Friday, November 2, 2018

Friday Fun SPACE MOUSE "Hunter"

Thought the Martian invasion stuff was over for the year?
Guess again, Earthling!
Even funny animals battled Martians!
Not a Dream!
Not a Hoax!
Not an Imaginary Story!
(though it is the ending of the movie Invaders from Mars, which came out the year before this never-reprinted tale from Avon's Space Comics #4 [1954] appeared!)
If I were a cynical sort, I'd say writer/artist Frank Carin copped that finale...
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(covering the studio where Frank Carin got his start)

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Reading Room WAR OF THE WORLDS "Part V: the End of the Invaders"

(This was Dave Cockrum's presentation piece for the Martians and their tripods, looking decidedly-different from the aliens and war machines from the then-recently cancelled Killraven: Warrior of the Worlds series!)
You know the story.
Guy meets alien!
Alien conquers planet!
Alien suddenly ghosts guy...
Overall, not a bad job by the creatives, eh?
The Marvel Classic Comics series ran 36 issues from 1976 to 1978, the first 12 of which were reprints of the b/w Pendulum Press Now Age Books comic adaptations of literary classics which had been sold directly to schools and libraries.
(Note: Classics Illustrated had ended in 1971, leaving a void in the retail comic market that Marvel attempted to fill.
Sadly, sales of the books after the reprints in 1-12 didn't warrant continuing the ambitious project.
The Direct Sales/Comic Book Shop market was just beginning, and if the project had survived another couple of years, it might have found a successful niche, but the timing was off.)
Like Classics Illustrated, the Marvel adaptations included text pieces about the original authors...
...and other goodies like the Dave Cockrum model sheet seen at the beginning of this post!
The adaptations featuring new material (13-36) have never been reprinted in America.
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Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Holiday Reading Room WAR OF THE WORLDS "Part IV: the Earth Under the Martians"

...this ain't no treat, but the mother of all tricks, as the Martians have effectively conquered the Earth!
(Though you have to admit, this painted cover for the German edition, based on Gil Kane/Dave Cockrum's pen-and-ink art, is a treat, indeed!)
...what's the answer?
Another trick?
Or a life-saving treat?
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(the First [and extremely-unauthorized] sequel to the HG Wells novel)

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Reading Room WAR OF THE WORLDS "Part III: the Rout of Civilization"

...as this amazingly-kool Gil Kane/Dave Cockrum cover shows, the Martians are here, and they're kicking Mankind's collective ass!
That's really all you need to know!
...we're safe for the moment, only, as we shall see on Halloween!
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(Including Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, John DeLancie and other Star Trek castmembers!)

Monday, October 29, 2018

Monday Madness WILD "Menace from Mars"

We wind up October's Monday Madness with another Martian invasion...
...in this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' MAD! comic clone, WILD! #2 (1954)!
Though the talented and versatile Howie Post illustrated the story, nobody knows who wrote it!
But it "feels" a lot like Stan Lee...
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