My Greatest Adventure: The Balloon Buster

Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Russ Heath in December 1965, America's WWI Ace made his first appearance in All-American Men of War #112. Steven Henry Savage Jr. was not your average lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Born and raised in the wilds of Mustang River, Wyoming, Savage was trained by his father to be the consummate marksman, which came in handy when he joined the U.S. Air Corps in WWI. Not one to follow orders, Savage repeatedly broke formation with his biplane to attack German combat balloons, earning him the name "Balloon Buster" by his squadron. Though his superior officer, Major Michaels, constantly sought to have the rebel court-martialed for not following orders, General Talbot applauded his action and saw Steven remained in the conflict. One of the only pilots to have challenged Germany's "Enemy Ace", Hans von Hammer, Savage's twin Vickers machine guns spoke death for many warriors from his canary-yellow Spad. Though the high-flying character only lasted around twenty issues in various war titles, he is well remembered and occasionally make appearances in the DC Universe. 

Make Mine Marvel: Sons of the Tiger

With there first appearance in Marvels black-and-white magazine The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 from April of 1974 the Sons of the Tigers rode the martial arts craze that was sweeping the nation. Created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Dick Giordano they had a short but memorable run for Marvel Comics. Their origin opens as Lin Sun is returning from a martial arts tournament after winning first place when he is suddenly attacked by ninjas in front of his school in San Francisco. After defeating the villains, he goes into the "Tiger Dojo", which has been ransacked. He finds his dying adopted father Master Kee, who tells him that there are forces in this world which would destroy them and then points to a box on a shelf with his last breath. In the box the student finds three jade amulets of a tiger's head and two claws: the symbol of the school. The inscription on the box reads, "When three are called and stand as one, as one they'll fight, their will be done...For each is born anew, The Tiger's Son." Lin tells the story of the "Amulets of Power" and divides them between his two friends, Abe Brown from Harlem and Bob Diamond a Hollywood actor, who have also been attacked by ninjas. The trio soon discover that when they join hands and chant the inscription from the container they become mystically connected. Their martial arts skills combine to become one force and their physical abilities are tripled when they wear the mysterious amulets. Later in the series as the group breaks up, Lin Sun throws all three amulets in a trashcan located in an alley where Hector Ayala finds the tokens and wears them to become the White Tiger who continues in his own martial art series.

Society of Illustrators Profile: Mead Schaeffer

Born in Freedom Plains, New York in 1898, Mead Schaeffer knew at the early age of seven he wanted to be an artist. He attended Pratt Institute and then continued his studies under the care of artists Dean Cornwell and Harvey Dunn. Their influences can be seen in his moody pieces with their strong compositions. Wanting to have the brush strokes clearly visible in his bold approach of applying paint to canvass was important to give it a more painterly quality. Starting a career in his early twenties, the first works focused on numerous swashbuckling and romantic subjects, as well as drawings pieces for the major magazines. Schaeffer also drew sixteen classics novels which he is well known for including Moby Dick, Les Miserables, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Growing tired of drawing costumed stories, he worked with The Saturday Evening Post travelling the country doing features on contemporary factual Americana. As the next door neighbor to Norman Rockwell in Vermont, the two artists often traveled together to the West resulting in many a fine Saturday Evening Post covers. During World War II, Schaeffer created a pictorial chronicle of the fourteen branches of the Armed Services for the Post which travelled the country in over ninety museums. Even though Schaeffer had a stroke in 1980, he wanted to attend the Society of Illustrators luncheon to see old friends, where the artist collapsed and died among his fellow artists.

Bring On The Bad Guys: Dr. Doom

What makes a good super hero? I would say an equally fascinating super villain, so lets start out with one of Marvels best. With his debut appearance in Fantastic Four #5, the evil genius Victor Von Doom was the first major new villain of the Marvel Age as well as a truly new kind of enemy.  As villainous as he was brilliant, Doctor Doom was as strategic as he was maniacal. Being a former classmate of the Fantastic Four leader, Reed Richards, the bad doctor could match his wits with their team-leader in scientific skill and his connection to the team's past gave Victor great insight in his many battles with the super team. Psychologically and physically twisted by a lab accident in college, Doom's villainy was unquestionable, but there was always something sympathetic about his plight, as shown below in this Jack Kirby page from the Fantastic Four Annual #2. This dichotomy made him different from most comic book villains that came before as Doom served as a template for many that came after. It should come as no surprise that writer Stan Lee has said on many occasions that Doom is his favorite villain. Lee once stated that "[Doom] could come to the United States and he could do almost anything, and we could not arrest him because he has diplomatic immunity. Also, he wants to rule the world and if you think about it, wanting to rule the world is not a crime."