Number 1990: Commander Battle: always ready for...errr...battle!

Commander Bill Battle, captain of the famous atomic sub, is a smart guy! In the face of an attack by spheres sent by an underground Antarctic (“Antarcs”) civilization, only Bill is smart enough to figure out what to do. And luckily, he has the pull to get it done. When a man’s only boss is the President of the United States that gives him a lot of clout. Bill really has President Ike’s confidence. Bill can order up a special atomic shell to fight the enemy. He can come up with a scheme to have his sub picked up and flown into what looks like a sure suicide mission, dropped directly onto the ice with an idea to plow through and detonate the new atomic shell! I am surprised Bill Battle just doesn’t run for President and still keep his atomic sub command. There would then be no need to have a middle man for his outrageous plans. (Not discussed is who exactly is he blowing up with his atomic device. A whole civilization including innocents as well as warriors? Better not to get into moral dilemmas like that; it would just slow the breakneck pace.)

This exercise in over-the-top storytelling is from ACG’s Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub #6 (1955). It was produced after the Comics Code was implemented, but the Code didn’t have any powers to prevent wild plots like this. Artwork is by Kenneth Landau.

In case you missed it this past October, click on the link for a trip to the moon by the Atomic Sub:

Pappy’s Number 1961

Number 1961: "H-Bomb from the moon!" Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub

This is the last entry in our ACG Week.

This week we’ve seen two postings that are deliberately funny, and now this one, which is funny, but in that particular ACG kinda way. Editor Richard E. Hughes, whom I believe wrote this story, was known for being able to concoct some off-the-wall strories, and did so for his entire career. I haven’t gotten around to reading all seven issues of Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub, but this one caught my eye with the H-bomb from the moon theme.

Yes, Virginia, there was a move to put nuclear weapons on the moon! The U.S. wanted to do it by 1965,* but cooler heads prevailed and the moon was declared off-limits for military action. While all kinds of military stuff is orbiting our planet in the form of satellites, luckily no one has used the moon for staging a first strike capability.

In the two-part “Journey to the Moon!” from Commander Battle #3 (1954), off-the-wall is a misnomer...it is more spaced-out. Howlers pile up when Hughes introduces outrageously wrong information (a sub can be converted to a rocket ship — in a couple of panels, yet — the moon has an atmosphere, etc.) Hughes probably knew these things were impossible, but when he wrote a story anything that advanced the plot, no matter how goofy, could be thrown in.

As we have done several times in this blog, for information on a particular feature we go to the late Don Markstein, and his blog, Toonopedia,** to read about the feature. Don didn’t get into how improbable the stories could be.

Artwork is by Sheldon Moldoff. Shelly did a nice portrait of President Dwight Eisenhower...he looks just like he did in the “I Like Ike” campaign pictures when he ran for office.

*Read about Project Horizon.

**Go here for the Toonopedia entry on Commander Battle.