True Comics #16

In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh receives a royal patent to establish a colony in the New World, and after his advance expedition makes peaceful contact with Native Americans on Roanoke Island, settlers begin arriving to build a permanent foothold. Through early hardships—supply shortages, rising tensions with some Indian tribes, and the colonists' eventual evacuation by Sir Francis Drake—Raleigh persists in sending new expeditions, including families and the first English child born in America. When rescue ships finally return to Roanoke in the 1590s, they discover an abandoned settlement with only a cryptic carving—"Croatan"—offering a tangled thread of mystery about what befell the vanished community.

Major Ole Reistad trades Olympic glory for the skies, becoming a champion athlete turned air force officer who transforms Norway's fledgling air force into a formidable fighting force. When Nazi Germany invades in 1940, Reistad leads a daring escape across the Atlantic, rallying fellow Norwegian pilots to establish training bases in Canada—"Little Norway" and "Little Bergen"—where they prepare to strike back against the enemy. His vision of turning sportsmen into combat pilots becomes the foundation for Free Norway's aerial resistance.

Henry Bergen's passion for protecting animals takes him from his father's shipyard across the world—from the Russian court to England—where he witnesses cruelty at every turn and resolves to establish an American society dedicated to animal welfare. Back in New York, he battles indifferent judges, hostile businessmen, and public ridicule as he fights to secure a charter for the S.P.C.A. and enforce laws against animal abuse, from overloaded horse cars to underground dog fights. With allies like the actor Edwin Booth and lawyer Elbridge T. Gerry at his side, Henry pursues his vision through seemingly impossible odds, inventing the world's first horse ambulance and transforming how a nation treats its animals.

Monroe Smith transforms a European youth hostel movement into an American institution, introducing affordable overnight lodging and camaraderie to young hikers and cyclists across the country. From teaching school in Massachusetts to leading expeditions across continents—including a daring cross-Panama bike trek—Smith and his wife Isabel build a network that welcomes thousands of adventurers each summer. This is the story of how one man's passion for the open trail sparked a movement that brought young people together across the nation.

Joanna Stavridi, a London war nurse, finds herself caring for the wounded in Crete after fleeing the fall of Athens during World War II. Working under Red Cross tradition even as doctors fall and the situation grows dire, she becomes a steadfast presence for those who need her most. Her courage and dedication in these harrowing circumstances earn her a place in history alongside the great nurses who came before her.

True Comics traces the storied history of the Netherlands East Indies—from ancient spice traders and Hindu kingdoms through centuries of Dutch colonial rule—before pivoting to the present-day Japanese occupation and the resourceful resistance of Dutch pilots who salvage an abandoned American plane to continue fighting back. Packed with maps, historical detail, and striking wartime photography, this account examines the region's immense strategic value in rubber, tin, oil, and quinine, and poses the urgent question: how long can the invaders maintain control?

William Wallace, a 22-year-old Scottish outlaw, rises from hiding to lead his countrymen against English occupation under King Edward I, rallying guerrilla fighters and nobles alike to drive out the invaders. When Edward marches on Scotland, Wallace assembles his vastly outnumbered forces for a pivotal clash at Stirling Bridge, where tactical brilliance and determination will decide Scotland's fate. This six-page biography captures the fierce struggle of a young patriot determined to free his nation, no matter the odds.

In 1908, young chemist Robert R. Williams arrives at the Bureau of Science in Manila, where an army doctor challenges him to discover why rice bran seems to cure beriberi in the local population. What begins as a casual request sparks a decades-long scientific quest that takes Williams from the Philippines to Washington and finally to Columbia University, as he pursues the mystery of a vital vitamin hidden within an everyday food. Driven by patience and the memory of a sick child he helped, Williams pursues his obsession through war, career changes, and late-night garage experiments until he achieves a breakthrough that will transform public health.

Dave Elman's "Hobby Lobby" celebrates young people across America who've turned their passions into something remarkable—from four Minnesota boys who engineered wooden ocarinas and built a real manufacturing business, to a four-year-old conductor, a drum-playing nine-year-old, and kids whose hobbies range from keeping snakes to collecting rare currency. Each story shows how necessity, creativity, and early dedication can turn a simple interest into something genuinely profitable and inspiring.

Three U.S. Navy fliers—Harold S. Dixon, Anthony Pastula, and Gene Aldrich—are forced to ditch their bomber in the South Pacific and find themselves stranded on a life raft with almost nothing: a revolver, pliers, a pocket knife, and their wits. Over 34 grueling days, the three men battle sharks, storms, starvation, and desperation as they improvise tools, catch what food they can, and struggle to survive against the sea itself. This is the true story of three sailors tested by the ocean's cruelest trials.