Startling Comics (Fighting Yank)

Startling Comics, launched around 1940 by the Nedor/Standard group of publishers, is best remembered for the patriotic hero the Fighting Yank. Draped in a colonial-era costume complete with tricorn hat and cape, and empowered by the ghost of a Revolutionary War ancestor, the Fighting Yank was part of the wartime wave of star-spangled heroes who embodied American resolve against the Axis.

Nedor/Standard was one of the many mid-tier publishers that flourished during the Golden Age boom, fielding a full stable of costumed 'mystery men' across anthology titles like this one. The Fighting Yank became one of its signature characters, popular enough to headline his own series in addition to his adventures here.

Characters like the Fighting Yank illustrate how thoroughly the superhero template proliferated after Superman—every publisher wanted its own flagship hero, and patriotic themes were an easy, resonant fit for the war years. Because Nedor/Standard's superhero copyrights lapsed, the Fighting Yank and his fellow Nedor heroes are now public domain, and have even been revived by modern creators. Their original Golden Age appearances survive as freely preservable artifacts of the genre's explosive expansion.