Friday, April 27, 2012

Reading Room: SPEED CARTER: SPACEMAN "Famous Explorers: Venus"

One of the cool things about the Speed Carter comic was the creation of a "history"...
...of "early" space exploration like this tale set in the "distant past" of 2004!
Hank Chapman, who wrote the entire Speed Carter series, apparently wanted to emulate writers like E.E. "Doc" Smith and Issac Asimov in creating a cohesive universe with an established backstory.
OTOH, the concept of Venusians all being beautiful women was a cliche even then.
The art on this story from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #1 (1953) is by a young guy named John Romita, who had a real knack for drawing gorgeous females.
I wonder whatever became of him?  ;-)
One interesting note: the astronauts in this story, which takes place three generations in the "past" of Speed Carter, have different uniforms and lower-end technology than what's shown in the Speed Carter tales.

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Thanx for posting!