Showing posts with label anthology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anthology. Show all posts

Monday, June 22, 2026

Monday Mecha Madness SPIRIT OF FRANKENSTEIN "A Monster is Born"

There have been several ongoing series that combined horror and sci-fi...
...such as the strip which premiered with this tale from ACG's Adventures into the Unknown! #5 (1949)!
The "monster" here is not Frankenstein's Monster, nor are any of the scientists members of the Frankenstein clan.
Though it's defined as a "robot" it appears to be more of an android!
But, if the strip's creators say it's a robot, that's good enough for me!
Writer Richard Hughes and artist Charles Sultan invoked the "spirit" of the Frankenstein Monster Monster concept with a creation run amok and ran amuck with it for several issues from #5 to #16.
Rest assured it'll be back...
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Adventures Into the Unknown!
Volume 1

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Saturday, June 20, 2026

Best of Space Force Saturdays MARS COMPANY in "Winner"

In the early 1970s, DC experimented with pulp-style illustrated prose tales...
...in genre (sci-fi, horror, western, and romance) titles!
Written by Denny O'Neil, and rendered in retro 1950s Buck Rogers style...
...by Murphy Anderson, this never-reprinted text feature from DC's Strange Adventures #227 (1971) seems more a tribute to classic 1940s-50s "hard" sci-fi pulps instead of a then-current "new wave" science fiction tale!
Since it featured the last story about Earth's interplanetary fighting force, Mars Company, we felt it would be the perfect "capper" to the SpaceBusters saga, which Murphy re-conceived just before its' cancellation!
Murphy seemed to be DC's "go-to" guy when they needed retro-style material in the 1960s-70s!
He was the artist for Silver Age revival try-outs of Golden Age characters in Brave & Bold (Starman & Black Canary) and Showcase (Dr Fate & HourMan and The Spectre), as well as the first few issues of The Spectre's own Silver Age title!
Anderson was also the initial artist on DC's Bronze Age version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars, as well as filing-in where needed on other Burroughs strips including Korak and Beyond the Farthest Star!
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Thursday, June 11, 2026

Reading Room: UFO FLYING SAUCERS "Read the Real Story of the UFOs and Flying Saucers!"

As we mentioned in an earlier post, Dell and Gold Key published anthology comics about UFOs..
Here's the intro story from Gold Key's UFO Flying Saucers #1 (1968)
Written by long-time sci-fi/fantasy comics scripter Leo Dorfman and illustrated by Golden and Silver Age artist Joe Certa (best known as the co-creator of another alien series; J'onn J'onnz, Manhunter from Mars), the story set the rather straightforward tone for the book, which would run for 13 issues from 1968 to 1977 before changing its' title to UFO & Outer Space and continuing for another 12 issues combining reprints and new material until cancellation in 1980.
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Friday, June 5, 2026

Friday Fun RIOT "Advertisements"

Several people have complained my post about Bill Everett's Marvin the Mouse was too harsh...
...but I submit these never-reprinted pages from Atlas' Riot #5 & #6 (1956) demonstrate Everett could do humor...and in a variety of styles!
Spoofing actual ads from KleenexWildroot Cream OilFord MotorsWestinghouse Electronics and TWA (I have no idea what the bike ad relates to), artist Bill Everett demonstrates his mastery of the page, even imitating the art style of Little Lulu's creator Marjorie Henderson Buell!
The mystery of why his work on Marvin Mouse was, to put it mildly, substandard may never be discovered!
Trivia: Atlas was a bit of a trend-follower, rather than a trend setter, as it became in the Silver Age as Marvel!
Trying to capitalize on EC's success with MADAtlas launched four different satire/parody anthologies...CrazyRiotSnafu, and Wild, only one of which lasted to seven issues!

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Saturday, May 30, 2026

Space Hero Saturdays PLANET COMICS "Fero: Interplanetary Detective and the Kidnapped Councilman's Daughter"

When we first met himFero battled scientific menaces on present-day (1940s) Earth.
As of his next appearance, without explanation, he's set in the far future!
This tale from Fiction House's Planet Comics #6 (1940) was written and illustrated by Al Bryant under the pen-name "Allison Brant".
The change in venue from present to future without any in-story explanation (not even a caption like "returing from the past to the 21st Century..." or some-such) seems odd considering the same writer/artist did this follow-up tale.
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Thursday, May 28, 2026

Reading Room MYSTICAL TALES "Lair of the Thunder Lizard!"

Bernie Krigstein was one of the most under-appreciated artists of the 1950s...
...and this kool tale he illustrated just begged to be unearthed for the first time in almost 70 years!

Scripted by Carl Wessler and rendered by Bernie Krigstein, this never-reprinted piece from Atlas' Mystical Tales #8 (1957) is a low-key character study enhanced by Krigstein's naturalistic art.
Bernie was already phasing out of comics and into mainstream commercial art (including book and magazine illustration).
This tale was one of his last stories before leaving the comics field altogether.
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Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Reading Room: MYSTICAL TALES "Nomad of Outer Space!"

It's mind-blowing how much Atlas (pre-Marvel) stuff hasn't been reprinted...
...such as this story from Atlas' Mystical Tales #1 (1956)!
While hunting thru files for un-reprinted Jack Kirby tales for a previous Kirby Reading Room mini-marathon, I came across a lot of never-reprinted material!
This Bob Powell-rendered story is just the tip of the iceberg!
Sadly, we don't know the writer of this tale...
BTW, despite the title, Mystical Tales was an almost-totally "hard sci-fi" anthology!
Only a handful of stories from the anthology's 8-issue run have been reprinted, all in the 1970s, which makes even the reprints at least 40 years old!
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Thursday, May 21, 2026

Reading Room OUT OF THIS WORLD "Perfect Forecaster"

The Last Few Years of Extreme Weather Made Me Wonder Why We Don't Yet Have...
...and this rarely-seen tale from Charlton's Out of this World #10 (1958) provides an amusing solution!
Could Dorothy be...a mutant?
Writer Joe Gill and artist Steve Ditko aren't telling...
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