Contact Comics #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeContact Comics #1 is the debut issue of one of the Golden Age's most focused aviation anthologies — a rare wartime title dedicated entirely to flight-themed fiction and fact at a moment when aerial combat was shaping the course of World War II. The issue introduces three characters — Black Venus, the Golden Eagle, and Tommy Tomahawk — who would anchor the series across all twelve issues, making it an unusually coherent single-subject comic at a time when most anthology books mixed genres freely. It also captures early professional work from Gil Kane and Carmine Infantino, two artists who would go on to define the Silver Age at DC Comics, giving the book added significance as a document of emerging talent. After the war's end, the series was cancelled as the market moved away from combat titles, making the complete run — and this inaugural issue — a compact time capsule of mid-war American popular culture.
In "13th Mission (The Luck of Sgt. Jones)," a gripping wartime tale from 1944, the courage of early Allied aviators takes center stage, following the trials of a determined airman whose luck may be the key to survival. Written and illustrated by Tom Van Buren, this story captures the grit and determination of the skies during a pivotal moment in history, with a cover by L. B. Cole that vividly captures the era's spirit.
Set during World War I, "A Day with Lafayette Escadrille" follows the early days of American pilots like Norman Prince as they form the first Allied air unit, the famed Escadrille #124. Written with historical reverence, the story captures the courage and camaraderie of these pioneering aviators before the United States officially entered the war.
In "Valda King of the Dead!" from Contact Comics #1 (1944), Colonel Moore is dispatched to India to confront a mysterious figure known only as Valda, a so-called prophet drawing vast crowds and stirring unrest among the local population. As the colonial authorities grow alarmed, Moore must navigate a web of fervor and suspicion, facing a threat that blurs the line between spiritual leader and dangerous revolutionary.
In "null," from Contact Comics #1 (1944), the redskin warriors of the air—Tommy Tomahawk and his young companion Red Wing—take to the skies in a daring aerial campaign, their war cry echoing through the clouds as they confront enemy forces in a high-stakes battle over the Pacific.
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Contact Comics #1 was published in July 1944 by Aviation Press Inc., a small New York-based outfit with editorial offices at 113 West 42nd Street and distribution through PDC. The publisher appears to have been incorporated specifically to produce this title, and the Grand Comics Database's reproduction of the Statement of Ownership lists several individual shareholders rather than a corporate parent. All covers across the twelve-issue run were handled by L.B. Cole, who also contributed interior art; the interior pages of issue #1 drew on a roster of freelancers that included Gil Kane — then still using the name 'Katz' as a byline — and Carmine Infantino alongside veterans like Tom Van Buren and Louis Ferstadt. The series ran bimonthly until July 1946, ending as publishers industry-wide pulled back from war-themed material following the Allied victory.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Black Venus (Mary Roche), a dual-identity female aviator and USO hostess in Burma created by Charles Tomsey — she would go on to appear in all 11 subsequent issues.
- First appearance of the Golden Eagle (Dennis Quinn), a WWI-era ace reimagined for Pacific theater adventures, and Tommy Tomahawk, a Native American pilot leading the Tomahawk Squadron — both characters became the series' other regular features.
- Cover art and select interior pages by L.B. Cole, who provided every cover in the run; interior credits also include Gil Kane (signing as 'Katz') and Carmine Infantino, both at the very start of careers that would later define DC Comics' Silver Age.
- All stories in the series dealt exclusively with aviation — fictional combat adventures mixed with factual articles on WWII warplanes, historical airmen (including a piece on the Lafayette Escadrille), and the US Air Mail — an unusual editorial focus for the era.
- The issue's centerfold consisted of technical drawings of Allied WWII warplanes, reinforcing the book's dual role as entertainment and informal aviation education during wartime.
- Interior content from the series was later reprinted in AC Comics' Men of Mystery Comics #83 (October 2010) and #115 (2020), in black and white.
- The series drew contributors across its run who became significant figures elsewhere in comics history: Harvey Kurtzman (later MAD Magazine), Alvin Hollingsworth, Rudy Palais, and Nina Albright all appeared in later issues.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Men of Mystery Comics #82 (2010), Men of Mystery Comics #83 (2010), Men of Mystery Comics #115 (2020), Heroine Heaven #2 (2023)
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