Inspired by Operation Ivy, Atomic Attack #8, up for Auction

We’ve talked quite a bit here over the years about the impact of atomic bomb testing at Bikini Atoll and the Eniwetok Atoll on media and popular culture at large after such testing began in 1946.  Such testing ultimately helped inspire the Silver Age origins of both the Sub-Mariner and Aquaman, among countless other things.  One test, in particular, loomed large on the media landscape, the first hydrogen bomb detonation in Operation Ivy.  In the case of Youthful Magazines’ Atomic Attack, it would appear that test even caused the publisher to change the name of the title itself.  A weird reflection of early Cold War history, there’s an Atomic Attack #8 (Youthful Magazines, 1953) CGC FN/VF 7.0 Off-white to white pages up for auction in the 2023 May 18 The War Comics Showcase Auction #40223 at Heritage Auctions.

Youthful Publications was part of a constellation of publishing companies with loose connections to DC Comics founder Harry Donenfeld. One principle of the company, William Friedman, had acted as Donenfeld’s lawyer on numerous occasions, while another, Adrian Lopez, had previously co-founded a magazine publisher with Donenfeld. Over the course of its operation, Youthful Publications released 21 comic book titles, amassing a total of 125 issues.

The title that became Atomic Attack was launched by Youthful Publications as simply Attack in 1952, with a combination of WWII and Korean War stories.  Attack #4 would have hit newsstands shortly before the Operation Ivy detonation took place.  The title was changed to Atomic Attack with the next issue.  The Operation Ivy test, which resulted in the destruction of the island Elugelab, is the obvious inspiration for the lead story of Atomic Attack #8, The Island That Disappeared.

Atomic Attack #8 would be the last issue using that name, and the title would revert to Attack and confusingly continue on with the original title numbering in the process.  But the short-lived atomic version of the title is an unusual reflection of its moment in time, and there’s an Atomic Attack #8 (Youthful Magazines, 1953) CGC FN/VF 7.0 Off-white to white pages up for auction in the 2023 May 18 The War Comics Showcase Auction #40223 at Heritage Auctions.

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