Gordo in Gordo's Love Group (1961)
In this eight-week storyline from 1961, good-natured Gordo is horrified by headline-grabbing Hate Groups which are seemingly popping up everywhere. Proving himself, above and beyond all, a lover rather than a fighter , San Juan Del Monte's favorite son organizes against hatred -- with a love group all his own. Although Arriola doesn't mention any particular group by name, he is most likely making reference to The John Birch Society , a frequent source of newspaper headlines at the time. Founded in 1958, the ultraconservative, reactionary right-wing organization provided a roost for rabid anti-Communists who had been made politically homeless by the collapse of McCarthyism in the mid-50s. (Which makes it additonally ironic that, when Gordo garners government attention for his group, he's investigated for possible Communist ties !) Prone to conspiracy theory and proving attractive to authoritarians , by 1961 the thriving JBS was receiving almost non-stop coverage in U.S. n...