| The Skyman | |
|---|---|
 The Skyman #1 (1941, no month listed), art byOgden Whitney. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Columbia Comics |
| First appearance | Big Shot Comics #1 (May 1940) |
| Created by | |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Allan Turner |
The Skyman is acomic booksuperhero that appeared stories during theGolden Age of Comic Books. Created by writerGardner Fox and artistOgden Whitney, the character first appeared in theColumbia Comics omnibus titleBig Shot Comics #1 (May 1940).[1] He is unrelated to theDC Comics character.
The Skyman wasAllan Turner, who was raised by his uncle to become "outstanding in mind and body". A brilliant scientist, he had no superpowers but did have a flying wing-shaped airplane, dubbedthe Wing, that flew by the power of Earth's magnetic poles. With this and money inherited from his late uncle's will, he fought crime. In 1944, he acquired an "Icarus-Cape", a huge pair of wings which allowed him to fly without an airplane.[2] His love interest was detective Fawn Carroll.[3]
According toJess Nevins'Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "Skyman fights ordinary criminals, saboteurs, mad scientists, cursed idols, Soviet scientists, Emma the Spy Queen, the Gremlin, and Nazis on the moon".[4]
The Skyman was created by writerGardner Fox and artistOgden Whitney in theColumbia Comics omnibus titleBig Shot Comics #1 (May 1940).[5][6] After appearing in the first eight issues ofBig Shot, the character was spun off into his own series, in which one issue each appeared in 1941, 1942, 1947, and 1948.[7] The Skyman went on to appear in virtually every issue ofBig Shot through issue #101 (May 1949). That comic itself lasted only three more issues. The Skyman additionally appeared in a story inSparky Watts #1 (1942).[5]
New Media Publishing reprinted a Skyman story in the unnumberedone-shotGolden Age of Comics Special (Summer 1982). A.C.E. Comics'Return of the Skyman #1 (Sept. 1987) reprinted his origin fromThe Skyman #1 (1941) and published a new story written byMort Todd with art bySpider-Man co-creatorSteve Ditko. Original artistOgden Whitney penciled and inked a new cover based on his cover forThe Skyman #1 from 1941.AC Comics ran reprints inGolden-Age Men of Mystery #7 and 23 (May 1998 and 2000),Golden-Age Treasury #2 (2003), andMen of Mystery Comics #66 (July 2007). He was among the large ensemble ofpublic domain characters appearing inDynamite Entertainment'sProject Superpowers #0 and #3 (Jan. and May 2008), andProject Superpowers: Chapter Two #2, 5–6, with featured status inProject Superpowers: Chapter Two: Prelude and issues #7 and 10 (cumulatively Oct. 2008 – June 2010).[5] Skyman was scheduled to appear in theBounty Hunter series from Capture Comics.[citation needed]
Dark Horse Comics released theSky-Man One-Shot in November 2014, featuring their own version of the character: Sergeant Eric Reid.