Space Force Saturdays SPACE SQUADRON & SPEED CARTER: SPACEMAN "Famous Explorers of Space" Part 6

Both Atlas' Space Squadron and Speed Carter: SpaceMan had "future history" features...

...set in the "past", like this never-reprinted story from Atlas' Space Worlds #6 (1953), illustrated by Christopher Rule, which took place in an unnamed period after the 1960s!

In the alternate future world of Speed Carter, we discover women (even female astronauts) are not always treated as equals...

...but, when push comes to shove, they're as brave and as any men when facing the dangers of deep space exploration!

This story of a future fighting feminist from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #6 (1953) is written (like all the Speed Carter-related tales) by Hank Chapman, and illustrated by Bill Benulis, an artist who entered the comics field in 1949 and stayed only four years in the business.

He became a postman when the comics industry almost collapsed due to the "Seduction of the Innocent" witchhunt (that claimed comics caused juvenile delinquency) swept the country.

But, because he was so prolific, unpublished material by him kept appearing in comics until 1957!

Besides "Famous Explorers", Space Squadron/Space Worlds also presented "future history tales" about the guy who was young hotshot Jet Dixon's crusty Commander-in-Chief when he was a young hotshot pilot...

Young Blast Revere's final adventure (also from Atlas' Space Worlds #6) was illustrated by George Klein.

Both Klein and Christopher Rule were primarily inkers, because, while they were competent pencilers, they could ink faster than they could pencil.

So, in a business where the per-page rate was low, specializing in inking paid better!
BTW, this is the final "Famous Explorers" entry, since both Speed Carter and Space Squadron/Space Worlds were cancelled with #6!
But, there are still several more tales from both titles to tell....

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics

Friday Food Fun "Man's Guide to Outdoor Cooking" Part 1 "Greet the Grill"

Since it's BBQ season...

...for the next few weeks, we're going to offer you some grilling tips that are as relevant now as they were when the comic was published back in the 1950s!

Next Friday

(Just in time for the 4th of July)

Meats

Beef, Pork,
Hamburgers, Hot Dogs!

Don't Miss It!

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Chop Sizzle Wow

50 Step-by-Step Kitchen Adventures

(Told in Manga Format)

Reading Room FANTASTIC WORLDS "Ace of Space"

Not to be confused with Space Ace (who went through several different incarnations)...

...this guy is a Cold War fighter pilot-type transposed to a Star Wars setting!

Darn those aliens!

Sending robot "drones" to do their fighting instead of going man-against-lizard as God intended!

Though the scripter for this tale from Standard's Fantastic Worlds #7 (1952) is unknown, the artwork is by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, with a couple of panels redrawn by Mike Sekowsky!

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Wednesday Worlds of Wonder LOST WORLD "Of Vultures and VoltaMen!"

The war against the invaders from Volta continues...

...and it appears secrets from the distant past are about to be revealed!

Thanks to this tale from Fiction House's Planet Comics #56 (1948), we now know the Martians tried to warn us in August, 1968 that the VoltaMen were en-route to attack and conquer Earth, with the invasion actually occurring shortly after that!
We don't know exactly how long after then that the "present-day" adventures of Hunt Bowman and Lyssa take place, but it's likely less than a century...perhaps even around 2020!
Will Eon the Martian return...and bring his fellow aliens with him?

Note that artist George Evans is improving by leaps and bounds since his debut only a few months ago in #50 as shown HERE!

He's experimenting with perspective and "camera angles", showing much more drama and in the individual panels.
While not quite where he'll be when he works on EC Comics' sci-fi, horror, and war books several years down the line, it's exciting to see his evolution as an illustrator!

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Planet Comics

Volume 12

(contains issues 54 to 59)

Reading Room WORLD OF FANTASY "Xom! The Menace from Outer Space!"

Behind this kool, never-reprinted Jack Kirby/Christopher Rule cover...

...lurks an equally-cool (but visually-different) never-reprinted tale!

Plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by Larry Lieber, and penciled/inked by Joe Sinnott, this cover-featured tale from Atlas' World of Fantasy #18 (1959) was a combination of the "giant monster with weird name" and Twilight Zone "switch ending" tropes Lee was so fond of.

You'll note the "monster" is rendered pretty much the same on both the cover and insides, while the Earthmen and aliens are vastly-different!

I'm not certain which was done first, but the difference between the Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers-style renderings by Sinnott and the...well...Kirbyesque versions on the cover are striking!

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Brush Strokes with Greatness

Life and Art of Joe Sinnott

Monday Mars Madness MAN FROM S.R.A.M. "vs the Devil Man from S.U.N.E.V.!"

A couple of weeks ago we presented the Man from S.R.A.M. in his only published adventure!

...but there's one more tale to be told...that wasn't told!

Written by Otto Binder (with re-write by Editor Joe Simon?) and illustrated by George Tuska, this story produced for Harvey's never-published Jigsaw #3 features a different Martian form for the protaganist, as well as a different vehicle from the previous chapter!
At the same time, Tuska also drew all three issues of Harvey's SpyMan, another cross-genre (super hero/spy/sci-fi) series just before moving on to a long run as Marvel's primary Silver Age Iron Man artist after Gene Colan!

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Hero-a-Go-Go

Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters, and Culture of the Swinging Sixties

MORE Blogathon MADNESS!

You know about the comic-based novels we're presenting in our Summer Blogathon, but what about actual comics?

Don't worry.

We have that covered...starting with a never-reprinted, over 40-year old extra-long adventure of Marvel's Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu in...where else...

Pop Art Martial Arts

during the last week of July!

Then, get comfy with the latest in our annual gothic-themed Beach Reads in...

True Love Comics Tales

...during the first week of August!

Note: this 50-year old tale was reprinted a decade ago...but in black and white!

This is it's first appearance in full color since 1971!

Finally, to wind up the Blogathon in the last week of August, we present...

...the never-reprinted, serialized, Origin of The Shadow from the never-reprinted 1960s Radio/Archie comics in
Hero Histories

And here's the kicker...they're text features...from the comics!

Yep, we start the Blogathon with...

...this novel beginning (appropriately enough)  on July 4th, and running a chapter a day at...
Hero Histories
...then continuing with the earlier-mentioned kung-fu and romance entries at
Pop Art Martial Arts
and
True Love Comics Tales

The Caped Crusader appears the second week of August, also running a chapter a day at
Hero Histories!
And winding it all up will be the (text) Radio Comics adventures of He Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men, also at
Hero Histories
...where you'll find several of his 1960s comic adventures already there and ready to read!