Reading Room CRUSADER FROM MARS "Beachhead on Saturn's Ring"

Ziff-Davis had two short-lived titles about visitors from the Red Planet...

...Lars of Mars (which we covered HERE) and this one, about a pair of Martian criminals sent to dispense justice throughout the Solar System.

Yeah, you read that right...

You thought maybe they were a husband-and-wife alien police officer team like Katar and Shayera Hol, the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl?

Nope!

Tarka murdered his rival for the love of a woman and committed the first felony on Mars in 50 years. The Martian government branded his arm and sentenced him to exile.

Together with his fellow criminal Zira, they were sent to Earth to rid it of crime.

If they failed, then they would be destroyed--and so would Earth.

Using their advanced technology, they battled evil both on Earth, and occasionally in outer space, as seen here.

The writer for this tale from Crusader from Mars #2 (1952) is unknown, but probably is the book's editor, Jerry (Superman) Siegel.

The penciler appears to be Marvin Stein, but the inker is unknown.