Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Operation Wolf!"

It's obvious Joe Simon and Jack Kirby were having fun with their "Cold War Captain America"...

...when you see the almost Chester Gould/Dick Tracy-style names, usually involving bad puns, they came up with for villains!

This cover feature by Simon and Kirby from Prize's Fighting American #4 (1954) is almost "camp" the way the Batman TV series was...deadpan heroes surrounded by a totally-insane world!
Trivia: inept spymasters Rimsky and Korsakoff are based on the name of Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, whose most famous work (to Western audiences) is "Flight of the Bumblebee" (used as written for the theme for radio's The Green Hornet, and updated many times since, including for the 1966 Green Hornet TV series!)
Though "Rhode Island Red" is meant here to indicate an American traitor working for the Russkies, it's actually the name of a breed of chicken!

MORE RUSSKIE-SMASHING FUN NEXT MONDAY!

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Super-Khakalovitch"

Russkies are not only sinister, cruel and evil...
...but they apparently really (literally) stink!
(BTW, I have no idea if the Cyrillic translations above are accurate or not!)

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby did a mash-up on the writing and illustrating in this tale from Prize's Fighting American #6 (1955), literally scripting, pencilling and inking different panels as they went!

Trivia: "Martha Hurry" is a spoof of Arthur Murray, who ran a successful chain of ballroom dance studios which continue to this day!

Murray himself passed away in 1991.

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Sneak of Araby"

Let's start off this section of the Russkie-Smasher blogathon with a volatile combination....

...Russkies and Middle Eastern oil!

Produced by the legendary team of Simon & Kirby, exactly who did what on this opening tale from Prize's Fighting American #7 (1955) is somewhat muddled as both Jack Kirby and Joe Simon tended to do everything (scripting/penciling/inking) together as they went!

Trivia: Curiously, the previous issue featured a cover with this plot concept (Russkies and Middle Eastern oil)...

...but with different Arab characters, both in name and appearance, none of whom appeared in that issue!

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN "Hero Who Laughed at Himself"

Due to the Dreaded Deadline Doom (as Marvel editors used to say in the 1970s) on a paid assignment...

...we were unable to prep the story scheduled for today!

Luckily, we had already prepared a never-reprinted text feature from Harvey's Fighting American V3N1 (1966) about the Fighting American and SpeedBoy, which was scheduled for use later in this blogathon.

Note: the hero mentions they had been "on a secret government assignment"...which lasted a decade!

(The previous issue was in 1955!)

BTW, since this text feature conveniently-synopsized the character's origin, we're going to save the actual origin tale for last (as we did with The Avenger) and jump next week into the insane action with Russkies trying to steal Middle-Eastern oil in "Sneak of Araby".

Never has kicking Russkie asses been so much sheer fun!

Russkie-Smashers AVENGER "Birth of the Avenger!"

Appropriately, on Russia's "Victory Day"...

...we present our final Avenger tale...his origin...which was caused by the Russkies, as you shall see!

This tale, written by Paul S Newman and illustrated by Dick Ayers was the final story in Magazine Enterprises' The Avenger #1 (1955), after three other tales already showing The Avenger as an established and well-known fighter against the Communists in general, and Russkies in particular!
BTW, the "Ghost Rider mask" shown on page 3 that inspires Roger Wright to become the costumed Avenger was a real licensed product you could mail-order from Magazine Enterprises, which published both The Avenger and Ghost Rider!

Is that "meta", or what?

Note: there are a number of Avenger stories that feature Chinese Communists as well as colorful criminals without political affiliation, but since Russkies are the villains of this blogathon, those tales won't be presented this time around!

But, fear not, lovers of Freedom and the American Way!

There are numerous heroes ready and waiting to SMASH Russkies, beginning with...

...The Fighting American and SpeedBoy!

So we'll hardly be lacking for material in the coming months!

Be Back Next Week for Another Exciting Russkie-Smashing Adventure!