Russkie-Smashers BLACK COBRA "Ace Spy Smasher vs Voice of Treason"

He's not as well-known as our previous Commie-crushers...

...but there's no denying his enthusiasm for the job...or his effectiveness!

The creatives for this never-reprinted tale from Ajax/Farrell's Black Cobra #1 (1954) were from the Iger Studio which "packaged" comic stories (both scripts and artwork) for various publishers including Fox, Chesler, Elliot, Fiction House, St John, and (of course) Ajax/Farrell!
It may be a re-working of a previously-published comic story, which the studio was notorious for, as shown HERE, where a story written and drawn for one character was modified/updated for a totally-different character!
Or, it may be a totally-new tale.
We're not yet certain.
BTW, the Voice of America is still broadcasting, as shown HERE!

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Second Assignment: Track Down the Baby Buzz Bombs"

As you may have noticed when we presented Fighting American's origin last week...

...unlike Simon and Kirby's first super-patriot, Captain America, he didn't have a sidekick from the first story onward!

Nope, this kid had to earn the job...

While the costume has a similar look (and color scheme) to Bucky's, at least his costumed identity isn't his real name (as Bucky's was)!

But "Speedboy"?

Really?
Do we blame Joe or Jack for that one?
This tale from Prize's Fighting American #1 (1954) concludes our presentation of this patriotic pair...for now.
While the duo had a number of other adventures, those involved other Communists like Chinese and North Koreans, as well as gangsters...and even aliens, so they don't fall under the "Russkie Smasher" category.
But fear not!
Beginning next week, we'll be rotating several other 1950s heroes' anti-Soviet exploits, including one of this summer's breakout-hit movie characters!
Which one?

You'll have to drop by each week to find out!
(Sneaky little devils, ain't we?)

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "First Assignment: Break the Spy Ring!"

"Who He Is and How He Came To Be"...

...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 you'll see next week!
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!
Oddly, this origin (and lead story) by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby from Prize's Fighting American #1 (1954) wasn't the cover feature!
(We ran that tale last week!)

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Assignment Three: Duel to the Finish Line!"

We're beginning the presentation of our Russkie-Smashers' premiere issue...

...when the concept was taken (relatively) seriously!

Here's the cover-featured (though final) tale from Prize's Fighting American #1 (1954)...

A solid action-adventure tale, as were all the stories in this issue.
But Simon and Kirby were looking for something more, and as you've seen from our other posts, they certainly found it!

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Assignment: Investigate the City of Ghouls"

As we return to our regularly-scheduled feature...

...we're presenting this startlingly-sinister story which earned the cover spot in Prize's Fighting American #2 (1954)!
Notice on the cover it's called "Ghost City", but the actual title of the tale is the far catchier...

Note that the creatures on the cover weren't just the inbred hooded devil worshippers of the story, but actual monsters, perhaps radiation-produced mutants!

It's another example of the cover probably being the springboard for the story...which took a different turn when it was actually written and drawn later!

You can see a similar situation HERE!