Saturday, January 10, 2026

Space Hero Saturdays CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT "Without a Body!"

It's the Last Chapter of Captain Midnight's Adventures in Space...

...as he and Xog, Ruler of Saturn come to final blows!





Xog was never seen or heard from again, even though the comic ran for one more issue!
Illustrated by Leonard Frank, this cover-featured tale from Fawcett's Captain Midnight #66 (1948) proved to be the last journey into space for the intrepid hero as he returned to Earth-bound adventures!

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Friday, January 9, 2026

Friday Fun ABBOTT AND COSTELLO "Soup to Nuts"

From the Late 1930s to the Late 1950s, the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
...were multi-media stars, appearing in movies, radio, TV, and...comic books!
This feature from St John's Abbott and Costello Comics #7 (1949), illustrated by Lily Renee and Eric Peters, was typical of the sort of stuff you'd see (or hear) in their other media appearances!
The comic ran for 40 issues, from 1948 to 1956, including a 3-D issue!
But that wasn't the end of four-color fun for the pair!
With their old movies and 1950s TV series proving to be popular on syndicated TV, Hanna-Barbera revived the duo as an animated series in 1967 with Bud Abbott providing his own voice.
(Costello had passed away in 1959).
This resulted in a new comic book series from Charlton using the cartoon as a springboard for a 22-issue run from 1968 to 1971!
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Thursday, January 8, 2026

Reading Room CRUSADER FROM MARS COMICS "Escape to Nowhere"

The idea that we should leave Earth before atomic war destroys it is not new...
...nor is the "surprise ending" to this never-reprinted backup tale from Ziff-Davis' Crusader from Mars #1 (1952)
"You blew it up!
Damn you!
Damn you all to hell!"
Almost two decades before Rod Serling had Charlton Heston scream those words to the sky at the conclusion of Planet of the Apes, artist Mike Becker and an unknown writer presented a much more mellow discovery by space travelers returning to Earth centuries in the future!
The script may be by editor Jerry (Superman) Siegel...
Mike Becker illustrated over 100 crime, horror, romance, sci-fi, sports, spy, war and western stories for various publishers including Timely, Ziff-Davis, Hillman, Youthful, and Nedor/Better/Standard from 1948 through 1956.
What happened after that is, regrettably, unknown.
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Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder RAUMPATROUILLE "Planet ausser Kurs" (Planet Off Course)

After being demoted from front-line combat to local space patroling, Cliff McLane and his crew discover previously-unknown beings composed of pure energy have overrun a distant outpost.
(SPOILERS: the sharp-eyed among viewers may have noticed that certain members of the star fleet showed great reluctance to deal with the invaders.
Wonder why?)
Now, the aliens return with a plan to send a rogue planet hurtling on a collision course with Earth!
(Note: It's German with English subtitles.
I've tried to set them up before creating the link, but you may have to click on the "gear" icon to implement them manually.)
Be back next Wednesday for another retro-kool adventure!

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Monday Mecha Madness (Continued) SPACE ADVENTURES "Imitation People" Conclusion

Though it doesn't look like a love story...
...that's what this cover-featured tale from Charlton's Space Adventures V2N4 (1968) most definitely is!
We Have Already Seen...

Scientist Warren Simms' human-looking robots populate Earth II, a planetoid on the edge of the Solar System that serves as a first line of defense against alien incursions.
Simms' robots are programmed to mimic human behavior and emotions...but some of them (his aide Clarissa, particularly) seem to be transcending their programming!
While meeting with Earth's Grand Council to acquire additional funding and resources, Clarissa makes a startling revelation...
Don't you just love a happy ending?
Since the Simms robot is, for all intents and purposes, Simms, we could say that love is eternal and transcends death.
But, what of his soul?
Writer Joe Gill and artist Jim Aparo don't address that matter in this never-reprinted tale.
But that doesn't mean we can't speculate about it, eh?
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Charlton Arrow #4
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