Atomic Kommie Comics: Ziff-Davis

Showing posts with label Ziff-Davis. Show all posts

Saturday, October 11, 2025

Spooky Space Hero Saturdays WEIRD THRILLERS "SandFlower of Venus"

Alien Worlds May Have Potentially-Lethal Flora and Fauna...

...but every Space Hero knows the most dangerous creature in the Universe is...Man!

I take it back.

The most dangerous creature in the Universe is Woman!

This never-reprinted tale from Ziff-Davis' Weird Thrillers #1 (1951) was probably illustrated by a round-robin of Dan & Sy Barry, Murphy Anderson, and Frank Giacoia.

The writer is unknown.

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Saturday, September 27, 2025

Space Hero Saturdays CRUSADER FROM MARS "Mission Through Space"

Lars of Mars wasn't the only Martian Sent to Fight Evil on Earth by Jerry (Superman) Siegel!

This guy, along with a female "friend and companion" was sent to Earth to do similar work...but for a very different reason!

If I follow the "logic" of this concept correctly, the Martians send a proven murderer (along with someone who may be either an accessory to murder or an innocent who had nothing to do with the crime except having a murderer obsessed with her) to fight evil on Earth.
Send a convicted killer with emotional control issues (and advanced weaponry) to a primitive planet and tell him to clean it up?
And then, when he screws up. send a fleet of flying saucers in to straighten out the mess.
(Martians apparently don't have a non-interference Prime Directive.)
Also note that the American military seems to be made up of idiot bureaucrats!
The writer for this premiere tale from Crusader from Mars #1 (1952) is unknown, but probably is the book's editor, Jerry (Superman) Siegel, who co-created another short-lived Martian crime-fighter, Lars of Mars, the year before.

The artist is believed to be Marvin Stein, but the layouts have a strong Jack Kirby feel to them.
Considering Stein was doing a lot of work for the Simon/Kirby studio at the time, and Jack was reputed to be very generous in terms of helping his friends, it seems likely he provided roughs for Stein to render full pencils and inks over.
BTW, you may note that Tarka wears a very Superman-style costume in this tale, but on the cover, and in the next (and last) issue, the colors are reversed.

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Saturday, September 20, 2025

Space Force Saturdays PERIMETER PATROL SERVICE "Space Pirates on Xarpot"

Space police/military organizations were ubiquitous in 1950s sci-fi...

...and this story was the second one featuring the short-lived Perimeter Patrol Service.

You can read their premiere tale HERE!

BTW, note the painted cover is by the story's illustrator, Bernie Krigstein...who rarely did painted covers!

Considering the three tales were done by the artists who also did SpaceBusters, we wonder if this was intended as a backup series for that title.

This never-reprinted story from Ziff-Davis' Amazing Adventures #6 (1952) is a superb example of pulp/comic space opera of the era with all the classic elements:

Scantly-clad women!

Square-jawed heroes!

Rockets & ray-guns!

And, instead of bug-eyed monsters...space pirates!

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Trump's Space Force

(either for yourself, or as a gift for a con friend/relative)

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Sunday Sports Special LARS OF MARS "Crucial Game"

Even a Martian pretending to be a TV actor playing a Martian reveres the Great American Pastime...

...and won't allow anybody to sully or demean the sport's image...even if it means cheating to do so!

The ends justify the means even if it involves alien manipulation of peoples' minds, eh?
Great lesson for kids!
Written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, illustrated by noted DC Comics artist Murphy Anderson, this tale appeared in Ziff-Davis' Lars of Mars #11 (1951), the second (and last issue) of the series!
Considering the moral lessons the series apparently taught, perhaps it was for the best...

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Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder WEIRD THRILLERS "Cycle of Time"

With the revived popularity of dinosaurs due to the new movie Jurassic World: Rebirth...

...we're re-presenting one of our favorite stories; a sci-fi triple-treat: time travel, aliens, and dinosaurs!

Illustrated by Murphy Anderson, who was doing quite a bit of work for ZD including the second issue of Space Busters and both issues of Lars of Mars as well as various one-shots like this one from the HTF Ziff-Davis' anthology Weird Thrillers #2 (1951)!.

We don't know who wrote this tale, but it might be series editor Jerry (Superman) Siegel.

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Reading Room AMAZING ADVENTURES "Amazing Prophecies"

Let's peer into a crystal ball from the 1950s...

...and see they did predict 3-D TV and bigger women (as compared to the females of the 1950s).

But the other prophecies from this never-reprinted feature illustrated by Ross Andru in Ziff-Davis' Amazing Adventures #4 (1951) have yet to occur...

Friday, May 2, 2025

Friday Fun FAIRY TALES "Belling the Cat" "Boy Who Cried Wolf!" "Lion and the Mouse"

Here's trio of never-reprinted one-pagers from Ziff-Davis' short-lived Fairy Tales!

A short based on the classic folktale rendered in a very Walt Kelly-esque style from Ziff-Davis' Fairy Tales #11 (1951)!

Short but effective, this re-telling of the parable/fable, also from Fairy Tales #11, was the inside back cover feature, which is why it's b/w instead of four-color!

The inside front cover of Fairy Tales #10 (which is actually the first issue) presents an adaption of one of Aesop's Fables, not a "fairy tale", per se!

We don't know who the creatives are, but we're willing to bet the writer/adapter is the comic's editor, Jerry (Superman) Siegel!

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