Marvel Premiere #29 (April 1976)

Back in September 2022, I discussed the debut of the Invaders. Now, for those who do not know, in the Marvel Universe of the comic books during World War II, a group of heroes banded together to take the fight to Hitler and his "Fortress Europa" on the front lines of the war itself. Now, the Invaders themselves were not a team that was actually published by Timely (the 1940s predecessor to Marvel Comics), but the team was composed initially of action Golden Age-era superheroes: Captain America I (Steve Rogers), Human Torch I (Jim Hammond), Bucky Barnes, Thomas "Toro" Raymond, and Namor the Sub-Mariner. This group was created as a result of a retcon dreamed up by Golden Age comic fanboy Roy Thomas. He introduced the group during his 1970s Avengers run, which led to the Invaders getting their own series. 

However, the Invaders fighting on the front lines did leave a question: what about the home front? Who was keeping the good old USA safe from spies, saboteurs, and supervillains? Well, the Liberty Legion, of course. And yup, this was dreamed up by ol' Roy Thomas himself. And much like with the Invaders, the Legion would be comprised of Timely Comics characters. So, how did this bunch of homefront-watching heroes get together? Let's find out in Marvel Premiere #29!

The cover is a Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia piece. It's pretty darn good. It gives the vibe of the iconic Giant-Size X-Men #1 cover (which is funny as this comic came out first if we're going by cover dates). As such, it feels like a predecessor to it. You have the Liberty Legion front and center bursting out of a giant newspaper with "Bataan Falls", referencing the Japanese invasion and conquest of the Philippines during World War II. The cover basically tells you "This is the team you're going to read about here". And of course, Bucky is front and center. Makes sense, considering his role in this story.

"Lo, The Liberty Legion!"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Don Heck
Inker: Vince Colletta
Colorist: Petra Goldberg
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Roy Thomas
Editor-in-Chief: Gerry Conway

The story begins in New York City. The year is 1942. The fires of World War II are burning, but that won't stop the City that Never Sleeps from being one of the hottest spots in town. And a prominent radio station is about to get a big-time visitor. 

"Outta my way! I want a hot dog!"

James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes has an appointment, and he's not going to let these burly Army men get in the way. So, why is our man hell-bent to get there? Well, he has a man to see.

"Gimmie a F#$%IN' mic!"

Meet Jeffery Mace, aka the original Patriot. Created by writer Ray Gill and artist Bill Everett (yes, the same man who created Namor the Sub-Mariner) in Human Torch Comics #4 (March 1941), a version of him appeared in Agents of SHIELD, portrayed by Irish-American actor Jason O'Mara. He's doing a radio announcement when Bucky decides to pull a Kanye West on Taylor Swift: "I'm sorry Jeff, Imma let you finish", that kind of thing.

Mace doesn't take too kindly to Bucky's stunt, and the two have a bit of a scuffle on stage.

The two then finally calm down. The Patriot had gone on the radio to reassure people that there were still costumed heroes on America's side after the events of Invaders #15. In that comic, the Red Skull brainwashed members of the titular group, but Bucky managed to escape. Some guards burst in, but Jeff convinces them to back down as he wants to hear Bucky's story. Bucky said that he wants to bring together a bunch of costumed heroes to stop the Invaders and hopefully get them back to their senses. The broadcast goes live again, and Bucky makes the call to any costumed heroes in the country. The Patriot suggests someone, but he's rather hard to reach: Red Raven.

"Drill wing, activate!"

First appearing in Red Raven Comics #1 (1940), created by Joe Simon and Louis Cazeneuve, Red Raven was a man who was adopted as a boy by a group of "Bird-People" after surviving a plane crash. Lacking the wings of his adopted people, Raven uses a pair of artificial ones to fly. Think Hawkman, but without the mace and actually being willing to put a shirt on. 

As luck would have it, the Red Raven is in action. He's investigating a plane that has no running lights on in the skies of Pennsylvania. Raven naturally is suspicious about said plane. He was right to be, as it has some Nazi spies on it. The spies get the drop on the winged hero, sending him to dreamland.

However, the Raven had some unexpected backup: Bruce Dickson, Ph.D.: The Thin Man.

"You also smell bad!"

The Thin Man first appeared in Mystic Comics #4 (August 1940), created by artist Klaus Nordling and an unknown writer. An explorer and adventurer by trade, he discovered a cave in the Himalayas that hid a utopian civilization called Kalahia. The people of Kalahia had the ability to make themselves super-thin and paper-like, a power they gave to Dickson. He then left alongside the Kalahian princess Ollana to fight crime. Fun fact, he is one of the first superheroes with a "stretching" power, predating Plastic Man by one year. Also, the green-and-yellow costume he wears here is a new look for him. In his one Golden Age story, he wore a red and blue costume. As such, he was given the green and yellow outfit to help make him visually more distinct from the other Legionnaires, as many of them used red and blue heavily in their costumes.

Using his power, the Thin Man is able to get inside the plane and give the Nazi spies a good beating. He then rescues the Red Raven, and the two team up. He gets a call from Olanna, who picked up Bucky's radio message on her ship's comms. 

The next Golden Age hero we focus on is Robert L. Frank, aka the Whizzer. First appearing in USA Comics #1 (August 1940), he was created by an unknown writer and artist Al Avison. Frank is a speedster, getting his power from...being injected with mongoose blood after being bitten by a cobra. Yeah, it's the Golden Age, just go with it. He would later be retconned to be a latent mutant. 

We find in upstate New York, racing to save a train from a bridge. A bridge that had a bomb put on it by Nazi spies. Unknown to him, he also has some help in the form of Madeline Joyce, aka the first Miss America. First appearing in Mystic Comics #49 (November 1943), she was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Gabriele. She got the power to fly, as well as superhuman strength and durability thanks to being caught in an electrical accident.

She causes the spies' car to crash into a tree, much to the Whizzer's surprise. The two end up taking a slight dislike to each other, but it's tabled when the car's radio broadcasts Bucky's call for costumed help.

The scene next shifts to the Museum of Natural History in New York City. There, an anthropologist named Elton Morrow is giving a lecture. Thing is, Elton is also a superhero: The Blue Diamond. First appearing in Daring Mystery Comics #7 (April 1941), he was created by Ben Thompson. I'm not sure if he did both writing and art. 

After finding a strange diamond in Antartica and surviving the Germans' destruction of his boat, shards of the diamond got embedded in his body, giving him the power of invulnerability and superhuman strength. A group of Nazi sympathizers attack the lecture, but Elton got his Blue Diamond outfit with him. He suits up and proceeds to take care of the masked men.

The hospital got a new record for patients with broken jaws.

Even though Mr. Morrow is more of a part-time/reluctant crime-fighter, he has no qualms easily breaking a Nazi jaw or two with a diamond-hard punch.

He overhears a car radio broadcasting Bucky's call for help. Sometime later, Bucky has continued broadcasting, to the point where his voice is about to give out. Wait, couldn't they have just recorded Bucky's call and broadcast it repeatedly? I mean, I do get that this story is set in the 1940s. I understand that. Radio technology back then was not as advanced as today, but I still think they could have done that. Either way, the heroes have made their way to NYC, and to the studio.

One of the radio engineers reveals himself to be a Nazi spy. He has a bomb, seeing an opportunity to not only kill a bunch of superheroes, but also help demoralize America presumably. However, his plot was foiled by another hero making himself known.

That Nazi agent would go on to be called "One-Hand". Why is obvious.

Meet Jack Frost, who first appeared in U.S.A. Comics #1. Inspired by the folklore embodiment of winter of the same name, this Jack Frost was later established to the be the diminutive (by their standards) child of an Asgardian Frost Giant. However, at the time of his debut and in this comic, his origins were unknown, and Thomas kept it that way. Frost explains that in his Arctic home, he's able to monitor all radio broadcasts, which is how he heard Bucky's call for help. 

Now that this group are together, Bucky gives them their mission: to well, stop the brainwashed Invaders. And with that, the Liberty Legion are born.

This comic was pretty fun to read. The big hook of it is seeing these Golden Age heroes, who by the 1970s had been pretty much (outside of Bucky), be revived and brought together to face a big threat they can't face alone, making them an in-universe predecessor to the Avengers in a way. I can imagine that a young reader in the 1970s would be amazed by these classic heroes being given new life. If I did have to criticize it, I have to say that I didn't really get a bead on the individual members' personalities from this comic. However, it's kind of appropriate here. These are Golden Age characters; characterization was not the biggest deal at the time of their original adventures. I think that if Thomas did manage to get the spin-off book focusing on the Legion, he would have been able to give them more depth. 

Don Heck turns in some fine art for this. It has a slight Golden Age, yet modern (for the 70s) vibe to it, perfect for a story set in WWII.

If you really want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2014 trade paperback The Invaders: The Complete Collection Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!