasted two issues. Credit is attributed to “Dix Mason”. |
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The Yankee: 1945, Witty Comics #2 (Chicago Nite Life). Michael Morgan is the Yankee, a detective styled hero who stops a black widower. |
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Yankee Boy: 1941, Yankee Comics #2 (Harry "A" Chesler). Victor Martin
is a lad who puts on a patriotic costume to help Inspector Foley fight for law & order. In this comic, he's actually called "Phil Martin" but most storis have him as Victor or Vic. As a character, he's the above-the-Maxon-Dixon-County-Line counterpart to Johnny Rebel. In issue 3, he, Johnny Rebel and Dandy of "Yankee Doodle Jones and Dandy" team up in the 3-page text story "Guardians of Freedom" |
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Yankee Doodle Jones: 1941, Yankee Comics #1 (Harry "A" Chesler). Yankee Doodle Jones has one of the most bizarre and disturbing origins of GA heroes. A scientist basically sacrifices severely wounded and maimed soldiers to create a formula that makes Jones a Captain America copy. When the scientist is slain by some costumed Nazi agents, his son also takes the formula so that he can help Yankee Doodle Jones as Dandy bring the killers to justice. The art on the story is top-notch though. In issue 3, in three text pages, Dandy, Yankee Boy and Johnny Rebel team up for an adventure! |
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Yankee Girl (I): 1945, Captain Flight #8 & 9 (Four Star Publications). Kitty Kelly is one of those apparently common airline hostesses that gets into all sorts of adventures. She is called "Yankee Girl". She is unrelated to the later super-powered but non-Yankee Girl Kitty Kelly (see "Kitty Kelly") |
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Yankee Girl (II): 1947, Dynamic Comics #23 (Harry "A" Chesler). Laura
Mason changes into the super-powered Yankee Girl by saying the magic words "Yankee Doodle Dandy". She can fly and is tough, but can be knocked out by a blackjack to the back of the head. Her fiance is surgeon Dr. Corey Habot. NOTE: She only had two adventures, the first being reprinted by I. W. Publishing in Dynamic Comics #1 (resurrecting the title name but not the numbering) in 1958 and then printed her second but unpublished adventure in 1964 (!) in Danger Comics # 16. Since then, she has apparently gotten a boob job and been a regular in AC's staple of comics. |
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Yankee Longago: 1942, Boy Comics #3 (Lev Gleason). George "Yankee" Longago
is "the boy of to-day in the land of yesteryear". He time travels and meets various heroes and notables of various times periods. |
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Yankee Patrol: 1943, All-New Short Story Comics #3 (Harvey). Four Americans are the Yankee Patrol: Danny Fitzgerald of New York's west side; Sammy Rosen of Brooklyn, Thomas Wellington Jones of the Bronx, and Loo Fong, presumably of Chinatown. They fight some spies and rescue a pretty blonde in Algiers. Loo Fong is drawn in a realistic manner though speaks in a stereotypical manner. For that matter, some attention is given to give stereotypical dialects to each member. |
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Yankee Thunderbolt: see "Captain Sheridan" under "S". |
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Yarko the Great: 1939, Wonder Comics #2 (Fox). Yarko is one of those catch-all magician heroes whose powers of magic and hypnotism can meet and defeat any adversary whether they be voodoo masters, vampires, or hellish denizons. He has the luxury of being created by Will Eisner as well as having some of his adventures drawn by Bob Powell. So, he always looked good regardless of the tux. NOTE: There is more to his history than readily apparent. Yarko seems to have first been syndicated overseas in some form. He was then changed a little and appeared in the Spirit comic sections as Mr. Mystic in 1940. Almost all online sources cite the Yarko from overseas, but don't mention the relationship to the character in the Fox line of comics running concurrently. At times Yarko also spoke the backwards magic of the Guardineer magicians such as Zatarra. |
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Yellow Jacket Jr.: 1945, Zoo Funnies #1 (Charlton). Tom Burton is the nephew of Vince Harley, the hero Yellowjacket. He has a hobby of raising bees so he has two nicknames stemming from that: Buzz and Yellow Jacket, Jr. The text claims he's eleven years old, but the story establishes him as being in Junior High School and big enough to make its basketball team which would place him around 14 or 15. His pal is Rusty Brown and nemesis is the bully Stephen “Scrappy” Sneed. Buzz not only raises bees, but he can command them to do tricks, to spell words by flying in formation and such. |
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Yellowjacket: 1944-46, Yellowjacket Comics 1-10, Jack in the Box Comics
11, TNT Comics 1 (Frank Communale). Vince Harley is an author of mystery stories. He discovers that not only will bees not attack him, but he can even direct them to some degree. He uses this talent and his keen detective mind to fight crime as the costumed Yellowjacket. |
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Cappie Young: 1942, Lightning Comics v2#5 (Ace). His mom dies of illness while out at sea and his father and Nebraska "Bras" Cooper raise him to learn all the ways of the sea and how to box. A storm strikes sinks the ship and his father drowns, leaving the teen-age lad to pal around with the two-fisted Bras Cooper and Chines friend Ling Po. Bras is also called Brask. |
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Young Americans: 1941,Yankee Comics #2 (Chesler) The Young Americans are a kid gang. It is a bit different from
most kid gangs in that it actually has 2 girls
and one African American as part of the group, all playing
active and equal parts in the story. The black boy is sadly called Eightballl and talks in inferior english although he also proves to be the cleverest of the bunch. The girls are Brenda and Rosie (who is also the youngest).One kid seems to be Irish American (Spud?), Monty is the boy with the glasses and the most erudite one as well as being well schooled in the art of boxing and the last boy seems to be called Red though he's colored with blonde hair. Lastly, there's the little dog Thunder with as much courage and spunk as the rest. |
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Young Avenger: 1943, All-New Comics #4 (Harvey). Tanya is a teenage girl in Russia when the Nazis invade. Her family is killed and she barely survives. She joins a band of guerillas in order to avenge herself and repel the Nazi invaders. |
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Young Dynamite: 1942, Boy Comics #6 (Lev Gleason). Rollo P. Quinn is the "toughest kid in the world". You can tell he's tough because he wears a bowler hat like other little tough kids of the time. |
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Young Falcon: 1948, Real Western Hero #72 (Fawcett). Young Falcon is of the Truefeather tribe and the son of the chief. When his tribe is slaughtered, he vows to regain the tribal emblem from the villains. |
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Young Robinhood: 1942, Boy Comics #3 (Lev Gleason). Billy Lackington is a youth who decides to use his skills with a bow and arrow to fight against injustice and America's enemies. He takes his fascination with Robin Hood to the next level and puts together his own group of "Merry Men", his pals Fatso, Squeeky, and Freckles.
Several covers suggest team-ups of all the heroes of the title. |
