Franklin Roosevelt

A comic-book depiction of the real 32nd U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt appears as a fictionalized version of the historical figure, portrayed alongside other world leaders of the era in stories set during the political and wartime landscape of the 1930s–40s.

Few comic characters can claim the weight of history that Franklin Roosevelt carries onto the page — a real-world giant who stepped into the Platinum Age of comics in 1932, debuting in New Masses under the pen of Otto Soglow. Over more than eight decades of publication, this depiction of the iconic American president turns up in a remarkable range of titles, from Wonderworld Comics to All-Star Squadron Annual, sharing panels with figures as world-shaking as Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, and Benito Mussolini, as well as costumed heroes like Atom and Hawkman. Emerging first from the Worker's Party of America's publishing orbit, Roosevelt's comic presence reflects just how thoroughly the turbulent politics and grand personalities of the mid-twentieth century captured the imagination of the medium's earliest storytellers. With 33 catalog appearances spanning nearly a century, he's a vivid reminder that comics have always been in conversation with the real world.