History of the 'Double Eagle & Co.' Comic Strip

It all started on January 12, 1966, my thirteenth birthday, as well as the date the Batman TV show debuted. I fell immediately in love with Batman's supercar!

Roughly two years later, my father bought an old "beater" found rusting in a back lot. It was a sleek four-door 1960 Chevy Impala, and its custom red-on-black paint scheme gave it a "Batmobile" appearance, enough so that it was love at first sight for me. Yes, I personally got it back running.

The car's price tag? $20 dollars.

By that time I was cartooning for offset publications, among them my school newspaper. Fellow classmate and newspaper colleague Terry McCoy, who then showed signs of brilliance as a newspaper columnist-satirist, penned a satirical school news story detailing a misadventure we experienced while driving newspaper proofs to the printer.

By then the car was sporting eagle decals on each front door (it took two to cover all the scratches), and via his story, McCoy gave the car its name: "The Double Eagle."

It did not take long for me to see potential comic strip material here, so Terry and I teamed up in 1971 to produce a weekly strip for the local Loves Park, (Illinois) POST.

Sadly, no syndicate "discovered" the strip (after all, as kids we just figured we only had to do it a few times before hitting the big time), so Terry left, and left me with the writing chores.

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Just added: Dick Kulpa's GREATEST Character

Long before the Dukes of Hazzard, there was the
Double Eagle — and THIS car was for real!

Most folks know me as "Captain Cartoon," South Florida caricature artist. Others recall my Cracked Magazine publishing misadventure, and even more followed my work in the old Weekly World News.
But everyone has a beginning, and the Double Eagle & Co. comic strip represented mine, by and large. This section of DICKKULPA.COM is devoted to the Double Eagle experience, so check back often as more features are added.

Wthout further adieu, meet Francis "Fink" Furndock, girlfriend Reetie, Officer Jaws, Officer Joe King . . . and the Double Eagle!

Follow @CaptCartoon  

1975 Series

These comic strips appeared in the Belvidere (Illinois) Daily Republican back in 1975
for a three month run. In this version, stars had not yet been added to the car's stripe.

The Double Eagle returned to publication in 1976 when the Freeport (Illinois) Journal Standard picked it up — and paid money for it — for 9 months.

Click here to see samples from the 1976 Double Eagle & Co. series

The Double Eagle actually returned to the Journal Standard comics page in 1997 when it was featured in an actual syndicated comic strip drawn by me, Ghost Story Club.


While not "THE Double Eagle," the 1960 Chevy Sports Coupe above appeared in the header of a Sunday GSC comic strip. Click on image to see the whole strip.


THE Double Eagle rises from the dead in this 1997 Ghost Story Club feature. I even launched a "guess the year of the car" contest!

The Double Eagle & Co. comic strip functioned primarily as an experimental research tool, as compared to serving as an actual syndicatable property. It served its purpose well — and still does.

Next Page: 1976 Double Eagle & Co. Strips

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Double Eagle & Company Copyright 1971,1975,1976,1981 and more by Dick Kulpa. All Rights Reserved