Space Hero Saturdays COSMIC CARSON "Iako's Attack!"

This totally-inaccurate cover from Fox's Science Comics #4 (1940) by Joe Simon...

...featuring characters who never appear in the strip (except for the hero) marks Cosmic Carson's only cover appearance ever!

Ah, but it's who's on the inside that counts...and for this issue, it's Jack (King) Kirby, who penciled and inked this story!

("Michel Griffith" was a Fox Comics pen-name that anybody who wrote or drew this strip used!)

Though this Cosmic Carson tale from Fox's Science Comics #4 (1940) ends on a cliffhanger, the story in the next issue neither resolves nor even mentions it, or the current plotline and characters!
Not surprising, since Kirby had been moved to other strips in the next month's production cycle.
Cosmic Carson, in and of itself, was one of the worst, most inconsistent, poorly-plotted and illustrated strips (with this one exception) in the history of comic books.
(And that's saying a lot!)
So enjoy this appearance, since it's the only one Cosmic Carson will make in any RetroBlog!

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Simon & Kirby Library

Science Fiction

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Friday Fascist Fun UNQUOTABLE TRUMP "Trump SuspenStories"

From Now Until Election Day, We'll Be Presenting Examples of How Creatives See Don da Con...

With his current demonizing of legal immigrants...who just happen to be Black, Don da Con returns to his, dare I say, roots!

Interesting to note the Klan leader in the original Wally Wood-illustrated cover from EC's Shock SuspenStories #6 (1952-53)...

...had a red hood!

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Drawn & Quarterly Special Edition

Unquotable Trump

by R. Sikoryak

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Reading Room OUTER SPACE "Repair Stop"

Today's comics creators have lost the ability to tell a straightforward story...

...in a short story format!

It wasn't always this way....

Written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Steve Ditko, this efficent, effective tale from Charlton's Outer Space #18 (1958) sets up the minimal plot, conveys multiple points of view, and delivers a satisfying ending...all within four pages!

If it was done today, it'd be a book-length tale!

You'll note Ditko's heavy use of pen, rather than brush for inking, resulting in a less-lush, less organic "feel" and a lot more cross-hatching instead of feathering than his work only a year later, when he was transitioning from Charlton over to Atlas/Marvel.

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Steve Ditko Archives

Volume 6

Outer Limits

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Wednesday Worlds of Wonder FLYING SAUCERS "Spawn of Terror"

Was Erich Von Däniken (Chariots of the Gods) the first to tie flying saucers to ancient civilizations?

Nope!

The idea of aliens visiting us in ancient times had been popular for as long as fantasy and science fiction have been around.

Next Wednesday:

First Contact!

Inspired by the flying saucer craze of the late 1940s-early 1950s, this 1950 Wally Wood-illustrated book was one of many one-shot titles from Avon Comics during their short, but prolific existence.

Another one-shot (though it probably wasn't intended to be such), was Fawcett's Vic Torry and His Flying Saucer (1950).

Flying saucers also popped-up in almost every already-running comic book from funny animals to mysteries.

They even appeared in Charlton's Cowboy Western Comics, which changed it's name for a year to Space Western Comics to play up the connection!

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Life and Legend of Wallace Wood

Volume One

and

Life and Legend of Wallace Wood

Volume Two
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Reading Room JUNGLE JIM "Wizard of Dark Mountain"

When Jungle Jim returned to comic books in the 1960s in new stories...

...the usually "realistic" high adventure strip jumped head-first into all-out sci-fi/fantasy!

Written and laid-out by Bhob Stewart, pencilled by Steve Ditko, and inked by Wally Wood. this cover-featured story from Charlton's Jungle Jim #22 (1969) was prepared for the character's previous publisher, King Comics, but ended up at Charlton when King Features Syndicate dropped in-house comic book publishing.

You can read Bhob's account of how this story was produced HERE.

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Official Jungle Jim Annual
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Monday Maternity Madness Redux TOPS "Anthony Comstock: Fanatical Reformer"

Is it any wonder Republicans are using the work of a puritanical, conservative con-man from the 19th Century...

...to promote and serve their anti-choice agenda in the 21st Century?

Both Federal and local Republican politicians are currently attempting to use the ancient Comstock Act's19th Century definitions of "obscene material" (which includes printed birth control information and contraceptive drugs) to prevent them from being provided to pregnant women in 2024!

Written by George Hansen and illustrated by Lee Ames, this feature from Lev Gleason's TOPS #2 (1949) presents itself as a "review" of a biography of Comstock, Anthony Comstock: Roundsman of the Lord (1927)..which praised the man!

However, where the book put Comstock on a pedestal, the comic strip savaged him, taking the material from the tome and presenting it in a historical context.
BTW, you'll note the art here is larger than we usually present.
That's because the periodical it was presented in was tabloid-sized, like Marvel and DC Treasury Editions of the 1970s and 80s and the lettering would be unreadable in our usual 525-pixel wide format.
Editor Charles Biro conceived and produced the mag as an attempt to do an "adult oriented" magazine using the comic book format.
Sadly, it only lasted two issues and either issue is incredibly hard to find!
Happily, Fantagraphics worked with noted writer/artist/historian Michael T Gilbert to produce a superb book reprinting those two issues with an astounding amount of historical material about the periodical...
Note: We presented this post only a couple of months ago, but with Repugs in states banning abortion re-introducing this two-century old legislation as the reason to validate preventing women from receiving contraceptive drugs or even printed matter about birth control, we felt it was worth showing what the cons are using at the basis for their insanity...qualifying it as Monday Maternity Madness, indeed!
BTW, the use of the Comstock Act to do exactly that is prominently-listed in Don da Con's Project 2025!

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TOPS

Complete Collection of Charles Biro's Visionary 1949 Comic Book Series

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Sadly, This Story, Published Almost 75 Years Ago is as Relevant Today as it Was in 1952!

And there came a day unlike any other day, when heroes banded together to battle a menace so overwhelming no single hero could stand against it...

...unless not enough of those heroes actually go to vote!

Here's a handy (very) basic guide...

Illustrated by Warren Kremer and Al Avision, this one-shot published by Harvey Comics in 1952 (72 years ago) was offered for only a couple of pennies a copy to any group (even Republicans) who wanted to utilize it to get out the vote!

Note: Our gratitude to the ever-amazing Kracalactaka for the full-color scans of this ultra-rare comic!

Now, unless you want things to stay as they are (or get worse)...if you're over 18 and under 110...

...GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND REGISTER TO VOTE!