COMIC BOOK PROFILE: FIGHTIN' 5 #40

COMIC BOOK PROFILE:  FIGHTIN' 5  #40

It's been QUITE a long while since I've peeped into the comic bins of history to find a book to profile, but I DO believe I have found one inspired by a TV show that began airing in early 2022:  Peacemaker.  So, digging through, I managed to find THIS gem....Peacemaker's first appearance.  Of course, it wasn't published by DC, since they didn't get the ownership rights to him (or the OTHER characters that were a part of his previous publishing company), until the 1980's.  But in honor of John Cena's performance as the titular character, we're going to take glance at Peacemaker's first appearance in a comic...and this book comes with some unusual parameters, as there are only TWO of the stories we can cover...the rest are not owned by DC, and thus have no history...but that will not deter us from talking about Peacemaker anyway, and give you a little insight as to where HE came from.  

FIGHTIN' 5  #40 

COVER ART:  Bill Montes, Rocke Mastroserio

WRITER: Joe Gill

ARTIST:  Bill Montes

INKER:  Ernie Bache

LETTERS: N/A

COLORS:  N/A

EDITOR:  Dick Giordano 

COVER DATE:  November 1966

PUBLISHER:  Charlton Comics  

TAGLINES:  What's THIS?!  Hank has turned on his comrades and joined...The Agents of D.E.A.T.H. (Dedicated Enemies And Traitors to Humanity)

STORY TITLES:  "The Agents of D.E.A.T.H", "Introducing: The Peacemaker"

Fightin' 5  #40 hit the shelves in November of 1966, as it provided yet another adventure of the title team in action yet again, but it was the backup story that is what we're focusing on, as it brought to the comics world yet another superhero:  Peacemaker.  Christopher Smith hit the pages of this issue, and cemented his legacy as one of the major heroes of Charlton's comics line...along with the likes of Captain Atom, the Blue Beetle, the Question, Judomaster, and Nightshade.  All of these characters were new and fascinating, and brought to life by the likes of Steve Ditko in his post Spider-Man work, Bill Montes and Joe Gill, and edited by future DC stalwart writer/artist/editor Dick Giordano once Charlton stopped printing altogether.  And while it took awhile, DC managed to acquire the characters in the 1980's, just in time to introduce the lot of them into Marv Wolfman and the late George Perez's 12 issue maxi-series, Crisis on Infinite Earths.  It allowed Wolfman to integrate the Charlton Characters (much like DC had done earlier with Fawcett's SHAZAM characters), into the proper DC universe.  Peacemaker...along with the Ted Kord Blue Beetle, the Question, Judomaster, and Captain Atom, to have a brand new lease on life in modern day comics (at the time).  Peacemaker's had quite journey coming from THIS comic (and I DO believe that DC owns the Fightn' 5 as well), and into his own series, and now...with the help of James Gunn and John Cena, bringing the character to live action with last year's hit movie The Suicide Squad, and his recently finished 8 episode arc on HBO Max, entitled Peacemaker.  

THE STORY:  "The Agents of D.E.A.T.H." - Our team of heroes encounters a new group called The Agents of D.E.A.T.H.:  a group extremely disillusioned wealthy people hell-bent on taking revenge on society.  One of the 5 - Hank Hennessey - infiltrates the group, and pretends to be one of them in order to stop them from the inside.  

"Introducing:  The Peacemaker" - We meet Christopher Smith, who is informed by his secretary Miss Blair, about a man named Emil Bork, who'd had agents within two countries who were at war with each other.  While in Geneva, Smith runs afoul of Bork and his men, and is almost killed.  He then later on gets into his secret armory, and puts on a new outfit, and confronts Bork as The Peacemaker, as Bork is looking to escape, for which Peacemaker would not allow.  

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I hope you enjoyed this look at the first appearance of Peacemaker, and hope you will once again check back in with me, as I peruse the comic bins of history for yet another title to profile in our next installment.  But, until then, check out this book if you can, and everything else starring Peacemaker, to gain a better understanding of our hero.  

NEXT TIME:  Another classic book from our collection!