Please note I will be listing more issues of different War related comics from the Golden Era - all 10 cent comics.All comics will be protected with cardboard for protection from rough shipping.What you have
Title: Fightin\' Air Force
Issue: #5
Publisher: Charlton Comics Group
Publication date: November 1956
Cover price: 10¢
Format: 36 pages, full color, standard Silver Age comic size. MMyComicShop+1
The series was an anthology of fictional military-aviation stories, rather than a superhero book. It followed American pilots and air crews in WWII, Korea, and Cold War-style situations. The series ultimately ran from #3 through #53, from 1956 to 1966. CComics Database+1
The strange numbering is actually interesting
You\'re probably wondering: why is this #5 rather than #1?
Charlton inherited the numbering from an earlier war comic called Never Again. Never Again #1 was published in August 1955, and then Fightin\' Air Force picked up the numbering at #3. Issue #2 was skipped—the Grand Comics Database specifically notes that the missing #2 is documented as skipped in a statement of ownership. CComics Database+1
So #5 is actually the third issue under the Fightin\' Air Force title, even though it is the fifth number in the numbering sequence.
What\'s inside your particular issue
This is an anthology, meaning there isn\'t one continuing superhero-style storyline.
The documented contents of #5 are:
The credited art is primarily by Bill Molno and Rocco “Rocke” Mastroserio. MMyComicShop
The stories mix Korean War aviation with more general military adventure. One follows Major Barnes, who is only three missions away from reaching 50 missions and earning his furlough; another concerns “Little” Sammy, a former jockey who becomes a fighter pilot; and “Loudmouth!” involves a bomber crew being incapacitated and an unlikely pilot having to save the day. MMyComicShop
That\'s very representative of 1950s Charlton war comics: dramatic, patriotic, action-heavy stories with pilots, bombers, fighter planes and heroic last-second rescues.
The cover
Your cover is particularly fun.
It has the huge “AIR FORCE” lettering, jets and aircraft attacking one another, explosions everywhere, and the very 1950s depiction of aerial combat.
The little markings on the cover are significant:
The Comics Code seal is exactly what you\'d expect for the period. Charlton was one of the major publishers participating in the Comics Code system. The series itself is catalogued as a war/aviation title. CComics Database+1
And the 10¢ price is original, not a later reprint price.
The back cover is interesting too
Your back cover is an advertising page, rather than an additional story.
It\'s an enormous mail-order/prize advertisement aimed at kids, offering things like:
model airplanes
bicycles
radios
cameras
sporting equipment
musical instruments
scouting equipment
chemistry sets
various toys and gadgets
It also advertises the Funman/Funman\'s Club and repeatedly emphasizes sending “NO MONEY” to enter/get information.
That\'s a really nice piece of 1950s comic-book history. These advertisements are one reason old comics can be fascinating even when the individual stories aren\'t particularly famous: they show what publishers thought kids wanted to buy and what products were being marketed to them.
Your copy\'s condition
This is where I would be conservative.
From your photographs, I see:
significant general handling wear
rounded/worn corners
edge wear
substantial surface rubbing/abrasion
discoloration/aging
writing/marking in the upper-left area of the front cover
considerable wear to the back cover
some creasing/waviness
otherwise, importantly, the comic appears substantially complete
I don\'t see an obvious major piece missing from the cover in the photographs
I would not call this Fine or Very Good based on the photographs.
I\'d tentatively put it around Good (G) to Good/Very Good (G/VG), roughly 2.0–3.0, assuming the staples are secure, the cover is attached, and the interior has no major missing pages or large tears.
That\'s only a photo estimate, though. A professional grader would need to examine the book in hand.
What is it worth?
This isn\'t a particularly expensive key issue, but it\'s a legitimate 1950s Silver Age Charlton war comic, and #5 is an early issue.
One current price guide listing gives Fightin\' Air Force #5 approximately:
Those figures are for different grades and shouldn\'t be interpreted as what your particular copy is worth. KKey Collector Comics
More useful is the actual market evidence: MyComicShop currently shows a VG 4.0 copy at $17.25, while an listing indexed through the same marketplace shows a Good 2.0 copy at $15. MMyComicShop
Given the condition visible in your photographs, I\'d roughly think:
Your copy: ~$8–$20, with perhaps around $10–$15 being a realistic private-sale range if the interior is complete and the staples/cover are sound.
A very nice copy could bring substantially more, but this isn\'t a $100+ comic in ordinary condition.
One thing that makes yours more interesting
It\'s an early issue of a series that went on to have a surprisingly long run.
Fightin\' Air Force began in February 1956 and continued all the way to #53 in 1966, eventually continuing into War and Attack. It was part of Charlton\'s broader family of military titles, alongside Fightin\' Army, Fightin\' Marines, and Fightin\' Navy. CComics Database+1
The early books also featured artists who became important parts of the Charlton house style, including Bill Molno, Rocke Mastroserio, Dick Giordano, Charles Nicholas, Sam Glanzman and Vince Alascia. WWikipedia
Bottom line
You\'ve got Fightin\' Air Force #5, Charlton Comics, November 1956, 10¢—an early Silver Age military/aviation anthology. It\'s not a major rarity or key issue, but it\'s a genuine 70-year-old comic with its original period advertising, colorful jet-combat cover, and early Charlton war-comic artwork.
All items will be packaged carefully for protection from moisture and rough handling.
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