Rather than the heterosexual romantic themes common to the source material, the adventures of Harry Chess were openly homosexual, intended to appeal to gay male readers.

The strip also featured contemporary political satire, parodying the families of Republican figures such as Spiro Agnew, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan.

For example, in one issue Harry Chess and Mickey Muscle foil a plot to mix ground glass into tanks at the “Cay-Why” factory, a reference to K-Y Jelly, a sexual lubricant.

The text of the comic was filled with gay slang, homoerotic innuendo, and double entendres that were at risk of being labeled obscene by the United States Postal Service.

[1] These early strips, edited by Drum publisher Clark Polak, were reprinted in a collection entitled The Uncensored Adventures of Harry Chess 0068 7/8: That Man from A.U.N.T.I.E.