Reading Room MARVEL PREVIEW "Man-Gods from Beyond the Stars" Part 1

Chariots of the Gods? was the primary inspiration for Jack Kirby's Eternals...

...now the newest Marvel movie!

So let's look at a strip from the same era also inspired by Erich Von Daniken's concepts!

The story continues..Tuesday!

Written by Doug Moench, illustrated by Alex Nino.

Though largely discredited today, Von Daniken's books about "ancient astronauts" influenced pop culture from the 1970s to the present, including tv (BattleStar Galactica), movies (Prometheus and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull), and comics (Tragg and the Sky Gods)

The Eternals was originally called Return of the Gods and, like Mister Machine/Machine Man was intentionally not intended to be part of the Marvel Universe!
We'll go more into that next week...

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Chariots of the Gods

Deluxe Edition

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

Reading Room TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS "Where Prowls the Devil Shark" Conclusion

So, what's going on with the cavemen, aliens, and dinosaurs in Tragg's prehistoric world?

...Zorek, learning that rebellious officer Fernek is still alive and that reinforcements are en-route from Yargon, decides to silence the rebel before he can tell the other Yargonians of the commander's failures.

Following the radiation from Fernek's jetpack, the Yargonian attack force comes upon...

The series ends with many open plotlines.

What happens when the other Yargonians arrive?

Do they arrest Zorek, or continue with his plans?

Does Fernek work with Tragg and the humans to resist the Yargonians?

Do he and Keera try to contact the others and tell them the truth?

Do the Yargonians end up abandoning their attempt at conquering the Earth?

Does Keera actually accept Fernek's love?

Sadly, we'll never know the answers.

Unlike most of the other Silver/Bronze Age Gold Key series, Tragg and the Sky Gods has never been reprinted or revived in new tales.

But...there is one more chapter in the story of Tragg and Lorn...a "lost tale" from their beginnings that finally saw publication just as Gold Key itself headed for extinction!

Click HERE to visit our "sister" RetroBlog Heroines! and read that final tale...

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Jurassic Classics

A Collection of Saurian Essays and Mesozoic Musings

by

Donald F Glut

(featuring the behind-the-scenes info on the creation of Tragg and the other Gold Key comic series Don worked on!)

Friday Fun TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS "Where Prowls the Devil Shark" Part 1

It's just another evening in prehistoric times...

...as Neanderthals assault a "sky goddess" (actually a stranded alien woman)!

To Be Concluded...
TOMORROW!
Ferenk was believed killed when Zorek shot at him...

...but, in the best tradition of comic book storytelling, unless you see the inert body, there's no guarantee he's actually dead!

Tragg and the Sky Gods was cancelled with the previous issue we presented, #8 (1977), but the next issue was in production when that occured!

Comics publishers are notoriously..."thrifty"...and, since the material had already been paid for, there was no reason not to use it!

Gold Key Spotlight was the "graveyard" for inventory material from various genres' cancelled titles, including sci-fi/fantasy, teen humor, and funny animals!
(It also served as filler for Whitman ComicPacs, sold in the 1960s and 70s in non-traditional markets like five-and-dime shops, supermarkets and grocery stores.

Read about them HERE and HERE!)

Unused stories from all three of writer Don Glut's books, (Tragg, Dagar the Invincible, and Occult Files of Doctor Spektor) finally saw publication in this anthology title.

Ironically, this issue of Spotlight was #9 (1977), which was the issue number of Tragg the story was intended for!

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Jurassic Classics

A Collection of Saurian Essays and Mesozoic Musings

by

Donald F Glut

(featuring the behind-the-scenes info on the creation of Tragg and the other Gold Key comic series Don worked on!)

Friday Fun TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS "Jaws of Death" "Valley of the Shadow" "Spotlight on Keera"

Before we present the final chapter in the saga of Tragg...

...here's three one-page prose stories, all written by co-creator Don Glut...

(From Tragg and the Sky Gods #8)

(From Gold Key Spotlight #9)

(From Tragg and the Sky Gods #7)
The background info on Keera is especially interesting, giving some insight into the Yargonian social structure and mindset.
The story prepared Tragg and the Sky Gods #9 appeared in the anthology Gold Key Spotlight, which also featured the final appearances of numerous other characters, including Dagar and Doctor Spektor.
You'll see that tale next Friday!

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Chariots of the Gods

Deluxe Edition