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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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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Russkie-Smashers CRUSADER FROM MARS "Death in the Soil"

Lars of Mars wasn't the only Jerry Siegel co-created character to battle Russkies!

..there was also this guy, who was the Red Planet's only felon in half a century!

Illustrated by Henry Sharp, and written by editor Jerry (Superman) Siegel, the second story from Ziff-Davis' Crusader from Mars #1 (1952) continues the theme that the major example of "Evil on Earth" Tarka and Zira must battle is Communism!

BTW, isn't it a shame there was never a Lars/Crusader crossover?

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Russkie-Smashers CRUSADER FROM MARS "Mission Through Space"

Lars of Mars wasn't the only Jerry (Superman) Siegel co-created Martian to battle Russkies!

This guy, along with a female "friend and companion" was sent to Earth to do similar work...but for a very different reason!

If I follow the "logic" of this concept correctly, the Martians send a proven murderer (along with someone who may be either an accessory to murder or an innocent who had nothing to do with the crime except having a murderer obsessed with her) to fight evil on Earth.
Send a convicted killer with emotional control issues (and advanced weaponry) to a primitive planet and tell him to clean it up?
And then, when he screws up. send a fleet of flying saucers in to straighten out the mess.
(Martians apparently don't have a non-interference Prime Directive.)
Also note that the American military seems to be made up of idiot bureaucrats!
The writer for this premiere tale from Crusader from Mars #1 (1952) is unknown, but probably is the book's editor, Jerry (Superman) Siegel, who co-created another short-lived Martian crime-fighter, Lars of Mars, the year before.

The artist is believed to be Marvin Stein, but the layouts have a strong Jack Kirby feel to them.
Considering Stein was doing a lot of work for the Simon/Kirby studio at the time, and Jack was reputed to be very generous in terms of helping his friends, it seems likely he provided roughs for Stein to render full pencils and inks over.
BTW, you may note that Tarka wears a very Superman-style costume in this tale, but on the cover, and in the next (and last) issue, the colors are reversed.

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Russkie-Smashers / Chi-Com Crushers LARS OF MARS "Terror Weapon" Conclusion

When Last We Left the Martian disguised as a Human Actor Playing a Martian on TV...

...he was heading for Manchuria to stop a mad Soviet scientist from unleashing a super-weapon that could freeze anything!

 Lars uses his ability to travel between dimensions, encountering creatures like the one on the cover above, then escaping to...

Written by Jerry Siegel, illustrated by Murphy Anderson, this was the cover-featured tale from Ziff-Davis' Lars of Mars #11 (1951), the second (and last issue) of the series!

BTW, the cover artist is Allen Anderson (no relation to Murphy)

And, Allen also did the cover to the second (and last) issue of Ziff-Davis' Space Busters...which was illustrated by Murphy!

Weird, huh? 

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