In 1945, a short-run comic book called The Challenger hit newsstands — created by an interfaith coalition of artists, clergy, and educators. One of its lead illustrators, E.C. Stoner, was among the first Black comic book artists in America.Their mission was simple:
“To fight prejudice, discrimination, and all other forms of fascism in North America.”Only four issues were printed. But the idea stuck.The Challenger Club picks up that thread — not as a political movement, not as nostalgia, but as a cultural pulse. A grassroots signal. A quiet, underground resistance to tyranny, fear, and extremism — wherever they show up.

This project is built on conviction. For now, it’s restoration work - reclaiming what mattered, and using it.Every shirt, patch, and print helps fund the project — scanning, cleaning, and restoring this forgotten work for a free digital archive. No big operation, just an honest way to keep the lights on.

PRESERVE THE ORIGINALS

We’re actively sourcing and restoring high-res scans of all four Challenger issues. Each one will be made available to read online for free - Print is down the road.

Grow the Club

As we stabilize the foundation, we’ll expand into essays, contributor projects, interviews, and eventually social policy & advocacy.

Start a Fire, Not a Brand

Not about nostalgia, rather tapping into a shared legacy of standing up to tyranny in all forms — and using that to challenge the culture, not retreat from it.

ISSUE NO. 1 (1945)The first issue of The Challenger came out swinging — featuring early work by E.C. Stoner, one of the first Black artists in American comics. It opens with Rev. Ben Fighter of Fascism, a story as bold as its title, followed by war-era stories that punch hard at bigotry and dehumanization. We’re actively sourcing high-resolution scans of this issue and will update the archive as we restore and clean each page.

ISSUE NO. 2 (1945–46)
Early artwork by a young Joe Kubert is believed to appear here, alongside more stories aimed at undermining fascist ideology and humanizing the “enemy.” Copies do appear frequently at auction — and we’re currently tracking down a readable scan to share with readers, historians, and anyone hungry to see what resistance looked like in four-color print.

ISSUE NO. 3 (Summer 1946)By Issue No. 3, the mission of The Challenger was printed loud and clear: to challenge race prejudice, discrimination, and “all other forms of fascism in North America.” With 68 pages of illustrated features, biographies, and call-to-action essays, this was the high point of the series — and the clearest articulation of its cultural vision. This one’s been sourced and will be made fully readable in our gallery soon.

ISSUE NO. 4 (Fall 1946)The final issue of The Challenger closed the series with the same force it started — a defiant note against hate, issued just as postwar America was shifting into a new, more complicated era. Details on contributors are still being compiled, more to come.