Monday Mars Madness STRANGE STORIES OF SUSPENSE "Beware...a Martian"

Here's a tale of racism and innuendo involving an "illegal alien"...

...that all Reich-wingers should take note of!

Written by Carl Wessler, penciled by Al Williamson, and inked by Ralph Mayo, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Strange Stories of Suspense #14 (1957) uses science fiction to tell a civil rights parable, substituting a Martian (and the paranoia about his race) for a African-American, Hispanic, Japanese, or other minority group about whom equally-inane fantasies have been concocted!

Note: it's interesting that Nardo the Martian has the same appearance as DC's J'Onn J'Onzz: the Martian Manhunter (except for skin color), as well as MM's specific ability to shape-shift, not a talent usually attributed to inhabitants of the Red Planet!

Note: J'Onn had debuted almost two years earlier!

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Mars in the Movies

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Reading Room LAND OF THE FHRE aka SAVAGE WORLD 2.0

If you enjoyed Tuesday's short story "Savage World"...

...you'll find this version, using the same art...but a different script...a most fascinating read!

Noted Bronze Age writer/artist Bruce Jones was heavily-influenced by the Fleagle Gang and the EC Comics line in general.

Since the previously-published version of this tale in Witzend #1 (1966) was a rewrite of an unknown writer's script by Wally Wood, Bruce was given the opportunity to do a similar re-write, also without altering the art, for this publication in Pacific Comics' Alien Worlds #4 (1983).

Jones' version places the tale further into the future and makes the second half a dream sequence

The story also appeared in color for the first time, using the blueline/greyline method of hand-colored artwork with a black-line overlay, trying to simulate the traditional flat-color separations.

That's why the black linework isn't as crisp and sharp as in the b/w version.

The coloring was done by fantasy painter Joe Chiodo, another illustrator inspired by the work of 1950s comic artists.

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Al Williamson Adventures

Reading Room SAVAGE WORLD

Not every story created in the Golden Age was published in the Golden Age...

...like this story, meant for the 1950s title Buster Crabbe Comics!

"Larry Gordon" is a tribute to Larry "Buster" Crabbe who played Flash Gordon in the three movie serials from Universal Pictures.

The story itself, though signed by Al Williamson, is a jam-session featuring work from a number of now-legendary artists who called themselves "The Fleagle Gang".

The explanation for the story can be found here...

Our tale is from its' fourth appearance, in Death Rattle #10 (1987), where it was reprinted, unaltered from its' first publication in Witzend #1 (1966).

The second publication was in the first issue (1975) of Marvel's short-lived b/w magazine Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction, where the only modification was reversing all the captions to black with white type...

The third printing was another story entirely...and I mean that literally.

You'll find out all about it...Thursday!

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Al Williamson Adventures

Reading Room ALIEN WORLDS "Few and the Far"

In space, things aren't always as they seem to appear...

...as this never-reprinted tale from Pacific's Alien Worlds #1 (1982) demonstrates not once, but twice...

Admit it.

Writer Bruce Jones and artist Al Williamson fooled you!

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"

Reading Room ALARMING ADVENTURES "Secret of the Mountain"

Many people believe we've explored every inch of our home world, the Earth.

They'd be totally-wrong, as shown in this tale from Harvey's Alarming Adventures #3 (1963).

Penciled by Al Williamson and inked by Angelo Torres, this tale was probably intended for the never-published Race for the Moon #5.
The scripter is unknown, but it might have been Joe Simon, who was "packaging" the book after his partnership with Jack Kirby ended!

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Monday Mars Madness RACE FOR THE MOON "Face on Mars"

Perhaps the most famous story from Harvey's Race for the Moon...

...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