Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Russkie-Smashers BLACKHAWK "Mission Incredible" Part 3

(BTW: note that this foreign reprint had to modify the cover artwork you saw yesterday since the logo was part of it!)
...as they attempt to rescue a dead scientist's daughter (without using any aircraft) from the Russkies and learn the secret her late father told her!
But the "Dark Knights" are nothing if not resourceful...
After this final Silver Age appearance in DC's Blackhawk #243 (1968), the team wouldn't appear in the DC Multiverse until a one-panel cameo in DC's Justice League of America #107 (1973), where it was revealed the Golden Age (Earth-2) team was killed after traveling with the Freedom Fighters to Earth X, a world where the Nazis won World War II.
Blackhawk was revived for a year in 1976 with the group as mercenaries battling corporate espionage, terrorists, and the occasional elderly Nazi...but no Russkies or Commies.
The Golden Age versions appeared with the Earth-2 Batman in a WWII-set tale in DC's Brave and the Bold #167 (1980).
The final pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths incarnation took place in 1982 when, due to rumored interest from Steven Spielberg in a feature film version, the series was revived, set during World War II...
...along with a tie-in WWII adventure with a time-traveling Superman in DC Comics Presents (1984).
There was also a prose novel by noted sf/fantasy writer William Rotsler (which you can order below from Amazon).
Shortly after this, DC did their first (but certainly not last) major reboot with Crisis on Infinite Earths.
While there have been several revival/revisions of Blackhawk since then, we're not planning on covering them.
But, since there's dozens of Russkie-smashing Golden Age Blackhawk tales, there'll be no shortage of Blackhawk tales in our saga!
Be Here Monday for
a Twice-Told Tale
About Two Heroines
Smashing Both Russkies and Nazis!
It'll Make Sense When You See It!

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Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Russkie-Smashers BLACKHAWK "Mission Incredible" Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

...when Russkies kill an uncooperative scientist and try to force his little daughter to reveal the info he entrusted to her, Blackhawk and his team (without any functioning aircraft) mount an operation to rescue her...
Written by Bob Haney and illustrated by Pat Boyette, this never-reprinted tale from DC's Blackhawk #243 (1968) ended the series which had continued uninterrupted from #9 (when they took over Quality's Uncle Sam Quarterly in 1944) to this issue!
Note: Blackhawk was one of several of Quality Comics titles to continue ongoing publication as DC purchased the company's assets in 1956, including all published and unpublished material!

To Be Concluded...
TOMORROW!

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The only novel based on the comic book!

Monday, March 20, 2023

Russkie-Smashers BLACKHAWK "Mission Incredible" Part One

The final (1968) adventure of their original run returned the "Magnificent 7"...
...(and yes, they had that nickname before the now-classic 1960 Western movie) to their Russkie-smashing 1950s heyday!
Editor's Note: We re-presented that never-reprinted, multi-part adventure HERE, HERE, and HERE!)
Written by Bob Haney and illustrated by Pat Boyette, the Blackhawks are put in an unusual situation since their jet aircraft were likely destroyed during the battle on Blackhawk Island, and the still-operational Hawk Kite was too slow and obvious to airlift her out!
(Though it would've been cool to see them utilizing one of their mothballed, WWII-era XF5F Grumman SkyRockets to do so!)
To Be Continued...
TOMORROW!

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Blackhawk
by William Rotsler
The only novel based on the comic book!

Monday, March 13, 2023

Russkie-Smashers BLACKHAWK "Mutiny of the Red Sailors"

Can you really, truly, ever trust a Russkie...
...especially when you want to do so because you fervently believe they're trying to do the right thing?
When DC bought the Quality Comics line (including both already-published stories and unpublished material) in 1956, Blackhawk was one of the few titles they continued without interruption.
DC's first issue, (#108, from which this tale is re-presented) was published the month after #107, Quality's last issue!
As a result, much of the first few DC-published issues featured stories already in various stages of production.
This particular tale, by writer Robert Bernstein, penciler Dick Dillin, and inker Chuck Cuidera had been completed before the transfer.
You'll note it's a straight adventure/espionage tale, without sci-fi/fantasy elements.
Once the inventory was exhausted, DC dropped the Communist/Russian plotlines until the very end of the original series...which you'll see next week!
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Blackhawk
by William Rotsler
The only novel based on the comic book!

Monday, March 6, 2023

Russkie-Smashers T-MAN "Death Trap in Iran" & "Trouble's Double"

What happens when you combine Russkies and Iran in a kick-ass 1950s spy story?
But, that's not all!
There's also this sanitized-for-your-protection, Comics Code-modified reprint from Quality's T-Man #31 (1956), which waters down all the kool hard-boiled elements from the original tale...and makes the Russkies into generic "Communists"!
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