DC Comics Character Johnny Cloud Navajo Ace

Like many comic book publishers, DC Comics (then officially known as National Comics Publications) entered the field of war comics in early 1952. Initially, DC Comics' war comic books were anthology titles of the truest forms. Each issue featured several standalone stories. This began to change in the late Fifties and early Sixties, when DC Comics began adding continuing series to their war comic books, including Sgt Rock in Our Army at War and Gunner & Sarge in Our Fighting Forces. It was in All-American Men of War no. 82 (December 1960) that a character who was rather more unique first appeared. Lt. Johnny Cloud was not only set apart from DC Comics' other continuing war characters in that he was a fighter pilot, but in the fact that he was Native American.

This made Johnny Cloud a rather historic character. Native American characters with their own series were very rare in American comic books of the time. At DC Comics the only important Native American character prior to Lt. Johnny Cloud was Pow Wow Smith, who appeared in both Detective Comics and Western Comics. Of course, while Johnny Cloud was a historic character at DC Comics, that did not mean that the portrayal of Diné culture was particularly accurate.  Johnny Cloud was created by writer Rob Kanigher and artist Irv Novick.

In Johnny Cloud's first appearance, we are given some of his background and how he became a pilot. His father named him "Flying Cloud" after seeing a cloud formation that brought to his mind a man riding a horse. As an adult Flying Cloud enlisted in the United States Air Force during World War II. He then became a P-51 Mustang pilot. It was at this point that Flying Cloud was given the more English-sounding name John Cloud. While the portrayal of Navajo culture in the "Johnny Cloud" feature may not have been accurate, sadly the racism that Johnny Cloud was. It was after he took out a whole squadron of Nazi bombers by himself that Johnny was given command of his own patrol, which was given the code name "the Happy Braves."  Beginning as a lieutenant, Johnny Cloud would later be promoted to captain.

Ultimately, the Johnny Cloud series was a product of its time. It was pioneering in featuring a Native American lead character. It was also pioneering in portraying the racism that Native Americans faced. The portrayal of racism against any ethnicity, let alone Native Americans, was not particularly common in comic books of the Fifties. Unfortunately, the Johnny Cloud series also included several Native American cliches and outright stereotypes. Johnny Cloud and other Native American characters in the series were generally portrayed as stoic. The vision of a cloud which Johnny's father saw is portrayed as a Plains Indian wearing a war bonnet riding a horse. Johnny's first plane bears the image of a Plains Indian atop a horse along with the words "Flying Chief."

While the Johnny Cloud series was not a particularly accurate portrayal of Diné culture and it did include various cliches about Native Americans, ultimately it can be considered a positive portrayal of a Native American for its time. Johnny displays courage, loyalty, and intelligence. He is handsome and identifiably Native American. This made Johnny Cloud an important character at a time when many Native Americans in Western movies and Western comic books were still being portrayed as savages.

Johnny Cloud continued to be the star of All-American Men of War until no. 117 (September-October 1966),  the final issue of the title's initial run. While he was still appearing in All-American Men of War, Johnny Cloud appeared in The Brave and the Bold no. 52 (March 1964), in which he teamed up with Sgt. Rock (star of Our Army at War) and the Haunted Tank (star of G.I. Combat).

While Johnny Cloud's series ended with All-American Men of War no. 117, he did not disappear from comic books entirely. It was in G.I. Combat no. 138 (October 1969) that Johnny Cloud teamed up with Captain Storm (a PT boat commander who had his own title from 1964 to 1967) and Gunner & Sarge to form the group known as The Losers. The Losers received their own series with Our Fighting Forces no. 123 (January-February 1970). They continued as the stars of Our Fighting Forces no. 181 (September-October 1978), the final issue of the title. Johnny Cloud would later appear in The Losers Special no. 1 (August 1985) and still later in DC Universe Legacies no. 4 (October 2010).

Johnny Cloud was very much a character of his era. On the one hand, the series leaned heavily into such tropes as the stoic American Indian and Native American mysticism. On the other hand, Johnny Cloud was a positive portrayal of a Native American at a time when Native Americans were still being portrayed as savages. The series also portrayed racism against Native Americans at a time when racism was rarely portrayed in American comic books. Ultimately, Johnny Cloud would pave the way for more accurate portrayals of Native Americans in comics.