Hop Harrigan (also known as The Guardian Angel and Black Lamp) first appeared in All American Comics #1.
He was created by Jon Blummer as one of the first successful aviation heroes in comic history.
Hop Harrigan's story begins with him being raised by his neighbour, who tried to gain legal guardianship of him in order to try to obtain Hop's inheritance (of which he was successful).
Hop Harrigan had been orphaned by his father, a legendary pilot, who disappeared on a flight to South America to see his wife.
By the time Hop Harrigan had almost grown, his neighbour tried to destroy a biplane that once had been in the possession of Hop's father.
Seeing this, Hop angrily knocked the old man to the ground and escaped in the biplane, not planning to return.
He arrived at an airport where he saved the life of mechanic Tank Tinker, who became his friend and companion. Tank gave Harrigan his nickname when he said, "Some hop, Harrigan."
Later, Hop, Tank and Prop Wash (the pilot who accidentally endangered Tank), along with help from an heiress (who later became Hop's girlfriend), set up the All-American Aviation Company, a company that dealt with a variety of exciting adventures.
By the time World War II came, as with most other comics of the time, the Hop Harrigan comic started to have World War II themed adventures as Hop, Tank and Prop joined the US Army Air Corps in service of the war effort.
VS
Johnny Cloud was a member of "The Losers", a group of World War 2 era special forces operatives.
Created by Robert Kanigher, Johnny Cloud (as a member of the Losers) first appeared in G.I. Combat #138.
His first solo appearance pre-dating this was in All-American Men of War #82.
Johnny Cloud was the son of a Navajo Indian chief who named him "Flying Cloud" after a cloud resembling an Indian Brave riding a horse.
From childhood onwards Cloud was a victim of prejudice for being Indian.
Even after he became a Lieutenant and fighter pilot in the U.S Air Force, he encountered mockery from his fellow pilots.
One day however, using brilliant aerial maneuvers, Cloud single handedly destroyed a large number of Nazi bombers.
Cloud himself was saved from being killed by his patrol leader, Mack, who was fatally wounded in doing so.
His dying words were that Cloud would be his best possible successor and from here Cloud went on to an illustrious career.
As leader of C-Flight, he was shot down and rescued by the crew of the Haunted Tank, here he met the other member of the group that would become the Losers.
