Captain Steve Savage was a public domain hero first drawn by Wally Wood in Captain Steve Savage Over Korea (Avon) in November 1950. The cover title changed every issue through #8 -- Captain Steve Savage and His Jet Fighters (#2); Captain Steve Savage and His Secret Super-Jet (#3); Captain Steve Savage Fights the Red Raiders from Siang-Po! (#4); Captain Steve Savage and the Rockets of Death! (#5), Captain Steve Savage Operation Destruction (#6); Captain Steve Savage's Flight to Kill! (#7), and Captain Steve Savage Battles the Red Mystery Jet (#8). Oddly enough, issues #4 through 8 were also issued as Captain Steve Savage (without the accompanying descriptive title), and continued for the 9th issue; issues #10 through 13 were titled Captain Steve Savage and His Jet Fighters, and apparently included some reprints.
(And that was that. Until 1968 when Marvel Comics appropiated the Captain Savage name for its World War II series Captain Savage and His Letherneck Raiders (18 isues; retitled Captain Savage and His Battlefield Raiders with #9) -- a spinoff of Marvel's popular Captain Fury and His Howling Commandos.)
Issue #9 has Steve and his squad going up against the "Rockets from Nowhere." A mysterious rocket, evidently launched from a submarine at sea, takes out a friendly convoy. Over the next few weeks, more rockets are spotted but, despite an exhaustive search, no enemy sub could be found. One of Steve's pilots, Lannigan, is shot down during a dogfight and Steve takes his own plane down to rescue him. As they are flying back home, a savage storm catches them and tosses Steve's plane around for several hours, ending with Steve being lost over the China Sea and his plane running out of fuel. they are forced to land on the water and hope that rescue comes before Steve's plane sinks. A Chinese junk, armed to the teeth and flying a pirate flag, comes across the two airmen. Steve and Lannigan are captured and are to be held for ransom, when one of the mysterious rockets flies overhead, terrifying the pirate crew. Steve is taken before the legendary pirate king Wo Tang and bargains for his and Lannigan's freedom, saying they will destroy the source of the feared rockets. With the help of the pirates, Steve soon discovers the rockets' underwater launching base but is taken captive by the savage Red commander General Chu. Just when things look darkest, Steve pits wooden Chinese junks against modern artillery. Guess who wins?
In gratitude, the pirate king pledges to become an ally against the communists. Steve then pontificates: "The free people of the world must join hands everywhere to defeat the Red slave nations." He welcomes Wo Tang and his pirates as allies. Schmaltzy, but effective for th early 1950s.
Enjoy.
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=87112&comicpage=&b=i
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