"
Señorita Rio" was the code-name given to popular Hispanic-American film actress Rita Farrar (real name: Consuela Maria Ascencion De Las Vegas), as she spied on against Axis agents in Central and South American countries during World War II.
She was proficient with weapons, and could handle herself in perilous situations, requiring rescue by male associates far less frequently than most heroines of the Golden Age of Comics.
Based on real-life actress and World War II pin-up queen
Rita Hayworth
(whom most people don't realize was Hispanic-Irish-American! Her
real name was Margarita Carmen Cansino),
Señorita Rio started as a backup feature in
Fight Comics #19 in 1942, and took over the cover slot as of #37 for a year.
After that, she remained as a backup, at least, until #71 came out in 1951, as the series ended with her retiring from espionage and returned full-time to her acting career.
The first few
Señorita Rio stories, including this premiere tale, were illustrated by noted Golden and Silver Age artist Nick Cardy (using his full name Nick
Viscardi), but the bulk of her tales were rendered by one of the few female comic book artists of the era,
Lily Renee, who did spectacular work in
every comics genre: sci-fi, adventure, superhero, war, western, horror, and romance!
Atomic Kommie Comics™ has lured
Señorita Rio out of retirement, as beautiful and deadly as ever, on two of her best covers, in our
Heroines™ line of cool comics-based collectibles including tops, bottoms, t-shirts, mugs, and other goodies!
(She's also one of the dozen dynamic dames on our
Heroines™ 2011 12-Month Calendar!)
If you're a gal who wants to show off a classic example of Hispanic female empowerment, a guy who's confident enough in his masculinity to display a strong (and voluptuous) woman, or someone who wants a spectacular Cinco de Mayo gift for a pop-culture-oriented loved one, head over to see
Señorita Rio!
Just make sure to tell her you're on the Allied side. She can be a bit trigger-happy!
While many elements were adapted into the feature film with minimal alteration, there's one startling difference...Durand, the main villain of the movie, is a good guy in the original comic strip!
