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July 1964 |
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"A once-great city lies in ruins..." This is New York, a jungle-choked ruin, long after the great atomic wars of the 20th Century. A handful of humans exist as the N'Yark tribe. They burn televisions and paper money to keep warm, "unaware of the purpose or value of the products of the past." The tribe battles the encroaching jungle constantly. |
One day a piece of the jungle, "the Plant-That-Eats", reaches for a child. The boy's mother is snared too. "We can't escape now!" But "the boy's tiny hands, tugging curiously at the noose, snap the tough fiber like string."  "The young mother... recalls a legendary hero still known among the N'Yarks... 'My baby! You have the strength of a Samson!'" |
Radiation is the reason. A belt of glowing mist still circles the Earth. Mutant animals and plants spring up everywhere - and a few mutant humans such as Samson. Teen Samson can outpull all the other boys at tug-of-war. He can rip up a tree for firewood. Heave a car aside. And can kill a buffalo-rhino single-handed. He helps the tribe survive - and thrive. One day, "after Samson reached manhood", a warlike tribe attacks. Samson's mother yells for him to help, so he snaps off an iron lamppost. With one swipe he bowls over the enemy tribesmen, and spanks them into the jungle. |
"But triumph turns to tragedy..." Samson's mother was struck down in battle. Her dying words are, "Samson... use your strength... to help those in peril... and to fight evil... Goodbye, my son...." Samson promises. Weeks later, "the most fearsome of the mutant monsters" shambles up. The liobear! (Half lion, half bear, as seen on the cover.) Samson attacks with a club and lands a blow that would flatten an elephant - and gets swatted like a fly! |
Knocked through a wall, he enters an ancient gym. He heaves a barbell at the liobear, rushes - and gets raked across the face! Wounded, Samson staggers. Luckily an old ceiling beam falls and distracts the liobear. Samson jumps to gymnast's rings. He swings clear of the fearsome paws, twists in midair, "and hurtling like a human pendulum, delivers a finishing blow!" The liobear is dead, and Samson is close. He collapses, "helpless... alone!" His vision fading, Samson sees a vision. "I'm no dream. My name is Sharmaine! I heard your cries.. Lie still, you're badly hurt!" |
The mysterious girl administers "medicines made many years ago." The fever passes, and Samson's wounds begin to heal. He sleeps. He needs new clothes, since his are rags. Sharmaine pulls a knife... When Samson awakes, Sharmaine says they were lucky. "No one came by." She uses a flashlight ("Magic?") to light their way. Sharmaine drapes Samson in an orange fur. "You deserve to wear the liobear's hide!" Sharmaine leads Samson through the ruined city, through tunnels "where people rode in thundering carriages at great speed!" |
Sharmaine and her father, Mindor, live in an old bank vault. "It's hidden and protected, but the door is... uh... hard to move!"  |
Samson recovers in the vault. Mindor shows off his finest treasure "ancient books!" and some science he's recaptured. He melts gold to coat valuable steel, to keep it from rusting. They have stores of food "preserved in metal cans". Sharmaine tailors the liobear hide into a stole with a claw hanging by Samson's side, and a short cape. He wears an eyepath. "No other man can conquer a liobear and duplicate your costume! It will mark you as the mightiest of men, Samson!" Low on food, the three go hunting with Mindor's "can-finding device." Samson makes shopping easy. He can break through walls and open cans with his thumbnail! Samson notes, "With a stock like this, a tribe wouldn't go hungry when the hunting is poor!" |
Nearby, three enemy tribesman agree. As Samson lugs a carload of groceries, the enemy hurl paving blocks. Samson catches them and returns them, one, two, three, like a catapult. The enemy attack with a sling, club, and a battering ram. Samson proves he's more than strong. He's also inhumanly fast. He CATCHES the spear and hurls it back -with deadly aim. It spears a hanging "tub-of-tar fruit" that snares a tribesman. Samson catches a thrown sling, whips it back, and snags another tribesman. |
As for the battering ram, he "stands like a human rock!' Samson has a super sense of humor, too!  |
Samson tosses all three into a pool. "Now go! This is a warning to you from me, Samson! If I catch you attacking innocent peaceful people again... I will break you like this!" And he snaps the battering ram in one arm! Yet the tribesman vow, "Our chief, Kull the Killer, has never backed down yet!" Sharmaine says, "We will join forces with you, Samson!" Mindor adds, "The science of the past is at your service! Who knows? Perhaps we can even start humanity back on the road to civilization!' |
"Ancient Weapon" |
Mighty Samson and his new friends search for "useable equipment and valuable knowledge" amid the ruins when they're attacked. Not by a mutant animal, but a plant. A giant cactus fires thorns in a barrage. Samson scoops up his friends and leaps out of danger like a jackrabbit! Picking up a huge stone, he hurls it and crushes the cactus plant Farther on, Mindor makes "a real find". If he remembers the name correctly, this is an armory, "a stronghold where weapons were kept." |
Yep. Missiles, anti-tank guns, tanks, mortars - all useless. They'd be handy too, since a lightning beast attacks!  A big lizard has compound eyes that shoot bolts of electricity powerful enough to melt metal! Samson takes a blast shielding his friends, and "sags under the shock." |
Samson takes shelter behind an iron heap. Mindor yells, "That ancient 'tank' moved on wheeled treads! Push it, Samson, if you can!" He can. The rolling ram squashes the lightning beast against the far wall. Mindor's found more. "Gun rifles, carried by each soldier in an army." Samson shakes one. Mindor peers down the barrel. They should be a "powerful death-stick", but seem useless to Samson. Mindor takes one home to study. Yet one step outside the armory and they're attacked again. |
A six-pawed gorilla with antlers whips Samson against a tree.  Samson grabs a vine and swings to the ground, "where we'll be on equal terms." But the gorilla charges with "spearlike antlers".... |
... and drops dead from a thunderclap! No! Mindor suddenly remembered how the gun rifle works. "It kills from a distance!" Not far off, the gunshot reaches the ears of Kull the Killer. "No creature made that loud noise." Kull goes to find the source. His men warn Samson may be nearby, but Kull sneers. "Good! We'll take care of him once and for all!" Mindor shoots down a flying wolf. "The death-stick is powerful... but if it fell into the wrong hands..." |
Speaking of wrong hands, men grab Sharmaine! Kull holds Mindor and Samson at bay. "The girl for the guns!" Mindor leads into the armory to the gun racks. Kull gloats, "I'll become Chief of the World in time!" "When will I see my daughter?" asks Mindor. "Never!" Mindor and Samson are chained between pillars. The men will shoot on three. Mindor can't stop lecturing. "Th-this is like the 'firing squads' I read about in the ancient books!" |
Samson could be a student of old biblical texts. Like the original Samson, he tugs on his chains, then changes tactics and pushes.  |
The building collapses. Kull and his men run, but only three make it out alive. Then Samson tracks the killer silently by swinging through the trees. At the docks, Kull plans to keep Sharmaine as bait. Samson has other ideas. Quitting the tree, he shoves the forest giant over. It smashes the dock and scatters Kull's men. Kull crawls off to lick his wounds, mouthing threats. Samson unties Sharmaine. "The ancient rifles are buried forever..." says Mindor, "but just as well. Such weapons are too dangerous in our world!" Samson waves goodbye. "I must go to fight other evil. But if you ever need me, I shall return!" |
Comments Samson doesn't go far. In subsequent issues he's teamed permanently with Mindor - and the lovely Sharmaine. Mighty Samson stories are all gems. They combine wild and original settings with non-stop action, some humor, and - most importantly - compassion. Samson really does enforce the peace. One whole issue revolves around an effort to clear a deadly forest so the city folk can trade crops with outlying farm tribes. The creators had just as much fun. Throughout the series there are constant references to real-world New York landmarks, now destroyed. The authors seem to enjoy trashing famous spots one by one. Maybe they were from New Jersey. |
But Atomic War made for great stories. Mighty Samson is one small sample: the world could be destroyed and revert to a New Stone Age. Or we might end up with all plant life destroyed and men wearing knights' armor, like the Atomic Knights. Or a partial destruction might mean a semblance of life in far-off places like Australia, as with Mad Max. Of course, as kids, we thought all world-wide destruction would be "Cool!" No more school, for one thing. It's ironic that Mindor says so hopefully, "Perhaps we can even start humanity back on the road to civilization." Think, Mindy. Civilization brought the atomic wars! |
With the Senate hearings on "Seduction of the Innocent" still ringing in their ears, comic publishers were careful not to include gore or sex. DC and Marvel solved the problem by submitting their comics to the Comics Code Authority for a rubber stamp. Dell, and its spin-off Gold Key, took another tack. Editorial boxes stated that Dell didn't tone down offensive material, they eliminated it. Furthermore, "Dell comics are good comics". Since they didn't run ads (imagine!), they included educational segments on the inside covers. Here's an example.  |
Another nifty Dell and Gold Key feature were the pinups on the back. It was the original gorgeous PAINTED cover without any words except a small title. Lovely. The only drawback was that if kids did cut and pin them up, it guaranteed the comic got tossed by Mom! |
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