The Peacemaker - The Fire World!

The Peacemaker #5 is dated November, 1967. The editor is Dick Giordano and the writer of both the lead feature and the back up is Joe Gill. The illustration on the lead and on the cover is by Pay Boyette.

Part I of "The Fire World" by Gill and Boyette begins with Christopher Smith explaining his latest invention to his secretary Nora O'Rourke. He's developed a heat-proof material which can be applied to everyday objects such as clothing making it possible for people to work in extreme heat. He's also redesigned his Peacemaker helmet, ostensibly to make better use of this fire-resistant compound. He is planning to go public with his discovery.

The scene shifts to a circus act featuring a fire-eater named Mr.Blaze who it seems catches fire during his act burning his hands. He learns of Smith's invention and makes plans to steal it when it is being delivered to its location. He burns down the mail room to cover his theft but Smith is suspicious when he hears the news, as his fabric shouldn't have burned. He introduces another invention then, an Absolute-Zero Generator, a small hand-held device.

We find Mr.Blaze now looking to maximize his stolen property when he learns of an island which is suffering volcanic eruptions, causing it to become deserted. He wants to go there and does so. He finds though after disembarking from the ship that a race of molten lava men live on the island and they destroy the ship. Blaze though is able to communicate with them and using Smith's compound is able to thrive in their world. He takes control of them and plots his next step. That comes when a plane comes by and the lava men attack it. Then Blaze develops a small device that will channel the energy of the lava men giving them and himself the ability to propel themselves through the air like jets. The head to a nuclear test site to begin their campaign. At that site is Peacemaker to observe the test.

"Peacemaker Patter" offers up six fan letters this time. Some praise the Peacemaker book, but many want the Fightin' 5 to return to their own title. Again Giordano explains the reality of publishing and that any book not selling one hundred thousand copies or more cannot survive. It is revealed that the infamous lettering machine Charlton uses is used to make the letters page and that is because the typesetting machines broke down just before printing was to begin. But it allows more letters, so they might stick with it. The same device was used on the last Thunderbolt letters page.

Part Two of the Peacemaker story has Peacemaker in the air confronting Blaze and his lava men as they fly to interfere with the nuclear test. After a brief but ferocious battle Peacemaker is captured and awakens on the bridge of the ship and watches as the lava men destroy fighter jets. The ship is overrun by Blaze and his overheated henchmen and they take the ship back to his volcanic lair. Once there Blaze has Peacemaker construct a jet that will make use of the energy of the lava and Peacemaker does so. He also recognizes his heat-proof formula as it's being used by Blaze. After Blaze reveals he will use the jet to take over the world beginning in Washington D.C., he has a lava man stop Peacemaker and send him toppling into the volcano.

Peacemaker is able to survive by using his AZG (Absolute-Zero Gun) device to freeze a pocket which generates an explosion when it melts which propels him out of the volcano. He then uses his rocket pack to return to the "Peace Palace" in Geneva. There he gets another special jet plane and goes to intercept Blaze and his forces, armed with the knowledge that Blaze's formula which he stole has a half-life which is decaying rapidly. Blaze suddenly finds he is blistering and ejects from his special plane which crashes relatively harmlessly into the Potomac. Blaze disappears but the lava men scurry back to their volcanic home and Peacemaker seals them in with his AZG device. The story ends with speculation if Blaze will return.

The Fightin' 5 return in the conclusion of "The Card Carrier" by Gill and drawn by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache. The action begins immediately as Tom Tom reports Hank Hennessey that Frenchy the Fox has followed the vandals to their hideout. He doesn't know that Frenchy is at that moment captured by the thugs but he is able to escape and make contact momentarily before being knocked out. Alerted Hank and Tom Tom get reports from Granite and Sonya. Granite Gallego reports that the man they thought was shot by the policeman was in fact dead before the attack and so the whole thing appears to be a frame with the card being a red herring. Sonya supports this report from inside the movement and the Fightin' 5 reassemble. Tom Tom has gone to assist Frenchy and comes under gunfire, and the rest appear to assist. They take down the attackers, save Frenchy and realize the whole communist plot angle was a ruse by the publisher of the right-wing paper to kindle resentment against the Soviets. The story ends as the assembled FF fly over a safe Washington D.C.

The comic book ends with the excellent "Action-Heroes? We Got'Em!!!" house ad.

In this issue Peacemaker seems more like a regular run-of-the-mill superhero than in in any other issue. Mr.Blaze, a carny turned world-beater is a cliche and undermines the international flavor of the stories told to this point. The story relies on an awful lot of coincidence too, more than is often the case in stories like this. I did like the new Peacemaker helmet, and it points to the notion that Peacemaker would indeed have altered his equipment for different missions. That would've been a neat thing for future issue. But alas this is the final published installment of Peacemaker.

To read the complete comic book go here. 

But it's not the last report. Check back in next time for one more installment.

Surprisingly, there' more to come.

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The Peacemaker - The Origin!

The Peacemaker #4 is dated September, 1967. The editor is Dick Giordano, the scripter for both features is Joe Gill. The artist on the lead and the also the cover is Pat Boyette.

The first part of the lead Peacemaker story begins with an introduction to Nora O'Rourke, an American citizen but born in County Cork Ireland. She shows up at Christopher Smith's chateau dubbed "The Peace Palace" to apply for the position of secretary for Smith. Apparently others were to come with her but she is alone and explains that a man tried to stop her but she fought back successfully, getting a black eye in the process. While they talk and Smith gives some of his back history a sniper takes aim out the window. Smith says he learned science very young and was inspired by his father to pursue more adventurous activities. His big break came when he was asked by the military to help develop an experimental jet, the X-17. Just then a bullet is fired and Smith retaliates with a curious looking pistol and hits the sniper. O'Rourke is concerned but is told the bullet was non-lethal and the sniper will be dealt with through the authorities.

After dinner Smith is convinced Nora is right for the job and reveals to her his identity as Peacemaker and gives her a tour of his facilities and weapons. He gives her a rundown of his previous adventures, saying his battle with Emil Bork (shown in the Fightin' 5 issues) was his first time as Peacemaker. He also reprises his battles against Bork, The Commodore, and others. Nora is impressed, but just then a jet flies over the chateau and releases a bomb.

"Peacemaker Patter" offers four fan letters. Three are very enthusiastic about the new Peacemaker book, though they lament the loss of Fightin' 5. One letter though is very critical and says that Peacemaker is pretty bland compared to the other Action-Heroes.

Part Two of the Peacemaker story is titled "The Hostage" and begins with the bomb burst and afterwords a ground assault on the chateau led by Colonel Uz, a Bulgar arms thief. Peacemaker battles the invaders but is subdued when a lab explodes and is kidnapped, the force leaving in a jet with him. Nora and Peacemaker's assistant Paul try to figure out what to do. Uz confronts Peacemaker (who it is revealed is heavily armed just by wearing his costume though he doesn't appear to have weapons) and reveals he wants Peacemaker to repair some of the high-tech weapons he's stolen, but which don't a present work. Peacemaker does indeed fix the weapons, sabotaging each and every one in ways which will not be immediately detectable. Then Peacemaker is shown that Nora has fallen into the clutches of Uz and so he goes ahead and begins his escape. Uz's men are helpless to stop him as their weapons malfunction and explode around them. Peacemaker confronts Colonel Uz who flees in a jet which falls apart around him in mid-air. Rescued Nora remarks to Peacemaker that her first few hours of working for him have been exciting ones indeed.

The Fightin' 5 story is titled "Card Carrier" and is part one of a multi-part tale. It begins in an alley with a grenade assault on a publishing company. A policeman shows up and pursues the vandals, shooting and wounding one of them, but not being able to capture them. The scene shifts to Hank Hennessey, leader of the FF who is briefing Granite Gallego about a membership card belonging to one Rober Heddon found at the scene of the crime and how it points to the problem of spies who might be using a liberal political group to do espionage work. Despite there persistent doubts about her it is agreed that Sonya is best suited to infiltrate the group.

Meanwhile Tom Tom and Frenchy the Fox stake out the publisher's office thinking another attack might be imminent. Two men do show up to finish the job but are intercepted and followed by Tom Tom, who hands the pursuit off to Frenchy. Thinking they have escaped, the two thugs goe their hideout in the sewer system and Frenchy follows. Granite reports in from the police station that the card carrier Roger Heddon has been found in the river dead from the gunshot wound received during the crime. Frenchy though is discovered following the thugs as the installment ends.

Though this issue purports to be an origin for Peacemaker, we get precious little new information. The first chapter of the story almost felt to me like one of those later chapters in a movie serial, the ones they use to extend the whole shebang by recounting earlier parts of the story. Nora seems a good addition to the Peacemaker landscape, as clearly Smith couldn't do what he does without a goodly sized support staff. Seeing those people would make the whole Peacemaker thing a wee bit more logical, and we get a glimpse of his set-up in this issue.


One thing I noticed preparing this report is that one of the poses used on the cover of this issue was adapted very slightly and used on the Action-Heroes house ad I esteem so highly. Neat.

To read the complete comic book go here. 

More to come.

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The Peacemaker - Our Future World!

The Peacemaker #3 is dated July, 1967. Dick Giordano is listed as editor for the first time on the lead feature, and Joe Gill gets his first credit as the writer. He is referred to later in the letters page as the creator of Peacemaker. Pat Boyette is the illustrator and he did the cover.

"Our Future World" begins by describing Gerda Hain, world beauty and scientist, and how she has been chosen to be part of a select group of humans who will survive the coming nuclear holocaust. Others mentioned are mountain climber Hilary Smythe-Jaynes, football star Tony Holusky, and typist Eileen McGowan. These are people chosen by Enrico Lucetti, a physics prodigy who speaks directly to the reader and describes how man will survive the coming disaster by going deep into the sea and he reveals how he's created underwater men himself to help this endeavor.

The story then cuts to the present day and follows Christopher Smith and Gerda Hain as they take a date on the beach. Gerda wants a quick dip in the sea before they have some champagne but she is abducted by Lucetti's mermen. Smith investigates, swimming through shark-infested waters and he is also attacked by the mermen. He goes back to shore and gets his gear to become Peacemaker. As Peacemaker he quickly subdues the mermen and finds Lucetti's underground city under a great shell at the bottom of the sea. He sees Gerda being taken inside and attacks, but eventually he sees it smarter to let himself be taken captive. Inside he confronts Lucetti who describes his plan to Peacemaker and Hain (who by the way immediately recognizes Peacemaker as Smith as does Lucetti). Hain will join Lucetti's paradise and Peacemaker will become a merman. Peacemaker attacks and he and Hain look to foil Lucetti's plans as Part ends.

"Peacemaker Patter" offers up five fan letters. Most are complimentary of the new book but one laments the loss of Fightin' 5 in their own book. Suggestions are made to have Steve Ditko take over the art. There is some discussion about the fact that Peacemaker should eschew his laser and stick to more conventional weapons, an idea Giordano throws out to the fans for more comment. One writer wonders how Charlton can have such a quick response time on letters, getting them in the very next issue most of the time, and Giordano explains they wait until literally hours before press time. This is one of the quirks that made Charlton different for sure.

Part 2 of "Our Future World" begins with Peacemaker and Gerda Hain trying to escape Lucetti's dome. They fend off sharks, but Peacemaker is convinced that Lucetti will want to trigger the nuclear holocaust he's preparing for and indeed Peacemaker finds a battery of nuclear missles at Lucetti's dome city. Peacemaker and Hain are recaptured and again taken before Lucetti. Peacemaker is imprisoned in a hard transparent shell that is resistant to his laser and specially designed penetrating shells. Confident Lucetti ignores Peacemaker when he fogs up the shell making himself invisible. Lucetti prepares for the launch of his missiles while Peacemaker is burning through the floor. He finds Hain below and they find the missile controls which Peacemaker quickly destroys. The missiles self-destruct and Peacemaker and Gerda escape. A desperate Lucetti though finds himself at the mercy of his own sharks.

The Fightin' 5 return in a story titled "Special Prisoner" written by Joe Gill and drawn by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache. The story begins with a U.S. official named Lowell Sims being abducted by U.S. forces for safekeeping. It turns out that Granite Gallego, a member of the FF is a double for Sims and the plan developed by the leader Hank Hennessey is for him to become Sims and get kidnapped by enemy agents who have already kidnapped an important nuclear scientist named Dr.Roy Farney. This is arranged and Granite is quickly taken prisoner and flown to Farney's location. Meanwhile Frenchy, Tom-Tom and Sonya follow and parachute into the location to rescue them both. After some exchanges the do indeed rescue the pair and escape the enemy base. A sidebar to this action has been Sonya and her attempts to win the respect and trust of her colleagues. Granite especially is tough on her though we find it's because he's romantically interested too.

The book closes with another outstanding Charlton Action-Heroes house ad, this one announcing the debut of Blue Beetle and the coming of the Big "C" on the covers.

This is solid issue of Peacemaker, with enough intrigue and a neat science fiction element. This nod to science fiction gives the Peacemaker a broader flavor, making it more than just an espionage story, albeit an espionage story with super weapons. This was my very first issue of Peacemaker, and for many years the only one I saw. The cover is superb, very dramatic and very romantic in the broad sense pitting the Peacemaker and a Merman against each other with Gerda looking on. This cover is a fave of Fred Hembeck too, and you'll see his homage above. And even the Fightin' 5 feature this time seemed complete and the storytelling was tighter too. All in all one of the stronger issues of the Action Hero run.

To read the complete comic book go here. 

More to come.

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The Peacemaker - The Ultimatum!

The Peacemaker #2 is dated May, 1967. Again we have three stories, two featuring the Peacemaker. Again I assume these were stories produced originally as back ups for the defunct Fightin' 5 comic and now are gathered under The Peacemaker title. Pat Boyette is on the art chores for the lead feature as well as the excellent cover. Joe Gill is the writer of all the stories though there is no credit in the comic.

"The Survivors" is the first story and begins with Christopher Smith inspecting a uranium processing complex in an Balkanesque unnamed country. He notes that guards are posted and their weapons are pointed at the source of the uranium, a mine opening. He investigates adn soon finds himself under attack by mysterious pale beings who don't appear to have faces. They know who Smith is and the leader named Beel shows Smith a vast underground city. It seems these are the slave laborers who worked in the mine, and who have been transformed by the radioactivity they had to endure. Further they discovered this lost city and some awesome weapons with which they plan to overwhelm their former masters and invade the upper world. They will also used a strange power to changed their appearance and Beel changes to look like Christopher Smith. Smith takes a chance to escape becomes Peacemaker but is soon captured and caged. As he watches the former slaves transform into lookalikes for the leaders of the world. Peacemaker uses a bomb to free himself and he stops their underground mole machine with his powerful helmet laser. It explodes and sets off a chain reaction in the cave due to its peculiar reflective nature. The entire underground domain explodes as Peacemaker flies back to the surface, and destroys the dangerous mine.

"Peacemaker Patter" gives us a look at two creators, two bios written by the subjects. First is a bio and photo of the ubiquitous Joe Gill written with a great deal of deprecating humor. My favorite involves the "generous" nature of Charlton. Ernie Bache writes his own bio and also provides a picture. There is a note that the next issue of Peacemaker will feature a full-length story, and that his origin will soon be addressed. Also a shout-out by editor Dick Giordano is given for the new Blue Beetle book.

"The Ultimatum" is the second Peacemaker story and begins with Christopher Smith delivering a warning to Premier Gekk, a corrupt leader in Central Asia, building a vast military force. Smith along with his secretary return to their chalet and Smith reports and urges that military action be anticipated against Gekk's forces. During a parade intended to show military strength Gekk reveals his vast and swift air fleet armed with great cannons which fires atomic shells. Smith becomes Peacemaker and flies to his own experimental aircraft and flies into the sky to intercept Gekk's forces. His jet's greater speed proves superior and he destroys several of the enemy planes and causes the balance of the attacking force to fly into their own base destroying the threat. He then uses a non-deadly nerve gas to disable the balance of Gekk's ground troops.

The Fightin' 5 are back in a story with no title, drawn by the team of Bill Montes and Ernie Bache, that picks up some time after the events of the previous adventure which resulted in the disabling of Hank Hennessey and the death of Irv "The Nerve". The remaining member (Tom Tom, French the Fox, and Granite) discuss events with leader Hennessey who now has one arm and wears an eye patch, and has become a desk jockey. They use a computer to select the replacement for Irv and surprisingly the choice is Sonya the Soviet agent who helped in the last adventure. They are suspicious, but can only follow orders as the team heads into the north to investigate a Communist installation which seems to pose a threat. They investigate using air packs but soon are captured. It appears that Sonya betrayed them and they feel vindicated if annoyed at that turn of events. But Sonya is merely pretending and helps the team to escape and destroy the base before flying back to home base. Nonetheless the others plan to watch her closely.

This issue also has another great house ad, prominently featuring the Peacemaker in a pose taken from the debut issue.

Peacemaker really comes across as a one-man army in this issue, especially the second story. The impassive way that Boyette draws Christopher Smith makes him rather reflective and more than a bit spooky. Boyette reportedly did not like to do superheroes, finding the slug fests boring to draw. In Peacemaker he doesn't do much in the way of hand-to-hand but instead has Peacemaker use some very high tech to dominate his enemies. That laser is proving to be very potent.

This comic was reprinted in the late 70's under the Modern imprint.

To read the complete comic book go here. 

More to come.

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Peacemaker - Collector's Edition!

The Peacemaker Vol.3 #1 is dated March, 1967. Pat Boyette is the artist on the first two stories and the cover. There is no writer listed for the stories but presumably Joe Gill is responsible.

The first of two Peacemaker stories is titled "The Killer on the Reef!" and begins with American envoy Christopher Smith heading to the west coast and boards a trawler to investigate recent mysterious incidents of vandalism and destruction among the fishing fleets of the world, and the sinking of ships is attributed to some power other than the governments of the world. As the trawler heads to its location a scuba diver begins to destroy the nets with explosives and attaches one to the ship itself. The scuba diver then announces to the ship's captain that "The Commodore" is responsible and the ship will be destroyed in one minute.

Christopher Smith becomes Peacemaker and using special undersea gear dives into the sea to confront the attacker and prevent the bomb from doing its deadly work. He detaches the bomb and sends it into a school of deadly sharks. He follows the deadly diver to a mysterious submarine and after dispatching him goes himself into the sub to confront The Commodore. He meets the leader who claims all the wealth of the oceans is his and he will kill to maintain his claim. Peacemaker uses his helmet laser to destroy key equipment and the sub begins to suffer small explosions. It surfaces and the men disembark just before the whole shebang goes up. The Commodore, now in custody, explains that in mere days he would've met another at the south pole and together they would've ruled the world. Smith ends the story wondering about this new threat.

"Peacemaker Patter" written by Dick Giordano, the editor, explains how Peacemaker is a revised version of the defunct Fightin' 5 comic which had featured Peacemaker in its last few issues. Now the tables are turned and Peacemaker is the lead and a revised Fightin' 5 is the back-up feature. There is also a biography of artist Pat Boyette (presumably written by the artist himself) along with a photo.

The second Peacemaker story is titled "The Hidden Power". It begins with Christopher Smith getting slapped by the ambassador of a seemingly innocuous Balkan country under the sway of the Soviet Union. This challenge is inexplicable unless the country has gained some great power, and reconnaissance does indicate that the country has new planes and nuclear capabilities. Becoming Peacemaker, Christopher Smith uses his own experimental jet to fly to the area where he encounters a cargo plane he finds curious. He follows it and discovers a base at the south pole, an expansive base hidden in the depths of the ice.

His plane is detected and a heat-seeking missile is dispatched, but Peacemaker cuts off the power to his plane and deploys a flare which lures away the missile and in fact brings it to home where it destroys those who launched it. Meanwhile Peacemaker's plane uses a parachute to land safely. On the ground he encounters troops but uses non-lethal nerve gas to defeat the guards and he descends into the complex through a shaft which becomes a hellish endurance test as massive heat from the nuclear furnaces is vented through there. He survives the ordeal and arrives at the bottom and quickly destroys the facility and returns home. With the capability destroyed the Balkan ambassador is quick to apologize to a polite Christopher Smith.

The Fightin' 5 are back in a story titled "Ruler of Darkness" presumably written by Joe Gill and featuring artwork by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache. The action begins right in the middle as a Balkan dictator named Leontid Jrozva has his agent Sonya hold Hank Hennessey(FF4), the leader of the F5 at bay while he describes his attempts to pressure the major powers to go to war as they ought. Sonya shoots Hennessey, but it proves to be a ruse as she radios Irv "The Nerve" Haganah (FF2) that he should meet her at a graveyard where they uncover Hennessey's casket to find him rather fit. Hank radios Frenchy the Fox(FF1) who is flying above and who lands to pick them up. An enemy jet appears and Hank fires a pistol but one loaded with special anti-aircraft ammunition that destroys the enemy.

The team then heads back to base where they debrief Sonya who indicates that the dictator has missiles and that they should both inform their respective governments. The Fightin' 5 plus Sonya then parachute back into the region and Hank and Irv destroy the dictator's capability to fire missiles by destroying the master communications array. But the electricity involved is deadly and kills Irv and seriously injures Hank, destroying his arm and one eye. Sonya then uses a destruct switch to destroy the dictator's base. The Fightin' 5 carry their dead and wounded home as the story ends.

This comic was reprinted in the late 70's under the Modern imprint.

This is a solid issue of entertainment. Pat Boyette produces some dandy work. The plots are a wee bit creaky in places, presumably rushed given the length of the stories. Either of these stories could easily have been expanded to fill the whole issue. I assume these are stories already produced for back up in the cancelled Fightin' 5 comic. There is less braying about peace in these tales, and Peacemaker comes off as what he mostly is, a private soldier and agent who acts in what he believes to be the immediate best interests of world order, if not world peace necessarily. It is peculiar that in the second story he's actually fighting to maintain the balance of terror between the superpowers.

The Fightin' 5 story suffers from some clumsy storytelling but does pack a lot of change to the status quo into a very few pages. The death of Irv was a big deal to me when I first read this issue many years ago in the Modern reprint. Even at that late date the unheralded death of a main character was very unusual, and I can only it was more so in the 60's when this story first appeared.

Read the complete comic book here. 

More to come.

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Thunder Agents Classics Volume Six!

This is my review of the sixth and final volume collecting up the original run of Tower Comics' T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (including spin-offs Dynamo and NoMan) as collected by IDW. While these reprints are not ideal in every way, they are handsome enough and offer the vintage 60's saga in a handy-to-read format unlike any I've possessed.

These tales are less impressive than their mighty legend, not unlike the beloved EC Comics, but nonetheless they are worthy stories which showcase the strengths and weaknesses of Silver Age comics thoroughly. Wally Wood and company (Dan Adkins and Ralph Reese mostly) are at their best as are Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, Chic Stone, Reed Crandall, and so many others. Artistically George Tuska and Mike Sekowsky turn in some strong work but alas the stories lack much of the spy glamour which attaches to the more atmospheric Wood stuff.

Here are the final issues of the classic original run which are included in this latest volume, which sadly does not feature one of these great recreation covers by Ryan Brown. This one is only credited to Wally Wood, though clearly it's been given a brush up. All the new material from the final issues is here right up through the finale which featured only a few pages of fresh material.

There was a delay of many months between issue seventeen and eighteen of the run. The cover of the eighteenth issue is by Reed Crandall and the nineteenth is a composite. 

A full year passes before issue twenty hit the stands. It's almost all reprints with only one new quick story reprising the origins of THUNDER and Dyanano. The cover is by Chic Stone. 

Next week the focus will be on that other Tower super agent. 

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The Fightin' 5 - Monster From The Abyss!

Fightin' Five Volume 2 #41 is dated January,1967. The Executive editor is Pat Masulli and the Managing Editor is Dick Giordano. The script is by regular writer and creator Joe Gill along with Bill Montes and Ernie Bache on the artwork. The cover is by Rocke Mastroserio. This is final original issue of the Fightin' Five to be published.

The "5" are Frenchy the Fox, Irv "The Nerve" Haganah, Granite Gallero, Hank Hennessy, and Tom-Tom. Designated according to the first letter of their name, they formed "America's Super Squad" and the word "F.I.G.H.T.", hence Fightin' 5.

"Monster from the Abyss" begins under the ocean when Dr. Aquilla and his scuba-wearing henchmen try to take control of the nuclear submarine and underwater laboratory the U.S.S. Plankton. Aquilla has established a base under the sea where he mines precious gems and minerals. He perceives the Plankton as a threat and orders his men to take control of it. In the course of that a missile is sent astray which ends up going deep into a trench. Meanwhile the Fightin' 5 approach the area concerned over Aquilla's activities. The missile goes to the bottom of the trench where it explodes just above the head of a gigantic sleeping reptile. The ancient creature is understandably upset and rises from the depths to see what has awakened him and encounters another missile which explodes on contact.

"Aquilla's Doom" begins as the creature attacks the U.S.S. Plankton and the Fightin' 5 arrive on the underwater tableau. They begin to try and distract the mammoth creature and do draw its attention away, but it then seeks to attack them. Aquilla sees this and is happy to see the creature handle his enemies for him. The Fightin' 5 try to draw the beast away and succeed, but when Plankton crew try to emerge to effect repairs, they are attacked by Aquilla's men who issues an order for them to surrender their ship. The Fighitn' 5 though manage to turn the sea monster and it starts to destroy parts of Aquilla's undersea base. Aquilla's attempts to attack Hank with a squidlike ink gun only attract the creature to him and he has to swim for his life hiding in the coral. To save the undersea despot the Fightin' 5 use a small bomb and get the creature to swallow it. It explodes but only gives the monster the hiccups. This does though distract him, and he swims away while the Fighitn' 5 go to rescue the crew of the Plankton and capture Aquilla.

"Expendable Except" is a one-page text story set during WWII in which a scientist uses his wits and a wine cellar to enable himself and his daughter to escape the Nazis with an O.S.S. agent and emigrate to America.

The Peacemaker has a second installment this issue. The writing is by Joe Gill and the art is by Pat Boyette.

"The War Peddler" picks up the action from the previous issue with Peacemaker having just been shot from the sky by Emil Bork an evil arms dealer. But Peacemaker recovers in the nick of time just missing the ground when his jets restart. Later aboard his own jet he seeks out Bork who is trying to instigate a war by initiating conflict with his own men and equipment and tricking two bordering nations. Christopher Smith learns of his plan, confronts Bork but it is to no avail who escapes in his own helicopter. Smith then becomes Peacemaker and takes to the skies reaching the site of the impending battle. Using his ability the electronically scramble communications and some paralyzing nerve gas he incapacitates both armies. Bork seeing this, shoots four missiles at Peacemaker. Peacemaker uses his helmet laser to destroy three of the missiles and sends the fourth into Bork's own plane killing the amoral war peddler. The blurb promises for Peacemaker adventures in the next issue of Fighin' 5 but there will be no more. Instead, Peacemaker will get his own book. More on that later.

It has long been noted that the sea monster awakened in this issue of Fightin' 5 bears a striking resemblance to longtime Charlton monster-character Gorgo. As can be seen above in this cover by the Montes and Bache team for an issue of Gorgo, the resemblance is amazing. In fact, inside the issue the beast looks even more like Gorgo with the nifty little ear fins added which are missing from the cover.

This is the last regular issue of the Fightin' Five. The title is cancelled, and its place is taken by the debut of a new Peacemaker comic a few months later in 1967. It will be over a decade before the title is revived picking up the original numbering but using only reprints. Those have been covered in previous reports. While Peacemaker takes the lead, the Fightin' 5 are given the back-up position with some few new adventures. 

Read the actual comic book here. 

The Fight Continues in the pages of Peacemaker. 

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