Best of Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "Martian Genesis"

Concluding our re-presentation of the never-reprinted adventures of the first EarthMan on Mars...

...as we present, from the b/w magazine Monsters Unleashed #8 (1974), the final strip, produced by a team which included a newcomer to Marvel who would become one of the biggest names in the field (read the name in the credits below)...

Yes, this was George Perez's first assignment after breaking into the business as Rich Buckler's art assistant!

Oddly enough, this story isn't listed on George's own website!

And, there's uncredited inking by neophites Bob Layton and John Byrne, who helped inker Duffy Vohland meet the deadline!

Wonder whatever happened to Byrne and Layton?  ;-)

Despite the promise printed above, Gullivar Jones and company never graced another Marvel comic or magazine.
(Monsters Unleashed was cancelled with #10, two issues before Gullivar would have reappeared.)
Note there's no splash page for this story.
Actually, there is!
It was rejected, and a replacement was used for Page 1!
Here's the unpublished splash page...

Think of it!

George Perez's very first page...rejected!

Good thing he didn't give up, eh?

Reading Room CLIFF HANGER "Chapter Two: Claws of Death"

We Have Already Seen...

...on with the show!

Be Here...NEXT WEEK!

Written by Bruce Jones and illustrated by Al Williamson, this backup strip from Pacific Comics' Somerset Holmes #2 (1983) perfectly conveys the fun and excitement of 1930s-40s movie serials!

Jones and Williamson worked on a couple of other projects together, including a short story for the Alien Worlds anthology series and the comic adaptation of the 1980 Flash Gordon movie!

Reading Room JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY "Somewhere Hides a...Thing!"

Though the Mighty Thor tales from Journey into Mystery have been reprinted over and over...

...the stories that filled the back pages have rarely, if ever, been seen since the early 1960s!

This never-reprinted Stan Lee/Steve Ditko tale from Marvel's Journey into Mystery #84 (1962) is one of those hidden treasures!

Watch for more of them...

Reading Room: FLASH GORDON "Chapter One: Treachery in Torneo"

Most people don't remember (or never knew) about this bit of comics history...

...when Marvel tried what Dynamite is currently doing, reviving the King Features Syndicate adventure characters in comic books!

To Be Continued
Next Week!

Of the three characters' (Flash Gordon, Mandrake, and The Phantom) series, this one was the best, featuring the one-time-only dream team of Mark (Xenozoic Tales) Schultz and Al (Do we have to tell you?) Williamson working on one of their favorite characters in a true labor of love!

Look for various "Easter eggs" and tributes to Flash Gordon history, like the spaceship on the first couple of pages, which is the one Flash, Dale, and Zarkov flew from Earth in the first Buster Crabbe movie serial!

BTW, if you want more Williamson Flash Gordon (and who wouldn't?), check out our re-presentation of his comic adaptation of the 1980 movie...

...by clicking here...

Flash Gordon: the Movie

Reading Room FLYING SAUCERS "Far Out Physical"

Both Gold Key and Dell produced UFO-themed anthology titles in the 1960s...

...with decidedly-different approaches!

Editor Don (D J) Arneson wrote all the stories in the four-issue run of Dell's Flying Saucers, also making sure the various artists presented a fairly-consistent "look" to the aliens.
In the case of this tale from #1 (1967), Sam Glanzman brought his realistic, natural style to a story using many of the established elements of UFO lore.

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Forced Landing"

Continuing the adventures of a combined human/alien crew...

...we see how working together can have unexpected benefits!

Writers Eric Freiwald & Robert Schaefer and creator/artist Russ Manning take a deceptively-simple story and add an unexpected twist with this tale from Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #5 (1963).
Nicely done...