Russkie Smashers YOUNG MEN COMICS "Sub-Mariner in the Land Below the Sun!"

Along with Captain America, both the Golden Age Human Torch and Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner...

...battled Russkies (and Red Chinese) for a couple of years in the 1950s!

Though Namor (like Captain America & Bucky and the Human Torch & Toro) had returned in Atlas' Young Men #24 (1953), his first few stories were sci-fi/fantasy-oriented!

This tale, written and illustrated by creator Bill Everett from Atlas' Young Men #28 (1954), was his first Russkie-smashing adventure, but with supernatural elements...making it quite apropos for Halloween, eh?
BTW, note that almost all the Atlantians have big "bug eyes" and green skin, but Dorma, who wasn't half-human like Namor, has Caucasian flesh-tone!
When she was re-introduced in the Silver Age, they gave her the standard blue skin (and human eyes) all the other Atlantians had!

Next Week, 
Sub-Mariner Returns in Two Adventures...
A Russkie-Smashing Saga
and
His First Bronze-Age Encounter with...
The Black Panther!
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Sub-Mariner

Russkie-Smashers YOUNG MEN COMICS "Captain America: Back from the Dead!"

Wonder why Simon & 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 them 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 in the 1940s after Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were believed to be KIA (Killed in Action)!

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Reading Room: NOT WHO YOU THINK Atlas "Man of Might" Conclusion

The Challenge that Made a Man Out of Jim Randall...

Cover art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

When he fails to stop his girlfriend's little brother from being beaten by a gang of juvenile delinquents, Jim Randall is visited by the spirit of the Greek deity Atlas, who gives him The Secret of Strength, a list of exercises to build his body.
(Why Atlas didn't just zap Jim the way the Golden Age Thor did, is never explained!)
After the prerequisite montage, a newly-bulked up Jim visits his girlfriend Linda and discovers her brother is now a member of the juvie gang!
The Greek Titan reappears before Jim, gives him a costume, and tells him to  "Use your powers in my name and go forth and war on evil!"

Though the art appears to have been done sometime in the late 1940s-early 1950s, the tale wasn't published until 1964 by IW/Super Comics, a company noted for buying up defunct companies' printing plates, doing new covers, and reprinting the inside stories exactly as they originally appeared.
The resultant comics were bagged randomly in sets of three and sold in drugstores, toy stores, and five-and-dime shops, thereby bypassing the Comics Code.
IW published over three hundred issues of various titles ranging from Algie to Ziggy Pig, including The Spirit, Plastic Man, The Avenger, Doll Man, and Space Detective.
This story's pedigree is near-impossible to verify.
It's obviously intended for a book called Atlas Comics (though for which publisher is unknown), and the character's origin was (equally-obviously) based on the Charles Atlas method of using isometric exercises to improve the body.
Perhaps it was done as a potential licensed property which wasn't approved?
And, should we classify it as a Golden Age (when it was created) or Silver Age (when it was finally published) tale?
I'm listing it as both until new information is unearthed...

Since this was the only issue published, we, unlike Atlas, will never learn all the Secrets  of Super-Strength.
Bummer.

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Reading Room: NOT WHO YOU THINK Atlas "Man of Might" Part 1

What if mail-order bodybuilder Charles Atlas created a superhero?

Well, he might have been someone like this guy from 1964's Daring Adventures #18!

(Though the artwork was apparently done in the late 1940s-early 1950s.)

And you, dear reader, shouldn't be late tomorrow, for the astounding conclusion!

We'll also be presenting what little info we have on this unique tale!

Oh, and a page on how YOU can become an Atlas through intensive exercise!

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