Reading Room WORLDS UNKNOWN "Day After the Day the Martians Came!"

With NASA's Perseverance probe about to land on Mars...

Art by Ross Andru & John Romita

We thought we'd present a tale of the Martians returning the favor that also ties-in with Black History Month!
Wonder how?
Keep reading...

The short story this comic tale is based upon first appeared in the ground-breaking 1960s anthology Dangerous Visions, a collection of original novelettes and novellas conceived and edited by Harlan Ellison, which should be on any science fiction fan's bookshelf or eReader.

Several of the stories in the anthology, in particular this one and "Riders of the Purple Wage" by Phillip Jose Farmer, explored the subject of racial prejudice.

The never-reprinted comic adaptation from the first issue of Marvel's short-lived anthology Worlds Unknown, is scripted by Gerry Conway and illustrated by Ralph Reese, who began in 1966 as an assistant to Wally Wood and went solo within a couple of years, first as an inker, and later as a penciler/inker.

He's done work for all the major comics companies (usually on their anthology titles), as well as stints on the Flash Gordon newspaper strip and licensing art for Childrens' Television Workshop!

BTW, the Grand Comics Database lists John Romita as sole artist of the cover, but, IMHO, the figure poses are clearly Ross Andru, not Romita.

(And the GCD originally listed Marie Severin and Sal Buscema as the artists!)

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 Dangerous Visions

(where the prose version of this tale first appeared!) 

Steve Ditko Does Man-Bat and The Batman!

See the only time Steve (Spider-Man) Ditko illustrated The Batman...

...at our "brother" RetroBlog Hero Histories by clicking HERE!

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Steve Ditko Omnibus

Volume 2

(which reprints this tale as well as new villain Baron Tyme's return story-arc vs The Demon, also illustrated by Ditko)

How the Black Panther Became the Black LEOPARD...then Went Back to Being the Black PANTHER! Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...The Black Panther changed his name to "Black Leopard" in Fantastic Four #119 (February 1972)...

...then, several months later, changed it back to "Black Panther" in Daredevil #92 (October 1972)...

Why?

When he appeared a month later in Avengers #105 (November 1972)...

...with the first cover caption since 1969 to use his super-hero name...

...even Hawkeye was confused...and the other Avengers were curious as well...

This was Steve Englehart's first Avengers story, and while most of it is Englehart's material, this particular aspect is clearly editor/departing writer Roy Thomas' doing.

Roy is an incredible continuity fan, and has never left a plotline unresolved if he could do something about it!

With this issue, the Panther became a full-time Avenger again until #126...

...when, after kicking a disguised Klaw's ass yet again, he departed for Wakanda to begin his own series in Jungle Action #6 (1973)!

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Essential Avengers

Volume 5
and

Essential Avengers
Volume 6

(reprinting the complete stories we excerpted here...but in black and white!)

How the Black Panther Became the Black LEOPARD...then Went Back to Being the Black PANTHER!

Many stories providing background for the new Black Panther movie mention how, in Fantastic Four #119 (February 1972), T'Challa changes his super-hero name...

But none of them mention when or why Marvel reversed the name change!

As we pointed out HERE, Marvel had been using the Panther's civilian name on covers, which was a little silly since he was in costume...

...even on the book where he changed his name from Black Panther to Black LEOPARD...

...thus, T'Challa's name change was firmly established!

Or was it?

T'Challa's next appearance was in Daredevil #92 (October 1972)

...where this symbolic cover shows Daredevil, the Black Widow, and the Black Panther!

Nope, I'm not kidding!

A villain kidnaps the Black Widow and figures out Matt Murdock is Daredevil!

He sends a martial arts-trained assassin to kill Murdock...

Note something a little...off..about 'ol Hornhead?

Figure out what's going on?

Clue: Daredevil doesn't use his billy club...his primary weapon!

T'Challa's calling himself "Black Panther" again!

Why?

Did writer Gerry Conway forget the name change in FF #119?

Guess what, True Believer?

You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out!

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Essential Darevevil

Volume 4

(which reprints the complete story we excerpted...but in black and white)

Reading Room ASTONISHING TALES "Doctor Doom: ...and if I be Called Traitor--!"

Witness a Clash of Kings...

...as the evil ruler of Latveria and the heroic monarch of Wakanda face off under a Herb Trimpe-rendered "split cover"...

In Marvel's Astonishing Tales #8 (1970), writer Gerry Conway and penciler Gene Colan step into the middle of a two-part story and while Colan (who's previously-drawn both Doctor Doom and the Black Panther) does an amazing job, Conway falls flat when it comes to his knowledge of both Wakanda and Vibranium!
Despite the flaws in continuity (and simple logic), Conway does convey the differences in T'Challa and Victor's attitudes towards their respective constituencies and abstract concepts like "honor" and "responsibility", as well as the fact Doom respects the Panther both as a strategist and a fellow ruler!

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Essential Super-Villain Team-Up

Volume 1

(which reprints this story...but in black-and-white!)

Best of Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "Wasteland on a Weirdling World"

Things are looking desperate for the first (and possibly last) Earthman on Mars...

Art by Gil Kane and Joe Sinnott

...but who could fill you in better than our currently-helpless hero himself?

To be continued...Tomorrow!

Ross Andru, right before beginning his stint on Doc Savage, came on for Marvel's Creatures on the Loose #18 (1972), the third chapter of the short-lived, never-reprinted, comic adaptation, replacing Gil Kane, who continued to do covers.Gerry Conway and science fiction writer George Alec Effinger take over the scripting from Roy Thomas, who plotted the story arc and remained as editor.

One of the major problems this series faced was only having 10 pages every two months to tell the story.
And, because it was a bi-monthly, the writers felt compelled to recap not only the previous issue, but the entire story, which ate into the page count for a given issue's tale!

Had Marvel given the series a 15-page or full-book page count to work with (or 10 pages in a monthly title), the series might have gained more of an audience.
But only ten pages of story every two months was, apparently, too little to hold the audience's interest.
As it is, we're already midway thru the too-brief color comics run.