Stamp Comics #5

On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg—a giant German dirigible on its first scheduled Atlantic crossing of the year—approaches its mooring mast at Lakehurst, New Jersey, only to burst into flames with devastating speed. As newsreel cameras roll and horrified onlookers watch, the airship becomes a towering inferno; passengers and crew scramble to escape while ground crews race in to aid the survivors. This non-fiction account chronicles one of aviation's worst disasters and its harrowing human toll.

During the Nazi occupation of France, members of the Resistance strike a bold blow against their oppressors by sabotaging a German troop train near Rheims in 1943. When the Gestapo offers a hefty reward for information about the plotters, an informer surfaces—but the Underground's reach extends even into enemy headquarters. Penciled and inked by Vince Napoli, this four-page account captures a tense cat-and-mouse game where quick thinking and courage become the Resistance's most potent weapons.

Ever since explorers realized that just a few miles of land separated the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, dreamers envisioned a shortcut connecting them—and it took American engineering and determination to turn that dream into reality. This four-page account traces the Panama Canal from the French company's failed attempt in the 1880s through the U.S. government's acquisition of the project, the grueling construction challenges including tropical disease and massive earthmoving, and the triumphant moment when the first vessel passed through the locks in 1913. A fascinating look at one of the world's greatest engineering achievements, as told through the eyes of the workers and leaders who made it happen.

With General MacArthur forced to retreat and the Bataan Peninsula lost, a small American garrison under General Wainwright makes a desperate stand at the fortress island of Corregidor in Manila Bay—only to surrender after months of siege due to overwhelming odds and dwindling supplies. Nearly three years later, American forces return to reclaim the island in a fierce campaign of bombardment, beach assault, and airborne attack, determined to avenge their earlier defeat and retake the fortress that had been hauled down in shame.

In this four-page historical journey, Stephen Kirkel traces the development of jet and rocket propulsion from ancient Alexandria through World War II, showing how a simple steam-powered device evolved into the cutting-edge weapons and aircraft that shaped modern warfare. Starting with the Aeolipile demonstration in 150 B.C., the story moves through centuries of innovation—Chinese gunpowder rockets, de Fontana's experimental war machines, Newton's steam experiments, and finally the bazooka, jet fighters, and German V-2 rockets of the 1940s. Kirkel demonstrates how the fundamental principles of thrust remained constant even as science transformed them into increasingly powerful tools of flight and destruction.

When a lost knight stumbles upon a magical cup guarded by an enchanted maid in the Forest of Brabant, his refusal to return the prize to its rightful owner draws the wrath of Charlemagne himself. The great king rides out to reclaim the stolen treasure and restore balance to the realm. H. C. Kiefer's pencils and inks bring this strange legend of greed and consequence to vivid life in this three-page fantasy tale.

A young schoolboy discovers an oddly unattractive magenta stamp in a dusty attic, unaware he's holding what will become the world's rarest and most valuable stamp. Illustrated by Doug Wildey, this true story traces the One Penny British Guiana through the hands of collectors and auctioneers across nearly a century, watching its worth climb from a dollar and a half to tens of thousands of dollars. Despite its dull appearance and homely design, this single surviving stamp captures the fascination of serious philatelists everywhere.