In the late 1980s, comic-book writer Chuck Dixon and artist Tim Truman revived a World War II-era hero known as Airboy. Although technically the new series starred the original hero's son, the character was in all other ways identical, from his boyish good looks to his red airman's uniform to his unusual flapping airplane, Birdie.

And of course there was Valkyrie, the former Nazi aviatrix who had been frozen in time, and whose love for the original Airboy was rekindled for his son, who really did look just like him....

The Dixon/Truman run lasted a too-brief 50 issues, and I still wish those books would be reprinted in collected form. It was a fun series that, unfortunately, went down with the ship when Eclipse Comics went out of business.

Which brings me to Valkyrie, a slim collection published in 2004 by Verotik, a publishing venture owned by Glenn Danzig. Valkyrie collects several adventures starring the original Airboy and Valkyrie from World War II and the years immediately following. It's all original material, wrapped in new cover art by Jo Chiodo showing an artfully nude Valkyrie draped in a Nazi flag, with Airboy worshipping at her knees. It's a good, eye-catching, not-appropriate-for-children cover that might give the wrong impression of the contents inside; while Valkyrie tended to sport cleavage-baring outfits, there's no actual nudity involved, and the extent of the relationship between the two pilots is uncertain at best.

While it's true Valkyrie was coerced from the Nazi cause by the power of Airboy's kiss, their relationship from then on is equal parts ally and adversary. While there's no doubt she gave up her allegiance to Der Fuhrer, Valkyrie certainly retained some darkness in her soul.

The book also boasts some of the terrible dialogue common to the day, such as Airboy's heartfelt greeting, "OK, you female knockwurst! I'm through playing games!" or a pair of Valkyrie's airmaidens who, seeing him tortured, exclaim, "Ooh! It's inhuman! He is so brave! Look how he holds his head high!" and "Yes, so brave and so very handsome! I can't bear to watch!" Of course, they help him escape, because he's handsome, and a Nazi officer shouts at his underlings, in perfect German dialect, "Vot? Dumbkopfs! How could he haff escaped? He could not, unless you vas asleep! Vait! I vill be right dere!"

Oy.

But the book is still an entertaining glance back at an earlier age of comics, and of course, the Nazis were villains everyone loved to hate. These ancient tales of Airboy and Valkyrie's tempestuous romance aren't nearly so fun as the Dixon/Truman run, but it's a start -- and maybe Danzig will follow up with reprints of those tales someday, too.

by Tom Knapp
Rambles.NET
31 March 2007