When I covered the 1960s spy issues of Archie Comics (Archie, Cold War Archie, R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E.), I focused mainly on issues of Archie and Life With Archie, which famously payed homage to James Bond and spoofed The Man From U.N.C.L.E. series. So it was a cool surprise the other day when this issue of Pep crossed by radar via the groovy efforts of my pal, Jhalal Drut. This 1966 cover of issue #190 sports a number of wonderful gags and references to the spy boom. As Archie and friends lounge around in trench coats, Jughead sips quietly from the "Goldfinger Punch" bowl. The "U.N.C.L.E. File" cabinet includes drawers for Top Secrets and Bottom Secrets. And the red phone is "tapped by agent 007 1/2." If they had chosen "003 1/2" they would have achieved an even deeper level of appreciation from Bond collectors. It's curious that the couch has sleek lines and bold red fabric (to match the publication's masthead), but the curved feet and trim looks pretty Victorian. Pep also included pinups that now serve as fun time capsules spotlighting Mod fashions. Enjoy!
Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review, David McCallum novel, Andre Courreges R.I.P., Who's Talking on Spy Vibe, UFO Blu-ray, Avengers Pop Art Interview, Fergus Fleming Interview, Avengers: Alan Hayes Interview, Jaz Wiseman Interview, Diana Rigg BFI Interview, Casino Royale Interview: Mike Richardson, Lost Diana Rigg Interview, Honor Blackman at 90, UNCLE School.
Saturday Cartoons: Secret Squirrel. Secret agents were lurking around every corner at the height of the spy boom in the mid-1960s. It didn't take long for the international intrigue to show up on Saturday mornings and Hanna-Barbera's Secret Squirrel was perhaps the most notable front-liner. Spy Vibe has looked at the series, and some spin-off toys, in the past, but today I'm curious to share an interesting find this week at a local record shop. Young fans in 1966 could look forward to a 12" LP produced by Hanna-Barbera Records called Secret Squirrel: Super Spy (HLP 2046). The record featured the Hanna-Barbera Singers crooning tracks such as Secret Squirrel, Super Spy Part 1, Morocco Mole, and Agent O Double O (not to be mistaken for Agent O Double-O-Soul by Edwin Starr). That last track is even more curious because Secret's designation was Agent 000. I'm amazed the record has not been uploaded to Youtube yet. Do any Spy Vibers have it? Here's the cover below. Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole most recently made a comeback as POP figures from Funko. Like most shows aimed at kids, the original series stuck to main conventions. We looked at the trench coat trend here and here. Happy Saturday! Enjoy!
Selected Spy Vibe Posts: UFO Blu-ray, Avengers Pop Art Interview, Fritz Lang Spies, Fergus Fleming Interview, Avengers: Alan Hayes Interview, Jaz Wiseman Interview, 007 SPECTRE Comics, Casino Royale Folio, New James Bond Comic, Diana Rigg BFI Interview, Callan Documentary and Set, Casino Royale Interview: Mike Richardson, Early Saint Box Set, Lost Diana Rigg Interview, Diana Rigg Event, Ian Fleming Letters, New Gillette 007 Covers, Pirate Radio, Spectre Advanced Poster, Honor Blackman at 90, UNCLE School, Ian Fleming Memorial, Radiophonic Exhibit, Portmeirion Photos, Doctor Who Exhibit, Farewell Steed, Pussy Galore Returns, Diana Rigg birthday, Sherlock at 221B, Invisible Agent, Saint Interview: Ian Dickerson, Saint Doppelgänger, Fleming's Typewriter, Rare Fleming, Fleming's Music, Ian Fleming's Japan, Jim Wilson Corgi Interview, Fantomas Design, Jeremy Duns on Bond, John Buss interview, Avengers Season 5 Titles, Saint Volvo, Mod Tales Interview, Agente Secreto Comics, Danger Man Comics 2, Danger Man Comics, John Drake Comics, Der Mann Von UNCLE, Golden Margaret Nolan, Man From UNCLE Rocksteady, Pussy Galore Calypso, Cynthia Lennon R.I.P., Edward Mann Fashion, Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, Thai Bond Design, Bond vs Modernism, Art of Modesty, Tokyo Beat 1964, Feraud Mod Fashion, Green Hornet Manga, No 6 Festival, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.
New release: Secret Squirrel: Agent 000. Funko's "Pop" line of iconic figures has grown rapidly over the past few years to include characters from just about every nostalgic franchise ever made. Like Kid Robot and other toy manufacturers before them, Funko's success lies in producing slight variations on a singular design. With some similarities to the Japanese Chibi style, Pops feature large, cute faces on small bodies (look for really cute Batman editions in various colors!). Mining the classic Hanna Barbera cartoons in a second series of toys, the company has just released a Secret Squirrel figure that might appeal to Spy Vibers. As you may remember from the animated show, "Secret" (as his sidekick, Morocco Mole, called him) is cloaked in a purple mask-hat, white trench coat, and poses casually with pistol and silencer. The series also includes Morocco Mole, Muttley, Dick Dastardly, and others. Pop figures can be found at comic stores, Barnes and Noble, and other specialty shops. More info at Amazon. Secret Squirrel originally ran from 1965-1968. The main character was voiced by the great Mel Blanc. Related Spy Vibe posts: Spy Kids: Back in Trench Coats, Secret Squirrel Action Figure, Enjoy!
Selected Spy Vibe posts: Pussy Galore Returns, Diana Rigg birthday, Sherlock at 221B, Invisible Agent, Saint Interview: Ian Dickerson, Saint Doppelgänger, Fleming's Typewriter, Rare Fleming, Fleming's Music, Ian Fleming's Japan, Jim Wilson Corgi Interview, Fantomas Design, Jeremy Duns on Bond, John Buss interview, Diana Rigg eBook, Avengers Season 5 Titles, Saint Volvo, Mod Tales Interview, Agente Secreto Comics, Danger Man Comics 2, Danger Man Comics, John Drake Comics, Der Mann Von UNCLE, Golden Margaret Nolan, Man From UNCLE Rocksteady, Pussy Galore Calypso, Cynthia Lennon R.I.P., Edward Mann Fashion, Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, New Saint Publications, The Saint Complete box set, Gerry Anderson Box Sets, Music For Spies, Thai Bond Design, Bond vs Modernism, Popular Skullture, Art of Modesty, Avengers Blu-ray update, Tokyo Beat 1964, Polaroid Spy, Feraud Mod Fashion, Green Hornet Manga, No 6 Festival, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.
Celebrate Spy Vibe's birthday by entering to win cool vintage collectibles. See the main contest page for details. Entries must be in by February 3rd.
A favorite discovery last year was issue #35 of The World Around Us by Classics Illustrated from 1961. Published in the same year that the Berlin Wall was built, the comic is steeped in Cold War fascination with Spies. Devoted to the topic of espionage, this 35 page comic includes some really cool segments. It starts with a story called Most Conspicuous Courage, about a British WWII secret service group called Special Operations Executive. The most modern tale in the book, it features some moody art like the panels below. Author Ian Fleming based many of the key elements and characters in his James Bond novels on his experiences with the Special Operations Executive during WWII. The art from this particular story in Spies captures some of the dynamic drama and intrigue that we associate with Fleming. If you are hooked by these panels, I recommend also checking out the excellent graphic novel, Super Spy, by Matt Kindt.
The Spies comic then delves into historical stories about secret agents, including tales from the time of Moses, President Lincoln, the lead-up to WWI, spies and saboteurs during WWI, arial espionage, industrial spies, famous spies, and Classic Illustrated-style stories about Captain Cook, the Battle of Tours, and the Salem witches.
Similar to the end-pages of the Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Gold Key comics, The World Around Us: Spies also features some neat spreads
dedicated to the tricks of the trade. Some of the topics with illustrations are wire tapping, concealed
microphones, cameras, codes, cyphers, stamps, matchbook
messages, and microdots.
I love looking at stuff like this! This Spies issue can command some collectible prices, but most copies are well-read and can be found cheaply on eBay. The cover is really cool, assembled in a collage style with iconic images of the trench coat, Mauser, stamps, and matchbook. I had this hanging in my lair for a while. It makes a great display item, as well as a time-capsule from the height of the Cold War. Do any Spy Vibers have this? Can you recommend other comics from this era that we might enjoy?
SPY KIDS: BACK IN TRENCH COATS
Secret Squirrel found its fun Spy Vibe elements in conventions like lethal gadgets- a spy squirrel with a machine gun cane? Now that's 1960s surreal thinking! Episodes showed up on a recent DVD release of classic 60s cartoons and I enjoyed revisiting this dangerous little rodent. But as I started to look at other spy-related programming for kids during that era, I found that they all offered the same basic package: nitwit comedy cloaked in a throwback to hard boiled crime fiction- the trench coat. As we saw on Spy Vibe earlier this year, it was the peeling off of these drab macs that helped give 1960s spies a fashionable boost over their private eye counterparts. Bond's tux hidden under the tight wetsuit! Yet, the trench coat endured throughout spy fiction and remains a catch-all symbol for sneaky intentions (no connection to "dirty mac" stories here- we're PG13). 1960s London counter-culture centerpiece, Barry Miles, said that there was a major turning point in the early-mid 1960s when the cash-earning baby boomers started to come of age. To paraphrase, he said that before the shift, young people all dressed to look like middle-aged people. But after the shift, everyone started trying to dress like young people. So when Cold War spies became popular entertainment, we saw examples of productions embracing the youth-generated curve of that shift. Great examples were The Avengers with those kinky leathers and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. with Mod outfits and miniskirts. In the comedy productions, especially those made for kids, there was a slightly middle-aged approach that downplayed the sexuality and expressiveness that otherwise was a great part of 1960s liberation. Instead of cartoon characters in wild new fashions, the form was watered down for mass consumption and took on the trappings of the older generation. Replace the stubble and Fedora of the private eye with sunglasses and a gadget and you've easily turned the symbol of the 1930s-1950s "gumshoe" (Philip Marlow, Sam Spade) into the symbol of a "spy-in-disguise." Luckily overcoats were more popular back then- maybe a trench coat spy might have had a chance of blending in with the commuters!
There are two claims to the invention of the trench coat, but Burberry certainly has a firm hold on the garment's history. They originally began producing long coats to protect officers from the elements during the Boer War in 1895. A few modifications and wars later, the jacket began to evolve closer to its modern image during WWI, when it was dubbed the "trench coat" as officers wore them in the first trench battles. I'm sure that there are scholars of pulp fiction, Black Mask magazine, etc who could trace when the jacket became indelibly linked with crime fiction. Early pulps pictured private eyes dressed in the look we all associate with Bogart's portrayals of heroes by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. 1965's Secret Squirrel even borrowed from the Bogart lexicon by giving him a sidekick based on Peter Lorre! The WWI aviator's version of the trench coat showed up in European intrigue films, like Fritz Lang's Spione (1928). The trench coat look swept into fashion, and was acculturated for rush hour workers; men and women throughout the decades standing on metrolpolitan train platforms. As Hugh Hefner's sexual revolution took hold in the 1950s and beyond, he was in many ways rebelling against that grey flannel suit/raincoat lifestyle. Bond and the spies that followed in his wake ran with the young crowd in sexy, thin gear. But for kids and spy comedy? It was keep on the baggy side of life.
Imagine we were producing the major spy comedies targeted for younger viewers during the spy boom. We are like Mr. Briggs or Mr. Phelps of the Impossible Missions Force, flipping through our portfolio of secret agents: Boris Badinov (Bullwinkle), Secret Squirrel, Max Smart and Agent 99 (Get Smart), Cool McCool, Fred Flintstone (Man Called Flintstone), Lancelot Link, MAD's Spy Vs. Spy. They all have the outfit. Even the bungling Inspector Clouseau (Pink Panther) had the right wardrobe to face international intrigue, as did other spoof-film characters played by Doris Day (Glass-Bottomed Boat), Fabian (Dr. Goldfoot), and others. The comedy-spy characters of the 1960s clearly had the same tailor. Just as Bond baddies dressed "Nehru," this batch came from Central Casting with one requirement- wear a trench coat. The costuming and storytelling did not alter much among this group. They didn't have great style. But the characters made us laugh and remain important to 1960s spy culture (and the contemporary spin-off market). In some cases, like the bikini-wow Dr. Goldfoot films, the trench coat reads as a kind of "straight man" symbology in the comedy. What most of these productions lacked in fashion, they made up for in fun gadgets- a theme taken up years later by another trench coat-wearing crime/comedy firgure, Inspector Gadget.
The one major spy character for adults in the 1960s to actually look right in a mac was Michael Caine's Harry Plamer (The Ipcress File). Somehow his working bloke's portrayal brought authenticity to the jacket. It read more as ubiquitous than iconic; character-driven rather than cartoony.
To step into the Swingin' 60s side things, check out Spy Vibe's PEELING OFF THE TRENCH COATS. And because I love getting The Beatles into any discussion if possible, check out The Dirty Macs, a one-off 1968 band that included John Lennon, Keith Richards, Mitch Mitchell, and Eric Clapton!
