Sarge Steel - The Warmaker!

Secret Agent (formerly Sarge Steel) Vol.2 #9 is dated October 1966. The cover is by Dick Giordano and is a variation of the splash page by Montes & Bache with Sarge in a more active role. The credits list Pat Masulli again as creator, Joe Gill as storyteller, with pencils by Bill Montes, inks by Ernie Bache, and letters by Jon D'Agostino.

Part I of File #109 "The Warmaker" begins with that splash featuring four returning Sarge Steel baddies and one new one. Back for another taste of the steel fist are The Lynx, Ivan Chung (his third appearance), The Smiling Skull (his second Steel appearance but his third Charlton appearance), and Werner Von Hess (who only appears on the cover and the splash). The new bad guy is named Mister Ize, the guy with the wonky glasses. The story begins in a dojo where Sarge is sparring with another karate devotee when that guy suddenly attacks Sarge for real trying to kill him. Sarge defeats him with the steel fist, but when he tries to take a shower hot steam erupts from the nozzle and he is just able to save himself again. In the background of one panel is The Smiling Skull who as Sarge leaves the dojo reports to Mr.Ize. As Sarge is driving away Ivan Chung shows up alongside in another car and tries to wreck Sarge's car, but Sarge is able to wreck Chung's by firing a .357 Magnum slug at him. As Sarge enters his apartment building, Mr. Ize and The Lynx sit outside in a car and follow him in, but after Ize calls Kapitan Werner Von Hess and tells him to keep his forces available for back up (this is the only reference to Von Hess in the story and we never see him). Mr. Ize uses his glasses to hypnotize the doorman and later he uses the specs to burn open the lock on Sarge's door. When Sarge arrives, he knows something is up but before he can do much Mr. Ize hypnotizes him, and the gang of villains leaves with Sarge in their control.

Part II "The Looters" begins with a jet flying over a burning oil tank in the country of Kuwania. The jet lands and Mr. Ize explains to Sarge that the fire was set with weapons to make the leader of Kuwania think his neighbors attacked him from which Mr. Ize will profit. They next use gas to storm the capitol city and take control of the palace to rob it apparently. Sarge follows orders and helps in the attack but during the gunplay a bullet ricochets and grazes his head and they assume he is dead, so he is left behind. He awakes and the effects of Mr. Ize's gaze are gone. But Sarge is captured by Kuwanians and imprisoned, but he quickly escapes by using sleeping gas hidden in cigarettes. He gets to the airfield and uses his steel fist to block bullets while he steals a plane and pursues Mr.Ize and his cohorts. Mr. Ize uses his goggles to shoot Sarge down and he is recaptured but pretends to still be under their influence and control as the whole gang uses a cargo plane to leave the area.

Part III "The Warmaker's Stronghold" is set in the Atlas Mountains where the cargo plane touches down and unloads. Sarge still pretends to be in their thrall, but he is soon discovered by The Lynx as he tries to learn more, and she orders her big cat to attack him, but Sarge dispatches the cat with one steel punch. The Smiling Skull shoots at Sarge but a running tackle takes him out and likewise Ivan Chung is knocked out by a grenade which Sarge throws but doesn't have time to take the pin out of. He gets the drop on the gang and uses grenades to begin to blow up the facility but is confronted by Mr. Ize who again tries to hypnotize Sarge, as he does this he relates how his power was developed while he trying to develop special glasses for surgeons and chanced on the hypnotic goggles which he immediately used to gather up the thugs who told him that Sarge Steel was the one man they feared. Sarge though at the last minute uses the mirrored surface of his steel fist to reflect Mr. Ize's rays back to him and the villain has his own brain warped. Free of Ize's control the other villains immediately scatter and Sarge is sure in time he as a special agent will be able to gather them up so they can face justice.

"Sarge Steel's Scrapbook of Judo!" begins with a new splash page by Frank McLaughlin I suspect (though credit at GCD is given to Dick Giordano) with Sarge and a boy explaining talking how the lessons from previous issues have shown the true nature of judo. After this splash are two reprints of earlier "Sports of Judo" three-page features by Frank McLaughlin from previous Sarge Steel issues.

Clearly the title change was an attempt to spike the sales on the series. The cover advertises a really hair-raising adventure and there is lots of action for sure. But the cheat on Von Hess is strange and even stranger since he's on both the cover and the splash page when clearly he was never in the story to begin with. Both Ivan Chung and Smiling Skull are diminished by their appearances here, two masterminds reduced to henchman duty. The Lynx gets enough space to seem threatening, but the other two not so much. Mr.Ize is a neat and weird villain who reminded me more than a bit of Doc Ock. One thing of note is that the first-person narration dropped in the last two issues of Sarge Steel is back in this one and to good effect.

You can read the complete comic book at this link. 

More Sarge Steel to come.

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Sarge Steel - The Terrible Talon!

Sarge Steel #8 is dated March-April 1966. Pat Masull [sic] is listed as the creator, and clearly this is Pat Masulli's name misspelled which is stunning given he's the Executive Editor of Charlton at this time. Joe Gill is again scripting and Jon D'Agostino supplies the letters. Bill Montes and Ernie Bache return for the art chores. The cover for this issue is by Rocke Mastroserio.

File #108 "Case of the Terrible Talon" begins with Part I "The Talon Takes Sarge Steel". After a symbolic splash showing Sarge shooting at a mechanical talon, the story opens on a West German street where Professor Froelig is kidnapped. In Dusseldorf two men discuss the crime and attribute it to The Talon, a criminal mastermind terrorizing Germany. That evening a group of West German businessmen and other important types gather to plan a response and agree that they need Sarge Steel to take on the Talon. A waiter overhears this decision. We cut to Sarge as he heads out to take on this assignment and Bessie gives him a big kiss before he goes. In the taxi on the way to the airport he is met by a U.S. agent who tells him he's on his own. In the air on the way to West Germany Sarge finds a mysterious talon symbol in the bottom of his coffee cup, an ominous sign indeed. After landing he is met by Herr Wolffhundt who takes him to a cafe where the waitress pulls a gun and other men show up using a stun gun to knock out Steel and kidnap Wolffhundt. They leave a message on Steel's chest saying "Leave Germany or Die!". Sarge recovers and gets a car but as he leaves a beautiful redhead climbs into the passenger seat and presents herself as a West German agent. At that point a helicopter appears overhead.

"Tank Trouble" is a one-page text story about two WWII veterans, one American and one German who meet at an agricultural show and realize they know one another. They led men into battle during the war against one another and after the German leader had the advantage a clever tactic by the American resulted in a defeat forcing the German officer to flee Nazi German or be killed. He made contact with American forces and surrendered.

Part II is titled "The Faceless Man" and begins with Sarge's car being picked up by a giant electric magnet suspended from a helicopter. The car and Sarge and the German agent Gerta are taken to the Talon's headquarters in the mountains of East Germany. There Sarge meets the masked Talon and is shown the scale of Talon's operation. After attacking an armored agent though Sarge is again hit with the stun gun. He awakes strapped into a high-tech device dubbed the "Hypno Chair" which is used to gather information from him and defeat his free will. Sarge seems to succumb but when he is released he attacks Talon and knocks out his savage dog with his steel fist. He uses a device called the "Wailing Wallet" which emits tear gas to help him free Gerta and the pair take their unconscious Talon out of the headquarters as his men follow. Sarge then takes one of his shoes and throws it, and since that shoe is actually a delayed time bomb it explodes and allows them to escape in Sarge's Mercedes-Benz. That car is rigged with cannons on the front which they use to escape the Talon's compound.

Part III is titled "Trial of a Terrorist" and begins with Sarge and Gerta in the Mercedes under fire from Talon's men. Sarge uses rear canons to stop pursuit. The helicopter appears overhead and begins firing radar-controlled rockets at Sarge's car, but then a Messerschmitt Rocket Fighter appears disabling the helicopter and allowing Gerta and Sarge and the prisoner to escape. They drive through the East German border and deliver Talon to stand trial. As the trial begins the Talon, still masked, faces witnesses. Then word comes that his forces are coming to free him and a counter attack is ordered. A man wearing a rocketpack is stopped by Sarge and then a great metal claw snags him and pulls him into the air but Sarge is able to use his own weapon to disable the helicopter that has captured him. Taking the rocketpack Sarge flies clear as the helicopter crashes. Then in a sudden turn of events, Sarge suggests they let Talon go free but spread the story that he betrayed his own men making him forever a fugitive from his own people. Talon is sent packing as Sarge taunts the now helpless terrorist.

"Blue Four Top Secret" is a three-page feature drawn by Rocke Mastroserio in which the gimmicks and devices featured in the main Sarge Steel story are described in further detail. Shown and described are the "Wail Wallet", "The Shoe", "The Stun Gun", "The Hypno Chair", and a full-page on the Talon-copter the enemy agents used.

This is issue is fully devoted to the high-tech environment of the Bond-like super-spy world. Gone utterly is the noir atmosphere of previous issues. This is reinforced as again the first-person narration is absent. Sarge is here completely dependent on gimmicks and gadgets to fight the enemy who likewise use a host of machines to wage battle. The helicopter is very like the helicopter in You Only Live Twice though even more high-tech. The hypno chair scene reminded me of Goldfinger and the Mercedes-Benz was just another version of Bond's Astin-Martin. Clearly the attempt is made, as is evident on the cover to play the super-spy angle to the hilt. It's a fun issue, but not quite as emotionally compelling as earlier installments of the series.

This is the last issue of the series to be titled "Sarge Steel" but that's not the end of Sarge yet.

You can read the complete comic book at this link. 

More Sarge Steel to come.

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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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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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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. 

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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. 

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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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