Different name... different number... same mission!
sarge steel / secret agent
Before Dynamite Comics traded in Felix Leiter's hook for a robotic hand, there was Sarge Steel! This section includes all feature appearances from the Charlton Comics series Sarge Steel, a private eye/spy thriller hybrid series that was later re-titled Sarge Steel—Special Agent as it became increasingly Bondian in nature, and was ultimately titled Secret Agent for its final two issues. Also included are Sarge Steel backup stories and guest appearances in other comics. Pay attention to all the similarities you can find to the Bond series, some much more blatant than others, including a particular "smoking" gun (although Dean Martin’s Matt Helm used one a year before Bond in the 1966 film Murderer’s Row).
All stories in this gallery have lapsed into the public domain.
tiffany sinn — cia sweetheart
Ever wonder what a Bond girl does in her off time? Wonder no more! Published by Charlton Comics and inspired by Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise, this gallery features backup stories from Career Girl Romances and Secret Agent featuring CIA agent Tiffany Sinn.
All stories and books in this gallery have lapsed into the public domain.
secret agent Mike Manly
With a name like Mike Manly, what else could you do for a living? This gallery features backup stories from issues #1-3 of the Tower Comics series Fight the Enemy. Note the strong resemblance to Sean Connery as you read these stories, particularly in the first tale by the great Dick Giordano!
All stories in this gallery have lapsed into the public domain.
duke Douglas — man of danger
When a spy leaps into action in a dapper suit he'll inevitably be compared to James Bond. However Duke Douglas, created by Don Heck, arrived in 1953, well before Bondmania was in effect and when the only novels on the market were Casino Royale and Live and Let Die. Reading the adventures of Duke Douglas today, it's easy to see that his creators were ahead of the curve and Douglas is unlike most other secret agents of his day. Recruited into intelligence services out of medical school, Douglas traveled the world under deep cover using his brain first and his fists last. In mission briefs, the well groomed operative smokes a pipe and relays the deadly details of his past in tales of action, love, and betrayal.
In this gallery you'll find all Duke Douglas stories and appearances from the Comic Media series Danger. All stories in this gallery have lapsed into the public domain.
john force — magic agent
Spies and magic? Well it worked for the film Live and Let Die! John Force is an American agent and while he’s not against using his fists, the ace up his sleeve is a mystical Greek medallion that grants him the powers of telepathy, illusion, hypnosis, and extra-sensory perception.
In this gallery you'll find all John Force adventures from the American Comics Group series Magic Agent. These stories have lapsed into the public domain. For completionists, additional John Force stories appeared in issues #35-36 and #48-56 of the series Unknown Worlds but these constitute copyrighted appearances. Support comic shops and collectors everywhere by tracking down back issues!
t.h.u.n.d.e.r. agents
If you like your Bond films on the more fantastic end of the spectrum then you'll love T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents! Published by Tower Comics and the brainchild of the legendary Wallace Wood along with writer Len Brown and artist Larry Ivie, The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves is an international team of super powered and gadget laden individuals who lead normal, everyday lives until they clock in to save the world! While inspired particularly by the series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the idea of a superhero day job was truly ahead of its time and the notion of government funded and sanctioned superheroes would later pop up in the works of Frank Miller, Alan Moore, John Byrne, Rob Liefeld, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis, and many others!
In this gallery you'll find all 20 issues of Tower's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, along with the spin-offs Dynamo and NoMan, and the sister title Undersea Agent. All books and stories in this gallery have lapsed into the public domain, but other adventures with these characters have been published over the years by a number of creators so go out and support comic shops and collectors everywhere and track down further issues!
Finally, if you like the work of Wallace Wood (who doesn't?) then check out his macho, erotic espionage action series Cannon, published exclusively for the fighting forces in Overseas Weekly and available in a collected edition from Fantagraphics Books!
