Baker Reading Room OUTER SPACE "Incredible Giants"

Here's another never-reprinted sci-fi tale...

...by renowned Black artist Matt Baker, who penciled, but didn't ink, the story!

Inker Vince Colletta employed a number of excellent, detailed pencilers like Matt Baker and Joe Sinnott to work for his studio, which "packaged" stories, series, and even book-length tales for publishers.

Unfortunately, when dealing with smaller publishers like Charlton (who didn't pay as much as DC, Marvel, Harvey, etc) to save cash, Vince inked most of the work himself, usually rushing it to meet deadlines!
Compare with another story, inked by long-time Baker collaborator Ray Osrin, and you see the difference inkers can make!
The same level of page layout and storytelling is obvious in both tales...but the rendering...hoo boy!
BTW, Joe Gill wrote this story from Charlton's Outer Space #23 (1959).

One important plot point was that the giant children thought the scout ship was a seed pod due to it's design...

...an element cover artists Charles Nicholas and Rocke Mastroserio didn't follow though on with their re-do of the story's splash panel!

Were they not informed, or did the editor deliberately insist on a more traditional ship design?

We'll never know the answer!

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Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

Baker Reading Room OUT OF THIS WORLD "Spymaster"

With a cover by Dick Giordano...

...and interiors by Matt Baker, this never-reprinted tale from 1959 has a moral that'll be lost on most of the readers of 2021!

If retold in the cynical, dog-eat-dog world of 2021, the "big chain" drugstore would be welcomed with open arms since its' prices would be lower, the little drugstore would be driven out of business, and the Earth would fall under alien control...

An ironic lesson in lost morality originally-published in Charlton's Out of This World #14 (1959) by writer Joe Gill, penciler Matt Baker and inker Vince Colletta.
We're giving artist Matt Baker his own "Reading Room" during Black History Month to showcase his amazing illustrating versatility!

Horror, war, romance, sci-fi, crime...there was nothing he couldn't draw!
One of the few Black artists of the Golden and Silver Ages, Matt drew only one Black character in his own strip...Voodah, whom he co-created.
you can read his premiere adventure HERE!

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Matt Baker

Art of Glamour

Reading Room SPACE ADVENTURES "Jealousy on Kano"

One of comics legend Bernie Krigstein's few non-EC art jobs...

...which was probably unused material that Charlton purchased when they bought out some of Ziff-Davis' inventory when the company closed their comics division in 1953.

Note Panel 3 from the last page.
Though there's a ZZZAAAAB! sound effect, and Dr Lexikon slumps over, there's no ray from the gun or impact on his body.
This was not an uncommon edit on material produced before the Comics Code went into effect, but published after companies complied with its' rules.
Though not explicitly-stated in the very generic regulations, one request the Code made to publishers was to not show a gun or bow being fired and the victim of the shot in the same panel.
This was relaxed a couple of years later for ray guns or other fantasy weapons, but not for bows, crossbows, guns, or other realistic weapons.
The rule of thumb was, if a kid could imitate it using a real weapon, don't show it.
From Charlton's Space Adventures #16 (1955), it has the same look as Kreigstein's Ziff-Davis SpaceBusters or Space Patrol material from the early 1950s, not his much tighter and more-detailed EC work!
It's also his only artwork published by Charlton.

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Messages in a Bottle

Comic Book Stories by B Krigstein

Holiday Reading Room SPACE ADVENTURES "Mummers from Mercury"

Over 6 decades ago, the world almost ended on New Year's Day...

...but it was saved by the participants of the annual Mummers Parade!

This never-reprinted story from Charlton's Space Adventures #1 (1953) was illustrated by Albert Tyler and Dick Giordano.

The writer (who was probably from Philadelphia) is unknown.

The Mummers Parade is usually-held every New Years Day in Philadelphia.
Mummers tradition dates back to 400 BC and the Roman Festival of Saturnalias where Latin laborers marched in masks throughout the day of satire and gift exchange.
This included Celtic variations of “trick-or-treat” and Druidic noise-making to drive away demons for the new year.

Reports of rowdy groups “parading” on New Years day in Philadelphia date back before the revolution.
Prizes were offered by merchants in the late 1800s.
January 1, 1901 was the first “official” parade offered about $1,725 in prize money from the city.
January 1, 2021 was the 120th Anniversary of the event, but, due to the pandemic, it's been cancelled.
Let's hope no aliens take advantage of it and invade...

Monday Madness UNUSUAL TALES "Man Who Could See Tomorrow"

When you want a tale that exemplifies "madness" visually...

...it's hard to go wrong with Steve (Doctor Strange) Ditko!

Originally-appearing in Charlton's Unusual Tales #7 (1957), this simple (but effective) story by writer Joe Gill and illustrator Steve Ditko leaves the reader wanting more.

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Steve Ditko Archives Vol 1

Strange Suspense

Reading Room OUTER SPACE "Third Planet"

Some stories are truly a "product of their time"...

...such as this Silver Age story that reflects the pacifist attitudes of the 18-30 year-olds of the era.

That's how the tale ended in the idealistic 1960s.

If they re-did it today, in the far more cynical 2020s, one (or both) commanders would have had a strike force ready to attack the second the other side disarmed.

This tale from the Charlton one-shot Outer Space (1968) was illustrated by Pat Boyette.

As to who wrote it, it could have been Boyette (who had already proven himself as a writer with several stories for Charlton's anthologies as well as a couple of issues of Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt), or Joe Gill, who co-created several pacifist heroes including Peacemaker with Boyette, and GunMaster with Dick Giordano!

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder / CoronaVirus Comics SPACE ADVENTURES "Tale About Time: There Shall Be an Ending!"

When Last We Left Our Hero...

...reporter Paul Mann is plucked from 1967 by the Esroms, peaceful humans from the year 4000 AD who travel in time machine/spacecraft that are mistaken for "flying saucers".

Mann and the Esroms pursue the Honjnosians (evil humans also from 4000 AD) to the time before the Big Bang when Paul falls out of the ship into the ether of the pre-universe...

Remember, Bronsky's diagram was for a bioweapon, specifically an unstoppable plague!

You'll note the use of the "breaking the fourth wall" storytelling technique with Mann addressing the reader directly in several panels, (with one panel of other characters thinking Paul's a bit looney).

Denny O'Neil using his "Sergius O'Shaughnessy" pseudonym scripted this conclusion to the book-length tale from Space Adventures V2#2 (1968).
The art is by the highly-underrated Pat Boyette with what looks like minor redrawing by Jim Aparo in several panels featuring Paul Mann to maintain visual continuity.
Sadly, there were no further adventures of Mann and the men from 4000 AD...

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Injection

Volume 1

(which shares a number of plot elements with this story)