Over the past five years, I've often mentioned Quality Comics as among the most collectible of all Golden Age companies. Timely/Marvel/Atlas collectors and aficionados will undoubtedly protest, but I consider many issues from Quality to be far superior than those from Martin Goodman's Timely firm during the 1940-56 period. And, while some collectors understandably rate Plastic Man as No. 1 from Quality, to me Blackhawk and Quality will always be synonymous.
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I'll never forget that day late in 1956, when I was in third grade, and I spotted Blackhawk #108 (Jan. 1957) on my weekly trip to the newsstand where I bought most of my comics. That issue didn't look too much different than the previous Quality issues, but the "Superman-DC" symbol from National Comics stood out like a baffling beacon in the rack. I noticed the difference instantly and I bought the issue, but I was puzzled why there was no explanation inside about the logo change.
Anyway, I had already managed to buy several cool 1956 issues of Quality's Blackhawk, along with a few even better back issues, and I feared that the most colorful days of the Blackhawks were behind them. Little did I realize how right I was, although DC did come up with the occasional good cover or story throughout the 10-cent era before the Blackhawks really went downhill.
I'm still missing five issues of Blackhawk — #10 and #12-15 — but I'm familiar with them (I'm just waiting for affordable copies). Blackhawk often had marvelously entertaining stories, but it's also a title that can be enjoyed for the cover alone (even though you need at least $10 to $20 and often more to buy any decent condition Quality Blackhawk). So I thought it would be fun to comment on 10 of my favorite covers — there are so many good ones that I'm sure other fans could come up with an entirely different list.
If you've never picked up Blackhawk, check out the covers in the Photo-Journal or online. I'm sure you'll agree that they're among the most collectible of their era. I'm not going to list these in any particular order, mainly because I don't know myself. I'm so fond of the vibrancy of these covers that my ranking might change from one year to the next, or even one month to the next. So I'll just start with my earliest favorite and literally run through the stack. Ready? Let's take off!
#24 (April 1949) — Blackhawk crashes through a window carrying a leggy blonde — a very atypical Blackhawk cover, but one that would have fit right in with Wings Comics from Fiction House. A fabulous, if improbable, image from Reed Crandall.
#35 (December 1950) —"Jehad!" (misspelled!) The dread cry resounds across the burning desert of El Shaitan! A HOLY WAR! Don't miss "The Black Dervish of Death!" This Crandall cover of the Blackhawks fighting Arab Jihadis is remarkably ahead of its time.
#41 (June 1951) — "Flying Tanks! Is It Possible? Can It Happen?" Probably not, but it sure is a fun cover and a great story. This Crandall cover was redone as "The Flying Tank Platoon" for # 106 (November 1956), and that's an even better cover.
#43 (August 1951) — "Unholy horror in an underground empire — Read "Terror from the Catacombs!" It doesn't get any better than a Crandall villainess standing over a skull and bones as three Blackhawks tackle some really nasty baddies! This is one that definitely would not have passed the Comics Code.
#61 (February 1953) — "No power on Earth could halt the World Destroyer — the awesome adventure of a menace so terrible that even the Blackhawks are powerless against it!" One of the best of the "machines of menace" type covers that were unique in their day. Crandall did it, I think.
#83 (December 1954) — "Trapped in the Kremlin" — This is one of the best of all Cold War covers. You can just feel the sweat pouring off Blackhawk — and nobody did sweat better than cover artist Chuck Cuidera! — as he tries to hide from three exotic communist villains, including Madam Double Cross. You have to get this issue, because Blackhawk also battles costume villains (in glorious red, of course) named Hammer and Sickle!
#89 (June 1955) — "Ghost Raiders of the Sky" — This one has it all: a hot-air balloon with communist villains shooting at Blackhawk after he has (apparently) ejected from his plane, with the other Blackhawks still in the sky, not to mention cool clouds. This and the rest, I think, are at least partially Cuidera's work.
#99 (April 1956) — "The War That Never Ended" — The Blackhawks hit the beach in the ever-popular "lost Japanese troops" story. An unusual post-Comics Code cover and one of the last of its kind.
#103 (August 1956) — In the catacombs of a volcanic island, the Blackhawks stumble upon a deposed Nazi leader and his native horde — "The Super Race." Whew! This is one of the few covers with all seven Blackhawks as they are about to rescue a gorgeous blonde from the clutches of wild natives in a cave of stalactites and stalagmites.
#107 (December 1956) — See the One-Man Helicopters in "The Winged Menace" — just another futuristic invention that we still haven't invented! You can have your iPod and your BlackBerry — I want my rocket suit and my personal helicopter! This last Quality cover is among the most imaginative
I know several collectors who have amassed all 99 issues of Blackhawk (# 9-107) from Quality. Just to look through close to one foot of highly cool covers is a real kick. Have fun... HAWKAAA!
This is a guest article. The thoughts and opinions in this piece are those of their author and are not necessarily the thoughts of the Certified Collectibles Group.
