Blue Ribbon Comics #16
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeBlue Ribbon Comics #16 (September 1941) is the first appearance and origin of Captain Flag, the patriotic hero who completed MLJ's Golden Age superhero lineup in their flagship anthology title. Arriving roughly six months after Timely's Captain America in the same wave of flag-themed heroes—alongside the Star-Spangled Kid, the Fighting Yank, and others—Captain Flag was distinguished as the only Golden Age patriotic hero whose transformation was catalyzed by a live bald eagle, making his origin one of the most memorably singular in the genre. The issue also marks the point at which the title's cover billing shifted to a shared spotlight between the supernatural Mr. Justice and the new arrival, reflecting MLJ's editorial ambition to build a full superhero ecosystem within a single anthology. As the publisher that originated the patriotic-hero tradition with the Shield in Pep Comics, MLJ's introduction of Captain Flag here represents both a culmination of their pre-war superhero strategy and a document of the feverish patriotic energy flooding American comics in the months before Pearl Harbor.
In "Created: The Green Ghoul," a 1941 Blue Ribbon Comics classic, the mysterious Mr. Justice faces a terrifying new threat as a three-eyed, scaly monster emerges to wreak havoc across America. Written by Joe Blair and illustrated by Sam Cooper—whose dynamic art brings the cover and story to life—the issue delivers a chilling blend of wartime dread and supernatural menace, with the Green Ghoul’s origins shrouded in mystery.
In "Created: The Green Ghoul," Mr. Justice takes Field Marshal Boering on a harrowing flight over Kurtey as bombers rain down on the capital, only to see the air marshal fall to his own forces. With a protective formula in hand, Boering’s death unleashes a terrifying new threat: a three-eyed, scaly monster driven by a mind obsessed with inventing ever-new horrors.
In 1941, the sinister Black Hand—masked in a monk’s robe, his clawed hand a weapon of death—abducts young Tom Townsend, setting off a chain of events that will forge a hero. When Tom’s father is forced to reveal the secret of a new bomb sight, the boy’s fate takes a dramatic turn, igniting the birth of Captain Flag.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Blue Ribbon Comics was MLJ Magazines' very first comic book series, launched in late 1939 under editors including Harry Shorten, who oversaw the title throughout its run. The 'Blue Ribbon' name was carried over from the pulp magazine imprint already used by MLJ founders Louis Silberkleit and Maurice Coyne, giving the title a branding identity rooted in the company's pre-comics roots. Issue #16 was produced by a roster of MLJ's working studio talent—writer Joe Blair and artist Lin Streeter handling the Captain Flag debut, with Sam Cooper, Irv Novick, Paul Reinman, and Charles Biro contributing to other features in the same issue. The series ran as a 64-page anthology from #1 (November 1939) through #22 (March 1942), with issues #9–18 and #22 carrying the cover title 'Blue Ribbon Mystery Comics.'
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of Captain Flag (secret identity: Tom Townsend), created by writer Joe Blair and artist Lin Streeter; cover date September 1941.
- First appearance of Yank the Eagle, Captain Flag's bald-eagle sidekick—identified by multiple sources as the only Golden Age patriotic hero trained by an actual bald eagle.
- In the debut story, playboy Tom Townsend is kidnapped by the Nazi-affiliated villain the Black Hand, rescued by a great eagle, trained to physical peak in the wilderness, and adopts a flag-derived costume to become Captain Flag; his first foe is the Black Hand, who recurs as a recurring nemesis throughout the run.
- Captain Flag and Mr. Justice shared the cover from issue #16 through #18, with Mr. Justice eventually resuming sole cover status from #19 onward.
- The issue is part of the 'Blue Ribbon Mystery Comics' cover-title period (issues #9–18 and #22).
- Multiple contributors appear in the issue alongside the debut story: Sam Cooper, Irv Novick, Paul Reinman, Charles Biro, and others on existing features such as Mr. Justice, The Fox, Rang-A-Tang, Ty-Gor, and Doc Strong.
- Captain Flag appeared in all remaining issues of the title through Blue Ribbon Comics #22 (March 1942), the final issue of MLJ's first comic series.
- Captain Flag was later revived in The Mighty Crusaders #4 (April 1966), where he joined the Fox and the Web to form the Ultra-Men, and stories from the original run were reprinted in the fan publication Blue Ribbon Fanzine (2005–2006).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comic Books of the Second World War #[nn] (2017), Gwandanaland Comics #2006 (2018)
Key issues in Blue Ribbon Comics
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