The Fighting Yank #22
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFighting Yank #22 is a vivid document of the late Golden Age's pivot toward female-led features: it hands a full backup slot in an established male hero's title over to Miss Masque, the non-powered socialite crime-fighter Diana Adams, at a moment when publishers across the industry were experimenting with women protagonists. The issue's 'Devil to Pay' story — in which Diana must unmask a costumed killer at a masquerade party — is a neat emblem of how Golden Age publishers blended mystery-thriller plotting with superhero costuming to keep readers engaged as wartime patriotism cooled. Because all Nedor/Standard/Better/Pines characters have entered the public domain, this issue sits at a documented origin point for a character who has been continuously revisited — by AC Comics, Alan Moore's Terra Obscura, and Dynamite's Project Superpowers — making it a living reference point for nearly 80 years of character history. The Alex Schomburg 'Xela' airbrushed cover also places the issue squarely within one of the most artistically distinctive production periods Pines undertook.
In "Black Wings of Death," Diana attends a masquerade where a guest is murdered by a devil-costumed assailant—except three devils were present, and only one was truly evil. With the stakes rising and the identities hidden beneath masks, Miss Masque must untangle the truth before the next victim falls. Art by Al Camy brings the eerie, shadow-drenched party to life, while the cover by Alex Schomburg captures the chilling mystery in vivid detail.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The Fighting Yank title was launched by Pines — the parent company of the interlocking Standard/Nedor/Better imprints — in September 1942, created by writer Richard E. Hughes and artist Jon L. Blummer, and ran for 29 bimonthly issues through August 1949. By late 1947, the book was transitioning away from its wartime origins and experimenting with new co-features; issue #22 reflects that editorial shift by integrating Miss Masque, a character who had debuted the previous year in Exciting Comics #51, as a recurring backup presence. The cover art across the run — including this issue — was handled by Alex Schomburg, who during the 1947–1948 period switched from his earlier line-work style to the airbrushed 'Xela' technique he used on many Nedor titles.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published November 1947 by Pines (the parent publisher of the Standard/Nedor/Better imprints); cover price 10 cents; 52 pages.
- The Fighting Yank stars in three stories: 'Black Wings of Death,' 'The World That Time Forgot,' and 'The Mystery of the Wayward Waif.'
- Miss Masque stars in the backup story 'The Devil to Pay,' in which Diana Adams — at a masquerade party — must identify which of three devil-costumed guests committed a murder.
- The cover was painted by Alex Schomburg, signed with his reverse-name alias 'Xela,' characteristic of his airbrushed period for Nedor titles circa 1947–1948.
- Miss Masque (Diana Adams) had debuted in Exciting Comics #51 (September 1946); her appearance here is one of only two in the Fighting Yank title (also #24).
- Miss Masque is a non-powered hero who relies on wit, athletic skill, jiu-jitsu training, and a pair of pistols — she was never given an explicit origin story.
- The Fighting Yank, alter ego Bruce Carter III, was created by writer Richard E. Hughes and artist Jon L. Blummer for Startling Comics #10 (September 1941); his powers derive from the magical cloak of his Revolutionary War ancestor Bruce Carter I.
- All Nedor/Standard/Better/Pines characters, including both Fighting Yank and Miss Masque, entered the public domain after the publisher ceased operations, enabling revivals by AC Comics (beginning 1991), Alan Moore's Terra Obscura (2001), and Dynamite Entertainment's Project Superpowers (2008).
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Diana attends a masquerade party when one of the people is mudered by someone portraying the devil.....but three devils were in attendance and Miss Masque must discover which one committed the crime and why.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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