Monday Mars Madness TWILIGHT ZONE "Mars: Dead or Alive"

55 years ago, when I saw this painted George Wilson cover on the comics rack of my local candy store...

...I just had to read it!

(BTW, the model posing as the astronaut is Steve (Doc Savage) Holland!)

Written by Dick Wood and illustrated by Nevio Zaccara, the cover-feature (though not lead story) from Gold Key's Twilight Zone #17 (1966) offered a somewhat-plausable explanation (in those pre-Mars Rover days) as to why we hadn't seen signs of life on Mars.
Wood and Zaccara also collaborated on the never-reprinted Explorers in the Unknown strip that ran in Gold Key's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea comic.

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Twilight Man

Rod Serling and the Birth of Television

Baker Reading Room "Behind the Scenes of 'Half Man-Half What' "

Here's Saturday's tale...

...but from the original Matt Baker/Al Williamson art!

Take particular note of the areas "whited out", probably at the request of the Comics Code Authority!

BTW, note that in the story, Dr Talbot's right side is altered, but on the cover, his left side is affected!

Let's look closely at that final panel...

Dr Talbot's right side has been totally-whited out.

Was it still metallic?

And his face originally wasn't happy!

Did the original ending show him at the beginning of the process, wondering if it would succeed, and leaving the door open for a sequel if it didn't?

Was the Comics Code Authority responsible for the odd changes?

We'll never know...
Penciler Matt Baker was one of the few Black comic book artists of the Golden and Silver Ages, and was easily the most prolific of them!
Though known for his "good girl" art, including the famous (and infamous) Phantom Girl stories, he handled every genre with ease, including horror, war, sci-fi, and romance!
Sadly, though, few of his stories featured Black characters...who were rare in comics until the mid-1960s!
You can read a short, but complete bio HERE!
He'll be our featured artist this month in the Baker Reading Room at Atomic Kommie Comics, spotlighting his amazing cross-genre versatility!

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Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

Baker Reading Room ALARMING TALES "Half Man-Half What"

"Scientists tampering with things Man should not meddle in" is an old cliche...

Art by John Severin

...given a new look by a most unusual assortment of artists...at least four, along with the writer...

Art by the Bob Powell Studio

OK.

Let's identify the talents involved in this never-reprinted tale from Harvey's Alarming Tales #5 (1958)...

Cover art by John Severin

Script by Dick Wood.

Opening page (which was actually the lower part of the contents page) by the Bob Powell Studio.

Story pencils by Matt Baker (who's the reason this is included in Black History Month, as you'll see Tuesday).

Story inks by Al Williamson.

Tuesday:

the entire story (and cover) in original art form, with some revealing alterations and footnotes!

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Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

Reading Room: ALARMING TALES "KIng of the Ants"

Here's a story done before Lee & Kirby's "Man in the Ant Hill"...

...which served as a "pilot" for Marvel's Astonishing Ant-Man series.

Did it help inspire that creation from studio-mate Jack Kirby?

Read and judge for yourself...

This tale from Harvey's Alarming Tales #6 (1958) was produced by writer Dick Wood, and illustrators Al Williamson and Angelo Torres.

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Reading Room: EXPLORERS IN THE UNKNOWN "Runaway Asteroid""

These are the voyages of the Hunter I, it's ongoing mission...

...to fill four pages per issue of Gold Key's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

The Hunter I crew had adventures set in the near-future of the late 1990s-early 2000s, much like then-current films like Green Slime, Wild Wild Planet, and Battle in Outer Space.

With only four pages per issue, there was little character development (or even names) for the crew, but lots of action!

The entire never-reprinted series was written by Dick Wood, and this tale from VttBotS #15 (1969) was illustrated by Jose Delbo, who entered the business in 1965, worked for practically everybody at one point or another, and retired in 1996 with over 800 stories and covers to his credit.

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Reading Room: EXPLORERS IN THE UNKNOWN "Prisoners of the 'Jelly' Planet" Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Universe-Spanning Travelers...

...since the comic presented the background so well, I'll just sit back and enjoy the conclusion along with you...

Though Chief Rollan was now part of the crew, he didn't appear again!
(Not that "again" was very long, since next issue would be the strip's final appearance!)
The Hunter I crew had adventures set in the near-future of the late 1990s-early 2000s, much like then-current films like Green Slime, Wild Wild Planet, and Battle in Outer Space.
This never-reprinted tale from VttBotS #14 (1968) was written by Dick Wood (who wrote the entire series) and illustrated by Nevio Zaccara (who remained the strip's artist until the final chapter).

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Reading Room: EXPLORERS IN THE UNKNOWN "Prisoners of the 'Jelly' Planet" Chapter II

When Last We Left Our Interstellar Explorers...

OK, since the comic itself synopsised the plot, let's just continue...

It's nice to see a situation where we out-gun aliens.

Usually, aliens have superior weaponry/tech and we have to be sneaky to triumph over them...

You'll see the conclusion tomorrow, unlike the original readers of this story in 1968 who had to wait three months for the next four-page chapter (VttBotS was a quarterly book)!
The Hunter I crew had adventures set in the near-future of the late 1990s-early 2000s, much like then-current films like Green Slime, Wild Wild Planet, and Battle in Outer Space.
This never-reprinted tale from VttBotS #13 (1968) was written by Dick Wood (who wrote the entire series) and illustrated by Nevio Zaccara (who remained the strip's artist until the final chapter).

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Reading Room: EXPLORERS IN THE UNKNOWN "Prisoners of the 'Jelly' Planet"

These are the voyages of the Hunter I, it's ongoing mission...

...to fill four pages per issue of Gold Key's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

You'll see the continuation tomorrow, unlike the original readers of this story in 1968 who had to wait three months for the next four-page chapter (VttBotS was a quarterly book)!
The Hunter I crew had adventures set in the near-future of the late 1990s-early 2000s, much like then-current films like Green Slime, Wild Wild Planet, and Battle in Outer Space.

With only four pages per issue, there was little character development (or even names) for the crew, but lots of action!

This tale from VttBotS #12 (1968) was written by Dick Wood (who wrote the entire series) and illustrated by Nevio Zaccara (who remained the strip's artist until the final chapter).

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Visit

The Future WAS Fantastic!

Comics Collectibles Store!