Sarge Steel - The King's Assassins!

Sarge Steel #6 is dated November 1965. It features a cover Bill Montes and Rocke Mastroserio. This is the first issue of Sarge Steel to have the sub-title "Special Agent". The issue is written by Joe Gill and the art is again by the team of Bill Montes and Ernie Bache.

Case #106 "Case of the King's Assassin" begins with an round of introductions to key characters. Specifically mentioned are King Abhim Fal-Rif a fabulously rich Arab who is the target of kidnappers. Also mentioned is Bibi Cane a blonde American actress. Finally, is Shiek Zara-Faid trained by both Moscow and Peking and the enemy of Abhim, the man who wants him dead. The story begins in the city where a beautiful woman named Renshaw appears and entices Sarge who summarily dumps his date to meet this new beauty who takes him outside to encounter Hassim a rich oil merchant who wants to retain Sarge to protect King Abhim. Immediately a car appears, and bullets fly but Hassim's car is bulletproof and when the attacking car gets in range Hassim uses some unseen device to blow up the attackers. Despite Sarge telling Hassim twice he has been asked by the U.S. government to watch out for King Abhim Hassim still insists on hiring him. Sarge goes to the airport and is soon set upon by more attackers who he dispatches quickly. He then meets Bibi Cane waiting for Abhim because she thinks he is cute. They head out to Abhim's plane and introductions are made. Abhim seems quite taken by Bibi. Sarge knows that agents are waiting to kidnap Abhim, so he has the King disguise himself with a beret and sunglasses and with Bibi on his arm he walks right past the thugs waiting for him. But Sarge is not so lucky.

"New Old Ideas In Warfare" talks about the development of projectile weapons from the earliest rocks thrown from a cliff to the sling to the modern cluster bomb.

"Chase West" is the title of the second part of the Sarge Steel story and Sarge finds himself battling thugs sent to kidnap King Abhim. He gets past them and joins up with Abhim and Bibi in his Jaguar and the trio drive away. Later at Sarge's apartment they two get very familiar while Sarge watches the two. A shadow appears at the window following a mysterious phone call from Hassim who seems under duress. Sarge uses his steel fist to dispatch the gunman and takes to the roof where a sniper lurks, but Sarge uses a detached TV antennae to knock the killer from the roof. When he returns to his apartment he finds Bibi and Abhim gone as well as his sports car. He alerts the police and a manhunt begins.

"$1,000,000,000 Ransom" is the title of the third installment and the story begins with a plane over the stolen Jaguar with Bibi and Abhim inside. Sarge gets cleaned up and heads out to intercept the duo after reports come in as to their location and he arrives just in time as the plane begins to dive and a gunman shoots at the escaping sports car. It wrecks but Bibi and Abhim seem unhurt as Sarge gets them to cover. He then pretends to be shot and the plane leaves. But as the trio try to leave the area they are stopped at a roadblock by Zara's men. Just as Zara prepares to shoot Sarge a jet appears and sets up a smoke screen which Sarge uses to dispatch Zara's men and kill Zara. With the police on the way, the situation in hand Bibi and Abhim ask how they can get married without all the pomp and circumstance a King demands. Sarge shows them the road to Tiajuana and as the story closes he heads to the White House where he is to make a full report as a special agent.

"What Is Karate?" is a three-page piece by Frank McLaughlin and features new Charlton hero Judomaster giving basic information about Karate techniques, gear, and a very detailed presentation of various hand positions.

I adore the cover of this issue, but I have to confess it's one of the weaker issues to date. The romance between Abhim and Bibi is fun and funny but lacks enough time to develop to be really believable. Again, there are no real twists in this story and the storytelling by Montes & Bache is really deficient in the story's climax. It's frankly impossible to tell what's going on without the captions which seem at odds with the artwork. As a special agent, Sarge is more in the Bond school and maybe they were trying to add some humor. It doesn't work all that well I think.

You can read the complete comic book at this link. 

More Sarge Steel to come.

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The Hawk And The Dove!

A comic for a our times, ripped from the headlines of the day. The Hawk and The Dove was a curious piece by Charlton alumni Steve Skeates and Steve Ditko, a tale of two brothers caught in a struggle which was at that time both private and public. The United States warred with itself about the war, the Vietnam War (we just called it "the War" back then) about the validity of it and even more about the sacrifice of life for a cause which seemed abstract and remote. We fight today across the globe, but because we don't demand the that the youth of our time commit to that struggle, we are able to glide along calm cool and collected that others will do the fighting we deem necessary. It's an eternal debate, not that war is a necessary evil, but that we need advocate evil here and at this time.

That was the battle between the brothers Hall. Hank was a "Hawk", an advocate for violent intervention and his brother Don was a "Dove", one who argued for peace in our time. They were split ideologically and when they were offered the chance to acquire the power to pursue their beliefs by the supernatural powers of Order and Chaos they do so, becoming two sides of a coin dedicated to justice. In the debut issue in particular, one can see Ditko's Objectivist philosophy informing the desire for logic and not passion to dictate society. 

According to reports, Steve Skeates wanted to show that both methods could reap justice and that Dove's peaceful approach was often as effective as Hawk's more aggressive approaches. But he claimed that editorial often switched it up so that Dove came across as not just regretful for violence but downright weak in the face of a threat. Instead of showing a balance between two attitudes, each with some measure of merit, it became in the eyes of Skeates a rejection of peace and a advocacy for violence.

Skeates worked with Gil Kane when Ditko left DC and after Skeates left the book, Kane wrote as well as drew it. After the book's cancellation Hawk and Dove became a sometimes part of the Teen Titans lore and many years later things changed even more, but that' s for another day.

For all their flaws these stories deserve a place on the modern bookshelf. It seems they have been collected in an enormous Teen Titans volume, but I'd love to see them available for a less impressive price in a more easily read tome. With work by giants of yore like Ditko and Kane and Cardy, it seems an easy bet to me.

Here are the covers.

Steve Ditko left the book after the second issue. He also left DC entirely after an all-too brief tenure. 

Gil Kane and inker Sal Trapani join forces with Steve Skeates to keep the series alive and running. To be honest I think Kane's more fluid version of the duo is actually more visually interesting than Ditko's. 

Gil Kane becomes both the writer and artist on the series. This issue was inked by Wally Wood. 

In an apparent attempt to help the Hawk and Dover comic gain traction with readers, the duo crossover with the Teen Titans both written and drawn by Neal Adams. 

After rescuing their dad from a kidnapper, the team question whether continuing as Hawk and Dove is a useful thing. This is the final issue. 

(All the early Hawk and Dover stories are contained in this handy paperback.)

(This collection only contains the three stories Ditko worked on.)

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Judo Joe!

Judo Joe!

What a simple but evocative name!

This series is striking (no pun intended) for a number of reasons. First is the early publishing date, 1953, long before I'd imagine most folks had any understanding of martial arts, at least in a popular way. Another is the way the concept of Judo is combined with a totally cornbread-fed All-American blonde stereotype. No Asians need apply, though as Scott Shaw notes in his Oddball Comics reviews for the first few issues (see this link and this one too), finding anything positive at this time about Asians was unusual and useful.

Getting information on this book has been more difficult than I expected. The name of the creator, Dr. Barry Cosneck, struck me as distinctive and I've finally discovered he had little to do with comics, but a lot to do with popularizing martial arts and self-defense in America. He's the author of American Combat Judo and the co-author of other books on self-defense. Most of the sources have a low regard for this book in terms of its pure Judo awareness and suggest it's more like wrestling than true Judo.


Here's what one site says about Cosneck: "Bernard J. Cosnack is (or rather, was?) an American wrestler who also trained judo, jiu jitsu, French savate (what he calls "foot-fighting") as well as kung fu. In his days he allegedly trained the US Coast Guards in physical self-defense. It probably will come as no surprise, but there are hardly any traces of judo in this book. As soon as you see the topic, and titles such as "Combat Judo", you can almost guarantee that we are leaning more against ju jitsu than judo."

Like so many later heroes who make use of Judo, especially my favorite Frank McLaughlin's Judomaster (McLaughlin of course was another martial artist who drew comics) and Pete Morisi's Thunderbolt (Morisi was a trained policeman so he doubtless had some training), we have the allure of judo (a martial art that's presented almost akin to a superpower) blended with an All-American look. Having an actual Asian with such skills would have to wait for Bruce Lee's Kato.

I picked up the ACE Comics reprint from 1987. It's a book I've long wanted, but never found. It features two choice reprints from the debut issue of Judo Joe from 1953 by Grosneck and artist Paul W. Stoddard (about whom there is less than Grosneck) as well as a newer one written by Joe Gill with inks by Frank McLaughlin. The cover is by McLaughlin too.

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Sarge Steel - The Caged Brain!

Sarge Steel #5 is dated September 1965. No writer is credited on the splash page but no doubt it's Joe Gill. The art this time is by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache taking the reigns from Dick Giordano. Giordano does supply the cover for this issue though. The splash page shows Sarge in a headlock held by a giant Asian warrior with Ivan Chung holding a sword and ordering a beautiful woman to shoot Sarge while a tweedy professor type looks on.

Part I of File 105 "The Case of the Caged Brain" begins on the beaches of Miami where Sarge is taking a small vacation. He is approached by a stunning raven-haired beauty who turns out to be Li-Li also known as "The Black Lily" a Chinese intelligence agent. She tells Sarge that she is attempting to get away from Ivan Chung, an old enemy of Sarge's, and the pair drive off together in Sarge's car. But they are followed and a trap ends up with Sarge trading bullets with unknown assailants. After the gunplay, Li-Li tells Sarge the truth, that she is there to get him to come with her in order that a scientist working for Chung will finish a project. He claims that only if Sarge is present will he feel safe enough to complete the assignment. While kissing Li-Li Sarge feels the prick of a needle and soon is asleep. An American agent reports from his car while Sarge is driven away and taken aboard a plane. The plane is tracked to a Cuban air field and we find out that this was part of a plan to get Sarge in touch with the scientist, a Dr.Crayne. Sarge awakes on the plane, attacks his kidnappers but finds his neck in the grip of some mighty hands.

"Special Services 3X" is a one-page text piece that talks about psychological warfare and the branch of the government which uses it. Then a story about using toy mechanical snakes to trick superstitious Vietnamese soldiers is related as an example.

Part II of the Sarge Steel story is titled "Fatal Beauty" and begins with Sarge in the arms of Li-Li but under the eye of others, specifically a giant Asian warrior. Li-Li kisses Sarge only to trick him and taking his luger away. A long flight and eventually Sarge lands Northwest China and is taken to the headquarters of Ivan Chung where Dr.Crayne is working. Chung threatens both Sarge and Crayne as well as Li-Li and Sarge punches him. Then the giant warrior named Nhu gets involved and quickly gets Sarge in a barred cell. But Sarge uses his steel fist to break out and a battle begins.

Part III is titled "Pick a Way to Die" and begins with Sarge and Nhu battling hand to hand. Eventually Sarge is able to get his very strong and agile opponent angry using his steel fist and is at a last able to knock him out. Chung attacks but Sarge using his fist yet again breaks his sword. Li-Li aims Sarge's luger at him, but she can't bring herself to kill him and so Sarge knocks out Chung and the trio of Sarge, Crayne, and Li-Li run to an airplane. Li-Li covers Sarge's and Crayne's escape in the plane and we see her presumably dead on the airstrip as they fly away to safety. Sarge fights back tears though he won't admit it.

"Sport of Judo" is a three-page piece by Frank McLaughlin narrated and starring Sarge in which he talks about judo not as sport but as an effective self-defense approach and demonstrates techniques used to fend off a knife attack.

I find the artwork of Montes & Bache very appealing, but I have to confess the storytelling is weak in places. Without captions, I'd have a very hard time following the action in a few places. This story features some good characters, but there are few twists. This is the last issue of Sarge Steel to have the "Private Detective" sub-title on the cover.

You can read the complete comic book at this link. 

More Sarge Steel to come.

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Sarge Steel - The Kiss Of The Cat!

Sarge Steel #4 is dated July 1965. Created by Pat Masulli and scripted by Joe Gill, this issue features artwork by Dick Giordano with Jon D'Agostino on the lettering. The cover is another choice one by Giordano.

The story "Case of the Kiss of the Cat" begins with a splash featuring Sarge facing off against a beautiful black-haired woman and her black panther. The story begins in a night club where Sarge is confronted by a thug named Moo who is a bodyguard for Lynx, but Sarge makes way with him and spends the evening dancing with the beautiful and rich thrill-seeker. The papers the next several days feature Lynx making a splash everywhere she went creating quite a distraction, which Steel thinks might be linked to certain robberies. He is employed by Harker Bliss to safeguard some jewels which are being displayed during a party which Lynx will attend. She arrives with an ocelot on a leash which Sarge charms with some scent he brought for that very situation. He spies Lynx on the balcony distracted and then he himself sees a burglar climbing down a wall which Sarge confronts and sends splashing into the pool a few stories below. But there's a big explosion and the vault was robbed while all this happened. Lynx makes her exit as Part I finishes.

"P is for Parachute" is a one-page text piece about the history of parachutes.

Part II is titled "The Strolling Statue" and begins with Lynx and her henchmen Moo and Felix planning her next heist. Steel has been engaged to supply some security advice for the World's Fair and goes to fulfill that obligation when he encounters Lynx. He checks out the statue "The Dreamer" just before it is stolen with the use of sleeping gas and some disguise work. The life-size statue is dressed and driven off the Fair grounds in one of the distinctive taxis the Fair uses. Steel recognizes the thieves, attempts to intercept them but is knocked out himself when Lynx unleashes her panther on him. He wakes up in time to see a hydrofoil disappear across the horizon.

Part III is titled "Death on Cat Cay" and begins with Sarge rising out of the water onto the beach of Cat Cay, the ideal location for Lynx's hideout he suspects. He makes his way past the guards using various hand-to-hand and judo techniques. He leaps the fence using high-tech jump-jets and then scales the wall of the central hideout taking out various guards before at long last finding location of stolen statue. He then is again confronted by Lynx and her panther, but this time he uses his Luger to dispatch the attacking animal. Lynx is furious but then abruptly seemingly succumbs to Sarge's charms calling her "Man of Steel". But he is not fooled as she reaches for his gun. Suddenly British policemen show up and arrest Lynx and her men. It seems Cat Cay is under British mandate and they take the Lynx into custody. But as Sarge relates to Bessie and Harker Bliss later when he returns the jewels, she escaped the British police boat and seemingly drowned. Bliss and Steel lament the loss of such a beautiful woman, but Bessie is less impressed. The story ends with a final panel announcing the next adventure featuring arch-villain Ivan Chung.

"Sport of Judo" is a three-page instructional piece by Frank McLaughlin featuring Sarge Steel giving tips on two judo throws, specifically Osoto Gari-Major Outer Reaping Throw and Osoto Makikomi Major Outer Winding Throw. The former was specifically used in the main Steel story this issue.

This issue has a sprawling set, but does live up to the noir private eye quality more than the previous two which had a greater spy feel. This one deals with mere thefts, though the thief is very well connected and highly organized. This is a solid issue by Giordano, who will be taking a break from the series with the next few issues.

You can read the complete comic book at this link. 

More Sarge Steel to come.

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Sarge Steel - The Heritage Of Hate!

Sarge Steel #3 is dated April-May 1967. Created by Pat Masulli with script by Joe Gill, Illustrations by Dick Giordano and Letters by Jon D'Agostino, the issue features a cover by Giordano. The title still has the "Private Detective" label attached.

Case #103 "The Heritage of Hate" begins with a splash page featuring Sarge fencing with a man wearing a swastika on his fencing mask with the Smiling Skull shooting a bullet between them while a beautiful redhead lingers on the floor. The story starts in Sarge's office with Sarge late for an appointment charging across town avoiding parking tickets and speeding to make a date with Rocky. Rocky it turns out is an ex-light-heavyweight boxing champ with whom Sarge spars twice a week. After the bout Sarge shows off his steel fist to an interested party by smashing a bathroom wall, then goes to his locker to find a man stealing his signature steel luger. He breaks his wrist and sends him packing. Later at his office he listens to Bessie's recorded notes about the clients of the day, but is interrupted by three thugs. Sarge battles them and defeats all three but then is slugged from behind by an unknown party. He awakes in the arms of a beautiful redhead named Inga Ross. Then police appear and tell Sarge that while they don't suspect him, they need him to come with them to answer questions since bullets matching his gun have turned up in regard to two homicides. He discovers that his luger has a silver twin with the same serial number and almost identical and ballistics patterns. That silver Luger reportedly owned by Rudolf Wolk. Then after leaving the police office Inga pulls a gun and forces Sarge onto a plane headed south.

Part II is titled "The Smiling Skull" and opens as Rudolf Wolk, the Smiling Skull approaches Sarge's plane in a military style jet. Both planes land on a field in a "banana republic". After a few words, Wolk uses his signature silver luger to demonstrate his shooting skill by shooting at Sarge who is unimpressed. After trading a few bon mots Sarge and Wolk come into conflict with Sarge deflecting Wolk's shot with his steel fist and then knocking out the Nazi. Taking Wolk's gun and running out the window, he finds Inga hanging out another window and re-enters the building. She says her father is being held captive and then thugs appear with guns. Sarge shoots them as they head to the dungeons in the network of tunnels under the base. Sarge and Inga encounter a fencer wearing a swastika on his fencing mask just as Sarge realizes his silver Luger is empty.

"C.I." is a two-page text piece about the training and expertise needed to do the job of Criminal Investigator in the military. The essay is narrated by Major John William Henry.

"Doomsday" is a one-page story by artist Bill Molno about the threat of nuclear war and speaks of bombers, submarine missiles and the future threat of missiles launched from the ocean floor.

Part III is titled "The Silver Luger" and begins as Sarge defeats the fencer, blocking his sword with his fist then he and Inga head into the dungeon as Wolk appears with another gun. They find bars blocking the way, but Sarge is able to use his fist to bust through them. The pair run into a staging area filled with jet planes and other equipment which Inga explains is the secret weapons cache of the Smiling Skull and includes nuclear weapons. Sarge reloads the silver luger and then releasing fuel sets fire to the weapons cache. Fleeing the raging fire they find Inga's father just as they come under fire from a machine gun, but Sarge dispatches the gunner. He then gets Inga's dad and other released prisoners to use the machine gun to hold the Nazis at bay while and Rudolph Wolk the Smiling Skull face off. Again, Sarge deflects the bullet with his fist and fires at Wolk seemingly killing him. But a caption says Wolk will be held for trial as the battle is won and the wannabe Nazis are defeated. Sarge gets a kiss from Inga, but the final panel shows him returning to his office where Bessie waits. He brings the silver Luger with him.

Finally, there is "The Sport of Judo" a three-page feature written and drawn by Frank McLaughlin featuring Sarge Steel telling the reader all about the basics of judo and how it should be seen more as a sport requiring specific discipline rather than just a deadly secret science.

This is a solid issue of Sarge Steel. The format of the story has more of the spy flavor from the second issue and less of the noir feel of the first. The Smiling Skull is a memorable baddie and it's always good when the good guys are cleaning out a nest of Nazis. Back in the 60's there were plenty of these unrepentant types to subdue it seems. Sarge really depended on his steel fist in this one using it many times to deflect bullets a now common trick, and as a shield of sorts in the fencing bout. It's a great all-purpose weapon in these stories and as a mace is perfect. Sarge's strength seems a bit amplified this time, but I guess we can write some things off to metal fatigue.

You can read the complete comic book at this link. 

More Sarge Steel to come.

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Sarge Steel - The Man Who Blackmailed The World!

Sarge Steel #2 is dated February 1966. Pat Masulli is credited as creator, Joe Gill as scripter and the art is by Dick Giordano. The is a particularly good one by Giordano.

File #102 "Case of the Man Who Blackmailed the World" begins with a symbolic splash page with Sarge shooting it out with Lisa Monelli a beautiful and rich vamp of no small reputation. The story itself starts with Bessie, Sarge's secretary interrupting his fencing practice to show him a picture of Monelli and he indicates they've met already the previous night along with a notorious U-Boat captain named Werner Von Hess. Sarge arranges a second meeting with the two and discovers they plan to blackmail the governments of the world with a stolen nuclear submarine armed with polaris missiles. They indicate they have already detonated two of these nuclear missiles in Greenland and Melville Island, blasts the big powers currently blame on one another. Sarge is to be the go-between for the negotiations because of his quasi-official status with the U.S. government. Von Hess then detonates a dummy missile over the city to further make his point which convinces Steel who punches out the guard before he takes his leave and the message to officials in the government. He meets with an Admiral and is told to continue negotiations. He hooks back up with Monelli and discovers that the stolen sub is in the local area so a race begins back to the sub, Sarge using a hired helicopter. The helicopter is shot down and Sarge is taken aboard the submarine ending Part I.

"The Guardians" is a three-page story by Bill Fracchio and Tony Tallarico which tells of a man named Jake Roland who must drive off killer man-eating sharks as well as an octopus to get to sunken treasure. He succeeds and even kills enought sharks with dynamite that the fishing in the area can return to normal.

"Raney's Rangers" is a two-page text piece which tells of a military unit which goes on a virtual suicide mission to destroy a Japanese ammunition depot deep behind enemy lines. The all-volunteer force succeeds in the mission with many casualties, but most are able to stay safe until help arrives by hiding in the tunnels beneath an ancient temple shown them by locals.

Part II of the Sarge Steel story is titled "The Millionaire Trap" and begins with Sarge and Lisa Monelli in the Mediterranean resort of Luxaco where Von Hess and Monelli plan to extort more money from the fabulously rich people at the resort. Monelli goes from rich man to rich man using her charms to first entice them and then deliver the ultimatum. Sarge observes but takes advantage of a chance to escape by driving an elbow into the stomach of Paul her skull-faced bodyguard and steals a motor boat which is intercepted by a submarine and Sarge is given a tour of the workings of the polaris missles system. (The script says this is Von Hess's sub, but the images contradict that. More on this below.) Sarge returns to shore and Monelli but turns on her deflecting a bullet fired by Paul back at him using his steel mitt.

"It Takes a Man" is a two-page feature by Fracchio and Tallarico again I think about how despite the advance of war technology certain things can only be achieved by men and that war is waged by men who love their country.

Part III of the Sarge Steel story is titled "The Atomic Challenge" and begins with Sarge and Monelli boating out to Von Hess's captured sub and going aboard. Monelli is shocked to learn that Von Hess really means to use the nuclear missles and not merely use them as blackmail gambits as she intended. Sarge uses this distraction to attack the villains, but Von Hess gets the drop on him and takes both Sarge and Lisa to a room and locks them in. Sarge uses his steel fist to break in the lock and they escape and Sarge with Monelli's help destroys the mechanisms that work the missles. He and Monelli then get into one of the missile silos which operate by pressure and use them to shoot themselves out of the submarine and to the surface where they are picked up by a U.S. Navy ship. Monelli regrets her role but accepts she must go to prison, and Sarge regrets they couldn't have met under different circumstances.

This is a ranging adventure with a real Bond-like feel as it swoops across the globe. The noir feel of the detective story is given over to the broader spy adventure story this time. The first-person narration used in all Sarge stories keeps it lively. There does to seem to be a real problem with the storytelling in one section, specifically where Sarge is presumably captured by the sub in Luxaco. This seems obviously to be a friendly sub where Sarge gets the information, he will need later to disable Von Hess's stolen sub, but the script suggests he's on Von Hess's sub all the time. A man clearly not Von Hess is said to be him. It's pretty confusing, but once you figure out what must've happened it can be worked out.

You can read the complete comic book at this link. 

More Sarge Steel to come.

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