Rusty Ryan

The “Rusty Ryan” feature began as a simple young boy’s adventure story, with the title character finding himself smack-dab in the middle of every scandal in Boyville. Rusty and his friends resided at the dormitory of a boy’s school and frequently wore shirts adorned with a large “B.” Rusty’s best friend was Smiley Scott and others included Ed, Whitey and Scotty.

The others’ names were rarely mentioned even after they adopted colorful patriotic costumes and became the Boyville Brigadiers. This change came a year into the feature, during which time Paul Gustavson had aged the boys somewhat. Too young to join the army, Rusty and his pals received special commission from army intelligence to become the Brigadiers. Their uniforms were dead ringers for Captain America’s (who debuted just before the boys’ switch, in March 1941).

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