Though Cover-Dated November, 1941...
Hillman's Air Fighters Comics #1 was on-sale during late summer, predating Pearl Harbor by several months, but featuring its' heroes battling Nazi aviators in Europe and German saboteurs/spies in the US!
This particular tale involves an American pilot flying with the RAF...
Though Air Fighter Comics kept going through 1945, then changed the name to Airboy Comics (after the book's most popular feature), The Black Commander didn't make it past this one appearance!
A pity, because this story, written by Kermit Jaediker and illustrated by Harry Anderson, has enough plotting set-ups and twists and turns for a live-action b-movie!
Good guy framed as bad guy!
Nazis create what will turn out to be their own worst enemy!
Good guy, now totally-unrecognizable to family and friends, wanted by friend and foe alike!
Note: the "Black Commander" is the aircraft, not the pilot!
Speaking of the airplane, does it look...familiar?
Another, very long-running Nazi-Puncher (and Russkie-Smasher) utilized that same experimental fighter as his very distinctive personal transportation...
Blackhawk began using the Grumman XF5F SkyRocket in Quality's Military Comics #2, cover-dated August, 1941, several months before Air Fighters Comics #1.
But, I believe the use of the unique airplane by both strips was simply a coincidence.
There's background info about the plane HERE, including the fact that it out-performed the British state-of-the-art Spitfire and another American prototype fighter, the XF4U Corsair (which did become an active-service aircraft!) in tests!
