Nazi-Punchers THE SHADOW "Diabolical Dr Demon!" Part 2

 We Have Already Seen...

(Actually, this cover scene hasn't occurred...yet!)

The Shadow, tracking Dr Demon, has arrived just as the Nazi fiend is about to form an alliance with Shiwan Khan!

But the long-time arch-enemy of He Who Knows What Evil... has a quite different idea...

Curiously, Shiwan Khan in the Archie series apparently doesn't have the same mind-controlling powers as The Shadow...although they are utilized in his other comics appearances!
And, I have to ask, did this Shadow series influence the1960s Batman TV series...which began filming several months after this particular issue appeared...the way the original Shadow pulp stories influenced the Caped Crusader's early tales?
The entire story could just as easily be a two-part episode of the Batman series with a few name changes!

Note: Due to the RetroBlogs Summer Blogathon, we're taking a break from Nazi-Punching & Russkie-Smashing (as much fun as they are) for a special crossover presentation with Atomic Kommie Comics starting next Monday, featuring a never-reprinted Silver Age tale by a noted comics/sci-fi writer...

The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker by Otto Binder!
Don't Miss It!

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Shadow Scrapbook

by Walter B Gibson
(Creator of the pulp Shadow)
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Nazi-Punchers THE SHADOW "Diabolical Dr Demon!" Part 1

Looking for this guy?

He ain't here!

But we do have someone with the same name, wearing green and blue/purple tights, armed with all sorts of weird weapons!
BTW, despite the snarky opening, this is Lamont Cranston, unfortunately "updated" and camped-up for the Swinging '60s!

To Be Continued

Next Monday!

Note: this never-reprinted story by writer Jerry (Superman) Siegel and artist Paul Reinman from Archie's The Shadow #4 (1965) was published only 20 years after the end of World War II, so the idea of first-generation (albeit elderly) Nazis, especially ones with high-tech weaponry, still running around and creating havoc wasn't unreasonable, especially in pop culture!

In fact, it was the basis of the last Indiana Jones movie (set in the 1940s and the 1960s)...

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Shadow Scrapbook

by Walter B Gibson
(Creator of the pulp Shadow)
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250th Anniversary Special SUPER GREEN BERET "Dawn of American Freedom!"

For the 250th Anniversary of American Independence, We're Doing Things a Little Differently...

...with this whimsical, yet suprisingly-accurate, tale of the American Revolution...starring a 1960s Green Beret!

Tod Holton is an old hand at time travel, having already journeyed to World War II, where he almost captured Adolf Hitler!

This never-reprinted story by writer Otto Binder (who kept the story historically-accurate) and artist Carl Pfeufer appeared in Lightning Comics' Green Beret #2 (1967).

Next Week...

Back to Nazi-Punching!

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Tales of the Green Berets

by Robin Moore and Joe Kubert

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Russkie-Smashers Double-Feature CAPTAIN AMERICA and FIGHTING AMERICAN

Wonder why Joe Simon & Jack Kirby created Fighting American?

Because Atlas (Once Timely, later Marvel) didn't ask them to handle this revival of the character they created, so they decided to show how it should be done!
Now., let's look at what inspired S&K to do a new patriotic superhero...

Written by Don Rico and illustrated by John Romita Sr (with a splash panel by Mort Lawrence), this story from Atlas' Young Men #24 (1953) ostensibly continued the adventures of Captain America, Bucky, and The Red Skull from the 1940s.
When Cap was revived in 1964, this (and other 1950s Atlas superhero tales) were considered apocryphal, since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby postulated the Star-Spangled Avenger had been frozen since the end of World War II until he was defrosted in Marvel's The Avengers V1N4 (1964).

But, in 1968, writer Stan Lee, pencilers Larry Lieber and John Romita Sr and inker "Mickey Demeo" (actually Mike Esposito), revealed the 1950s Red Skull was a Russkie imposter who killed CIA agents Richard and Mary Parker (Peter Parker/Spider-Man's parents) in Marvel's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 (1968)!

Then, in 1972, writer Steve Englehart and penciler Sal Buscema revived the 1950s Cap and Bucky, showing them to be government-approved replacements for the original Cap and Bucky in Marvel's Captain America and the Falcon #153-156 (1972)...

...thereby bringing their 1950s tales (and, presumably the Sub-Mariner's and Human Torch's 1950s stories) into official continuity!
It also created the concept that others filled-in for Cap and Bucky during that era.
In fact, the "1950s Cap" is actually now considered the fourth official "Captain America", after already-existing patriot-themed heroes The Patriot and Spirit of 76 filled-in during the 1940s after Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were believed to be KIA (Killed in Action)!
Now, let's have a look at Simon & Kirby's reboot of the "Patriotic Super-Hero" concept...

...later known as "Peter Piper's Red Vipers"!

You'll note that Simon & Kirby add an extra layer to the weak-but-valiant-experimental-subject concept by making both scrawny Nelson and crippled brother Johnny physically-helpless before the transformation!
You may note there's no SpeedBoy in this story!
That's because he wasn't introduced until the second tale, which we ran HERE!
Trivia:
This story was renamed "Peter Piper's Red Vipers" when it was re-presented in Harvey's Fighting American V2N1 (1966), modified to fit into a previously-unpublished tale.
As with Captain America's origin, this tale was reworked and re-presented continually, including during the title's seven-issue run at Prize (so that's twice in one year), the Harvey one-shot in 1966, and the various reworkings/updatings at Awesome, DC, and Titan!

Next Week,
We Take a Break from Russkie-Smashing & Nazi-Punching to Celebrate the 250th Anniversary of America with...
...You Really Thought We'd Ruin the Suprise???