Mighty Samson

Mighty Samson was an original comic book series from Gold Key Comics. Similar to other 'earth after disaster' titles like Kamandi,published years later by DDC Comics and their own Atomic Knights or the like, it was set the area around "N'Yark", in an Earth devastated by a nuclear war.

Mighty Samson lasted 32 issues between 1964-82. The first issue was published in July 1964. The title was cancelled with #20 (1969). Issues 7-20 each had a back-up story with the large-headed character Tom Morrow. Mighty Samson was brought back in 1972 (probably due to the popularity of Star Trek), and lasted until #31 in 1976. The first two new issues were reprints; issue #21 (reprinting #7), and issue #22 (reprinting #2). A final new story was published in Gold Key Champion #2 in 1978. #32 (a reprint of #3, but with a line-art version of #4's cover) was published under the "Whitman Comics" line in 1982, and sold in a bag with Turok #130 and Dagar the Invincible #18.

Mighty Samson was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Frank Thorne. Artist Jack Sparling tookover the artwork with #6, and Otto and Jack did the title through #20. In the new issues beginning with #23, art was by Jose Delbo, and later by Jack Abel.

Samson was a wandering barbarian adventurer. An apparent mutant, due to his size and strength, but one who did only good. In the first issue, he loses an eye to a liobear, who he kills and skins (and whose hide he would wear). He is nursed back to health by Sharmaine, whose father Mindor had figured out some 20th Century knowledge from artifacts from the past.

Project Superpowers, a comic book from Alex Ross and Dynamite Entertainment announced in 2007,&lt;ref&gt;Newsarama (July 24, 2007): "SUPERPOWERS PREVIEW BOOK ", by Matt Brady&lt;/ref&gt; reviving many golden-age comic book characters will feature a Samson that is ostensibly the golden age Fox Features Samson, though the visual design seems to have been inspired by the Gold Key character.