SHARK WEEK SPECIAL! Before Aquaman! Before Sub-Mariner! There Was THE SHARK!

We interrupt our ongoing weekly Russkie-Smasher feature this week...

...to present a Shark Week special...a reintroduction to the aquatic super-hero who predated both DC's Aquaman and Marvel's Sub-Mariner!

This never-reprinted story from Centaur's Amazing-Man Comics #6 (1939), written and illustrated by Lew Glanzman, appeared within the same month as Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner's debut in Timely's Marvel Comics #1 (1939) and well before Aquaman's premiere in DC's More Fun Comics #73 (1941)!

The son of Neptune (who may or may not be the Roman god), The Shark once lived in an undersea kingdom, but set out to fight all crime committed at sea by anyone; human, sea-dweller, or extraterrestrial alien!

He's called "Shark" because sharks often accompany him...and eat his enemies!
The character is also a skilled scientist, who creates and uses technology far beyond then-current human science! 

• His super-powers include...
• The ability to breathe underwater
• Superhuman strength and near-invulnerability (which he loses on land unless he's in physical contact with a magic knife given him by his father)
• Mental control of sea life
• Ability to create creatures out of water which he can direct mentally
  

With a strip appearing in both Amazing-Man Comics and Stars and Stripes Comics, The Shark lasted until the company (which also published pulp magazines) gave up comics. 

 Be Here Tomorrow for Another Adventure of

The Shark!

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Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Z-Food!"

Sometimes, you just have to ask..."What were Joe Simon and Jack Kirby imbibing/inhaling/drinking?"
Perhaps it was this stuff!

It was only 1954 when this story appeared in Prize's Fighting American #3, so how did Simon & Kirby predict the hallucinogenics which would become so prevalent in the early 1960s?

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Stranger from Paradise" and "Red Agent"

Today, we're presenting a couple of short features starring our patriotic heroes!

Art by Jack Kirby and Walt Simonson

First, a two-page featurette from Prize's Fighting American #3 (1954) starring SpeedBoy...

...and a one-page text feature from Prize's Fighting American #5 (1954-55)...

"Stranger from Paradise" was penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Joe Simon.

The writer was either Simon or Kirby...or both!

"Red Agent's" writer is unknown, but could be Kirby, Simon, both...or neither!

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Man Who Sold Out Liberty!"

What could be more patriotic on the 4th of July...
...than kicking American traitors' and Russkie agents' asses on top of the Statue of Liberty?




Written and illustrated by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, this lead (but not cover-featured) tale from Prize's Fighting American #3 (1954) is sort of a midway point between early serious and later farcical stories!
BTW, Malloy will return later in the series and we'll show it to you!
Happy
4th of July!

Russkie-Smashers FIGHTING AMERICAN and SPEEDBOY "Roman Scoundrels"

There are those who claim today's media are merely Russkie dupes!

This story, not published until a decade after it was written and illustrated, might have proven them right!

Note: "Yutz" is Yiddish for "useless".

Note the sixth panel has been modified, likely to remove a knife, which the Comics Code wouldn't allow actually being plunged into someone's back!

This was one of three stories created for #8 of Prize's Fighting American comics that went unused when the series was cancelled with V2N7 (1956).

In 1965-66, Joe Simon was packaging a new line of super-hero/sci-fi titles labeled Harvey Thrillers for Harvey.
Besides titles with new super-heroes, he prepared two comics featuring classic characters that combined reprints with new material; The Spirit, which creator Will Eisner packaged, and Fighting American, which is where Joe published those never-used FA tales along with reprints!

Be Here on July 4th as Fighting American and SpeedBoy take on a traitor to America working for the Russkies!