Charlton Premiere Presents Trio - The Tyro Team!

Today begins a three-day celebration of the debut issue of Charlton Premiere. The comic book was a try-out which last a mere four issues, but the first was a doozy. It had three distinct features and we'll look at them all. And that brings us to Steve Skeates' The Tyro Team. The artwork on this feature is the always reliable team of Bill Montes and Ernie Bache. Below you'll find a text piece from the issue discussing the way these stories came to be gathered together under one cover.

 I'll get to The Spookman and The Shape in due course. And now let the stories begin The Tyro Team.

 That was fun. Tomorrow it's The Spookman. 

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Sarge Steel - File 109!

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.

More Sarge Steel to come.

 This is a Revised Classic Charlton Post! 

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Sarge Steel - File 108!

Sarge Steel #8 is dated March-April 1966. Pat Masull [sic] is listed as the creator, and clearly this is Pat Masulli's name mispelled 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.

More Sarge Steel to come.

This is a Revised Classic Charlton Post!  

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Sarge Steel - File 106!

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.

More Sarge Steel to come.

 This is a Revised Classic Charlton Post! 

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Sarge Steel - File 105!

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.

More Sarge Steel to come.

This is a Revised Classic Charlton Post! 

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The Fightin' 5 - America's Super Squad Fourteen!

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 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. 

The Fight Continues in the pages of Peacemaker. 

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Fightin' 5 - America's Super Squad Thirteen!

Fighitn' Five Volume 2 #40 is dated November 1966. The Executive Editor is Pat Masulli and the Managing Editor is Dick Giordano. The story was written by Joe Gill with the regular team of Bill Montes and Ernie Bache doing the art. Montes and Rocke Mastroserio did the rather striking cover this issue.

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.

"The Agents of D.E.A.T.H." (Dedicated Enemies of And Traitors to Humanity) are five rich international criminals who have banded together to take vengeance on the world for a multitude of reasons. The story opens with the Fightin' 5 taking a day off at Cape Cod with their girlfriends. But a relaxing day at the beach changes suddenly when a mysterious but beautiful woman appears and touches Hank who immediately follows her without explanation. She is Lady Dawn, a member of the Agents of D.E.A.T.H. The other members are Enrico Cuomo - an Italian treasure hunter, Anton Vidrian - appliance manufacturer, Thomas Lash - disgraced U.S. military man and financier, and Hans Muller - former boy genius for the Nazis. Aboard their high-tech and high-speed boat they plot the theft of secret submarines from the New London boatyards. Hank appears to be under Lady Dawn's control.

"Candidate for D.E.A.T.H..." begins with the raid which succeeds with the theft of one nuclear sub. While that one is leaving Lady Death and Hank stay to steal another. The other members of the Fightin' 5 though have figured out what must've happened and get their won submarine and use a steel-twine warhead to trap the escaping sub.

"Murder, My Friends" has the Fightin' 5 infiltrate the New London base and Hank appears to gun them down with gas when they emerge from the water. But it's a ruse as he is actually protecting them from the murderous gang. Hank, Lady Dawn and Enrico Cuomo head off in the other stolen sub to their villainous launch. Once there, they try to escape but Hank looking for an opportunity uses his knife to short-circuit the boat's electronics and quickly defeats Cuomo. As Lady Dawn prepares to shoot him he unleashes a smoke grenade and leaps off the boat. Enrico and Lady Dawn escape but the Five imagine they will return.

Debuting in this issue is The Peacemaker. Created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette, this is a new hero in Dick Giordano's "Action Hero" regime.

In "Introducing: The Peacemaker" we meet Christopher Smith, international envoy to the Geneva Arms Conference and dedicated man of peace. On his way to the conference he is waylaid by arms dealer Emil Bork and his henchmen and his top secret papers are stolen. Later Smith attends a dinner party with Bork where Smith weighs his options. Seeing no way to stop Bork by negotiation he puts on his Peacemaker gear and using jet takes to the air. Peacemaker then stops Bork's me from kidnapping three of the conference attendees. A twin-jet bomber takes to the air and Peacemaker takes chase but seems to shot down as the first half of the story closes.

This comic has not been reprinted to my knowledge.

The Fight Continues. 

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The Fightin' 5 - America's Super Squad Twelve!

Fightin' Five Volume 2 #39 is dated September, 1966. The Executive Editor is Pat Masulli and assuming duties as Managing Editor is Dick Giordano. The script for this issue was by the always reliable Joe Gill and like the art inside was provided by Bil Montes and Ernie Bache. The cover is by Montes with inks by Rocke Mastroserio.

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.

"5 Trails to Death" begins with an ending of sorts. The Fightin' 5 team battle aboard a Soviet sub to capture Zero, a weirdly costumed and bald mastermind. They succeed and haul their captive to a U.S. base in the Everglades. But Zeru effects his escape almost immediately by using a foggy gas which incapacitates the whole base. But as Zeru runs through the swamp to find his comrades, he is followed by Frenchy who was using scuba gear during the escape. He follows Zeru to a Soviet sub and tags along until the sub eventually docks at what is called "Death Island". He is detected though and the twin dangers of sharks and scuba-wearing opponents appear to kill Frenchy. Zeru checks with his henchman and learns that the island is fully stocked with deadly creatures such as spiders, crocodiles, insects, and fish in addition to high-tech equipment. Meanwhile the Fighitn' 5 have recovered from the gas and begin a search for Zeru. Irv "The Nerve" flies out in a small plane and finds "Death Island" but is shot down by a deadly missle. 

"The Bicycle Soldier" is a one-page text story which discusses the various ways soldiers have been transported over the centuries, including on foot, the use of camels, and such. The focus though is one the Japanese use of bicycles to effectively wage the war in Malaya.

The remaining Fightin' 5 continue to search for Zeru and to that end Granite uses a jet to reach "Death Island" and parachutes in. He battles some crocodiles and is discovered by enemy soldiers and seems to be killed when he responds with a hand grenade. Hank and Tom-Tom have taken a launch and are too heading for the island when they detect a woman in scuba gear beneath their boat. The capture her and head on to the island but the boat is then blown up by Zeru's forces. With all of the Fightin' 5 seemingly dead, Zeru gives the go ahead to his leader that the United States can now be effectively blackmailed using lethal atomic missles located on the island. Then we see Hank walk out of the surf and he quickly obtains contact with Frenchy, Irv, and Granite, who have all likewise survived despite appearances. Then Tom-Tom emerges carrying the girl enemy agent.  Then the members reveal how they survived. Hank and Tom-Tom had an armored cockpit in the boat which protected them, Frenchy was saved by his nylon armor and shark repellant, Irv used a rocket-belt to escape his plane, and Granite used his nylon armor and a handy ditch to evade the explosion. Reassembled, Hank is then seemingly capture and confronts Zeru. At the last moment he grabs an enemy weapon and destroys the command console for the deadly missiles eliminating the threat to the United States. In a furious counterattack the Five appear to kill all the enemy agents including Zeru, though he is not shown. The Soviet ambassador is summarily kicked out of the office once his threat is rendered harmless.

"Experiment 74" is a three-page story drawn by Montes and Bache which describes a nuclear test which after the first part causes a scientist and his military liaison to check out a cave in the blast zone. The stumble upon a large reptilian creature immune to bullets. The escape, but just as the second part of the nuclear test happens, destroying the cave and the presumably the creature too.

This comic has not been reprinted to my knowledge.

The Fight Conitues as the Fightin' 5 are joined by The Peacemaker.

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The Fightin' 5 - America's Super Squad Eleven!

Fightin' Five Volume 2 #38 is dated July 1966. The issue was edited by Pat Masulli and written by Joe Gill. The art as usual was by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache. The cover was done by Rocke Mastroserio.

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.

"The Plans of S.A.T.A.N." begin with an introduction to the organization S.A.T.A.N. (the meaning of the letters is never revealed but I think of them as Sabotage, Arson, and Terrorism According to Nico) and its leader, a former WWII double agent named Nico. The story begins when the Fightin' 5 defeat, they think, a Communist plot for smuggling but find themselves ambushed by Nico (dressed in a devilish costume and using a trident with electric rays) and agents of S.A.T.A.N. They are not killed but given a warning to stay out future dealings with the terrorist gang. When they recover Hank and the rest immediately begin tracking the terrorists and describe how Nico was both effective as an agent for the Allies and the Nazis.  Nico explains his plan to his men and sends bombers to the Riviera aboard secret submarines and on motorcycles. These explosions draw the Fightin'5 to Monaco while Nico and his men use a fake subway train to infiltrate the New York Stock Exchange where they force the employees to give them access to the wealth there. Their escape is masked by the use of the fake subway car which is confronted by the military while the gang use a helicopter disguised as a tour ride to leave town. The Fightin' 5 realize they've been decoyed.

"American Ingenuity" is a one-page text piece which talks about how U.S. troops in Vietnam have to use their wits to fight effectively, specifically the use of metal soles in shoes to avoid spikes and the use of hatchets to better wage hand-to-hand warfare in the dense jungles.

"Planned Disaster" begins with the Fightin' 5 being blown up by one more charge in Monaco. They recover, regroup and try to anticipate Nico's next move. The demonic leader reveals to his men a triple-prong attack against Venice, Berlin, and Marseilles. Knowing Nico's flair for the dramatic, Hank plays a hunch he will truly attack the canals of Venice and the team heads there aboard their jet bomber. Using his submarines and a small army of sharks Nico prepares to loot Venice. First a tanker spills fuel into the water of the canals and then it lit afire.

"City in Flames" sees the Fightin' 5 in scuba gear descending into the canals of Venice to confront Nico and finding mines and sharks. They fight their way through and confront the S.A.T.A.N. forces who are busy looting the various museums of the area. Nico tries to stun the team again with his pitchfork, but they are prepared and fake him out by only pretending to fall prey to it. When he and his men have left Hank and the other members regroup and counter attack eventually defeating Nico's forces. Nico himself leaps into the canals to escape but is surrounded by sharks. His fate is unknown as the story ends.

"Man to Man" is a three-page story written by Joe Gill and drawn by Montes and Bache which shows how United States troops must alter their tactics to be effective in Vietnam by adopting a more individualized and stealthy approach to warfare.

The issue is reprinted in Fightin'5 Volume 4 #49 dated December, 1982, the final regular issue of the run. The text page is missing and the "Man to Man" is replaced by "The Enemy", a WWII story about PFC Billy Trent learning to deal with the greatest enemy a soldier has to battle, even in the Pacific Theater, fear. The art for this story is in my estimation by the "Nicholas Alascia" team. Note how the devilish face of Nico has been removed from this version of the cover.

A version of the cover was used on 1998's The Power of Five from ACG.

And the lead story appeared in 2000's Heroes Ink #1 from ACG.

This is the second straight Fightin' 5 adventure which as the team battling enemies in jaunty jumpsuits. Unfortunately like most old-fashioned artists, Mones and Bache are much better at drawing actual people in realistic clothes than in super-suits. This tendency makes Nico and his henchmen look like what they are, men in costumes which often look somewhat silly. Modern artists often have the reverse problem, less able to draw realistic clothes than costumes.

The series came to a final end after its 1981 revival, sadly before all of the Fightin' 5 stories could be reprinted. We'll take a look at the last several. 

The Fight Continues. 

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