The Young Defenders were “Whitey” (later “Beanie”), “Lefty”, “Slim”, and Joanna, Captain Freedom’s non-costumed juvenile sidekicks. They worked as paperboys for the Daily Bulletin, a newspaper owned by Don Wright. The quartet never realized that Don Wright and Captain Freedom were one and the same. Like many kid sidekicks, they originally relied on their strength and cunning to get the job done, but over the course of the Speed Comics run, they learned detective skills and ju-jitsu. Joanna and Slim briefly dated in Speed Comics #40. Unfortunately for the pair, the relationship didn’t last thanks to Joanna’s ongoing crush on Frank Sinatra. Much as she may have liked Slim, she liked listening to “Frankie’s” singing a whole lot more. In Speed Comics #41, the Young Defenders persuaded Don Wright that the Daily Bulletin could use a kid section. He gave them a single page titled “Cubs Copy” and left its contents entirely up to his proteges (spelling errors and all). Lefty handled sports, Beanie did a crime column, Joanna focused on teen-oriented gossip, and they all worked together on a comic strip that starred Captain Freedom. In Speed Comics #44, Don Wright gave them their own printing press and expanded Cubs Copy into a slightly larger insert.
Description The Young Defenders were “Whitey” (later “Beanie”), “Lefty”, “Slim”, and Joanna, Captain Freedom’s non-costumed juvenile sidekicks. They worked as paperboys for the Daily Bulletin, a newspaper owned by Don Wright. The quartet never realized that Don Wright and Captain Freedom were one and the same. Like many kid sidekicks, they originally relied on their strength and cunning to get the job done, but over the course of the Speed Comics run, they learned detective skills and ju-jitsu. Joanna and Slim briefly dated in Speed Comics #40. Unfortunately for the pair, the relationship didn’t last thanks to Joanna’s ongoing crush on Frank Sinatra. Much as she may have liked Slim, she liked listening to “Frankie’s” singing a whole lot more. In Speed Comics #41, the Young Defenders persuaded Don Wright that the Daily Bulletin could use a kid section. He gave them a single page titled “Cubs Copy” and left its contents entirely up to his proteges (spelling errors and all). Lefty handled sports, Beanie did a crime column, Joanna focused on teen-oriented gossip, and they all worked together on a comic strip that starred Captain Freedom. In Speed Comics #44, Don Wright gave them their own printing press and expanded Cubs Copy into a slightly larger insert.
