Reading Room STRANGE ADVENTURES "Science-Fiction Convention on Mars!"

You gotta ask: how can three of the best creatives of the Silver Age of Comics...

...make such an exciting concept so decidedly-deadly dull?

Writer Gardner Fox, penciler Gil Kane, and inker Joe Giella (together and separately) produced some of the koolest tales of the Silver Age!

Yet, this story from DC's Strange Adventures #73 (1956) almost put me to sleep!

The premise is great, the concepts are well-thought out, but the rendering of it is...well...drab!

Why aren't the Martians more visually-interesting?

They're just bald orange guys with slightly-elongated brain-cases!

Couldn't they be using disguises (either masks or holograms) while on Earth and then reveal themselves to be funky-looking Martians when the convention-goers arrive on Mars?

It's not like penciler Gil Kane has any problem with rendering kool-looking humanoid aliens, as shown HERE and HERE!

And, would it have killed them to give the creatives an extra page?

Jamming in all that exposition into the last page really limited Gil into what he could present.

(Remember, DC worked "full script", so Kane knew how much room the captions and dialogue balloons needed to take!)

Using two pages for that last sequence would've helped enormously!

And what about the weird rays that destroy any spaceships?

Natural?

Artificial?

We'll never know...

In comparison, this tale from Dell's Four Color #1288: Twilight Zone has a less-epic, but much more "fun" feel to it!

Special Gardner Fox Note: Fox's Crom, the first barbarian in comic books, returns tomorrow in Wednesday Worlds of Wonder!

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Strange Adventures

Volume 1

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Space Hero Saturdays LARS OF MARS "Secret Origin"

What if 1950s sci-fi shows like Captain Video or Space Patrol were real?

Or if the aliens shown on the screen were real aliens?

And what if the alien was the Space Hero???

As you've just read, that was the premise of the short-lived (two issues) Ziff-Davis series Lars of Mars!

Created by Jerry (Superman) Siegel and Murphy (Buck Rogers) Anderson, this premiere story from the first issue of his own title (which, oddly enough,  was #10!) established the somewhat-silly premise.

During his run, Lars battled Commies, crooks, and other interplanetary aliens while protecting his "secret identity" from his nosy producer (who bore a disturbing resemblance to Lois Lane).

You'll be seeing all of Lars' stories here (including his final tale from the 1980s (in 3-D, no less) over the next six months.

Watch for them!

Trivia:

The cover paintings for both issues of Lars of Mars were painted by Allen Anderson...who was not related to interior artist Murphy Anderson!

Here's a "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"-style factoid (done in only four degrees)...

• 1) Ziff-Davis also published a short-lived adaptation of an actual 1950s sci-fi tv series, Space Patrol, illustrated by Bernie Krigstein.
• 2) Krigstein illustrated the first issue of another Ziff-Davis sci-fi series: Space Busters!
• 3) Bernie was replaced on interior art for the second (and final) issue of Space Busters by...Murphy Anderson!
• 4) Allen Anderson did the painted cover for the Space Busters issue (#2) illustrated by Murphy! (Norm Saunders had painted #1's cover!)

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MARTIANS! MARTIANS! MARTIANS!

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featuring the covers of both issues of Lars of Mars!

Holiday Reading Room MARVEL TALES "Man Without Fear"

"What holiday?"

Why, Halloween, of course!

Or...is it!

Is this never-reprinted story by writer Carl Wessler and artist Joe Sinnott from Atlas' Marvel Tales #140 (1955) a Halloween treat...or trick?

You tell us, kiddo!

Space Hero Saturdays MAN O' MARS

Here's a kool klassic from the 1950s...the lead story from a 1953 one-shot that combined all the great cliches of space opera (spaceships, ray guns, aliens, half-naked space babes) in one tight ten-page tale set only thirteen years from now...

These days, this story would be a six-issue mini-series with tie-ins to several other titles.

The rest of Fiction House's Man O' Mars one-shot from 1953 was made up of unrelated reprints from earlier issues of Planet Comics.

The interior artist is Maurice Gutwirth, but the writer is unknown.

The original cover was done by Maurice Whitman, one of the Golden Age's more prolific artists with credits at almost every company of the era!

When the book was reprinted by IW Comics in 1958 from the original printing plates, the covers weren't included, so publisher Israel Waldman commissioned Angelo Torres...

...who created a superb Frank Frazetta-style cover, doing his fellow Fleagle Gang member proud!

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Monday Madness FLYING SAUCERS x FOUR #3 "I Know the Secret of the Flying Saucer!"

Last Monday, Jack Kirby demonstrated why he was THE KING...

...now Spider-Man co-creator "Sturdy" Steve Ditko shows us his unique approach to the same plot!

Presented in the back of Atlas' (later Marvel's) Tales of Suspense #11 (1960), this Stan Lee/Steve Ditko collaboration takes the twice-told tale (as we showed you HERE and HERE) and adds Ditko's more personal/less cosmic storytelling approach, playing up emotions of wonder and fear, taking the story closer to its' horror comic origins...but without the devouring of humans.

It's not better or worse, just different.

Next Monday, the final version of the tale...
...from another Silver Age stalwart!

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Christmas Collectible Cornucopia (Say that Five Times Fast!)

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Need a stocking stuffer with style?

PPE FaceMasks, Christmas Cards, Mugs, Magnets, Shopping Bags and other unique items are here

Santa Claus--the Man Himself!

Over a dozen designs in categories that will bring back nostalgic memories of your childhood!

The Hardly Abominable SnowMan

Along with St. Nick, our frosty friend is one of the most recognizable symbols of Winter and the Christmas Season!

A Christmas Carol!

The classic tale of Scrooge's redemption brought alive with 9 digitally-remastered and restored images from the very FIRST edition EVER, plus the 1951 movie!

Christmas in the Comics!

How do comic characters celebrate Christmas?

Check it out! 

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians!

He's the jolly ol' elf in a red suit.

They are big green men from Mars with an even bigger robot!

Who will win?

Before "The Nightmare Before Christmas" this was the funky Christmas flick!

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now, or take the chance they won't arrive in time to go under the tree or in a stocking!

Retro-Style Christmas Collectibles!

It's time to reveal the coolest Christmas goodies ever, exclusively for your shopping pleasure! (Don't ya just love soft-sell?)

Ornaments, greeting cards, clothing, mugs, throw blankets, shopping bags, magnets, and many other items with stylish retro graphics that will make great under-the-tree gifts or stocking stuffers!

Santa Claus--the Man Himself!

More than a dozen different 1960s Kris Kringle designs that will bring back nostalgic memories of your Baby Boomer childhood!

PLUS: 

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians!

The (Hardly) Abominable SnowMan!

Along with St. Nick, our frosty friend is one of the most recognizable symbols of Winter and the Christmas Season!
5 different Frosty designs!

The saga of Scrooge!  

A Christmas Carol brought to life with images from...
the very FIRST edition EVER
and the 1951 movie starring Alastair Sim!
Bah, Humbug!

Christmas in the Comics!

Designs featuring famous comic characters celebrating Christmas!

Green Lama!

Fast Willie Jackson!

Edison Bell: Boy Inventor!

Two different SuperSnipe designs!

Santa's Elves on Strike!

Western Rider Rusty!

3-D First Christmas Comic!

and MORE!

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Space Hero Saturdays AMAZING ADVENTURES OF BUSTER CRABBE "I Cover Mars"

He was Flash Gordon!

He was Buck Rogers!

He was Thun'da!

He was Tarzan!

And, he was the star of his own comic book series...twice!

From the 1940s to the 60s, numerous celebrities had their own comic books which took the approach that anything they did on movie/tv/radio, they could do in "real life"!

While comics based on Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, et al, just did Western tales, the four-color stories of performers like John Wayne and Buster Crabbe covered as many genres as the actors themselves!

In fact, the issue this short appeared in (Lev Gleason's Amazing Adventures of Buster Crabbe #1 from 1953) had three tales, this space opera, a jungle adventure, and a Western!
Interestingly, in all of the stories, no matter the locale or time period, Buster is himself, not one of the characters he played!

The first, from Eastern Color, ran a dozen issues over two years and featured art by, among others, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, George Evans, Bob Powell, and Roy Krenkel, among others.

This tale was illustrated by Ed Martinott, who worked exclusively for Lev Gleason and Good Comics in the early 1950s before switching to advertising.

Pretty good work, including accurate likenesses of Crabbe in most panels.

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