Fight Comics #32
Fight Comics #32 marks the debut of Tiger Girl (Princess Vishnu), one of Fiction House's most enduring characters, who would anchor the title for a full decade until the publisher folded in 1954 — eventually taking over its covers beginning with issue #49. The issue also continues the run of Señorita Rio, one of the earliest Latina protagonists in American comics and a landmark female spy hero, placing two genre-defining women characters in the same anthology at the height of World War II. Together, the Tiger Girl and Señorita Rio features made Fight Comics an unusually female-forward title for a wartime publisher — a reflection of Fiction House's broader editorial identity under the Iger Studio's production apparatus.
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Fight Comics #32 was edited by M.E. Peacock with S.M. (Jerry) Iger serving as art director — the standard Iger Studio arrangement that supplied Fiction House's anthology titles throughout the 1940s. Interior art was handled by Robert Webb, Alex Blum, and Arnold Hicks, all Iger Studio regulars, while pulp-trained cover artist Joe Doolin provided the cover image. The issue went on sale March 8, 1944, carrying a June 1944 cover date. Tiger Girl was created entirely by Robert Hayward Webb, a 1939 Pratt Institute graduate who had already worked on Sheena and Kayo Kirby for Fiction House; many subsequent Tiger Girl scripts would appear under the house pen name 'Allan O'Hara.' Señorita Rio, originally created by Nick Viscardi (later celebrated as Nick Cardy), had been running since Fight Comics #19 (June 1942); by issue #32 the strip's art was in the hands of Arnold Hicks, with stories credited to the standing house name 'Morgan Hawkins.'
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Tiger Girl (Princess Vishnu) — an Indian princess ruling a hidden African kingdom — who became one of Fiction House's longest-running characters, appearing continuously through Fight Comics #81 and then briefly in Jungle Comics.
- Tiger Girl was created by artist Robert Hayward Webb (Pratt Institute, class of 1939), a long-time Iger Studio contributor; many stories were scripted under the pen name 'Allan O'Hara.'
- Tiger Girl's debut story establishes her companions: her tiger Benzali, her Indian aide Abdola, and a mystic ring said to augment her strength — character elements that remained consistent throughout her entire run.
- The issue contains a Señorita Rio installment — Rita Farrar, the Hollywood actress-turned-Allied spy who debuted in Fight Comics #19 (June 1942) and ran through #71 (1950), making her one of the first prominent Latina protagonists in American comics.
- Cover art by Joe Doolin, the prolific pulp-to-comics artist who produced roughly 150 covers for Fiction House between 1943 and 1950, with this issue falling near the start of his most intensive output period.
- Edited by M.E. Peacock with S.M. Iger as art director; interior stories and art by Robert Webb, Alex Blum, and Arnold Hicks — all working within the Iger Studio production system.
- Tiger Girl's complete run has been reprinted in multiple modern editions, including PS Artbooks' hardcover and slipcase series (Fight Comics #32–52, 2023–2024) and various Gwandanaland and Retro Comic Reprints paperback collections, attesting to the sustained interest in her debut.
Cast · 5 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
On the second day of his furlough from the Army, Kirby gets in a fight with his foreman and wins a date with the lumber camp owner.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).