Monday Madness AMAZING ADVENTURES "Cosmic Comics"

Ziff-Davis' 1950s sci-fi anthology Amazing Adventures...

...ran interesting "filler" pages including these humor strips by Harry Sahle from the first two issues.

Note the one above, from the inside back cover of #2, is b/w.

But the one above, from issue #1, while also an inside cover, is two-color!

Perhaps there were budget cuts between the printing of the two issues!
Sadly, these were the only two Cosmic Comic strips to run in any Ziff-Davis comics!

Reading Room: AMAZING ADVENTURES "Deal to Die"

Here's a never-reprinted short tale with a Twilight Zone-style ending...

...from the final issue of Ziff-Davis' sci-fi anthology Amazing Adventures!

I wonder if Zoro's husband, Space Captain Ventra was as big a SoB as Bernice's spouse Harold Leighton!

Illustrated by the relatively-unknown Lawrence (Louis) Dresser, this story from Amazing Adventures #6 (1952) has no credited writer.

Too bad, because it's a memorable piece for a shorter-than-usual filler.
Trivia: There have been four different comic series entitled Amazing Adventures!
This 1950-51 six-issue book, from Ziff-Davis was the first.
The other three 1960-61 (scifi/fantasy anthology), 1970-76 (featuring ongoing series The Inhumans and Black Widow (ten issues), The Beast (seven issues), and War of the Worlds/Killraven (twenty-one issues), and 1979-81, X-Men reprints (fourteen issues), were all published by Atlas/Marvel.

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

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Reading Room: AMAZING ADVENTURES "Winged Death on Venus"

Some story titles need no elaboration or explanation...

...especially when the tale features early work by a young up-and-comer destined to become a graphic storytelling legend...

One of the legendary Wally Wood's earliest assignments, this story from Ziff-Davis' Amazing Adventures #1 (1950) shows off both his ongoing strengths (beautiful women, detailed slick inking) and early weaknesses (anatomy).
Within a couple of years, his anatomy improved considerably.

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

It's a New Year! Are You Ready for "A-DAY"?

Are you scared because you think the world is on the brink of war?

HA!

Back in the 1950s, we lived with the concept on a daily basis...and even told comic book tales about it!

This never-reprinted tale from Ziff-Davis' Amazing Adventures #1 (1950) offered some interesting, and (to some) subversive messages.

Illustrated by long-time pro Ogden Whitney, it shows how, unfortunately, human nature can destroy a potential Utopia...while ignoring how current technology wasn't (and still isn't) up to keeping "cheap" atomic power reasonably safe.

Something to ponder, even more than seven decades later...

Monday Mars Madness AMAZING ADVENTURES "Man Who Killed a World!"

Who would've thought a "War of the Worlds" would be decided by hand-to-hand combat?

This never-reprinted tale from Ziff-Davis' Amazing Adventures #6 (1952) gives the details, along with a trick ending...

So, even though the Earthman was defeated, we won!

Heckuva moral lesson there, guys!

Though the writer is unknown, the art is by Paul Parker, who left the comics field after a decade and over 100 stories to became a news reporter for several radio stations in New York City including the all-news station WINS.

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Mars in the Movies

A History

Reading Room AMAZING ADVENTURES "Cosmic Brain"

Here's a cool, never-reprinted tale about a nuclear energy-created mutant...

...linked to the bombing of Hirsohima in 1945.

Look carefully at the artwork, because someone you might not realize apparently contributed to it...

The Grand Comics Database lists Leonard Starr as the artist for this story from Ziff-Davis' Amazing Adventures #3 (1951).

But many of the "camera angles" and figures don't look like his work from the period. as seen HERE and HERE!

IMHO, some of the layouts were done by none other than Jack Kirby!

Everything fits Kirby's layout and figure-posing style and Starr was doing occasional work for the Simon & Kirby studio at the time.

Starr might have been unfamiliar with the genre and asked Kirby to do layouts to help him, paying Kirby in cash from his own pocket (If Kirby even took money for the work. I've heard he helped other artists out without renumeration on a number of occasions.)

Either way, I believe this is a "lost" Kirby Klassic!

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics

Friday Fun AMAZING ADVENTURES "Adonis 2-PX-89"

This week's Valentine's Day-oriented entry is a weird combo of sci-fi and humor...

Art by Allen Anderson

...which was probably written by the man who created the Clark Kent/Superman/Lois Lane love/hate triangle...

This cover story from Ziff-Davis' Amazing Adventures #4 (1951) was illustrated by Henry Sharp who, during his decade in comics, illustrated only sci-fi or war stories!

Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel was the editor of the Ziff-Davis comics line, and wrote many of the stories that appeared in it, so it's not unreasonable to assume this tale, which contains many plot aspects common to those tales of Superman and Lois Lane, was scripted by the same writer!

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Secret Wars Secret Love

Before Trump's Space Force... PERIMETER PATROL SERVICE "Mission to Malooka"

For our final Perimeter Patrol Service tale...

...we present their first story!

This never-reprinted story from Ziff-Davis' Amazing Adventures #5 (1952) is a superb example of pulp/comic space opera of the era with all the classic elements:
Square-jawed heroes.
Rockets & ray-guns.
Literal bug-eyed monsters!

No scantly-clad women, but the other Perimneter Patrol Service sagas have them.

BTW, this premiere is illustrated by Murphy Anderson, who had just finished his first run on the Buck Rogers newspaper strip.

He would later specialize doing sci-fi/fantasy at DC Comics, including Hawkman, Adam Strange, and Superman!

Note: as of this week, we're re-making Saturdays into "Space Force Saturday", re-presenting tales of various military and law-enforcement organizations, most of them never-reprinted!
Don't miss them!

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Trump's Space Force

(either for yourself, or as a gift for a con friend/relative)