Monday Mars Madness MAN FROM S.R.A.M. "vs the Devil Man from S.U.N.E.V.!"

A couple of weeks ago we presented the Man from S.R.A.M. in his only published adventure!

...but there's one more tale to be told...that wasn't told!

Written by Otto Binder (with re-write by Editor Joe Simon?) and illustrated by George Tuska, this story produced for Harvey's never-published Jigsaw #3 features a different Martian form for the protaganist, as well as a different vehicle from the previous chapter!
At the same time, Tuska also drew all three issues of Harvey's SpyMan, another cross-genre (super hero/spy/sci-fi) series just before moving on to a long run as Marvel's primary Silver Age Iron Man artist after Gene Colan!

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Hero-a-Go-Go

Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters, and Culture of the Swinging Sixties

Space Force Saturdays SPEED CARTER "Space Sentinel's Sacrifice"

It is said that every Space Sentinel is ready to die in defense of Earth...

...a belief put to the test in this tense tale from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #5 (1954)!

While it's a good attempt at a poignant tale about how a veteran, even crippled, could contribute to the defense effort, it's hampered by the fact that the story revolves around a character we've never seen before, and thus have no empathy for him.

And, we have to ask, where is the BeastMen's unnamed planet, since the now-diverted meteor crashes into it only a few minutes after being diverted by the impact of Major Ramm's ship!
This story was scripted (as were all Speed Carter tales) by Hank Chapman!

Illustrator George Tuska later became the final artist on the original Buck Rogers comic strip (1959-67) and then assumed the art duties for almost a decade on Marvel's Invincible Iron Man!

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Adventures of Lucky Starr

by Issac Asimov

(The first three novels of the six-book space-opera series in one volume!)

Space Force Saturdays SPEED CARTER "Slaughter in Space!"

We meet a new alien race, the Vegans...

...who, it turns out, are no more trustworthy than most other alien species.

(We humans are scrupulously honest, of course!)

Don't ya just love a happy ending?

What I want to know is why Speed is suddenly wearing shorts?
Thankfully, it's the only story in the series where he does so.

This story from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #5 (1954) was scripted (as were all Speed Carter tales) by Hank Chapman!

Illustrator George Tuska later became the final artist on the original Buck Rogers comic strip (1959-67) and then assumed the art duties for almost a decade on Marvel's Invincible Iron Man!

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics

Space Force Saturdays SPEED CARTER "Die, Spaceman, Die!!"

Speed Carter gets a new look (again) as another artist takes over...

...as Space Squadron artist George Tuska assumes the art chores.

As we mentioned, everything from uniforms to tech to the look of aliens is re-conceived yet again with the debut of another artist who will do all three Speed Carter tales in the issue.
This story from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #5 (1954) was scripted (as were all Speed Carter tales) by Hank Chapman!
Illustrator George Tuska later became the final artist on the original Buck Rogers comic strip (1959-67) and then assumed the art duties for almost a decade on Marvel's Invincible Iron Man!

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics

Space Force Saturdays SPACE SQUADRON "Space Demons!"

Life in the year 2000 was perilous indeed...

...or so it was said 49 years earlier, when this story from Atlas' Space Squadron #3 (1951) appeared!

Letting Edgar go unpunished despite risking numerous lives was, unfortunately, a typical plot point both in this series, and in later juvenile space-based comics and tv shows like Lost in Space, where, if anyone had any sense, they would've tossed Dr Smith out an airlock without a space suit after his first attempt to kill them...

Illustrated by George Tuska who later became the final artist on the original Buck Rogers comic strip (1959-67) and then assumed the art duties for almost a decade on Marvel's Invincible Iron Man, this was a typical tale of Atlas' resident space hero of the early 1950s.

The writer is unknown.

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Complete Adventures of Lucky Starr

by Isaac Asimov

(under the pen-name "Paul French")

Omnibus of ALL Six Space-Opera Sagas!

David Starr: Space Ranger, Pirates of the Asteroids, Oceans of Venus, Big Sun of Mercury, Moons of Jupiter, Rings of Saturn

Space Force Saturdays SPACE SQUADRON "Last of the Martians"

Meet Mxxptrm!
No, not "Myxzptlk"!

You can't get rid of this guy by getting him to say his name backwards!

And, though he's a Martian, he's neither little, nor green!

An interesting aspect of Space Squadron was that, unlike Speed Carter's Space Sentinels, the Squadron had members from every allied world, not just Earth.

"Max", who debuts here, becomes a valued (albeit temperamental) teammate, rather like Worf on Star Trek: the Next Generation.

Art from this never-reprinted final story from Atlas' Space Squadron #1 (1951) is by George Tuska who later became the final artist on the original Buck Rogers comic strip (1959-67) and then assumed the art duties for almost a decade on Marvel's Invincible Iron Man!

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Space Force Saturdays SPACE SQUADRON "Star Smasher"

Do you remember how, in 1952, we sent men into space in flying saucers?

What?

You don't?

But, it's ancient history, as this tale from the year 2000 reveals in flashback...

Ah, the days when we actually believed in "American Exceptionalism"...

This story from Atlas' Space Squadron #1 (1951) was illustrated by George Tuska who later became the final artist on the original Buck Rogers comic strip (1959-67) and then assumed the art duties for almost a decade on Marvel's Invincible Iron Man!

The writer is unknown, but the scripting is clearly more simplistic and juvenile-oriented than the relatively more-sophisticated Speed Carter series written by Hank Chapman two years later.

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics

Space Force Saturday SPACE SQUADRON "Attack from Deep Space!"

 Before Speed Carter: SpaceMan,  Atlas' resident space hero was Jet Dixon...

...leader of the circa-2000 AD Space Squadron in the 1951-52 series of the same name!

I'm still waiting for my flying car, much less interplanetary travel...

This premiere story from Space Squadron #1 was illustrated by George Tuska who later became the final artist on the original Buck Rogers comic strip (1959-67) and then assumed the art duties for almost a decade on Marvel's Invincible Iron Man!

The writer is unknown, but the scripting is clearly far more simplistic and juvenile-oriented than Speed Carter a couple of years later!

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Science Fiction

Simon & Kirby Library