The Fightin' 5 - The Aztec Destroyers!

The second issue of Fightin' Five was Volume 2 #30 and dated October, 1964. It's the first adventure of the assembled team following their organization in the previous issue. Edited by Pat Masulli and written by Joe Gill and drawn by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache with a cover by Dick Giordano,

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.

This story has the assembled team pitted against a "college of sabotage" which was located in the Sierra Madre mountain range in Mexico. Specifically, the threat is Lev, a Soviet trainer is preparing Aztec warriors as saboteurs who will penetrate U.S. defenses and wreak havoc. Since the "college" is located in another country the United States cannot respond in an official capacity, but calls on the Fightin' 5 to solve the problem.

"The Aztec Warriors" begins when an Aztec warrior sets off a bomb aboard a U.S. ship in Seatle. Information from the surviving warrior leads the Fightin' 5 to Arizona from their Montana base where they plan to infiltrate Mexico in secret. They uncover evidence of Aztec and Soviet collaboration and confront Princess Malaxtl who eludes Hennessy and Frenchy the Fox.

"The Evil Teacher" begins after Malaxtl's disappearance when Aztec warriors appear and capture Hank as Frenchy escapes. Hank is taken to Lev but Malaxtl wishes to sacrifice the handsome leader of the Fightin' 5 in classic Aztec style. Meanwhile the other members of the team are waging a battle above ground when  Tom-Tom too is captured. After a furious struggle Tom-Tom is selected for the sacrifce.

"Allies of Hate" opens as Tom-Tom manages to escape sacrifice by breaking the traditional chains, which are interpreted by Malaxtl as a sign that gods wish the Aztecs to change their ways. She turns on Lev and the Soviets and gunfire erupts which strikes Malaxtl while Hank and Tom-Tom regroup with the other members of the Fightin' 5. Lev and his helpers have taken refuge in the giant head of a local tomb and are planning to launch atomic weapons.

"The Eyes of Death" opens as the launch is underway despite the objections by some of the Soviet agents that Lev goes too far. The Fightin' 5 penetrate the fortress head and alongside the Aztec warriors destroy the atomic missles. Granite Gallego finds the torso armor from an ancient conquistador and puts it on. This proves beneficial when the metal is able to deflect Lev's bullets and Lev finds himself trapped then killed in an Aztec trap. Princess Malaxtl has recoverd though and wants Hank to stay but the Fightin' 5 must stay together to face the next threat.

"Ballistics Talking" is a two-page text piece on the science of ballistics with a great deal of detail offered up.

"The Space Warriors" features art by Bill Molno and tells in a single page what space war might like, and suggests that soldiers will be fewer in number and the battles will last hours and not days.

"The Made a Man" is also drawn by Molno and this three-page story tells how the Philadelphia born Billy Cleve finds success as a Special Forces soldier in Vietnam.

"American Pioneer" is a one-page reprise of the history of the great Kentuckian Daniel Boone.

The majority of this comic was reprinted many years later in Fightin' 5 Volume 3 #43 dated December, 1981.

I was most struck in this story how modern the threat was. Despite the trappings of the Cold War, the idea that saboteurs (substitute "terrorists") being given special training in a remote part of the world so that they can infiltrate and destroy vital U.S. sites seems like something taken from modern headlines.

Read the actual comic book here. 

The Fight Continues!   

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The Fightin' 5 - America's Super Squad!

Charlton comics was looking for new avenues and genres to conquer in 1964 (the previous month had seen the debut of a new Blue Beetle comic) and the spy genre was red hot with the success of the James Bond movies and The Avengers TV show among many other things.

In classic Charlton fashion, the title Space War had its title changed to Fighin' 5 (Charlton had a squadron of books in the war genre featuring the word "Fightin'") and the number continued. So the debut issue of Fightin' Five is Volume 2 #28 dated July, 1964. In the debut story edited by Pat Masulli, written by Joe Gill, and drawn by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache with a cover by Dick Giordano, we meet the members of the new squad which are to wage a clandestine war against America's enemies across the globe.

The "5" are Frenchy the Fox (Last name never revealed), Irv "The Nerve" Haganah, Granite Gallero, Hank Hennessy, and Tom-Tom (Real name never revealed). Designated "FF1", "FF2", "FF3", "FF4", and "FF5" 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. It was a bit tortured but in tune with an era which gave us S.P.E.C.T.R.E., U.N.C.L.E., S.H.I.E.L.D., and T.H.U.N.D.E.R.

The debut story titled "Introducing The Fightin' 5 - America's Super Squad" begins with a brief intro to each of the five members. They are introduced in the order in which they fit into the F.I.G.H.T. code name. 

Then with Chapter I "Frenchy is Found!" introduces Frenchy the Fox who is skin diving on the Riviera where his mission is to reclaim a stolen necklace. The CIA show up to offer him a job. 

Chapter II "The Private Eye" shows Irv the Nerve David (not yet "Haganah - more below) who is in an unnamed city rounding up some art thieves. He too is contacted by the CIA. 

Chapter III "Granite Gallero Joins" takes us to a U.S. weapons proving ground where Gallero is showcasing some new potent weapons for the military when the CIA shows up. 

Chapter IV "Hank Hennessy...Special Forces U.S. Army" introduces Hank who is a devoted soldier in Vietnam and a rich playboy who handles a masher than quickly answers the call when the CIA asks.

Finally in Chapter V "The Retiring Wrestler" we meet Tom-Tom who is in a bout as the bad guy and makes contact with the mat and the CIA simultaneously.

Chapter VI "The Assignment" shows the team in uniform and firing on a castle. We quickly then learn the back story which involves the abduction of former German scientist Ernst Von Essen by the Eastern Block. The Fightin' 5 are briefed and swiftly fly to Europe to get him back. The attack is swift and well= coordinated and each team member is required to show his special skills, especially the ultra-strong Tom-Tom who bends the bars of Von Essen's cell with is bare hands. Using specially designed rocket-packs the team safely get the scientist to safety aboard a helicopter which gets him out of harm's way. The team return to the U.S. aboard a B-58 and the story closes at their hidden base discussing their next mission since they've decided to stay together as a team.

"The Looter" is a text story which tells of a former Nazi named Eric Wanderman who sneaked out of the fallen Reich with a hoard of stolen loot. An agent is sent with the help of a woman who can identify Wanderman. After some intrigue and betrayal, the Nazi is killed.

"Jungle Death" is a two-page war story drawn by Bill Molno which tells of the heroic sacrifice of a soldier named Simms who clears out a Japanese machine-gun nest with a grenade and the cost of his own life.

"The Story of the Medal" is a three-page story with art by Molno again and relates how medals have been traditionally the province of the nobility but have in more recent years been made available to all soldiers to recognize their dedication and sacrifice.

This story has been reprinted twice. The first time in Fightin' 5 Volume 3 #42 dated October, 1982 which picked up the original numbering of the series after many years.

The story is also reprinted in 1998's The Power of 5 from ACG Comics in glorious black and white.

This is a rock-solid debut installment for the series. The story takes pains to carefully introduce our five heroes and points out the special talents of each. The story by Joe Gill is typically well crafted and the artwork by the hard-working team of Montes and Bache has their virtues and their weaknesses. They had a flair with finishes which was very handsome, but the storytelling is alas suspect in several places. Without captions the action would be hard to follow at times.

One oddity is the naming of Irv "The Nerve" Haganah, who in the first story is actually presented as having the last name of "David" and is listed as having served with the "Haganah" (Hebrew for " Defense"), part of the Israeli military. At some point in the story "Haganah" becomes his last name and serves as such for the rest of the run. Joe Gill wrote them fast, and I guess he lost track.

The Fightin' 5 also have the international flavor most famously demonstrated by the Blackhawks. But based on their personalities, I'd say the 5 owe more to the Howling Commandos than the Blackhawks. Tom-Tom in particular evokes the sound of Dum-Dum as in Dugan, the strongman of the team.

The Fightin' 5 is a series which has a good grounding in the real world with several topical references, but also had some shout outs to the science fiction crowd with the rocket belts. A super-spy saga with a real Charlton flavor.

The actual comic book here. 

The Fight Continues.

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War And Peacemaker!

In many ways Peacemaker has become the most successful of the Action-Heroes DC picked up from Charlton. Blue Beetle rivals him having produced more than a few comics and one movie, but Peacemaker has taken part in one movie and has produced two seasons of a TV series. The focus, or at least part of it, this month will be on Christopher Smith, The Peacemaker. Originally created by Joe Gill and artist Pat Boyette, the original hero is near and dear to my heart. The version DC has developed has its devotees, but it's a substantially altered hero. I want to do some comparison of the two versions later in the month. 

 

The Peacemaker debuted in the pages of The Fightin' 5. This series by Joe Gill and artists Bill Montes and Ernie Bache was featured five rugged heroes in the Blackhawk vein who battled the Red Menace as well as other more exotic threats to world security. 

Also look for more THUNDER Agents action this month as Steve Ditko continues to contribute to the Tower brand. There's not going to be too much Ditko this month, but the great artist will make a special appearance later this week. 

So, this month, we explore those who fight wars, but who hope for peace. 

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The AC Blue Beetle!

When at long last Charlton Comics gave up the ghost and closed its factory, the assets went far and wide. As we all know, DC Comics scooped up the Action-Heroes (Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Judomaster, Peacemaker and for a time Thunderbolt) as a favor to former Charlton editor Dick Giordano. But at that same time Bill Black of AC Comics had also acquired some of Charlton's backlog and a promise to publish. He was eventually given a year to follow through on what he had picked up, and the result was Americomics #3 which featured two stories starring various versions of Blue Beetle. In the first story which was originally intended for the Charlton Bullseye we get a match-up between Ted Kord and Dan Garrett, one different from what DC would produce some years later. We also get a second story starring the Golden Age Blue Beetle. Pat Broderick's cover for the issue is one of my favorite pieces by him. 

 Also slated was a proposed teaming of the Action-Heroes, now dubbed the "Sentinels of Justice". We get Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Question and Nightshade in action. One issue was produced and that was all. Black had hoped for more but his creative team could only conjure one issue before the year time limit was up. We would catch glimpses of the heroes together in DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths and of course most famously the heroes would populate The Watchmen in altered forms. Eventually we'd get The L.A.W. mini-series drawn by Dick Giordano, but that would be decades later. I'll have more on that later this year. 

More Charlton action tomorrow. 

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New Blue Beetle #6 - The Specter!

When the Blue Beetle series was abruptly cancelled, Steve Ditko already had a full issue ready. Titled "A Specter Is Haunting Hub City!" this story pits our azure hero against a strange chap who uses a stolen gizmo to make himself mostly invisible. It's a weird visual as the cover above attests. Below is the complete story which did finally see publication in 1974. More on that after the story itself. 

And that's a wrap on Steve Ditko's final Blue Beetle yarn. Note that Professor Rodor from The Question series is featured in this tale. 

This story first saw publication in the Charlton Portfolio which was in actuality issues nine and ten of Contemporary Pictorial Literature, a fanzine published by the CPL Gang headed by Roger Stern. The cover for this publication was done by Don Newton who produced a delightful wraparound image featuring not only Blue Beetle, but other Charlton heroes as well such as Captain Atom, Peacemaker, Judomaster, Thunderbolt, as well as E-Man and Yang. Horror hosts get a look as well. It's a beauty and I picked up a copy somewhere long ago and added a second copy to my collection from Roger Stern himself at a convention many years later. Stern had a box full of these in prime condition. 

The story was published again for a wider audience in The Action Heroes Archives - Volume 2 from DC. For some reason they did not include the story in their more recent DC Finest Blue Beetle volume. 

This vintage ad shows us the cover in color and also reveals how close we came to getting it in real time way back in 1968. But it was not to be. 

A little more Blue Beetle tomorrow as we wrap up this look. 

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