Reading Room SPACE ADVENTURES "Horrible Enemy"

I was going to run the cover-featured Steve Ditko story about the "Menace of Magneto"...

...but then I saw the tale plugged by the vignette at the bottom of the cover!

This never-reprinted tale from Charlton's Space Adventures V2N5 (1969) looks like manga, but it's not!

It's "manhwa"...Korean comics!

The art for this cliched Joe Gill-scripted story is by noted Korean artist Sanho Kim, in his second story for Charlton.

Sanho Kim (or Kim San-ho) was already an acclaimed writer/artist in South Korea before coming to the US in 1964.

Illustrating a wide variety of genres including romance, horror, war, and martial arts, Sanho worked primarily for Charlton, with occasional work for Warren (where he also wrote the tales he illustrated), Marvel, and Skywald, totaling several hundred stories.

Sanho returned to South Korea in 1996 and continues to write and illustrate at the age of 75.

He received the Order of Cultural Merit (much like the Kennedy Center Honors in America) in 2008.

You can read a gothic romance tale he illustrated in the 1970s for Charlton HERE.

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Immortal Record

by Sanho Kim

Reading Room SPACE ADVENTURES "Surrender Earth!"

Now this is the way to tell a high-adventure space opera story...

...quick synopsis, then jump into the action!

A rather nasty variation of the "rabbits in Australia" story that classic Star Trek treated humorously in "The Trouble with Tribbles"!

Sadly, this Joe Gill-written, Pat Boyette-illustrated tale from Charlton's Space Adventures V2N4 (1968) has never been reprinted, but I think it's make a helluva episode of a sci-fi anthology TV series or portmanteau movie, keeping the retro-50s/60s look but using current makeup and sfx technology!

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Charlton Arrow #1

Reading Room SPACE ADVENTURES "Jealousy on Kano"

One of comics legend Bernie Krigstein's few non-EC art jobs...

...which was probably unused material that Charlton purchased when they bought out some of Ziff-Davis' inventory when the company closed their comics division in 1953.

Note Panel 3 from the last page.
Though there's a ZZZAAAAB! sound effect, and Dr Lexikon slumps over, there's no ray from the gun or impact on his body.
This was not an uncommon edit on material produced before the Comics Code went into effect, but published after companies complied with its' rules.
Though not explicitly-stated in the very generic regulations, one request the Code made to publishers was to not show a gun or bow being fired and the victim of the shot in the same panel.
This was relaxed a couple of years later for ray guns or other fantasy weapons, but not for bows, crossbows, guns, or other realistic weapons.
The rule of thumb was, if a kid could imitate it using a real weapon, don't show it.
From Charlton's Space Adventures #16 (1955), it has the same look as Kreigstein's Ziff-Davis SpaceBusters or Space Patrol material from the early 1950s, not his much tighter and more-detailed EC work!
It's also his only artwork published by Charlton.

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Messages in a Bottle

Comic Book Stories by B Krigstein

Holiday Reading Room SPACE ADVENTURES "Mummers from Mercury"

Over 6 decades ago, the world almost ended on New Year's Day...

...but it was saved by the participants of the annual Mummers Parade!

This never-reprinted story from Charlton's Space Adventures #1 (1953) was illustrated by Albert Tyler and Dick Giordano.

The writer (who was probably from Philadelphia) is unknown.

The Mummers Parade is usually-held every New Years Day in Philadelphia.
Mummers tradition dates back to 400 BC and the Roman Festival of Saturnalias where Latin laborers marched in masks throughout the day of satire and gift exchange.
This included Celtic variations of “trick-or-treat” and Druidic noise-making to drive away demons for the new year.

Reports of rowdy groups “parading” on New Years day in Philadelphia date back before the revolution.
Prizes were offered by merchants in the late 1800s.
January 1, 1901 was the first “official” parade offered about $1,725 in prize money from the city.
January 1, 2021 was the 120th Anniversary of the event, but, due to the pandemic, it's been cancelled.
Let's hope no aliens take advantage of it and invade...

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder / CoronaVirus Comics SPACE ADVENTURES "Tale About Time: There Shall Be an Ending!"

When Last We Left Our Hero...

...reporter Paul Mann is plucked from 1967 by the Esroms, peaceful humans from the year 4000 AD who travel in time machine/spacecraft that are mistaken for "flying saucers".

Mann and the Esroms pursue the Honjnosians (evil humans also from 4000 AD) to the time before the Big Bang when Paul falls out of the ship into the ether of the pre-universe...

Remember, Bronsky's diagram was for a bioweapon, specifically an unstoppable plague!

You'll note the use of the "breaking the fourth wall" storytelling technique with Mann addressing the reader directly in several panels, (with one panel of other characters thinking Paul's a bit looney).

Denny O'Neil using his "Sergius O'Shaughnessy" pseudonym scripted this conclusion to the book-length tale from Space Adventures V2#2 (1968).
The art is by the highly-underrated Pat Boyette with what looks like minor redrawing by Jim Aparo in several panels featuring Paul Mann to maintain visual continuity.
Sadly, there were no further adventures of Mann and the men from 4000 AD...

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Injection

Volume 1

(which shares a number of plot elements with this story)

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder / CoronaVirus Comics SPACE ADVENTURES "Tale About Time: Race to the End of Time"

We have Already Seen...

...actually, the characters are handling the plot synopsis shtick pretty well, so I'll just let them explain...

Not to be negative (ouch), but things aren't looking good for Paul Mann.

If you want to see how he escapes from the edge of Time and Space, be here next Wednesday!

Denny O'Neil (using his "Sergius O'Shaughnessy" pseudonom) scripted this "part 2 of 3" in Space Adventures #V2N2 (1968).

No, that's not a typo.

This is "Volume 2" of Space Adventures, which had been cancelled the year before with #60!

However, while this is Vol 2, #2, it's the first issue of the revival since there was no Vol 2 #1!

(Geez, the time travel paradoxes in this story are easier to explain than comic book numbering!)

The amazing art is by none other than Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange!

At this point, Ditko had left Marvel and was freelancing for Charlton, Tower, ACG, and Warren, working in every genre imaginable, producing some of the best work of his career, much of which has, sadly, not been reprinted!

BTW, you may have noticed that the primary plot from the first tale...

...biological warfare, has been left by the wayside, in order to simplify the synopsis!

(Remember, there's a year-long gap between the original issues in 1967-68, not just a couple of weeks)

But you and we know that plot element's there, and it's the subtext for the remainder of this saga!

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Injection

Volume 1

(which shares a number of plot elements with this story)