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| Spy vs. Spy creator, Antonio Prohías |
I realize it may be a stretch trying to connect this topic to Deathstroke, but today marks the 59th anniversary of legendary cartoonist, the late Antonio Prohías, fleeing his native Cuba to preserve his freedom and then to resume his cartooning career in the United States. Prohías, of course, was the creator of the now-iconic Mad Magazine comic strip Spy vs. Spy. But, with Spy vs. Spy starring politically opposed practitioners of the deadly art of spycraft that features numerous assassination attempts (though not successful ones), I suppose connecting Prohías' seminal cartooning work to the world of Deathstroke isn't really that far of a stretch.
Prohías began his career as an editorial cartoonist in Cuba during the 1940s and 50s. His work was often critical of Cuban leadership, as a frequent subject of his cartoons was the then-U.S.-backed leader, Fulgencio Bautista. Even after Fidel Casto took power following the Cuban Revolution, Prohías continued to cartoon about his county's leadership going so far as to criticize Castro's censorship of the press. Not surprisingly, Prohías' work drew the ire of the new Cuban leader as Castro soon publicly accused him of acting as a covert operative of the CIA.
Prohías, fearing his own arrest, defected to the United States on May 1, 1960, settling in New York City. But once there, the only work he could find was in a garment factory where he labored during the day while creating a new cartooning portfolio at night. This plan paid off as within a year, Prohías succeeded in selling a brand new creation to Mad Magazine. Debuting in Mad's 1961's issue #60, Spy vs. Spy featured a secret agent garbed in white facing off with an agent clad in black both trying to outwit and out-deathtrap the other. Spy vs. Spy would go on to provide both much-needed commentaries on and justifiable lampooning of the ominous and uncertain social and political reality that was the Cold War for the youth of America. The rest, as they say, is cartooning history.
Prohías, fearing his own arrest, defected to the United States on May 1, 1960, settling in New York City. But once there, the only work he could find was in a garment factory where he labored during the day while creating a new cartooning portfolio at night. This plan paid off as within a year, Prohías succeeded in selling a brand new creation to Mad Magazine. Debuting in Mad's 1961's issue #60, Spy vs. Spy featured a secret agent garbed in white facing off with an agent clad in black both trying to outwit and out-deathtrap the other. Spy vs. Spy would go on to provide both much-needed commentaries on and justifiable lampooning of the ominous and uncertain social and political reality that was the Cold War for the youth of America. The rest, as they say, is cartooning history.
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| Original art for the first Spy vs Spy strip from Mad Magazine #60 Image Source: Heritage Auctions, Inc. |
In tribute to Prohías and his inspirational journey, posted below is an image by artist Clay Graham that brings together the worlds of Prohías' Spy vs. Spy and Deathstroke the Terminator. Graham pits Deathstroke against his (inferior) Marvel counterpart, Deadpool, in true Spy vs. Spy fashion. I couldn't think of a better way for the Deathstroke Files to say, "Thank you, Prohías!"
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| Art by Clay Graham |
