Reading Room WEIRD THRILLERS "Shadow on the Screen!"

For all those whose parents told them "TV is bad for you"...

...and "comics are bad for you", well, they were right, as this comic tale about TV proves!

This tale from Ziff-Davis' Weird Thrillers #3 (1952) was illustrated by Bob Powell.

Powell, besides being a gifted illustrator was also a pioneer in the use of "color holds" in comic books.

The same technique he used on the tv screen was also used in a tale of radio and pulp hero The Shadow HERE, taking artwork that normally would be black-line and making it one of the color plates.

It was a very tricky thing to do back in those days since the interior pages were almost never proofed due to time and cost restraints.

But, Powell does some amazing things with the holds, making them line up exactly almost all the time!

Sadly, the writer of the story is, as in so many cases, unknown...

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The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics: Volume 2

Bob Powell's

Terror
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The Mid-Terms Are Coming! The Mid-Terms Are Coming!

And Your Voting Participation Will Have a Major Effect!

Sadly, this story, published over 75 years ago is as relevant today as it was in 1952, with the basic percentages of voter participation (actually lack of participation) unchanged!

...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 (76 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!

Space Hero Saturdays SPURS JACKSON & HIS SPACE VIGILANTES "Sun Masters"

Once more we return to the really weird pages of Space Western Comics...

...where both stagecoaches and spacecraft are accepted forms of transportation!

Written by Walter (The Shadow) Gibson and illustrated by Stan Campbell, this tale from Charlton's Space Western Comics #42 (1953) starts out relatively-accurate to the science of the era, but throws it all away at the conclusion!

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Space Western Comics
Cowboys vs Aliens, Commies, Dinosaurs, and Nazis
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Reading Room RACE FOR THE MOON "Face on Mars"

The most famous story from Harvey's Race for the Moon anthology series...

...is this tale from #2 by writer/peniler Jack Kirby and inker Al Williamson which doesn't take place on the Moon...but on Mars!

Why is it so famous?

When NASA's Viking satellite reached Mars in 1976, it took this photo...

Keep in mind that this was the era of the Chariots of the Gods? fad, and to many, this pic was confirmation that aliens had either come thru the Solar System and stopped off not only on Earth, but Mars as well, or were from Mars initially!

And, there were those who remembered this little comic tale from their childhood.

The truth was a bit more mundane.
Click HERE for NASA's explanation.

To this day, there are still those who say it's a cover-up, that there is life on Mars, and that "the face" is a relic of their existence.

Judge for yourself.

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Mars in the Movies

A History
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Reading Room OUT OF THIS WORLD "The World Awaits"

We know Steve Ditko as the co-creator of The Amazing Spider-Man...

...but he was equally-adept at visualizing insects as well as arachnids!
(Yes, there is a difference!)

This lovely Ditko-rendered story from Charlton's Out of This World #12 (1959) would really have benefited from some Stan Lee-esque scripting rather than Joe Gill's stilted prose, which renders the ending rather...dull.

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Creativity of Ditko
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Space Hero & Heroine Saturdays ASTONISHING "Menace from the Moon!"

Congratulation to the Artemis Crew for a Successful and Safe Trip to the Moon and Back!

But what if something had happened while they were on the Far Side, totally out of communication with Earth?

OK, this tale from Atlas' Astonishing #5 (1951), written by Hank Chapman and illustrated by Cal Massey is a tad silly.

They claim the ship was lost five years earlier, yet speculate the crew was still alive and coming home?
C'mon, even a kid in the 1950s would find that concept...well...DUMB!!!
(And that's being polite!)

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 
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Friday Fun SPACE MOUSE "Reservation to the Moon!"

Sometimes the heroic Space Mouse ventured into outer space to fight menaces...

...sometimes the menaces commuted to Earth!

And, sometimes, very rarely, there is no menace...just misunderstood alien visitors!

Writer/artist Frank Carin told this never-reprinted tale of misinterpreted Moon-people motives in Avon's Peter Rabbit #31 (1956)!

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Golden Treasury of
Klassic Krazy Kool Kids Komics
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