Selected issues from Wings Comics, the aviation anthology title from Fiction House, has been selling for very high prices lately. In this post I’ll take a look at the Wings comic and speculate about what’s driving collector appeal for these books.
From around 1940 to 1954 Fiction House was a major player in the American Comic Book industry. Best known for giving us Sheena of the Jungle (a kind of proto-type Red Sonja comic), central to the success of Fiction House was the comic catalog made up of the Fiction House ‘Big Six’. That list included titles such as: Fight Comics (published from January 1940–January 1954), Jumbo Comics (September 1938–March 1953), Jungle Comics (January 1940–Summer 1954), Planet Comics (January 1940–Winter 1953), Rangers Comics (October 1941–Winter 1953) and Wings Comics.
Publication of Wings in comic book form lasted from September of 1940 to September 1954 with this iteration of the book basically taking up and continuing the stories originally published in the pulp fiction magazine version of the title - launched in 1928.
During its comic run, the most popular features included “Captain Wings” or Captain Smith, created by Dan Zolnerowich and "Major T. E. Bowen". Captain Wings was an RAF veteran and special agent (First Appearance: Wings #16 – Dec, 1941), “Clipper Kirk” (lasting from issues #1–70), “Jane Martin” — stories featuring a female pilot who was also a spy, “Suicide Smith and the Air Commanders/Skull Squad” and also the “Jet Propulsion” and “Yank Aces of World War II” featurettes.
Notable names in the industry connected to Wings Comics over the years include: Gene Fawcette, Bob Lubbers, George Tuska and Gene Colan (whose first published work can be found in issue #52 cover dated Dec. 1944).
You would think a comic book devoted to air ace stories would have trouble justifying the placement of seductive looking and sensuous women on its covers. And you would be completely and totally wrong. Wings Comics seemed to go out of its way to include sexy women on its covers. Whether they were tied to airplanes, tied to airplane parts (bondage was a regular feature of later Wings Comics covers), or simply tied up on the ground while Captain Wings flew overhead, the message was clear: Wings Comics was all about babes and planes.
Wings issues to watch out for include:
Wings Comics #1 (September 1940) – First issue of series; Skull Squad begins
This is the book that started it all. Warfare during WWII was obviously an exciting topic, Wings Comics, along with titles like Sky Blazers (published by Hawley comics – which premiered at the same time), would capitalize on this for the reading pleasure of the G.I. generation. The highlight of September 1940 were probably the United States imposing a total embargo on scrap metal shipments to Japan (Sept. 26, 1940) and Germany, Italy and Japan signing the Tripartite Pact (Sept. 27, 1940) that established the Axis alliance. Wings Comics #1 would have still been on the newsstand when all that happened.
Like most Golden Age books from this period, few of these have survived in decent condition. The CGC census shows a total of 50 copies and only 2.2% of the total are 9.8 copies. If you are the owner of one, you are holding a comic currently worth at least $20, 000.00 as the sale of a 9.8 on May 12, 2018 (last recorded Heritage sale) ended at $28,680.00.
Wings Comics #26 (October 1942) – Gene Fawcette Cover
Other than the first few issues of Wings Comics (all hard to find), the most valuable single issues of the run are those with standout covers. Mainly, these covers are collectible because of the artists such as Gene Fawcette. Fawcette was the cover artist for Wings Comics #26 and its cover is a classic Golden Age propaganda image. The shapely girl running for safety is helped by Captain Wings who bashes in the head of the Japanese soldier trying to grab the girl. 11 of these exist on the CGC census, which means there could be many more floating out in the wild. Even in low grade condition of 3.0 this comic has sold for $180.00 (Heritage Auction, 09/16/2018).
Wings Comics #89 (January 1948) – Bob Lubbers Cover
Later in its run, the emphasis on aerial warfare on the cover seemed to take a back seat to the cheesecake depictions of damsels in distress. Enter Bob Lubbers. Lubbers was the one time art director at Fiction house, but as an artist best known for his “good girl art”. As a consequence Lubber’s Wings covers are highly sought out by Golden Age collectors. One of the more valuable is his bondage cover to Wings Comics #89. 34 of these can be found on the CGC census. A 9.0 sold on Heritage Auction for $2,629.00, back on 02/22/2012.
Wings Comics #91 (March 1948) – Bob Lubbers Bondage Cover
Another Lubbers cover, this time featuring bondage and a bomb. The shapely brunette is tied to the bomb, her dress torn, oh my! This is just one of the many Lubber’s bondage covers produced for Wings Comics in the late 40s. Issue #91 has 40 copies on the CGC census and a recent ComicLink Auction of a 6.5 sold for $705.00 (on 2/28/2019). The most recent sale, an 8.0, ended a Heritage auction with an even price of $1, 800.00. There are plenty more Wings Comics with similar covers and many of them can fetch just as good a price most selling for far above current Overstreet listed values.
Notable Mentions include: Wings Comics #88 - 90, and #94.
Keep your eyes on the skies.
