Russkie-Smashers YOUNG MEN COMICS "Return of...the Human Torch"

When Atlas revived Timely's "Big 3" golden age heroes in 1953...

...look who got the spotlight!

(Heck, colorist Stan Goldberg couldn't even get Captain America and Bucky's costumes correct on the cover by Carl Burgos!)

Though no Russkies are seen in this tale from Atlas' Young Men Comics #24 (1953), they did supply the criminals with Solution X-R and brainwashed Toro into fighting for fellow Communists in Korea!
(And they do appear later on, though the strip emphasizes homegrown American criminals!)

Written by Hank Chapman and illustrated by Russ Heath (with the Human Torch in the splash panel rendered by his creator, Carl Burgos), this story actually handles the explanation of where the flaming felon fighters were for the previous four years very well! 

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Marvel MasterWorks

Atlas-Era Heroes

Volume 1

(which features this tale)

Russkie-Smashers MARVEL BOY II "Zero Hour!"

The only thing you can trust about Russkies...

...is that you can't trust Russkies...who apparently would be happy to die to "own the imperialists" (to paraphrase Repugs)!

BTW, though the mag was called Marvel Boy for the first 2 issues, (and he appeared in issues 1 through 6), it became Astonishing as of #3, and remained that way for the rest of the title's 63-issue run!

Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Bill Everett, this tale from Atlas' Marvel Boy #2 (1950) about cooperation-then betrayal parallels what happened between the Allies and Soviet Russians during World War II (when they acted together against the Axis) and afterward (when they became hostile once the common threat had been eliminated).
You'll note, though the other side is referred to as the "Eastern" Empire, they're clearly written and drawn as Russians/Soviets!
Bob Grayson was the second character to bear the "Marvel Boy" name, the first one being a Joe Simon/Jack Kirby creation who made only two appearances during the 1940s.
Since he appeared (and disappeared) before the 1953 revival of the "Big Three" (Captain America/ Human Torch/Sub-Mariner) he could be considered Timely/Atlas/Marvel's final Golden Age superhero!

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Marvel MasterWorks

Atlas-Era Heroes

Volume 1

(which includes all of Marvel Boy's 1950-51 appearances as well as the re-intro of the Big 3)

Russkie-Smashers MAN COMICS "Bob Brant and the Trouble-Shooters in 'Behind the False Face!' "

You don't need to be a superhero, aviator, or even a space-going cowboy to smash Russkies!

Sometimes, it just takes a group of all-American kids to do the job!

With almost all superheroes banished from the four-color pages of comic books after the ned of World War II, somebody had to take up the slack against the Russkies and Red Chinese and North Koreans!

Atlas Comics' editor Stan Lee combined the still-popular "kid gang" sub-genre with anti-Commie action in this short-lived series.
And, before you ask, they did end up battling Russkies on the Moon!
(I believe anyone who was anyone in 1950s comics had to do that at least once!)
But, that was after their premiere in this never-reprinted adventure from Atlas' Man Comics #26 (1953), illustrated by Carl Hubbell.

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Newsboy Legion
Volume 1
by
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
The First Kid Gang in Comic Books!

Russkie-Smashers SUB-MARINER "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie"

Despite the fact the US government tended to blame him for Russkie actions as shown HERE...

...Prince Namor kept trying to show he was one of the "good guys"!

Namor's creator, Bill Everett, wrote and illustrated this tale from Atlas' Sub-Mariner #33 (1954) which shows the Avenging Son at his snarky best!
Next week, we return to our rotating cast of Russkie-smashers, and you'll have to be here to see who it is!

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Atlas-Era Heroes Masterworks

Volume 3

Sub-Mariner

Russkie-Smashers MEN'S ADVENTURES "Sub-Mariner (and Namora) in 'Killer Whales' "

Time, once again, to kick Commie butt...

...with the super-powered guy who hates all surface men...but especially Russkies!

And you wonder why he's an "anti-hero"?

Namor's creator, Bill Everett, wrote and illustrated this tale from Atlas' Men's Adventure #28 (1954) which shows Americans make mistakes, too!

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Atlas-Era Heroes Masterworks

Volume 3

Sub-Mariner

Russkie-Smashers YOUNG MEN COMICS "Sub-Mariner (and Namora) in 'Pirates vs Pirates' "

 Even we make mistakes!

Last week's story wasn't Prince Namor's first Russkie-Smashing adventure!

This was!

When you look at the first couple of pages, it's easy to not realize this tale from Atlas' Young Men Comics #27 (1954), penciled and inked by Bill Everett (with a layout assist by Bob Powell), involves Russkies, so our inadvertent mistake is understandable.

Tomorrow:

Before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever...

Namora and the Mayans
at our "sister" RetroBlog
HEROINES!

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Timely's Greatest
Golden-Age Sub-Mariner
by Bill Everett
Post-War Years
(Note: the Young Men Comics and other 1950s tales were actually post-Golden Age, and were technically Atlas Comics stories, as shown in the Marvel Masterworks: Atlas-Era Heroes reprints of those same stories!)