Stan Lee Created An Aviator?
With EAA
That get your attention? Good.
Free Comic Book Day sure did steer me to some interesting places. And I don’t just mean what stores put up.
I’m talking about the little things I discover in stores that most people don’t find. At Atlantic Beach I found two issues of a series called The Adventures of Aviore. It was the first I heard of this series, yet it had at least 18 issues. If it could go on for that long I had to see what it was all about.
And I was impressed with what #s 11 and 18 had. There’s a pretty relatable lead who had a soul that felt a little familiar.
When I did a little more research, I found out why. Turns out before Stan Lee’s passing in 2018, he co-created one last character with a…Jack J. Pelton.
Who?
Anyway, meet Jake Peregrine “Perry” Howard, a.k.a. Aviore. He’s a pilot for TALON, a crime fighting organization often dealing with airborne villains. Apparently the air force has their hands full to deal with sky pirates.
No Time To Waste
And before you ask, no he doesn’t have a “real” origin story. But he does have some superpowers. Acute senses, a mind sharp enough to use them, and a body that can handle the intense g-forces and low oxygen environment for good measure. It allows him to rip a door off a locked sports car anyway.
Apparently these powers came from his first time flying in the air.
It came with…cosmic rays? Some special ozone? Experimental jet fuel?
Nothing specific. Like I said, there was never an actual story written out how Perry became Aviore. Just that he joined some Young Eagles Program.
…
Wait…
Aviore: Mascot For EAA
So Aviore’s other co-creator Jack Pelton is the CEO for this company called Experimental Aircraft Association. It was founded in 1953 by some guys who wanted to make their own airplanes.
But more than that, it’s the biggest club of aviators in the USA. Doesn’t matter if it’s the classics, warbirds, helicopters, or aerobatics, if you love everything about flying this was the place to join.
So influential it managed to create connections and opportunities for careers.
As for the Young Eagles Program, it’s for getting kids more invested and immersed with a free ride in an airplane. And in the most controlled ways possible, give kids a real taste of what it’s like to fly a plane.
That’s the feeling Aviore is going for. A regular guy empowered by a love of flight.
No Propaganda Plants!
But don’t worry, this isn’t a big product placement with exposition dumps and lore blowing a program out of proportions.
Nobody needs more Whiz Kids or Satoshi Nakamoto PSAs.
If anything the writer Zeb Hatfield and everyone who helps out focus on the characters and what drives them. All while weaving little tidbits about aviation history to keep things tonally consistent for the story of each issue.
Sometimes it’s not always about flying a jet. Issue 11 is about dealing with failures, especially when it shakes you so hard. Before turning it around about how failure leads to personal comebacks.
See, one of my biggest gripes with everyman characters is how lazy they’re written. Most of it comes down to the melodrama, wisecracks, and just plain boring characterizations.
But what Stan and a few others bring are what keep them going. As well as the burdens that come with doing that. Trying to live up to expectations and continuing to do what gives life meaning despite the weight they carry.
I have to bring up #18 and how familiar it felt to read one kid taking a piloting test. Bullies and the presentation of the simulations really sell the nerve racking anticipation.
See what I mean by soul? This is a living world with a character and cast with their own hopes and dreams.
And yes there is some lore to be found, like the legacy of the Aviore mantle. Thankfully it’s not a huge dump.
You Can Read Aviore For Free!
And without being guilty.
EAA keeps links to all of the issues they published on their website. And it looks like there’s at least one every year.
Hence the different art teams.
…Wait a minute! I knew I recognized 18’s art style. This is Martheus and Janet Wade’s art. Tales of Toshigawa! MAW Productions! Funny how you can find out about this stuff.
So as we close out, have you ever found any comics that you never heard of before? Leave some in the comments.