Duke Douglas!

Comic Media was a short-lived publisher from the early 50's, and they put out some handsome material in their brief existence. Their go-to artist appears to have been the painfully underrated Don Heck who of course went on a decade later to be a mainstay at Marvel during its early days. Boardman Books gathered up the Duke Douglas stories in a slim volume first published in 2015. It is this book which I read for the reviews below. 

(Not in this collection.)

Danger was one of the company's flagship titles and begins its run in 1953 with a wide range of manly men engaged in a variety of sweaty activities as evidenced by this debut cover by Heck. These are, as the banner announces, stories about "Men Without Fear". Don Heck returns for the next couple of issues with some covers that promise some wild and intriguing adventures indeed.

But then with the sixth issue a new regular feature was introduced, drawn by Heck. Not named on the cover this is Duke Douglas, a dapper secret agent who appears by the many montages he is featured in on this cover and others to be engaged in all sorts of clandestine adventure. But in fact, Douglas does not appear inside the comic but only on the cover. It must've been quite odd for a reader attracted by the Heck artwork to find nothing inside to correspond. 

Duke Douglas debuts inside the seventh issue of Danger in a story entitled "Khyber Incident" in which he attempts to forestall the "Reds" from stirring up trouble in the mountains of Asia. The lead story is drawn by Don Heck. A second story titled "Escape to Death" sees our hero try to rescue a diplomat who might have been betrayed by the one he loves most.  This story was drawn by Pete Morisi. No writer is indicated for either tale in this issue. 

Ken Fitch is credited as the writer of "Crash in the Alps" drawn by Don Heck for the eighth issue of Danger. (This is the only time any writer is identified on a Duke Douglas story.) In this one Duke is trying to retrieve plates which would result in counterfeit money which could well cripple the fragile European economy. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" is drawn by Pete Morisi, We see Duke kill and kill again to rescue a damsel in distress from the very heart of the Kremlin. Did Duke kill Stalin? The story suggests he might have. 

With the ninth issue Duke's name finally rates a cover and the action here goes more for mood rather than action. "Ransom in Oil" was drawn by Don Heck and has Duke battling Red spies to gain contracts with rich Arab leaders. That Duke rescues a sheik's daughter only helps his case. "Racket Man" is a text piece in which an unnamed protagonist presumed to be Duke is loaned out to the FBI to help capture a man who has made off with a million bucks and fled to Brazil. "Intrigue" drawn by Heck has Douglas go into a long-term deep cover to uncover a Red plot, but he must toy with the emotions of a young woman to help his mission, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend who is drafted to fight in Korea. "Dedication" is a one-page text story in which Duke uncovers a grisly murder scheme. 

"Trouble in Morocco" has Duke join the Foreign Legion to discover why things are not going as planned. The death toll is high in this story drawn by Don Heck. "Trial by Fire" is drawn by Bill Discount and sees Duke seeking the secret of a man who seemingly died in a deadly car crash. Frankly the hero in this one doesn't resemble Duke all that much, but each artist seems to have his own take on our spy hero. "Oil" is a Duke one-page text tale in which he solves the murder of a Pentagon official and uncovers a Red spy. 

"Accomplice in Murder" in the final Comic Media issue of Danger puts Duke in a ticklish position where he must cover up a murder in order to uncover a deeper plot. The story is the final Duke Douglas comic story and is drawn by Don Heck. "Choker" is a one-page text tale in which Duke spots a hidden clue revealing that murder has been done. 

Duke holds down Danger until 1954 when it completes its Comic Media run, the company having given up the ghost. You can almost imagine him firing his gun into the fourth wall at the creditors. Charlton Comics was in a position to swoop in and gathers up much of Comic Media's material and titles, though Duke Douglas and Don Heck alike are gone from the covers when they relaunched the title in 1955. The series runs a mere three issues before a dramatic transformation takes place.

If you would like to savor some of those vintage Danger adventures, then check out this link. 

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