Showing posts with label Hank Chapman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hank Chapman. Show all posts

Monday, January 26, 2026

Russkie Smashers HUMAN TORCH COMICS "Rekindling the Flame of Confidence!"

Besides Catching (and Sometimes French-Frying) Russkie Spies...

...the Human Torch and his teen partner Toro occasionally have to render aid to the American military in other. somewhat more unique, ways!





The Human Torch displays a power/ability in this story by writer Hank Chapman, penciler Dick Ayers, and inker Ernie Bache that he never used before...the ability to move at super-speed, thus appearing invisible to the naked eye!
Maybe because this tale from Atlas' Human Torch #38 (1954) was the final appearance of the character in the 1950s, editor Stan Lee let the introduction of a totally-new ability go without trying to keep the character within established continuity!

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Monday, February 27, 2023

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 illustrated 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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