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Fighting American #1
Fighting American Vol. 1
Fighting American is the fantastic return of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's legendary super hero, originally created back in 1954.
When Johnny Flagg A.K.A. FIGHTING AMERICAN and his young teenage sidekick, SPEEDBOY find themselves marooned in the 21st Century with no way to return they do the only thing they can do. They carry on regardless. Bringing some much-needed two-fisted justice and home-spun 1950s attitudes to a modern, media-obsessed cynical world as they battle a gang of villains plucked from their past and a mysterious villainess known only as Lady Chaos.
When Johnny Flagg A.K.A. FIGHTING AMERICAN and his young teenage sidekick, SPEEDBOY find themselves marooned in the 21st Century with no way to return they do the only thing they can do. They carry on regardless. Bringing some much-needed two-fisted justice and home-spun 1950s attitudes to a modern, media-obsessed cynical world as they battle a gang of villains plucked from their past and a mysterious villainess known only as Lady Chaos.
- GenresGraphic NovelsComics
112 pages, Paperback
First published March 21, 2018
8 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Rennie
393 books34 followersFreelance writer for over 20 years – When he’s not being ungainfully employed as a BAFTA-nominated video games scriptwriter, he keeps himself busy writing comics, novels, screenplays and Doctor Who audio plays. Comics work includes Predator, Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Missionary Man, Necronauts, Caballistics Inc and Absalom, and Dept. of Monsterology for Renegade.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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September 11, 2018So while yer actual Captain America was being a Nazi (but not the racist sort, obviously*), Titan rather cheekily acquired the rights to another patriotic Joe Simon/Jack Kirby creation, and marketed this as the sort of good, straightforward superheroics Cap wasn't delivering anymore. The collection even opens with a letter from the creators' kids to that effect.
Which makes you wonder whether any of them actually read the comics.
If you're not familiar with the Fighting American – I certainly wasn't – then it's basically the same origin story as Steve Rogers (almost as if Jack Kirby, so widely hailed as endlessly inventive, were in fact prone to recycling a handful of ideas over and over – but hush, that way lies blasphemy). Except that everything is a bit wrong. The method, for one: where Steve Rogers went from weed to hero through good old-fashioned drugs and radiation, similarly feeble Nelson Flagg got his mind transplanted into his dead brother's beefier body. The ickiness of which is not lost on the other characters here. For another, the timing: whereas Cap was fighting the Nazis before the USA was, the Fighting American was created in 1954 to battle Commie fifth columnists...meaning he's not only a McCarthyite superhero, but one created just as America was realising what a disgrace McCarthy was. Apparently Kirby and Simon did twig that they'd messed up here, and drew back from the initial fervour – but this series takes FA and his sidekick Speedboy very much as they were originally conceived, their fiendish foes likewise, and then throws them forward to 2017, where the American Dream and Communism are both equally hollowed out. It's not straightforward old-fashioned superheroics at all, it's a deadpan pisstake of daft old characters, wrapped in a story about the death of ideals. A reasonably fun one, though, and Duke Mighten's* art has come a long way since I last saw anything from him, with hints of Kyle Baker and Kevin O'Neill in places, especially on the reaction shots. And of course it's aware the whole time that while we may have lost any belief in the future, any hope that either the American or Soviet way can make life better for those at the bottom of the heap, we've also lost plenty of things of which we're well rid - Flagg's sexism, repression and general cheesiness are played up in a way seldom seen with Rogers, his Ultimate iteration aside. And as for Speedboy's wide-eyed lechery when he sees how much more sexualised the 21st century is than the world he knew...it's an obvious gag, but it makes a valid point too.
Seriously, though, this sort of slyness is why, for all that Brits generally write American superheroes far better than Americans do, as a rule we don't get to play with Cap and his ilk. We just can't be trusted to manage the requisite sincerity.
*Of everything that pissed people off about that event, much of which was nonsense, this bit of spectacularly offensive and self-sabotaging bet-hedging is the detail I can't get over.
**I always feel like he should sit in the same Very Metal House of Lords as Duke Nukem.
Which makes you wonder whether any of them actually read the comics.
If you're not familiar with the Fighting American – I certainly wasn't – then it's basically the same origin story as Steve Rogers (almost as if Jack Kirby, so widely hailed as endlessly inventive, were in fact prone to recycling a handful of ideas over and over – but hush, that way lies blasphemy). Except that everything is a bit wrong. The method, for one: where Steve Rogers went from weed to hero through good old-fashioned drugs and radiation, similarly feeble Nelson Flagg got his mind transplanted into his dead brother's beefier body. The ickiness of which is not lost on the other characters here. For another, the timing: whereas Cap was fighting the Nazis before the USA was, the Fighting American was created in 1954 to battle Commie fifth columnists...meaning he's not only a McCarthyite superhero, but one created just as America was realising what a disgrace McCarthy was. Apparently Kirby and Simon did twig that they'd messed up here, and drew back from the initial fervour – but this series takes FA and his sidekick Speedboy very much as they were originally conceived, their fiendish foes likewise, and then throws them forward to 2017, where the American Dream and Communism are both equally hollowed out. It's not straightforward old-fashioned superheroics at all, it's a deadpan pisstake of daft old characters, wrapped in a story about the death of ideals. A reasonably fun one, though, and Duke Mighten's* art has come a long way since I last saw anything from him, with hints of Kyle Baker and Kevin O'Neill in places, especially on the reaction shots. And of course it's aware the whole time that while we may have lost any belief in the future, any hope that either the American or Soviet way can make life better for those at the bottom of the heap, we've also lost plenty of things of which we're well rid - Flagg's sexism, repression and general cheesiness are played up in a way seldom seen with Rogers, his Ultimate iteration aside. And as for Speedboy's wide-eyed lechery when he sees how much more sexualised the 21st century is than the world he knew...it's an obvious gag, but it makes a valid point too.
Seriously, though, this sort of slyness is why, for all that Brits generally write American superheroes far better than Americans do, as a rule we don't get to play with Cap and his ilk. We just can't be trusted to manage the requisite sincerity.
*Of everything that pissed people off about that event, much of which was nonsense, this bit of spectacularly offensive and self-sabotaging bet-hedging is the detail I can't get over.
**I always feel like he should sit in the same Very Metal House of Lords as Duke Nukem.
April 11, 2021
Fighting American was a communist battling comedy super-hero of the 1950s created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Like Captain America, he wore a flag-based costume and took his patriotism seriously. His origin occurred when investigative journalist Johnny Flagg was beaten to death by evil commies because he revealed their un-American activities.
As he lay dying, his brother Nelson swore vengeance and a top-secret military program transferred Nelson’s mind into the body of his brother which was repaired, revitalized, enhanced and strengthened. After that, assisted by his teenage sidekick, Speedboy, Fighting American battled a wide variety of enemies. The book was regrettably short-lived due to the comicbook slump of the time but the hero is fondly remembered by Simon and Kirby fans.
In this new edition, writer Gordon Rennie and artists Duke Mighten and PC de la Fuente give Fighting American and Speedboy a chance to prove their mettle in the 21st century. An introduction tells us that they vanished in 1955 on a mission helping Welsh scientist Professor Dyle Twister. Then, in Central Park, New York City, our time, a portal opens. It looks somewhat like a boom tube but that’s another story. From it emerge evil communist Poison Ivan and his gang of henchmen. They are quickly followed by Fighting American and Speedboy who beat them up, but Poison Ivan escapes.
Next through the portal are Dyle Twister and his nephew Gregory. Twister invented the time machine. He goes back to his own age but leaves Fighting American with a handy wrist gadget that can detect the vortex energy the bad guys emit following their time travel. Might it not be confused by the vortex energy Nelson Flagg is emitting? Never mind. He sets off in hot pursuit. Complications ensue because of Chaos Lad and Madam Chaos, a pair of very modern super-villains. Old foes like Rimsky and Korsakov, Rhode Island Red and Hotski Trotski also feature.
The art is highly suited to the subject matter and a fine homage to the original creators. Oddly, it looks more like 1940s Simon and Kirby than the 1950s work with lean, dynamic figures instead of the more stocky, dynamic heroes Kirby did later. The action poses reminded me of Gil Kane’s art, but early Kirby greatly influenced Kane.
The joke is that Fighting American is so deadly serious in his devotion to churches, Wall Street, the Pentagon, wholesome family values and the American way of life. Speedboy calls him ‘F.A.’ early on and is sternly admonished: ‘That kind of loose Beatnik talk is one of the things we’re fighting against. Shortened-down words lead to shortened-down thoughts and morals.’ This was similar to Adam West’s Batman lecturing his Robin. Language is a source of comedy throughout the book, along with Speedboy’s fascination for modern ladieswear.
Writer Gordon Rennie is a Scotsman who started in British comics like ‘2000AD’ which gives him an outsider’s view of 1950s gung-ho American patriotism. But the mockery is done with a light touch and there’s nothing here to cause offence to modern Yankees. The aim was to have fun with an old-style hero unlike the grim, brooding, angst-ridden anti-heroes of today’s comics. The horrible psychopath villain slightly spoils this, but there you go. The book is warmly endorsed in a foreword by the heirs of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and I liked it, too.
As he lay dying, his brother Nelson swore vengeance and a top-secret military program transferred Nelson’s mind into the body of his brother which was repaired, revitalized, enhanced and strengthened. After that, assisted by his teenage sidekick, Speedboy, Fighting American battled a wide variety of enemies. The book was regrettably short-lived due to the comicbook slump of the time but the hero is fondly remembered by Simon and Kirby fans.
In this new edition, writer Gordon Rennie and artists Duke Mighten and PC de la Fuente give Fighting American and Speedboy a chance to prove their mettle in the 21st century. An introduction tells us that they vanished in 1955 on a mission helping Welsh scientist Professor Dyle Twister. Then, in Central Park, New York City, our time, a portal opens. It looks somewhat like a boom tube but that’s another story. From it emerge evil communist Poison Ivan and his gang of henchmen. They are quickly followed by Fighting American and Speedboy who beat them up, but Poison Ivan escapes.
Next through the portal are Dyle Twister and his nephew Gregory. Twister invented the time machine. He goes back to his own age but leaves Fighting American with a handy wrist gadget that can detect the vortex energy the bad guys emit following their time travel. Might it not be confused by the vortex energy Nelson Flagg is emitting? Never mind. He sets off in hot pursuit. Complications ensue because of Chaos Lad and Madam Chaos, a pair of very modern super-villains. Old foes like Rimsky and Korsakov, Rhode Island Red and Hotski Trotski also feature.
The art is highly suited to the subject matter and a fine homage to the original creators. Oddly, it looks more like 1940s Simon and Kirby than the 1950s work with lean, dynamic figures instead of the more stocky, dynamic heroes Kirby did later. The action poses reminded me of Gil Kane’s art, but early Kirby greatly influenced Kane.
The joke is that Fighting American is so deadly serious in his devotion to churches, Wall Street, the Pentagon, wholesome family values and the American way of life. Speedboy calls him ‘F.A.’ early on and is sternly admonished: ‘That kind of loose Beatnik talk is one of the things we’re fighting against. Shortened-down words lead to shortened-down thoughts and morals.’ This was similar to Adam West’s Batman lecturing his Robin. Language is a source of comedy throughout the book, along with Speedboy’s fascination for modern ladieswear.
Writer Gordon Rennie is a Scotsman who started in British comics like ‘2000AD’ which gives him an outsider’s view of 1950s gung-ho American patriotism. But the mockery is done with a light touch and there’s nothing here to cause offence to modern Yankees. The aim was to have fun with an old-style hero unlike the grim, brooding, angst-ridden anti-heroes of today’s comics. The horrible psychopath villain slightly spoils this, but there you go. The book is warmly endorsed in a foreword by the heirs of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and I liked it, too.
November 21, 2020
Back in 1954 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (Who along with Stan Lee, created much of the iconic Marvel universe) created The Fighting American. He was originally a response to the threat of communism and, much like their earlier creation, Captain America, was the embodiment of that decade’s view of American heroism and values, fighting a pantheon of stereotypical Communist villains in much the same way Cap had fought the Nazis.
He had a suitably odd origin story and was a straight laced, square jawed hero fighting for American values against Marxist Russia. After one issue though, Simon and Kirby reviewed their hero and didn’t want him to flag wave for the excesses of McCarthyism that were clearly out of control and facing public backlash. So with that in mind Fighting American took a sharp turn in issue two and became satire. The character ran for 7 issues until 1955.
This new series, picks up that flag 62 years later and is written by Gordon Rennie (Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper and Micronauts). Released in 2017, it takes the Fighting American, the embodiment of 50’s American values and (like Simon and Kirby’s more famous creation Captain America) transports him to 21st Century America along with some of his Communist villains.
Unlike the mainstream and audience friendly Cap, Fighting America doesn’t adapt to our times and continues to view the world through 1950’s standards and morals. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, seeing the 50’s American confident and unwavering view of white American and making it explain the reality of 21st Century America. The same is done to a lesser extend with the Marx spouting Communist villains of the 50’s.
It’s a fun series with a lot of potential and although this modern incarnation only ran for 8 issues in total it’s easy to see how a superhero take on the gender, race and moral biases of the 1950’s would create an interesting, complex and conflicted character.
The 1950’s was still a time of racial segregation in the USA, Pre Watergate and Vietnam, trust in politicians was still high and the cultural, social and sexual revolution of the 1960’s was only beginning to make appearances but in these first four issues these underlying tensions are only hinted at which is probably my only criticism of this four issue run.
It’s great fun though, not a simple Captain America knock off and definitely worth a read.
He had a suitably odd origin story and was a straight laced, square jawed hero fighting for American values against Marxist Russia. After one issue though, Simon and Kirby reviewed their hero and didn’t want him to flag wave for the excesses of McCarthyism that were clearly out of control and facing public backlash. So with that in mind Fighting American took a sharp turn in issue two and became satire. The character ran for 7 issues until 1955.
This new series, picks up that flag 62 years later and is written by Gordon Rennie (Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper and Micronauts). Released in 2017, it takes the Fighting American, the embodiment of 50’s American values and (like Simon and Kirby’s more famous creation Captain America) transports him to 21st Century America along with some of his Communist villains.
Unlike the mainstream and audience friendly Cap, Fighting America doesn’t adapt to our times and continues to view the world through 1950’s standards and morals. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, seeing the 50’s American confident and unwavering view of white American and making it explain the reality of 21st Century America. The same is done to a lesser extend with the Marx spouting Communist villains of the 50’s.
It’s a fun series with a lot of potential and although this modern incarnation only ran for 8 issues in total it’s easy to see how a superhero take on the gender, race and moral biases of the 1950’s would create an interesting, complex and conflicted character.
The 1950’s was still a time of racial segregation in the USA, Pre Watergate and Vietnam, trust in politicians was still high and the cultural, social and sexual revolution of the 1960’s was only beginning to make appearances but in these first four issues these underlying tensions are only hinted at which is probably my only criticism of this four issue run.
It’s great fun though, not a simple Captain America knock off and definitely worth a read.
August 18, 2025
Engaging story; the hero and his sidekick are brave and capable. The enemy seems to be too imperious and mighty sometimes, but then F.A. has the ideas and capability. A trip through the zones of time and circumstances. Story and art are compelling and Titan has thus given us a source of satisfactory entertainment. I'd love to read more F.O. adventures.
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October 13, 2020Reboot de Titan del Fighting American.
January 8, 2025
This was awful. The story, the characters, the art ... nothing good about this.
Overall - 1/5
Overall - 1/5
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews