Showing posts with label Youthful Publications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Youthful Publications. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Reading Room: CAPTAIN SCIENCE "Time Door of Throm"

Captain Science leads us through time and space into high adventure...
...this time at the edge of the Solar System (as it was defined then)!
Wait...wha?
That last line makes no sense, but I suppose it's good for a laugh if you don't really think about it...
On another note, I hated when Pluto was downgraded to a "dwarf planet".
The idea of a dark planet on the edge of the solar system was incredibly kool,, and one of my favorite 1950s sci-fi juveniles, Secret of the 9th Planet by Donald A Wollheim, used the idea that Plutonians set up "relay stations" on the inner planets to transmit solar energy to warm their icy world.
(Of course, due to slightly-silly science, the power the Plutonians were transmitting wasn't reaching those other planets, resulting in those worlds slowly freezing and forcing Earth to send an expedition to destroy the alien technology.)
Wally Wood and Joe Orlando did the art for this lead tale from Youthful's Captain Science #5 (1951), and you can tell these guys were having the time of their lives, as they cut loose with some of the wildest stuff ever to grace sci-fi comic books.
Unlike the earlier Captain Science stories, which have never been reprinted, these Orlando/Wood stories have been re-published all over the place, but they're still well-worth seeing again!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Reading Room: CAPTAIN SCIENCE "and the Insidious Doctor Khartoum"

Captain Science was a kool combination of "high adventure" and "sci fi"...
...as this wild 'n wooly (if slightly politically-incorrect) tale from Youthful's Captain Science #4 (1951) incorporating time travel, sword-and-sandal action, a Yellow Peril menace, and (if that ain't enough) a Lovecraftian monster, all in only eight pages!
I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted!
Wally Wood and Joe Orlando did the art, and you can tell these guys were having the time of their lives, as they cut loose with some of the wildest stuff ever to grace sci-fi comic books.
They also changed the "linked-stories" concept from the first three issues, making the two-per-issue Captain Science stories stand-alones instead of two-parters.
Unlike the earlier Captain Science stories, which have never been reprinted, these Orlando/Wood stories have been re-published all over the place, but they're still well-worth seeing again!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Reading Room: BRANT CRAIG "Shark Pirates of Pisces"

Buckle up your personal jet-packs, fans...
...as we blast-off for adventure in yet another alliteratively-titled tale of the interstellar investigator, Brant Craig!
This never-reprinted tale from Youthful's Captain Science #5 (1951) was probably illustrated by Bill Molno.
The writer is unknown.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Reading Room: BRANT CRAIG "Deadly Dwarfs of Deimos"

Why would a private-eye have an unlisted phone number!
...even if he's Brant Craig, Interplanetary Detective, and his device is a "space-o-phone"?
We never learned why Brant's "space-o-phone" is unlisted...
This never-reprinted tale from Youthful's Captain Science #3 (1951) was probably illustrated by Moe Marcus and Bill Molno.
The writer is unknown.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Reading Room: BRANT CRAIG "Space Pirates of Lanthus IV"

He's not the first "Interplanetary Detective"...
...that honor goes to Planet Comics' Fero (who went "inter"planetary in his second appearance)!
But Brant Craig was the longest-lasting, with seven appearances!
Yeah, let's not worry about the innocent spacemen who were just killed during this raid, or their families.
They're just collateral damage...
This never-reprinted premiere from Youthful's Captain Science #2 (1951) was probably illustrated by Bill Molno.
The writer is unknown.
Brant Craig continued through the remaining five issues of Captain Science.
When the book was re-titled Fantastic, Brant (and Captain Science) made their final bows in the first issue.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Reading Room: CAPTAIN SCIENCE "Martian Slavers"

You'll note a different look to the adventures of...
That's because he's gained a new art team!
(You can see their names in the lower-left corner of the first panel!)
So, buckle up, eager young space cadets...
Wally Wood and Joe Orlando took over the art chores as of Youthful's Captain Science #4 (1951), and you can tell these guys were having the time of their lives, as they cut loose with some of the wildest art ever to grace sci-fi comic books.
They also changed the "linked-stories" concept from the first three issues, making the two-per-issue Captain Science stories stand-alones instead of two-parters.
Unlike the earlier Captain Science stories, which have never been reprinted, these Orlando/Wood stories have been re-published all over the place, but they're still well-worth seeing again!