M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War

(Gold Key, 1966-1969, 2004)
™ and ©1968 Western Publishing Company, Inc.
Series continued from Total War #2

The “M.A.R.S.” of M.A.R.S. Patrol stands for Marine Attack Rescue Service. At first glance, one might suspect the series to be of a science-fiction origin. However, “M.A.R.S. Patrol” is actually one of many war comic books that saw print in the 1960s. For its first two issues, it was known as Total War.

As with most team war comics, the M.A.R.S. Patrol consisted of a group of individual specialists. Lieutenant Cy Adams was the teams aerial combat man, Sergeant Joe Striker handled communications, Sergeant Ken Hiro specialized in sea warfare, and Corporal Russ Stacey was the weapons wizard. The team was sent on special missions that only they could handle. Most of these missions were secret and not part of any known war.

In formulation and style, M.A.R.S. Patrol was an ancestor of the later G.I. Joe, a Real American Hero.

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