Saturday, February 4, 2017

MADAME ZERO'S SHORT-LIVED CAREER

Madame Zero, a spy with a mysterious past and an unknown future, was one of the briefest of franchises in comic book history; her adventures lasted for just three stories in late 1952.  Her exploits were narrated by American Secret Service agent George Dennison, the pseudonym also used to sign all of the three stories which appeared in Fiction House's Fight Comics #83-85.

We first see Madame Zero posing as a nightclub entertainer in Paris, where she takes down a ring of Communist spies who have been kidnapping scientists.  Next, she is in Korea where she infiltrated a band of North Korean soldiers to rescue a South Korean patriot.  And finally, Madame Zero poses as a Russian general to destroy a cache of deadly germs by redirecting the rockets that carried them to explode in North Korea.

Then, as quickly as she appeared, Madame Zero disappeared.  Fight Comics lasted for two additional issues before it disappeared itself with issue #87 in 1953.

Madame Zero was never meant to be a comic book superstar.  Her brief adventures appear to be mere fillers, with character and plot never fleshed out, but the bones of major character were there.  With a little bit of effort and some editorial push she could have been a contender.  As it was, Madame Zero was just a minor footnote in comic book history.  Sci transit gloria.

http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=27187

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