Airman (character)

Airman
Keen Detective Funnies #23 (Aug. 1940). Cover art generally credited to Harry Sahle (unconfirmed).
Publication information
PublisherCentaur Publications
Malibu Comics
First appearanceKeen Detective Funnies #23 (August 1940)
Created byGeorge Kapitan (script; unconfirmed)
Harry Sahle (art)
In-story information
Alter egoDrake Stevens
Team affiliations(Malibu Comics) The Protectors
AbilitiesSuit gives the ability to fly

Airman (originally Air Man) is a fictional, comic-book superhero first published by Centaur Publications in 1940, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. He first appeared in Keen Detective Funnies #23 (Aug. 1940), in a story by artist Harry Sahle and an unconfirmed writer, generally credited as George Kapitan.[1] Keen Detective Funnies was cancelled after issue #24, but Centaur published two more stories in Detective Eye Comics #1 and 2 (Nov-Dec 1940) before pulling the plug on the character.[2]

After Centaur Publications went out of business, Airman lapsed into the public domain. In the early 1990s, he was revived by Malibu Comics as a character in the series Protectors, and starred in a namesake, one-shot spin-off.

An Airman story from Keen Detective Funnies #24 has been reprinted in Men of Mystery Comics #63 by AC Comics.

  1. ^ Mougin, Lou (2020). Secondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics. McFarland & Co. p. 18. ISBN 9781476638607.
  2. ^ Benton, Mike (1992). Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company. pp. 160, 168. ISBN 0-87833-808-X. Retrieved 8 April 2020.