Space Hero Saturdays FLASH GORDON "and the Space Pirates" Part 1

Ya Want Full-On Space Opera?

Now, Here's SPACE OPERA!

...starring the one-and-only Flash Gordon as rendered by EC Comics legend Wally Wood!

The story continues next Saturday...with a different artist!

Illustrated by Wally Wood and his studio.

Wood (and writer Harvey Kurtzman) had previously-done the hysterical MAD comic book parody "Flesh Garden" (which you can read HERE), but this is his only "official" Flash Gordon work...which is a really shame, because is there's anybody who deserved a chance to do at least one continuity featuring the character, it's him!

The writer is unknown.

Though Flash had his own comic at this time, this three-parter appeared in the back of The Phantom's title from the same publisher, King Comics.

The particular tale appeared in the back of King's The Phantom #18 (1966), which was actually the first issue of the series from King Comics.

(They just continued the numbering from the previous publisher, Gold Key!)

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS

He's the Jolly Old Elf in a red suit!
They are BIG Green Men from Mars with an even BIGGER robot!
Before Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, they were the ingredients for the weirdest Christmas movie ever!

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians was filmed in 1964 in that bastion of the cinema, Long Island (in an unused aircraft hangar).

Starring a host of tv and b-movie actors including handsome-but-stiff Leonard Hicks as the Martian Leader (and kids' father) Kimar, 60s villain/voiceover artist Vincent Beck (who did lots of work for Irwin Allen's sci-fi shows) as the film's mustache-twirling villain, Voldar, and John Call as a pretty damn convincing Santa Claus, the flick is touted as the debut of future talentless chantuse Pia Zadora as Martian Kid Girmar. Thankfully, she has rather limited screen time.

As an example of low-budget filmmaking, it's actually pretty effective.

Every penny (what few of them they had) is up on the screen.

They make good use of stock footage (from Dr. Strangelove, no less).

And the use of then-popular Wham-O Air Blaster toy guns as the Martian weapons was either a stroke of marketing genius or clever use of limited funds. Either way, sales of the guns shot thru the roof after the film hit the kiddie matinee circuit!

If you're between 3-9 years old, the flick's a lot of fun.

If you're between 10 and whatever the local drinking age is, it'll drive you nuts, especially the theme song!

If you're over the local drinking age, do so before watching! It's available on a host of public domain dvds as well as one of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 snarkfests.

BTW: The image above is from the comic book tie-in, which you can read in three parts...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

There was also a single of the theme, a spoken-word LP album of the movie's dialogue, and a novelization!

Now I can't get that damn theme our of my head..."Hoo-ray for Santy Claus..." AARRRGGGHHH!

An early Christmas gift from us to you:
The Mystery Science Theatre 3000 version of the film (don't tell Dr Forrester)...

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Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

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Space Hero & Heroine Saturdays BUZZY BEAN AND HIS FLYING SAUCER "Secret of Planet 5"

When Last We Left Our Two 'Tween Astronauts...

...are they saved, or just out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Sadly, Buzzy and Betty's adventures ended with this never-reprinted story from Good Comics' Johnny Law: Sky Ranger #4 (1955) since the company went out of business after the book was printed and distributed.

Trivia: After Good Comics folded, Publisher/Editor/Art Director Edmond Good became Art Director of Tupperware and remained in the post until he retired in the 1970s!

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Weird Science

Volume 1
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Reading Room: STRANGE WORLDS "Weapon Out of Time"

Barbarians, advanced technology, and beautiful, half-clad women...

...we're obviously back in the retro-cool era of the Golden Age of science fiction!

So, if the fountain was "Old Faithful", where would nearby Anthor be located?

And, what happened to Anthor and it's inhabitants, who obviously weren't around when Paleoindians first migrated across the Beringia land bridge between Asia and North America around 12,000 years ago (or earlier)?

Yeah, I know it's "just a comic book story", but I can speculate, can't I?

Was this meant to be the first in an ongoing series about Prof Chalmers and his time-viewer/matter analyzer?

Art for this wild story from Avon's Strange Worlds #2 (1951) is by Wally Wood.

The writer is unknown, but it's theorized to be Gardner Fox, who created comics' first barbarian, Crom, for Avon the previous year.

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Monday Mecha Madness CAPTAIN SCIENCE COMICS "Robots of Ra"

For sheer weirdness (not to mention incomprehensibility), few stories can top this tale...

...from the back of Youthful's Captain Science #2 (1951)!

You'll note the art style for this never-reprinted story varies wildly from page to page.

The credited artist, Walter Johnson, depended heavily on assistants to produce a high volume of pages for the various comics companies (including Avon, St John, Fiction House, and Youthful Publications) he supplied art to!

The work of several different illustrators with varying levels of draftsmanship is apparent on this one story, including one or more who swipe from both Flash Gordon's Alex Raymond and Phantom Lady's Matt Baker!

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Reading Room WEIRD THRILLERS "Cycle of Time!"

 Here's a sci-fi triple-treat: time travel, aliens, and dinosaurs!

This kool tale appeared in the HTF Ziff-Davis' anthology Weird Thrillers #2 (1951)!

Illustrated by Murphy Anderson, who was doing quite a bit of work for Z-D including the second issue of Space Busters and both issues of Lars of Mars as well as various one-shots like this.

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

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Space Force Saturdays PERIMETER PATROL SEVICE "City of Light"

 Much of early pulp/comic sci-fi utilized military or police organizations in their stories...

...including this tale from Ziff-Davis' Amazing Adventures #6 (1952) which featured members of the "Perimeter Patrol Service" in their third (and last) appearance!

Perhaps Don da Con was remembering a tale like this one when he "brainstormed" Space Force!

Though the writer is unknown, the art is attributed to Henry Sharp, who moved to comics from pulp magazines in 1951 and from comics to television in 1955.

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Trump's Space Force

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

Halloween Reading Room: SUPERSNIPE "Halloween" Conclusion

When Last We Left the Boy with the Most Comic Books in America...

...Koppy (SuperSnipe) McFad (wearing his original costume), celebrates Halloween by trick-or-treating with his friends Herlock Domes and Roxy, and ends up at the Van Welty mansion where the trio inadvertently helps an assassination attempt on the mansion's rich owner.

When news reports about the police suspecting costumed kids reach Koppy and Herlock, they investigate in an attempt to clear themselves, discovering the "policeman" who tricked them was a fraud in a rented costume!
After the costume store owner gives them the name of the man who rented the police uniform, the now-plainclothes heroes go in search of the criminal...

Usually, Koppy McFad triumphs despite his rather "Inspector Clouseau"-type antics, but this time he not only figures out the clues (with a couple of handy coincidences), but deliberately puts himself in danger to keep the criminals in the store until the police arrive!

He may not have super powers, but SuperSnipe proves himself to be a real hero...

Story and art for this tale from SuperSnipe Comics V2N12 (1945) by George Marcoux, who did all the "SuperSnipe Universe" strips himself!