Space Force Saturdays ROCKY JONES: SPACE RANGER "Velocity X"

"Warp drive" didn't begin with Star Trek...

but lightspeed (or faster) travel was a rarity in 1950s' tv science fiction, where rockets dominated the skies!

Of all the 1950s Space Heroes we present here, Rocky Jones seems closest to the most famous tv Space Hero of all--Capt James T Kirk!

While the credits for this story from Charlton's Space Adventures #15 (1955) list Ted Galindo and Vince Alascia as the artists, there's enough difference from the other stories credited to them for me to believe it's actually Alden McWilliams.

Rocky Jones will return in the near future...

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Rocky Jones: Space Ranger Collection

Featuring Six Three-Episode Compilation Movies

(That's almost half the TV series in one set!)

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Space Force Saturdays SPACE PATROL (TV) "Lady of Diamonds"

1950s Media was Loaded with Low-Budget Sci-Fi Series...

...including this one, a saga of those who protect the 30th Century space-lanes in both the video and audio realms!

Tonga later reformed and ended up as the Assistant Security Chief for the entire Space Patrol organization!

Space Patrol ran Monday thru Friday on tv and semi-weekly on radio from 1950 to 1955, using the same performers for both media.

This comic book adaptation from Ziff-Davis Publishing ran for only two issues in 1952, and was written by Philip Evans (who did a lot of movie and tv tie-ins and co-created Drift Marlo, about a special investigator at Cape Kennedy), and illustrated by Bernie Krigstein (who also did SpaceBusters, a comic series about intergalactic Marines which we presented as part of Space Force Saturdays) before moving on to EC Comics, where he achieved his greatest fame).
The book ended not due to poor sales, but because Ziff-Davis left the comic book business during the "comics cause juvenile delinquency" controversy of the early 1950s, deciding to concentrate on publishing magazines instead, and still continuing to this day as seen HERE.

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Space Patrol
Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television
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Space Force Saturdays SPACE RANGERS "...Battle the Mad-Man of Mars"

In the '50s you couldn't swing a dead Slime-Cat without hitting an interplanetary policeman...

...so here's the first appearance of Charlton's contribution to the mayhem from Space Adventures #1 (1952)!

At this point, the strip is called "Space Rangers", but that won't last long.

In #2, field commander, Rex Clive takes top billing, which is retitled "Rex Clive and His Space Officers".

Then it becomes just "Rex Clive" until it's final appearance in #7.

Ironically, as of #15, Space Adventures began a new strip adapting a hot new tv show...Rocky Jones: Space Ranger!

I don't think Rex Clive would've found that turn of events amusing...

Illustrated by Lou Morales.

The writer is unknown.

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Science Fiction Comics

Taylor History of Comics

Vol 3
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Space Force / Space Heroine Saturdays STARFAWN "To the Nearest Quasar!" Part 6 and Epilogue

We Have Already Seen...

...to prevent a planetary disaster, Shalla (aka StarFawn) utilized her newly-acquired transforming powers to become pure energy and enter an alien power conduit to move trapped fellow crewman Daystar out of the power flow which his body was contaminating!

As she made contact with the helpless, immobile crewman, everything went black, and...

Sadly, there was no sequel tale.

Since both the writer and artist are unfamiliar to most of the under-40 audience, here are their bios from the back of the book...

Though Preiss and Severin have passed on, Steve Fabian is still alive and has a website you can visit HERE.
Annette Kawecki changed careers, went to medical school, and is now a successful MD!

Next Week:

Back to One or Two-Part Stories, beginning with...

Well, Just Tune In Next Saturday to See!

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Fiction Illustrated #2

StarFawn

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Space Force / Space Heroine Saturdays STARFAWN "To the Nearest Quasar!" Part 3.5

When Last We Saw Our Space Force and Space Heroine...
...the crew of the starship Destiny is reunited on an alien world, but they face severe danger and several daunting questions...

To Be Continued right here at
Atomic Kommie Comics
during Wednesday Worlds of Wonder on (when else?) Wednesday!

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Fiction Illustrated #2

StarFawn

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