Space Force Saturdays TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET "Spaceship of Doom!"

Here's the only major 1950s multi-media space hero we haven't covered...

...so we're intoducing him to you with his first appearance in his second comic series!

So, let's join Tom and the crew of the Space Academy ship Polaris...

Besides being the longest-running tv/radio show of the genre (six years), Tom Corbett had the longest run of any of the tv series comics adaptations...fifteen issues with two different publishers!

The second series was published by Prize Comics and packaged (as were a number of Prize titles of the period) by the Simon & Kirby studio.

The series' primary artist was Mort Meskin, but there are apparently other artists doing layouts and inking including Jack Kirby himself, and Steve Ditko (who was just starting out).

This tale from Prize Comics' V2N1 (1955) was penciled by Meskin and inked by several different artists.
Trivia: the TV series is one of only a half-dozen shows to have appeared on all four major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and DuMont) during its' first run!

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Pre-Code Classics

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet

Volume One

The First 7 Issues

Space Heroine? Saturdays CRAZY "Tess Orbit: Lace Cadet"

MAD wasn't the only satire anthology comic in the pre-Code days...

..though it was both the best-known and best written/drawn of an entire herd of titles!

This never-reprinted tale, spoofing the TV/radio series Tom Corbett: Space Cadet, was probably the best story in Atlas' Crazy #1 (1953), and actually feels more like one of the risque PussyCat short features the Marvel Bullpen did for Marvel's publisher Martin Goodman's laddie magazines!

(Goodman owned both Marvel and a magazine publishing company until he sold Marvel in 1972.)
The strip is illustrated by Al Hartley, who did a lot of romance work (along with some sci-fi and horror) and eventually became a mainstay of Archie Comics in the late 1960s through the '70s.
(For the record, Hartley also co-created and illustrated Atlas' Leopard Girl I for her entire run)
But the writer is unknown.

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Sincerest Form of Parody

Reading Room CAPTAIN QUICK & THE SPACE SCOUTS "Hermits of Callisto"

The Space Scouts and their mentor finally leave Mars...

...only to find a mystery on a moon of Jupiter!

A poignant (and ironic) end to a short-lived series nobody remembers!

Though the art for this never-reprinted tale from Prize Comics' Tom Corbett: Space Cadet V2#3 (1955) is credited solely to Marvin Stein at the Grand Comics Database, the layout appears to be by Jack Kirby, which would make sense since Simon & Kirby's studio was packaging the book for Prize.
Beyond being set in the near future, there was no connection to Tom Corbett.

Reading Room CAPTAIN QUICK & THE SPACE SCOUTS "Martian Canal Frog and the Jewel Flowers"

Let's strap on our rocket packs for another adventure with...

...who are still on Mars, as we saw last time!

Though the art for this never-reprinted tale from Prize Comics' Tom Corbett: Space Cadet V2#2 (1955) is credited solely to Marvin Stein at the Grand Comics Database, the layout appears to be by Jack Kirby, which would make sense since Simon & Kirby's studio was packaging the book for Prize.
Beyond being set in the near future, there was no connection to Tom Corbett.

Reading Room CAPTAIN QUICK AND THE SPACE SCOUTS "Mystery of the Moon of Mars"

Here's the first of three short features...

...that appeared in the second Tom Corbett: Space Cadet comic series.

Though the art for this never-reprinted tale from Prize Comics' Tom Corbett: Space Cadet V2#1 (1955) is credited solely to Marvin Stein at the Grand Comics Database, the layout appears to be by Jack Kirby, which would make sense since Simon & Kirby's studio was packaging the book for Prize.
Beyond being set in the future, there was no connection to Tom Corbett.

This "Captain Quick" is no relation to the suave secret agent character played by Adam West in early 1960s Quick commercials...

...which many attribute to causing the producers of a new show to cast him as their campy caped crusader!
BTW, in a weird bit of comic numbering, this second series' #1 is Tom Corbett's first #1!
The earlier series (from Dell Comics) began with #4 since the first three issues were part of the Four Color series (378, 400, and 421)!

1950s Space Heroes!

Discussing Major Inapak made us reflect back on the sci-fi tv shows of the early 1950s...

Space Patrol (1950-1955)

Rocky Jones: Space Ranger (1954-1956)

 Tom Corbett: Space Cadet (1950-1955)

and the original space hero...

Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949-1955)

Ironically, Captain Midnight, who ran on tv from 1954 to 1956, making him the last survivor of the genre, didn't have a comic book adaptation of his tv series! (His original comic book, based on the radio show, ended in 1948!)

Our "brother" blog, Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™ has been running the comic book adaptations of both Captain Video and Rocky Jones, and will shortly be adding Space Patrol and Tom Corbett to the lineup!

Don't miss 'em for a dose of kool retro sci-fi action with art by greats like Mort Meskin, George Evans, Dick Giordano, Bernie Kreigstein, and Norm Saunders!