Space Force Saturdays SPEED CARTER "Die, Spaceman, Die!!"

Speed Carter gets a new look (again) as another artist takes over...

...as Space Squadron artist George Tuska assumes the art chores.

As we mentioned, everything from uniforms to tech to the look of aliens is re-conceived yet again with the debut of another artist who will do all three Speed Carter tales in the issue.
This story from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #5 (1954) was scripted (as were all Speed Carter tales) by Hank Chapman!
Illustrator George Tuska later became the final artist on the original Buck Rogers comic strip (1959-67) and then assumed the art duties for almost a decade on Marvel's Invincible Iron Man!

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics

Friday Fun / CoronaVirus Comics WALLY "Give 'Em the Acts"

Not all "teen humor" comics looked like Archie (though most of them did)!

This never-reprinted story from Gold Key's Wally #4 (1963) demonstrates what a different "look" (but similar plotting/scripting) could be like....

Apparently the "different from Archie" approach by writer Herb Rogoff and illustrator Paul Robinson, didn't sell since the next issue was the final one, and the characters haven't been seen anywhere since!
BTW, you'll note the "contagious disease" subplot with measles that warrants our "CoronaVirus Comics" label...which we had hoped we'd be able to retire by now!

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Rabbit and Cat's CoronaVirus Jokes for Such a Time as This

Volume One

Earth Day Reading Room NIGHTMARE "Pollution Monsters!"

"The Devil made it do it!" is given new meaning...

...in this never-reprinted tale from 51 years ago (the year Earth Day was first celebrated) which reads like one of Atlas' (pre-Marvel Comics) late 1950s-early 1960s monster stories!

Before we continue, two points:

1) Penciler Don Heck was one of the primary artists of both Atlas era and Silver Age Marvel comics stories, including numerous giant monster tales.
(Inker Mike Esposito, though he entered the field at the same time as Heck, didn't do much work for Atlas or Marvel until the late 1960s.)

2) The story is broken into two parts, even though it's only 10 pages, much like those Atlas Comics stories.

Is it a deliberate homage?
Writer Mike Freidrich was one of the first generation of comic fanboys turned professional creatives, so he was very familiar with the inherent tropes...

One big difference between this story and those Atlas-era giant monster stories...we don't win!

We might, but there's no guarantee in this cover-featured tale from Skywald's Nightmare #1 (1970)!

It's over 50 years later...and it's still frightening!

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Climate Change
A Personal Journey Through the Science

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder LOST WORLD "If the Past Be Not Dead..."

When Last We Left Our Heroes...

Even as Hunt demonstrates why he's considered the biggest party poop on several worlds, fate is about to reunite Lyssa and him with an ally believed lost...

You'll note the Volta spaceship captain was the first to abandon ship!

How did these guys manage to conquer most of the known universe with cowards like these in command?

Bruce, the defrosted man from the past whose brain was put in a VoltaMan's body when his own was mortally-wounded (as seen HERE), returns with nary a footnote.

Did the creatives feel all the readers were familiar enough with the strip that they didn't need to explain a character last seen more than six issues ago?
We're running this strip weekly, not monthly, and even I barely remember him!

Discover More Amazing Factoids

Next Wednesday!

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Lily Renee, Escape Artist

by

Trina Robbins

Reading Room ALIEN WORLDS "...and Miles to Go Before I Sleep"

Sometimes it takes a couple of old pros to give you a new perspective...

...on a matter that will affect us all...eventually!

Some say it's an ironic story.

I prefer to think of it as a tale of love between parents and their child taken to the nth degree...even beyond death itself!

Adapted from his own short story by noted sci-fi author Willlam F Nolan, and illustrated by Al Williamson, this never-reprinted piece from Eclipse's Alien Worlds #8 (1984) is a gentle tale that would have made a helluva episode of the classic Twilight Zone!

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Wild Galaxy

by William F Nolan

which reprints the original prose short story "...and Miles to Go Before I Sleep"

Monday Mars Madness: a Twice-Told Tale INVASION!

One of the best-known Mars invasion tales is Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio show...

Edited version

...which this twice-told tale "updates" to the television era!

But, it's radically-altered from it's first appearance, and that the original version had never been reprinted!

First the toned-down version, then the original, scarier version...

Original version

 Note in the original version, both the wife and singer on tv show a lot more cleavage!

Edited version

Original version

Again, more cleavage in the original version...

Edited version

Original version

Oddly enough, the wife's cleavage is unchanged, but the look of terror in the last panel is toned down!

Edited version

Original version

Panel four in the original version is much more gruesome than the edited version.  Note the dialogue balloon is unchanged, even though there's no actual weapons fire in the edited version!

Edited version

 This last page is radically-different! Prepare yourself!
Ready?
Proceed...but remember, I warned you...

Original version

Wow!

The edited pages were from Race for the Moon #1 (1958), which was reprinted in Shocking Tales Digest #1 (1981)

The original story was from Witches' Tales #21 (1953)

As you can see, the Comics Code Authority insisted on some major redos, including most of the last page!

What do you think, fans!

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The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics: Volume 2

Bob Powell's

Terror