The cover by Edd Ashe is a World War II scene in the classic comic book mold of the era, featuring the book's lead hero, The Wizard, symbolically defending the Panama Canal from an aerial attack by a foreign enemy known as the "Borentals." As we've seen before with The Wizard stories in Top Notch Comics, the plots were often based on plausible U.S. security concerns of the era, such as the three-issue saga featuring a stand-in for the Soviet Union, and the debut issue issue which famously saw The Wizard foiling a Japanese plot to attack Pearl Harbor — two years before that infamous event occurred in real history. As a snapshot of MLJ before it became the house of Archie, a reflection of pre-Pearl Harbor American war era concerns, and a showcase for some of the best creators of the era, early Top Notch Comics are fascinating and important examples of this period of the Golden Age.
Author: Mark Seifert
Published at: 2025-07-15 22:47:04
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