Russkie-Smashers DATE WITH DANGER "Spies Walk Alone!"

Not All Russkie-Smashers Wear Costumes...

...because sometimes...to battle spies, you need a spy...like this guy!

Remember, this was the era before we had elegant secret agents in dinner jackets, carrying various kool gimmicks!
(But he still got to make out with the "bad girl"! Some things never change!)
It was a time of down n' dirty action and survival meant using your wits and whatever was at hand!
Illustrated by Ross Andru and inked by Mike Esposito, this never-reprinted story from Standard's Date with Danger #5 (1952) featured a character the publisher might have wanted to do an ongoing strip about, but since the book ended with the next issue, he never returned!

Russkie-Smashers HUMAN TORCH & TORO "Human Torch - Fugitive at Large!"

Since We Spent All of March Punching Nazis...

...it's only fair we dedicate April to kicking Russkie ass, starting with Captain America's fellow Russkie-fighter, the original Human Torch!

Written by Hank Chapman, penciled by Dick Ayers, and inked by Ernie Bache, this tale  from Atlas' Sub-Mariner #35 (1954). is one of the most-reprinted of the 1950s Human Torch stories!
Understandable since its' packed with a lot of action in only five pages!
(BTW, besides appearing in the Men's Adventures and Young Men's anthology comics, the "Big Three" of Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and Human Torch all had backup features in each other's comics!
"Corporate synergy" long before the phrase was coined!)

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Atlas-Era Heroes

Volume 3

(which includes this story)

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Russkie-Smashers on Valentine's Week! SEARCH FOR LOVE "Atomic Amour!"

 Russkie Deceit and Deception Occurs Even in Matters of the Heart...

...even though we forget they were masters of such things during the Cold War!

As hard as it is to believe, this tale appeared in a romance comic, specifically, ACG's Search for Love #2 (1950).

Similar tales had appeared in crime/espionage titles, but their audience was radically-different from romance series' readers!

Regrettably, both the writer and illustrator(s) are unknown, so we can't blame anybody in particular for their stereotyped attitudes towards intelligent women.

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Weird Love

Vol 1
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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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Atlas-Era Heroes

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Russkie-Smashers SPY CASES "Smashing the Iron Curtain!"

"A secret agent is not some mythical being born on the comic page..."

...and raised to glory on the silver screen!"

How "meta" can you get?

Though the tale is closer to Mickey Spillane than Ian Fleming, it's still a rousing adventure that proves you don't need tights and a cape to smash Russkies!

Doug Grant was the star of the ongoing (and usually cover-featured) lead strip of Atlas' Spy Cases anthology comic.

This intro tale from #27 (actually #1, but they were continuing the numbering from a different comic, The Kellys) is scripted by Robert Bernstein and illustrated by Al Hartley.

He lasted for 39 stories, longer than any other Atlas-era secret agent except for The Yellow Claw's nemesis Jimmy Woo!

Next Week:

The legendary Man of Bronze takes on the Nazis at the 1936 Olympics as they put up an athlete who was trained from birth using the same techniques that Dr Clark Savage Sr used for Doc in this never-reprinted, almost 40 year-old extra-long tale!

Guest appearances by historical figures including Jesse Owens and Adolf (You Know Who)!

See the Nazi-Punching action at

Hero Histories and Medical Comics and Stories

Russkie-Smashers THE FBI STORY

Remember the "Good Ol' Days" When We Could, More Often Then Not, Trust the FBI?

To demonstrate this, we submit Exhibit A, an excerpt from Dell's Four Color Comics #1069: The FBI Story (1959), an adaptation of the movie of the same name!

Adapted by writers Eric Freiwald and Robert Schaefer and ilustrated by Alex Toth, the movie covered the career of "everyman" agent Chip Hardesty played by Jimmy Stewart, from 1924 to the "present" of 1959, fighting bootleggers, Nazis, the KKK, and, of course, Russkie Commies!
Of course, there was no CGI to "de-age" Stewart for the chronoligically-earlier scenes, so they depended on makeup and hair dye for those scenes.

Foreign movie poster with the "younger" Jimmy Stewart.

Comic cover with pic of the "current" (1959) Jimmy Stewart.

The flick was filmed with the full cooperation of the FBI, since J Edgar Hoover had total approval over the final edit!

Here's the trailer for the movie, which features a cameo by J Edgar...

Enjoy!

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Alex Toth in Hollywood
(which reprints the complete comic)
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