Reading Room: CRUSADER FROM MARS "Mission through Space"

Though we've presented a couple of stories (HERE & HERE) about the short-lived...

Art by Allen Anderson

...we haven't shown you his never-reprinted origin!

So let's correct that oversight right now!

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 have no non-interference Prime Directive.)
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 stong 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.

Reading Room CRUSADER FROM MARS "Beachhead on Saturn's Ring"

Ziff-Davis had two short-lived titles about visitors from the Red Planet...

...Lars of Mars (which we covered HERE) and this one, about a pair of Martian criminals sent to dispense justice throughout the Solar System.

Yeah, you read that right...

You thought maybe they were a husband-and-wife alien police officer team like Katar and Shayera Hol, the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl?

Nope!

Tarka murdered his rival for the love of a woman and committed the first felony on Mars in 50 years. The Martian government branded his arm and sentenced him to exile.

Together with his fellow criminal Zira, they were sent to Earth to rid it of crime.

If they failed, then they would be destroyed--and so would Earth.

Using their advanced technology, they battled evil both on Earth, and occasionally in outer space, as seen here.

The writer for this tale from Crusader from Mars #2 (1952) is unknown, but probably is the book's editor, Jerry (Superman) Siegel.

The penciler appears to be Marvin Stein, but the inker is unknown.

Reading Room: CRUSADER FROM MARS "Night of Terror"

Ziff-Davis had two short-lived titles about visitors from the Red Planet...

...Lars of Mars (which we covered HERE) and this one, about a pair of Martian criminals sent to dispense justice on Earth.

Yeah, you read that right...

You thought maybe they were a husband-and-wife alien police officer team like Katar and Shayera Hol, the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl?

Nope!

Tarka murdered his rival for the love of a woman and committed the first felony on Mars in 50 years. The Martian government branded his arm and sentenced him to exile.

Together with his fellow criminal Zira, they were sent to Earth to rid it of crime.

If they failed, then they would be destroyed--and so would Earth.

Using their advanced technology, they battled evil both on Earth, and occasionally in outer space.

The writer for this tale from Crusader from Mars #2 (1952) is unknown, but may be the book's editor, Jerry (Superman) Siegel.

The penciler appears to be Marvin Stein, but the inker is unknown.

Visit our

MARTIANS! MARTIANS! MARTIANS!

Comic Collectibles Shop

Before Percy Jackson was...Nature Boy!

Long before Percy Jackson met the Olympians and fought a Sea of Monsters, there was another teen given amazing powers by ancient gods...
Rich teenager David Crandall was yachting with his parents when a storm sank the boat and David was stranded!
Rescued by "gods" who control various aspects of nature, he is given a portion of each of their powers...
Neptune--water
Gusto--wind
Furo--fire
Eartha--earth
Electra--lightning
Allura--love
Azura--skies
Friga--cold
(Yeah, I know a couple of them overlap, and only one was an actual mythological god, but why quibble?)
David used his new powers to return home and reunite with his still-alive family.
He also decided to battle evil in various forms as Nature Boy, since he controlled the forces of nature, and the gods gave him a spiffy new outfit to show off!

He only had three issues of his own title (which started with #3*) before he disappeared from the comics scene..until now!
But, within those three issues, the seeds were planted for an entire superfamily of Nature-heroes including Nature Man (an adult version of the hero from the future) and female counterpart Nature Girl.
This isn't surprising, since he was created by Jerry Siegel (co-creator of Superman) who knew a thing or two about that sort of thing.
To add to his hero cred, Nature Boy was drawn by the great John Buscema who later did Conan, Avengers, Fantastic Four, and damn near everything at Marvel in the 70s thru the 90s, so even if the stories were a bit silly, they looked spectacular!
You can read several of his tales at our "brother" blog, Hero Histories™!

Technically, Nature Boy should be considered one of the last Golden Age heroes as his premiere was in 1956, just a couple of months before The Flash re-emerged in Showcase #4.
However, like Captain Flash, and the Martian Manhunter, though he predates The Flash, he's thought to be one of the first Silver Age characters instead!
On that basis, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have revived Nature Boy as part of our Lost Heroes of the Silver Age of Comics™ line, on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!
He was one of the first, but hardly one of the worst...

*To save money on paying for a new second-class mailing permit,  comics publishers would often just rename an existing comic, rather than start a new one!
Today, with #1 issues being such "hot" collector's items, publishers wouldn't dream of doing that sort of thing!

Design of the Week--FunnyMan!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week..
The return of FunnyMan, the ONLY character co-created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster AFTER they created Superman!

With comics convention season underway, it'll be a standout among the Wolverine and Batman shirts that dominate con-garb!
Sartorial splendor and fanboy cred at one shot!

Note: This cover is only available for one week, and is the only cover offered on organic shirts!
Missing out on it won't be funny!