Airboy #1

History

Eclipse editor-in-chief Cat Yronwode discovered that the copyright on the Hillman Periodicals Air Fighters characters had expired, and she and publisher Dean Mullaney deliberately withheld that information for roughly four years to prevent rivals from acting on it — making the Air Fighters cast one of the very few properties Eclipse itself owned outright, while still ensuring creators retained rights to any new characters they introduced. Timothy Truman was recruited to write and draw the new series based on his success with Scout; when his friend Chuck Dixon heard the project was happening, he pushed his way in as scripter, with Truman shifting to pencils and later to editor. The series launched in a deliberately disruptive bi-weekly 16-page format priced at 50 cents — a direct attempt to undercut the major publishers' standard 75-cent books — though only 13 of those pages carried story content. Truman drew the first two issues with inker Tom Yeates before handing art duties to Stan Woch as originally scheduled, remaining on board as series editor.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Davy Nelson III as the new Airboy (designated in the GCD as 'David Nelson III'), establishing him as the legacy successor to the Golden Age Airboy mantle.
• Death of David Nelson Jr. (the original Silver/Golden Age Airboy, 'Davy Nelson'), murdered in the opening chapter 'On Wings of Death' — a rare move that permanently retired a predecessor to give the new lead immediate emotional weight.
• Written by Chuck Dixon; pencilled by Timothy Truman; inked by Tom Yeates — the only issue with this exact creative lineup before Truman transitioned to editor and Stan Woch took over as regular penciller from issue #3.
• Hirota (Saburo Hirota), David Nelson Jr.'s Japanese manservant and combat trainer, debuts here as a key supporting character and mentor to the new Airboy, a significant revision of his original Golden Age role.
• Birdie, Airboy's semi-sentient ornithopter-style aircraft with flapping wings, is introduced as part of the new Airboy's inheritance — a deliberate creative decision by Truman who argued the fantastical plane was essential to the character's identity.
• The issue was published as part of Eclipse's experimental bi-weekly 16-page format at a cover price of 50 cents, launched alongside The New Wave as part of an interconnected Eclipse universe plan — with the Heap intended as a shared character bridging both titles.
• Sky Wolf (Larry Wolfe) does not appear in issue #1; the GCD confirms his next appearance after the Golden Age was Airboy (Eclipse) #2, though he becomes a major recurring character with his own backup feature beginning at issue #9.
• The entire Eclipse Airboy run, including the material originating here, was collected by IDW Publishing in the five-volume Airboy Archives series beginning in 2014.

Cast · 6 characters

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