Friday Fun ZANY "Russian Bubble-Gum Cards"

Americans have obsessed about Russians for over half a century...

...as this never-reprinted feature written by editor Dick Richards and illustrated by Ricahrd Doxsee from Candar's Zany #4 (1959) proves!

To explain some of the references:
"Bubble-gum cards" are trading cards, which haven't included bubble gum in the packaging for decades!
(The sugar in the gum damaged the cards!)

"Mel Stalin" is based on Mel Allen, longtime play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees.

"Dr Wherner von Foofnick" is loosely-based on Dr Werner von Braun, inventor of the V-2 rocket who later created the Saturn V rocket for NASA.
(German scientists ended up working for both the USA and USSR on various projects including the respective countries' space programs.)
"Henry Fordsky" is based on automobile innovator Henry Ford.
"Edvard R. Murovitch" is based on radio/TV newsman Edward R. Murrow.
"Mickey Mantlevitch" is based on Baseball Hall of Fame New York Yankee Mickey Mantle.
And the fact I have to explain who and what these things are makes me feel very old...

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The "Star Wars" Defense System...in 1962...60 Years Ago!

You think Ronald Reagan was the first US President to think of it?

From Drift Marlo #1 (1962) Art by Tom Cooke

In the early 1960s, we already had satellites in orbit that would have detected missile launches from the "damn Communists"!

Code-named MiDAS for Missile Defense Alarm System, the plan was to eventually put anti-missile missiles in orbit that could supplement land and sea-based defenses.

As it was, a number of scanner-equipped satellites were orbited, but the crude sensors kept mistaking other heat sources (including sunlight reflected from heavy cloud cover) as missile launches, so the plan was eventually abandoned...but replaced with a more accurate system.

The project was one of the central elements of an entry featuring the Silver Age character Drift Marlo: Space Detective at our "brother" RetroBlog Crime & Punishment™.

Check out Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE!
So when you think the Russkies are ahead of us, don't worry.
We have more up our sleeves than you may realize!

Here's some more fact-based feature pages from the Drift Marlo series showing the future as we hoped it would be in 1962...

Who says comics ain't educational?