Showing posts with label Joe Gill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Gill. Show all posts

Monday, May 11, 2026

Russkie-Smashers PRIMUS "Saboteur"

Before "detente" occured in the mid-1970s...
...the Russkies were reliable baddies in fiction, as this never-reprinted comics tale, derived from a short-lived TV series in 1971-72, demonstrates!

Written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Joe Staton, this tale from Charlton's Primus #7 (1972) was one of two tales in the same issue with Russkies as the bad guys!
(The other story involved a plan to have an impersonator replace President Nixon!)
The syndicated TV series detailed the adventures of Carter Primus (Robert Brown), scuba-diving scientist-adventurer dealing with everything from eco-terrorists to drug-runners to Russkie spies!
Because it ran during the Family Hour (7-8pm) it was limited as to how much violence it could show.
As a result, it wasn't even as action-packed as it's 1960s predecessor Sea Hunt, starring Lloyd Bridges!
So, unlike Sea Hunt, which ran for 155 episodes, Primus sank without a trace after only 26 shows.
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Monday, February 23, 2026

Russkie Smashers SPACE ADVENTURES Captain Atom II in "One Second of War"

Cold War Paranoia Hit It's Peak in the Early 1960s...

...when people were terrified about being one button-push away from nuclear annihilation!




Interestingly, Captain Atom isn't concerned about radioactive fallout contaminating the surrounding area...inhabited by innocents!

Guess if it's Africa, they don't matter, eh, Captain?
Written by Joe Gill and penciled/inked by Steve Ditko, this was one of two tales in Charlton's Space Adventures #38 (1961) involving enemy nuclear missiles!
(The other one doesn't involve Russkies!)

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Monday, June 16, 2025

Russkie-Smashers CAPTAIN ATOM II "Crisis"

Remember the Good Ol' Days...

...when we would negotiate with other countries, and they were the ones who were untrustworthy?
I miss those days...

Written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Steve Ditko, this is a short-but-sweet tale from Charlton's Space Adventures #40 (1961) about beating the Russkies at their own game of deceit and deception by utilizing something...or rather someone...they don't expect!

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Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Commie-Clobbering Kaiju GORGO "Deadlier Than Man" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...well the scene in this Bill Montes-penciled and Ernie Bache-inked art doesn't actually, occur, but it's the perfect symbolic cover to visualize what's going on!
The Soviet Union is arming fellow Communist country Cuba with nuclear missiles.
However, an American trapped on the island manages to radio a warning to the American military, which results in the US warning the Russkies to stop what they're doing!
The Russkies refuse and things get tense!
Meanwhile two large kaiju, just minding their own business, are attracted to all the activity going on in the sea over them..
Did Gorgo and son stop the Cuban Missile Crisis from escalating?
Only these three (along with writer Joe Gill and artist Steve Ditko) know...and they ain't talking!
Next Week:
Another Marvel kaiju takes a crack at Commies!

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Monday, October 21, 2024

Commie-Clobbering Kaiju GORGO "Deadlier Than Man" Part 1

Besides Konga, another cinematic kaiju who battled Commies in comic pages was...
...who was also published by Charlton, and who was often illustrated by the legendary Steve Ditko!
Let's look in on the mother and son who frightened the world for 26 issues during the 1960s!
Don't worry, the kaiju cavalry is coming!
Good thing JFK didn't have to deal with kaiju along with the Cubans and Russians during the real-world Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, eh?
Writer Joe Gill and artist Steve Ditko continue their interpretation of those events from Charlton's Gorgo #14 (1963)...
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Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Commie-Clobbering Kaiju KONGA "Evil Eye" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...exiled, disgruntled, and disgraced Russian scientist Osvydni Otogorki utilizes his newly-developed hypnotic abilities to entrance Konga, who wanders near his Siberian prison.
Having already enslaved his Soviet captors, Otogorki schemes to use the giant primate to avenge himself upon the Presidium!

Otogorki was never seen again, so we can assume he was eaten by the ants before the events of the next issue!
Next Monday:
Another Kaiju Steps up to Battle a Communist Threat!
Who?
You'll Have to be Here to See!
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Countdown to Halloween 2024 Blogathon!