Issue No. 101
June 1956
General Steel: A Red agent called General Steel uses robot tanks and aircraft to attack the main research center of the free nations. The center is evacuated except for a beautiful femaile scientist who refuses to leave because she is in the middle of a vital experiment. The Blackhawks battle the robots and eventually win. There is some nicely done aerial combat in this story, including a neat scene in which Blackhawk sits his F-90B directly on top of an enemy bomber to force it to land. The Black Knights defeat the robots and discover that the beautiful scientist is actually General Steel. Big surprize, right? But still a good story.
The Incredible Exploits of Baron Von Richtofen: A non-Blackhawk story, an incredibly inept story of Von Richtofen's career. It contains a few historical facts amid a mishmash of propaganda. And it is not clear who the propaganda is aimed at, since the Germans were our allies in 1956.
Satan's Paymaster: While in Beldia being honored for helping the small country achieve democracy, the Blackhawks have a bounty of five million dollars placed on each of their heads by a Red agent called the Paymaster. The Blackhawks lay a trap for the Paymaster with a phony heat ray and capture him. A not uncommon occurence, the cover story is the least interesting in the book.
The Lost Island: A seismic disturbance raises an island in the middle of the Atlantic. This strategic location sends aircraft from many nations rushing there to lay claim. The Blackhawks settle the argument by letting the UN decide. But then they discover that the Soviets have a prior claim, since a Red cruiser was above the island when it rose from the sea and is now stranded high and dry. To complicate matters further, the Blackhawks discover a race of natives who have been living in caves in the island since it sank beneath the waves one thousand years earlier. Since the presence of natives would invalidate the Soviets claim, the crew of the cruiser attempt to exterminate them. But their efforts cause the island to sink again. The natives decide to retreat to their caves, not liking what they have seen of the modern world. Except for the highly suspect science and natives living in undersea caves for a 1,000 years, an interesting story. And the scene of the cruiser beached in the center of the island is neat.
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