Showing posts with label Captain Johner and the Aliens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Captain Johner and the Aliens. Show all posts

Monday, October 10, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Danger from Beyond"

We Have Already Seen...
...and things suddenly look and sound...different!
Creator/writer/artist Russ Manning is gone from both this strip and Magnus as of this issue, Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #23 (1968)!
The change in style and tone is jarring, though long-time penciler Paul Norris and (especially) inker Mike Royer try to maintain the detailed, slick look Manning brought to the strip!
The new writer is unknown, but whoever it is, he seemed to have trouble following the concepts Manning was presenting!
So, pending a massive outcry from a disappointed audience, this will be our final entry to the saga of Captain Johner and the Aliens...
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Monday, October 3, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Incredible Jewel"

...as creator/writer/artist Russ Manning takes us where no comic strip has gone before!
"Did"...what???
This tale from Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #22 (1968) proves that even the best creator can have occasional problems working within the 4-page limitation!
This is a concept that deserves at least a solid 8-10 page chapter to clearly-explain, but with half that, it's a bit of a muddle.
Hopefully, the next chapter will clear things up...
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Monday, September 26, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Into the Abyss"

And things are about to get really desperate!

Is this...God?
Creator/writer/artist Russ Manning presents some interesting concepts in Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #21 (1968)!
Space!
Time!
Life!
Death!
Pretty "heavy" for a comic, eh?
Keep in mind, what you're seeing every week, the original readers saw every three months!
Imagine trying to keep track of this series of 4-page installments like that!
More than likely, many readers couldn't remember the details over that long a stretch, so these individual chapters would probably have an impact far out of proportion to their actual intent...which is pretty impressive at any rate!
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Monday, September 19, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Face of Time"

...buckle up because things are about to become cosmic!
Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #20 (1967) takes us where no comic series has gone before!

While creator/writer/illustrator Russ Manning's art didn't have the sheer power of Jack Kirby or the psychadelic weirdness of Steve Ditko, his precise, classical, rendering style along with an enthusiasm to boldly experiment within the technical limitations of color separation and printing pack a punch, even today!
Sadly, he passed away in 1981.
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Monday, September 12, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "An Alien Phobia"

...ok, this is an unexpected complication!
Creator/writer/artist Russ Manning's newest chapter in Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #19 (1967) is obviously leading up to something big which will blow your mind, next week!
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Monday, September 5, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Crystals of Life"

...since creator/writer/artist Russ Manning has explained evertything, lets just jump into the action...
But we still don't know how the human colonists were taken over by the time-shifting alien "False Men"!
Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #17 (1967) gives us more questions than answers!
perhaps we'll learn next week!
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Monday, August 29, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Crystal Crawler"

...alien-controlled humans kidnapped Captain Jay Johner and brought him to Venus.
Friendly aliens led by Commander Zarz, along with M'Reema (the un-possessed sister of one of the "False-Men") free Johner, but they're stranded on Venus...
Side note: this book was selling 250,000 (a quarter of a million copies) per issue, and Gold Key was only issuing it quarterly?
What were the sales figures for their monthly books?
These days, if a book sells 25,000 (one tenth of that), it's considered successful!
The mind boggles...
In Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #18 (1967) creator/writer/artist Russ Manning not only reveals a previously-unknown weakness of the aliens, but their name, "Ploorans", as well!
Is it the name they give inhabitants of their world (like "Earthmen", "Terrans", or "Earthers") or is it also their species' name (like "humans" or "homo sapiens")?
Every time we learn something new, there's an additional mystery to go along with it!
Several friendly aliens, a former girlfriend (whose brother is one of the leaders of the conspiracy) and Johner, trapped on a hostile world where the nearest Earth forces don't know where they are!
What could go wrong?
Find out next Monday!
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Monday, August 22, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Rescue"

...the Aliens take the lead to rescue their friend, Johner...
Out of the frying pan and into, not just a fire, but a raging bonfire, eh?
In Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #16 (1966) creator/writer/artist Russ Manning takes us from a hidden alien conspiracy on Earth to the alien stronghold on Venus!
Several friendly aliens, a former girlfriend (whose brother is one of the leaders of the conspiracy) and Johner, trapped on a hostile world where the nearest Earth forces don't know where they are!
What could go wrong?
Find out next Monday!
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Monday, August 15, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Defensive Weapon"

...between Johner's friendly aliens and these imposters, Earth's suddenly crawling with extraterrestrials!
We had seen similar weapons before, in "Alien Welcome", but there was no explanation as to their manufacture or how they were powered!
Creator/writer/artist Russ Manning takes the time to explain how they work in this tale from Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #15 because, I suspect, a critical plot point will depend on our understanding of these devices!
Only time will tell...
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