Reading Room SENSATION MYSTERY COMICS "Last Dream!"

Wonder Woman lost her cover feature in DC's Sensation Comics as of this issue (#107 in 1952)...

...when the book was retitled Sensation Mystery, and featured "mysteries" like this one!

(Sensation Comics was Wonder Woman's "sister" title, much as Action Comics is Superman's "brother" comic and Detective Comics is Batman's "brother" book!)

In 1952, horror comics became the "hot" genre, with most comics publishers going "all in" to see who could be the goriest!

DC, though, tried to stay relatively innocuous, refusing to go for the gore.

While their sales didn't skyrocket as many other publishers' did, they managed to stay below the radar during the whole "Seduction of the Innocent" mania.

And, it certainly made reprinting any of the material produced during this period a breeze after the Comics Code was imposed!

This John Broome-written, Carmine Infantino-penciled, and Frank Giacoia-inked tale was typical of DC's output during this period.

(Some say Sy Barry inked it, but expert art identifier Martin O'Hearn thinks it's Giacoia, and I agree with him.)

Straightforward, logical, and effectively-told, it's almost a template for the various stories the anthology would carry until the book's cancellation a year later with #116.

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Showcase Presents

Ghosts

(which features this story...but in black and white!)
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Wednesday Worlds of Wonder WORLDS UNKNOWN "Black Destroyer!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

Art by Gil Kane & Frank Giacoia

While exploring an alien world, the crew of the Space Beagle encounter Coeurl, who looks like a Terrestrial panther or lion...with the addition of tentacles!

But this is not a friendly housecat!

It's a primitive, but sentient, being who can not only reason, but deceive...

Trivia: The announced adaptation of Day of the Triffids ended up as the cover-featured tale in the premiere issue of Worlds Unknown's b/w magazine successor, Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction...

...under a misleading, but undeniably-kool cover by Kelly Freas!
In fact, an adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon's KillDozer ran in the next issue of Worlds Unknown...

Meanwhile, back with Black Destroyer...

Roy Thomas was concerned that the finale as shown in the adaptation wasn't clear enough, so he included an explanation on the letters page...

Bonus #1: You can read the complete original short story HERE.
Feel free to compare and contrast!
Bonus #2: here are the illustrations from the original pulp magazine, so you can see how closely Dan Adkins and Jim Mooney kept to the pulp magazine "feel" of the tale!

"Black Destroyer" was later incorporated with later short stories about the exploratory vessel Space Beagle into the novel Voyage of the Space Beagle, which is a tribute to Charles Darwin's scientific exploratory ship, "The Beagle".

BTW, Van Vogt sued 20th Century Fox over the 1979 movie Alien, claiming that it ripped off elements of "Black Destroyer" and "Discord in Scarlet", both of which were adapted into Voyage of the Space Beagle.

Fox settled out of court.

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Voyage of the Space Beagle

(which includes "Black Destroyer")

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Reading Room NIGHT OF MYSTERY "Giant from Earth!"

Though this never-reprinted tale appeared in a one-shot 1950s horror anthology comic book...

...it's really a straight sci-fi tale with no horror elements whatsoever!

I can't be certain, but it looks like the artists for this tale from Avon's Night of Mystery (1953) are Mike Sekowsky (pencils) and Frank Giacoia, Joe Giella, or Bernard Sachs (inks).

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Science Fiction Comics

Taylor History of Comics

Vol 3

Friday Fun MODELING WITH MILLIE "Millie the Marvel"

If you think Marvel and DC are rebooting their characters (and continuities) more frequently than ever...

...you've never followed the many incarnations of Millie the Model from 1945 to the present!

This particular story is from the early Silver Age "romance comic" phase of her career.

This never-reprinted story from Modeling with Millie #54 (1967); written by Gary Friedrich, penciled by Odgen Whitney, and inked (uncredited) by Frank Giacoia; was Millie the Marvel's only appearance.

It was also the final issue of this particular title.

Over at her ongoing "sister" title, Millie the Model, the character returned to her previous Archie Comics-influenced format, once more becoming a teen-humor title without ongoing storylines.

Trivia: From 1945 to 1973, there was always at least one Millie title from Atlas/Marvel, for a total of five different series, plus annuals, a couple of one-shots, an ongoing strip in Comedy Comics, and a spin-off series for her rival, Chili!
Her main title ran for 207 issues, and was, until Fantastic Four #207 came out in 1979, Marvel's longest-running character-named book!
(Books with longer runs like Mighty Thor, Incredible Hulk, and Captain America had different names [Journey into Mystery, Tales to Astonish, and Tales of Suspense, respectively] before becoming "character" titles.
Millie's flagship title was always Millie the Model!)
Millie was rebooted several times going from a romance/humor hybrid to Archie-style humor to romance/soap opera and finally back to Archie-style humor with changes to the characters' ages, professions, and relationships at each stage.
Millie Collins, despite being shown as outside the Marvel Universe in this tale, has appeared as part of the mainstream Marvel universe in several titles, including the "Wedding of Reed and Sue" in Fantastic Four Annual #3 (and Marvels #2), Dazzler #34, Sensational She-Hulk #60, and the Models, Inc mini-series.
In the 1980s, a middle-aged Millie appeared in the Star Comics mini-series Misty, about the teen-age daughter of Millie's brother!
(The best thing about this Trina Robbins-produced mini-series was the retro look and use of readers' designs for the characters' clothes.)
Millie was scheduled to be rebooted in 2003 as a teen-age tennis player in a manga-style mini-series called 15-Love.
When the project was finally published in 2011 (yeah, eight years later), the lead character was Millie's teen-age niece (though Millie herself did appear briefly)!

Monday Madness / CoronaVirus Comics MORLOCK: 2001 "Morlock Must be Destroyed!" Conclusion

When Last We Left the Plant-Man Fighting the Totalitarian Government of Earth in 2001...

...as seen from the perspective of 1975, when the story was created, he had been given shelter by a scientist who was conducting similar research into humanoid plants like what Morlock's creator had been doing!

Written by Michael Fleischer, penciled by Al Milgrom, and inked by Jack Abel, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas/Seaboard's Morlock: 2001 #2 (1975) introduces a new vengeance-driven antagonist who could either have worked with the government to capture Morlock or against the government to destroy the plant-man!

Except...as with most of the company's titles, the third issue featured a total change of creative staff and direction...as you'll see next Monday!

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Soft City

A "Lost" Graphic Novel about Dystopia

Friday Fun WEIRD THRILLERS "Princess of the Sea"

Though the cover may not look like it, this is a love story...

Art by Allen Anderson

...so it's a perfect post for Valentine's Day, 2020!

Well, it sure ain't Little Mermaid, or even Splash!

Penciled by Dan Barry and inked by Frank Giacoia, the writer of this tale of love beneath the waves from Ziff-Davis' Weird Thrillers #3 (1952) is, sadly, unknown.

Note: when the story was reprinted in the Eclipse one-shot anthology Weird Romance (1988), it was again featured on the cover...

...also by an artist named "Anderson", but in this case it was Brent (no relation to Allen) Anderson!
Bonus Note: For an earlier reprinting, in St John's Nightmare #13 (1954), a new cover was provided by noted Black artist Matt Baker...

...who was best-known for his "good girl" art, but could handle any genre, including sci-fi and horror, with finesse!
❤︎HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!❤︎

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Matt Baker

Art of Glamour