The Fighting Yank #7

History

The Fighting Yank series launched in September 1942 under publisher Ned Pines (Nedor/Standard/Better Publications), spinning the character off from his debut in Startling Comics #10 (September 1941), where he had been created by writer Richard E. Hughes and artist Jon L. Blummer. By issue #7, Hughes — who served as writer-editor — was already developing new characters within the title's pages; the Grand Comics Database credits writer Irwin Brower (signed) with the Grim Reaper's debut story, and identifies interior art contributions including work attributed to Everett Raymond Kinstler (signing as 'E. Raymond'), an early credit for the artist who would later become a celebrated portraitist. The GCD also notes that copyright registration for the issue was filed December 28, 1943, with the February 1944 cover date indicating the standard Pines publication pipeline.

Trivia · 7 facts

• First appearance of the Grim Reaper (Bill Norris), a non-superpowered masked adventurer who battles Nazis behind enemy lines — confirmed by the Grand Comics Database, Key Collector Comics, Wikipedia, and multiple collector reference sites.
• The Grim Reaper debuted here as a back-up feature and was promoted within three months to cover star of Wonder Comics #1 (May 1944); his origin was later elaborated in Wonder Comics #2.
• The Grim Reaper was created by writer/editor Richard E. Hughes; the debut story's script is credited to Irwin Brower, with interior art partially attributed (via textual analysis) to Everett Raymond Kinstler, a future Presidential portraitist signing early work as 'E. Raymond.'
• The issue's lead Fighting Yank stories introduced new villains Tamaka and Bruenig alongside Japanese-spy antagonists, reflecting the Pacific-theater wartime setting dominant in Nedor's 1944 output.
• The cover was produced by Alex Schomburg, Nedor's primary cover artist during the war years, who created more covers for Standard/Better/Nedor than for any other publisher — his wartime work on the Fighting Yank title is considered among the defining visual art of Golden Age patriotic comics.
• The issue was selected for inclusion in Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comic Books of the Second World War (Fantagraphics, 2017), edited by Mark Fertig, a scholarly anthology documenting WWII-era comics covers.
• The Grim Reaper was later revived in Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse's Tom Strong #11 and subsequently appeared in the Terra Obscura miniseries, demonstrating the character's enduring appeal as a public-domain Golden Age figure.

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