First anti-communist cover or story.

[rjpb]

What was the first distinctly anti-communist cover or story in comics?

 

I know Cat-man #3 has Stalin as a villain on the cover, but that stems from the brief period the Molotov- Ribbentrop pact was in effect, and I think of as more anti-Axis than anti- communist. After WW2 vague references to foreign powers and spies became common, but I was wondering when communists or soviets were first singled out as villains in comic books. It seems the Korean war opened the floodgates for many publishers, and for a while the red star replaced the swastika as the symbol of villainy in comic books, but I'm curious as to who was the first to specifically name the "reds".

[Doohickamabob]

What was the first distinctly anti-communist cover or story in comics?

Not sure, but this looks painful:

[rjpb]

What was the first distinctly anti-communist cover or story in comics?

Not sure, but this looks painful:

 

That is cool. Gag cartoons?

[Ebel 1911]

Haven't seen that one before. (thumbs u

[Doohickamabob]

What was the first distinctly anti-communist cover or story in comics?

Not sure, but this looks painful:

That is cool. Gag cartoons?

I think so. It's not mine; I saw it auctioned and saved the image.

[Sqeggs]

Pretty obscure and not cataloged in GCD. Seems a boardie owns (or owned) a copy, though. Link to thread.

 

I wonder when it was published?

[DarrenSmith]

What was the first distinctly anti-communist cover or story in comics?

Not sure, but this looks painful:

 

I found the publisher and publication date:

 

Title: Stalin's lie : cartoons, jokes and stories from behind the iron curtain

Author: Laszlo Fodor; Adrian B Lopez

Publisher: New York : Picturight, 1951.

 

Darren Smith

[Sqeggs]

What was the first distinctly anti-communist cover or story in comics?

Not sure, but this looks painful:

 

I found the publisher and publication date:

 

Title: Stalin's lie : cartoons, jokes and stories from behind the iron curtain

Author: Laszlo Fodor; Adrian B Lopez

Publisher: New York : Picturight, 1951.

 

Darren Smith

 

Good detective work! Too late to be the first anti-commie book, but still a cool book.

[BOOT]

This one's from 1948.

[rjpb]

This one's from 1948.

 

Love that cover! 1948, that's as early as I can recall ever seeing.

[Sqeggs]

Churchill's Iron Curtain speech in March 1946 is sometimes thought of as the unofficial beginning of the Cold War. So I would guess there is probably an anti-commie story from before 1948.

[rjpb]

Churchill's Iron Curtain speech in March 1946 is sometimes thought of as the unofficial beginning of the Cold War. So I would guess there is probably an anti-commie story from before 1948.

 

Perhaps, though as with "Plot", I'd expect it to be a giveaway, since mainstream comics, reflecting popular culture in general, didn't embrace anti-communist themes as quickly as politicians did. I'd be curious to see if there are any that pre-date U.S. involvement in WW2. I have seen pulps from the late 30s with specifically anti-communist cover art, but don't recall it in comics that early.

[buttock]

"Is This Tomorrow" was published in 1947.

[Sqeggs]

"Is This Tomorrow" was published in 1947.

 

Yikes! How did I forget about that one?

[Scrooge]

Probably not overtly anti-communists but the story is certainly reeking of animosity:

 

In Big Shot # 71 dated November 1946:

 

GCD Linky

 

Tony Trent / comic story / 6 pages

-script & Pencils by Mart Bailey

 

Synopsis:Tony and Liz Doyle, "radio's glamour girl," are flying to Tokyo when their plane goes off course over the Burile islands. The plane is attacked by communist planes displaying the red star. The Jabo Jockeys come to their aid and shoot down several planes. Back on the ground, the General tells the pilot, Captain Bailey, that he is proud of the flyers even if they caused an international incident.

 

By the way, [sic], these should be the Kuril islands.

 

Note that the Kuril islands were in the news in 1946 b/c:

 

In August 18–31, Soviet forces invaded the North and South Kurils. The entire Japanese civilian population of roughly 17,000 was expelled by 1946 (per Wikipedia)

 

so, given the act of aggression of the "Soviets" they started garnering enmity around the time period. Don't have time to look it further up but it was for sure in the news at the time. Anyway, talk about a topical story.

 

Unfortunately this issue is not available at the DCM.

[rjpb]

"Is This Tomorrow" was published in 1947.

 

Yikes! How did I forget about that one?

 

Me too, for some reason I always figured it was later.

[rjpb]

Probably not overtly anti-communists but the story is certainly reeking of animosity:

 

In Big Shot # 71 dated November 1946:

 

GCD Linky

 

Tony Trent / comic story / 6 pages

-script & Pencils by Mart Bailey

 

Synopsis:Tony and Liz Doyle, "radio's glamour girl," are flying to Tokyo when their plane goes off course over the Burile islands. The plane is attacked by communist planes displaying the red star. The Jabo Jockeys come to their aid and shoot down several planes. Back on the ground, the General tells the pilot, Captain Bailey, that he is proud of the flyers even if they caused an international incident.

 

By the way, [sic], these should be the Kuril islands.

 

Note that the Kuril islands were in the news in 1946 b/c:

 

In August 18–31, Soviet forces invaded the North and South Kurils. The entire Japanese civilian population of roughly 17,000 was expelled by 1946 (per Wikipedia)

 

so, given the act of aggression of the "Soviets" they started garnering enmity around the time period. Don't have time to look it further up but it was for sure in the news at the time. Anyway, talk about a topical story.

 

Unfortunately this issue is not available at the DCM.

 

Cool find, I love the topical nature of the story.

[rjpb]

It looks like the earliest comic story with communists ( Soviets) as the villains may be ''In Finland" , the Lone Eagle strip from Thrilling Comics #4 ( May, 1940), another topical story printed in the wake of The Winter War between Finland and the USSR. the scans at DCM are very poor and nearly unreadable, but the nations involved aren't disguised.

 

The following month, Smash Comics #11 also featured a story called "in Finland", starring Black X. Black X is also on the cover battling soldiers whose caps and outfits match those of the Russian soldiers he battles in the story, but absent the identifiable red star, so this might be considered the first comic cover with the hero battling communists. This story is also online at Digital Comic Museum and worth reading, as it features Will Eisner art and while the Russians are clearly the villains, the soldiers are portrayed as far more human than German and Japanese soldiers would be in the following years.

[Sqeggs]

It looks like the earliest comic story with communists ( Soviets) as the villains may be ''In Finland" , the Lone Eagle strip from Thrilling Comics #4 ( May, 1940), another topical story printed in the wake of The Winter War between Finland and the USSR. the scans at DCM are very poor and nearly unreadable, but the nations involved aren't disguised.

 

The following month, Smash Comics #11 also featured a story called "in Finland", starring Black X. Black X is also on the cover battling soldiers whose caps and outfits match those of the Russian soldiers he battles in the story, but absent the identifiable red star, so this might be considered the first comic cover with the hero battling communists. This story is also online at Digital Comic Museum and worth reading, as it features Will Eisner art and while the Russians are clearly the villains, the soldiers are portrayed as far more human than German and Japanese soldiers would be in the following years.

 

As you mentioned in your first post, though, there are really two different situations: Commies as enemies when the Soviet Union was briefly a de facto ally of Germany (August 1939-June 1941), and the commies as enemies during the Cold War (roughly March 1946 on).

[rjpb]

It looks like the earliest comic story with communists ( Soviets) as the villains may be ''In Finland" , the Lone Eagle strip from Thrilling Comics #4 ( May, 1940), another topical story printed in the wake of The Winter War between Finland and the USSR. the scans at DCM are very poor and nearly unreadable, but the nations involved aren't disguised.

 

The following month, Smash Comics #11 also featured a story called "in Finland", starring Black X. Black X is also on the cover battling soldiers whose caps and outfits match those of the Russian soldiers he battles in the story, but absent the identifiable red star, so this might be considered the first comic cover with the hero battling communists. This story is also online at Digital Comic Museum and worth reading, as it features Will Eisner art and while the Russians are clearly the villains, the soldiers are portrayed as far more human than German and Japanese soldiers would be in the following years.

 

As you mentioned in your first post, though, there are really two different situations: Commies as enemies when the Soviet Union was briefly a de facto ally of Germany (August 1939-June 1941), and the commies as enemies during the Cold War (roughly March 1946 on).

 

True, though the Thrilling and Smash stories are specifically concerned with the Soviet Union, in contrast with the Catman cover which just throws Stalin into the rouge's gallery, but they aren't particularly anti-communist in tone.