Last week I began to explore some of the roots that led to the development of Johnny Cloud's character. More specifically, I examined two Indian warriors that might have prompted Robert Kanigher to consider this theme. Today, we look at some of the fighter pilots that that came before Johnny Cloud, several of Kanigher’s stories stand out for their juxtaposition of Western and WW2 themes.
Flying Cowboy appeared in the November 1955 issue of SSWS with Western themes front and center. Here, we meet Tex the steer-punching ranch hand who likens aerial combat to a roundup. In one instance, Tex chases after a V-1 rocket in his Mustang while musing that the buzz bomb is just like a runaway bronc. I, for one, cannot escape the obvious kinship with Cloud’s wisecracking wingman, Lt. Tex Brown who shows up in the second book of the series.
Six months later, the May 1956 AAMOW featured a P-51 pilot known as Lucky Luke who visited his grandfather while on leave. The old man crowed about his exploits on the western frontier. “You don’t know what a real fightin’ is … ‘till you’ve been ambushed by Apaches!” He went on his high horse with a tale about being left to suffer the scorching desert sun.
As the elder gloated, Luke thought about his own harrowing experiences in combat over Europe – namely, how three bandits tried to bounce him – two from behind and another coming head-on. He abruptly broke left and barely escaped the crossfire just as all three enemy pilots collided.
But there’s more: The splash page shows Lucky Luke in his cockpit surrounded by cumulus Apaches circling his Mustang and shooting arrows, spears, and guns. The title – Sky Ambush! – is emblazoned below. And can you guess who did the pencils and ink? Yep, Irv Novick – the artist who gave Johnny Cloud his rugged features – same as Luke.
Other pilot stories that give hints of what’s to come include the Hellcat pilot who likens combat in the Pacific to roping wayward longhorns in the Flying Range Rider (SSWW; November 1957), and more oddly, the parallel tales of a Mustang mare and a P-51 in Battle Mustang (OFF; January 1959) wherein the horse and fighter are depicted as leaders, and protectors, of their respective herds – wild horses and crippled forts respectively. Both of these adventures rely on shifting frames: Wild West, then aerial combat, Wild West, then aerial combat, and so on. We can add Bob Haney’s Flying Saddle to this genre as well (GIC; March 1958).
In addition to Western themes, Kanigher’s fighter pilots also suffered from combat fatigue and unexpected time travels. For example, in TNT Time Table (AAMOW; August 1958) a frustrated P-51 pilot named Stan suffers combat nightmares about failing to destroy a German ammo train. The train escapes his attacks time after time, and the nightmares worsen to the extent that he finds himself running on the tracks with the train bearing down on him. One day his perseverance pays off, and he finally blows the train to smithereens, and his sleep terror stops.
As we have seen, this malady plagues Johnny Cloud, but instead, he has nightmares about terror rockets and the shame of surrender. In fact, Cloud is grounded by the flight surgeon for acute combat stress that is signaled by his nightmares in Broken Ace. In Second Sight for a Pilot, his dreams forecast combat to come. Clearly, the specter of sleep terror represents a defining characteristic of Cloud that reveals the toll of combat.
Another plot twist that presages the adventures of Johnny Cloud is presented in the October 1960 issue of AAMOW that comes out just before his debut. In the Ghost Ship of Two Wars a WW1 Spad pilot is transported to WW2 as he parachutes through a cloud after having been shot down by the Black Ace. This leads to a bizarre faceoff when the pilot pits his Spad against a black Me-109 – he wins with a melodramatic twist that I will let you chase after. But here are the big questions: Was the Black Ace in WW1 and WW2? Did the Spad pilot really crossover, or was it just a vision?
As we can see, this story parallels Star Jockey when Cloud is transported from WW2 to the Korean War. It seems clear that Ghost Ship of Two Wars was reimagined for Cloud. But I must add that time travel is a reoccurring theme in Kanigher’s writing, as we discover with Cloud. Even Jeb Stuart is shunted back in time in Battle of Two Wars when his tank enters a cave to dodge a Tiger and emerges in WW1 (GIC; January 1967).
These examples show that plot
lines reappear in the Big Five. Why? Because they are great stories for one! And, they come from the same pen. But Cloud’s character went further than the rest. He crossed over and became a superhero by virtue of his relationship with his Big Brother. I dare say that even Kanigher did not fully appreciate what he created.
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