"
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™ 2015 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!
)
.
