Catalina comics

The history

Although the first flight of the Catalina took place on march 21, 1935, it failed to attract the attention of the comics artists. Unfortunately, it is a little bit hard to determine the exact debut of the Catalina as a comics hero. So many comics being made, it is hard to check every speck in the sky in every drawing in order to identify it as a Catalina. To the best of my knowledge, first-time-ever for the Cat occurred September 7, 1938, when American newspapers published Zack Mosley’s “Smilin’Jack” printed a cartoon being part of the story “Head-to-head to the Head”. Its debut as a comic-hero was modest, for the Catalina wasn’t even flying. Actually, it was a drawing within a drawing. The plans of the Catalina were stolen by some spies, claiming ” ‘our’ people can study its secrets and built similar aircraft”. Things changed, however, when the Second World War started and the Catalina was taken into mass production for front-line service. First flight in a comic (to the best of my knowledge) took place December 30, 1939. Oddly, this wasn’t in the US, for the Italian magazine “Il Vittorioso” published Kurt Caesar’s comic “Romano il Legionario”. That day, the story called “Negli abissi del mare” dedicated four drawings to an early model of the Catalina, the PBY 2 (actually, the name “Catalina” wasn’t even adopted by the allies for this aircraft). Other comics followed suit. The ones known by me: “Charly Chan” (January 11, 1940); “Flyin’ Jenny” (may 21, 1940); “Bill Barnes” (September 1941); “Buzz Sawyer” (march 10, 1944); “Wings comics “Skull Squad” (September 1944). Given the great amount of war-related comics published in the US during the war this list is far from complete; any comment is welcome.

After the war the stories about Catalina aircraft became well-known and inspired a lot of comic artists. Some of them used famous events like the sighting of the Bismarck; the sighting of a Japanese submarine as a prelude to the attack on Pearl Harbour, the sinking of U-boot U1225. Most artist used their own imagination to honour the Catalina. Famous artists gave the Catalina its appearance in their comics dedicated to famous pilots like Steve Canyon, Buzz Sawyer, Buck Danny, Dan Cooper and Biggles. Somewhat anonymously many artists used the ”small-size” war-comics as a platform to pay tribute to the Cat. Although flying boats and amphibians lack the sex-appeal  of fighters like Mustang and Spitfire or bombers like B17 and Lancaster, they play a major part in these comics. Their ability to attack submarines, protect convoys and rescue downed pilots and sailors is depicted in quite a number of comics. However, since many of these war-comics originate from the UK, often Britain-built seaplanes like Sunderland and Walrus are favoured by the British artists, even though the Catalina took their fair share of fighting in British service: 579 Catalina’s supplemented 741 Sunderlands in RAF-service. However, the Catalina’s didn’t stop flying after the war and lived a second life as airliners and water bombers. This kind of career is depicted in the comics like “Tanguy and Laverdure” (Tiki airways F-HNIO) and Biggles (fire bomber Protection Civil F-ZBAW). The versatility of the Catalina is the main reason for the numbers of Catalina showing up in comics during the last 70 years.

Some errors

The Catalina is an unorthodox aircraft. With its parasol wings, triangle-shaped fuselage and two big blister-shaped gun turrets and wing-struts, it is shaped characteristically rather than beautiful. Shouldn’t that be a challenge to every comics artist? It is. However, that means it is easy to draw something recognisable as a Catalina, but hard to draw something to represent the Catalina flawlessly. Let me explain some of the mistakes made by the artists. In general, the more crudely the drawing is made, the more mistakes goes with it. I think the serious artists simply use more and better photographs and drawings to study before drawing. However, some weird mistakes are made by the famous artists as well. One of the most unique features of the Catalina is its retractable floats. After takeoff from the water they fold sidewards and become wingtips, thus reducing in-flight drag. The artist drawing “Vigor” hadn’t a clue, for no floats at all are needed, whilst the wingtips looks “redesigned”. No surprise this crudely drawn comic goes into the wrong. More surprisingly, Milton Caniff missed the floats also when drawing a Catalina delivering Steve Canyon to an Indonesian island. His drawing of a seaplane-base later that same year (1953) shows Caniff should have known better. Other artists fail when dealing with Catalina-floats too. In Navy 14 “Slachtoffers van de haat” fixed floats are used. Another thing regarding floats that isn’t so obvious is the way it sticks out into the water. They are not so much needed to keep the aircraft afloat in the water, for the fuselage is big enough a float to take care of that. Instead, it is meant to keep it in balance. So (unless heavily overloaded) only one of the two floats is in the water (or none at all). Some of the anonymous artists failed to notice, while most of the famous ones know better. Jije used this “one float out of the water”-method in Tanguy and Laverdure “Menace sur Mururoa”(Gevaar op Mururoa). However, he is overdoing this on page 10,, when an intruder climbs on this float. Of course, given the delicate balance, the added weight should have made the float to drop into the water. Also the difference between the amphibian version and the flying boat-version must have been confusing. In Commando 1961 “Sub-hunter” the story-writer refers to an amphibian (page 13), whilst the drawing clearly shows a lack of main undercarriage. In Commando 2864 “The cutting edge” some compromise is done by giving the wheels wheel-cover. This is purely fantasy. However, this confusion finds a climax in Jack Staller’s “Black Hawk Line”. In “Dernier tour de force” (Een laatste stunt) a Catalina takes off from a frozen lake. Without a nose gear and with the beaching gear added, it succeeds to lift from the lake. I wouldn’t risk a Cat like that, for the gear is only meant to get a Cat out of the water on the ramp; it lacks the strength to absorb forces on take-off. Although the subsequent landing is not depicted in the comic, it must have ended in catastrophe.

Being different to other planes is not restricted to the outside. Inside the aircraft looks like a submarine rather than aircraft, with its separate compartments. This unique feature enables it to keep floating even when the hull is damaged and leaking water. Although most of the comic drawings features the outside of aircraft, sometimes the action is inside the plane, when the crew has to struggle through enemy action. Some of the artists avoid the interior by using close-ups of these crew members. In order to judge their knowledge of the Catalina interior it is wise to check the cockpit-drawings. As an unusual device, the engine throttles are not next or in front of the pilot’s seat, but hanging from the ceiling. In comics like Commando 3426 “Luck of the Cat” or 2473 “Battle of the Atlantic” these throttles are missing or mispositioned. They are not the only ones.

Some minor errors catches the eye of the comic-reader when familiar with the Catalina. In “Kattenskloer” the artist knows how the plane looks but fails to realise the true dimensions. Crew members at the cockpit windows and blisters look like midgets. Some artists wonder how to get on board and introduce doors of their own design. Indeed, after the war some modifications took place including a convenient door. During the war, going in through the blisters was the best way to get in (although another option is to climb up on top of the cockpit and get in through the emergency hatch as I found out myself when welcomed aboard of a Spanish Catalina). A mayor error occurred in Gauthier & Marniquet’s “Mysteres en Birmanie”. In the story “Le livre de Koush” Ken Mallory’s hydroplane changes from PBY Catalina into PBM Mariner and back to Catalina again, until exploding in a mix of both aircraft on page 33, thus spoiling an otherwise nice aviation comic. Why they did so, I fail to understand. That’s unlike the”error” made in Biggles “Neiges mortales” (Dodelijke sneeuw) Algy performs a perfect emergency landing on a frozen lake. Unfortunately the ice isn’t strong enough, so the forward section  sinks to the ice. Damage, however, is very limited. Not so, however, on the front page. One engine, with bent propellor blades, is torn of. Why? I guess in order to have a more dramatic impact on an audience judging books by the cover. It also looks like a reference to a similar drawing of a crashed Air India DC3 in “TinTin au Tibet” (Kuifje in Tibet). Anyway, it looks like a deliberate mistake.

Some of the comics dedicated to the Catalina refer to its war-time effort, whilst others prefer its post-war career. Some artists are unable to make up their minds, however. In Paape & Charlier’s Marc Dacier (Flip Flink) story “Les secrets de la mer de Corail” (De geheimen van de Koraalzee) a Catalina is under attack and subsequently shot down by Zero’s. Oddly, the military US markings are supplemented by civil registration NC112A. Likewise, “The war that time forgot” shows a U.S. Navy PBY with additional markings NC103. In Beeldscherm Classic “De verovering van Guadalcanal” the battle takes a decisive turn after the first landing of an allied aircraft, being a Catalina. However, its colour scheme resembles a post-war water-bomber, rather than a military war-plane.

So far, so good. Errors are made everywhere, so why not by comic artists. Sometimes they are not to blame. On the cover of Commando 1961″ Sub-Hunter” a dramatic landing-shot is given, showing a Catalina landing heavily on its left main wheel into the water. When translated in Danish and published as Commando 631 “Undervandsjaegerne” it makes the same heavy landing. Except is is on its right-hand main wheel; a mirrored image.