Buster Crabbe

In the early 1950s, Lev Gleason Publications launched a short-lived, four-issue comic series starring Buster Crabbe, the Olympic swimmer and actor famous for portraying Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers on screen. Written primarily by Bill Woolfolk and illustrated by Mort Leav and Ed Martinott, the series capitalized on Crabbe's enduring popularity as a rugged, all-American hero. Though its run was brief, it stands as a curious artifact of the era when Hollywood stars were frequently translated into comic book adventures.