Franklin D. Roosevelt

Few real-world figures have made the leap into comic book pages quite like Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose illustrated life stretches across an remarkable 86 years of publication history — from a 1934 debut in New Masses, courtesy of artist Jacob Burck and the Worker's Party of America, all the way through 2020. That Platinum Age origin gives him one of the longer publication arcs you'll find for a historical figure in the medium, and the company he keeps is nothing short of presidential: sharing pages with Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ulysses S. Grant, as well as the unmistakable shadow of Adolf Hitler. His appearances span titles as varied as All-Star Squadron and The Rocketeer / The Spirit: Pulp Friction, cementing his place as a figure comics creators have returned to again and again when they want to root a story in the weight of real history — and at least one of those 47 catalog appearances carries key-issue status for collectors who love their comics with a dose of genuine American legacy.