Space Force Saturdays SPACE BUSTERS "Empress of Belzar"

Space Busters was a war/military comic...set in the future.

Think of it as a less-sophisticated version of Starship Troopers, sorta "Sgt Fury or Sgt Rock in Space"!

Interestingly, it featured a woman (albeit a non-combatant) as a regular member of the front-line team.
(A rarity in comics until the late 1980s)

As to the plot...the planet Belzar has invaded our Solar System, managing to conquer everything from Pluto to Mars, with Earth next in line.

However, Earth's military is about to launch a counter-attack...

Unlike the other strips we've been running, this wasn't a spacegoing police force, but a "marines in space" series.

(BTW, for those who were wondering, Space Busters wasn't "inspired" by Robert Heinlein's Hugo Award-winning Starship Troopers since it pre-dates it by more more than half a decade!)
Illustrated by EC Comics mainstay Bernie Krigstein (who was also the artist on ZD's Space Patrol, based on the TV series), this premiere tale from Ziff-Davis' Space Busters #1 (1952) was likely scripted by editor Jerry (Superman) Siegel!

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Starship Troopers #0

Markosia Comics

Monday Mars Madness WAR COMICS "Greg Gilday and the Martians"

Perhaps the last thing readers of Dell's War Comics expected...

...was a series about an interplanetary war and a superhuman hero!

But that's what they got when this strip premiered in Dell's War Comics #2 (1940)!

In the Golden Age, creators, unrestrained by preconceptions, tried genre mash-ups we wouldn't dream of doing today, hoping to find a "hook" to grab readers!
Drawn (and probably written) by Richard Fletcher, this never-reprinted series only ran three chapters before disappearing despite the final strip ending with a caption promising more adventures!
Note: the Richard Fletcher who did this strip is not the Dick Fletcher who worked with Chester Gould before taking over as the artist on the Dick Tracy newspaper strip in 1977.
This guy is Richard Martin Fletcher.
The Dick Tracy artist was Richard E Fletcher and didn't begin his art career until after being discharged from the Army in 1945.

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Ray Bradbury's

Martian Chronicles

D-Day 75th Anniversary "Part 5: The Landing"

The greatest invasion in history is underway...

...and the action is about to get hot and heavy!

Let's dive right in!

Illustrated by the highly-underrated George Evans, this chapter appeared as a backup in Gilberton's World Around Us #31 (1961).

This particular issue was subtitled "Hunting", but the stand-alone lead tales in the front had little relationship to the serials in the back of the book!

To see Part 6: Beachhead...click HERE!

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Six Days

The Incredible Story of D-Day's Lost Chapter

by Robert Venditti, Kevin Maurer & Andrea Mutti

D-Day 75th Anniversary "Part 3: The Decision"

When Last We Left the Allied Forces...

...tension rises as the make-or-break deadline approaches!
Will the Allies attack or wait?
Spoiler: they don't wait!

Illustrated by the highly-underrated George Evans, this chapter appeared as a backup in Gilberton's World Around Us #29 (1960).

This particular issue was subtitled "Vikings", but the stand-alone lead tales in the front had little relationship to the serials (including this and "Red Planet Mars") in the back of the book!

To see Part 4: Night Drop...click HERE!

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Longest Day

D-Day 75th Anniversary "Part 1: Key to Victory"

Yesterday, we presented a three-pager about D-Day...

...today, artist George Evans expands on that feature with a multi-part serial about the invasion of Normandy, along with a recap of events setting the stage...

Illustrated by the highly-underrated George Evans, this chapter appeared as a backup in Gilberton's World Around Us #27 (1960).

This particular issue was subtitled "Illustrated Story of High Adventure", but the stand-alone lead tales in the front had little relationship to the serials in the back of the book!

To see Part 2: Target Normandy...click HERE!

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Six Days

The Incredible Story of D-Day's Lost Chapter

by Robert Venditti, Kevin Maurer & Andrea Mutti

D-Day 75th Anniversary "The Normandy Invasion"

Here's a never-reprinted short about June 6th, 1944's historic event...

...from Gilberton's Classics Illustrated Special Issue #166A (1962)

Considered one of the most accurate artists to render military comics, George Evans presents a brief, concise mini-feature about the turning point in World War II!
But that's not all, folks!
Tomorrow through Thursday, we'll be doing a crossover event between us and our "brother" RetroBlog War: Past, Present & Future...a six-part never-reprinted serial about the D-Day invasion featuring more amazingly-detailed art by George Evans (and other Fleagle Gang members)!
It'll begin here tomorrow with Part 1, linking to Part 2 on War: Past, Present & Future the same day, and following the same pattern on Wednesday and Thursday for the remaining chapters!
Don't miss it!
BTW, see our previous D-Day tribute posts HERE!
And yes, we're back after an unplanned hiatus due to almost dying.
(Actually, my heart did stop for about two minutes, but I was brought back from "walking into the light", as they say!)
I'm better now, and eager to present more time-lost stuff to you eager readers!

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Normandy: a Graphic History of D-Day!

The Allied Invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe

by Wayne Vansant

SPACE BUSTERS...the ORIGINAL "Space Force"!

During a speech at the Pentagon at 11:15 am EDT today...

...VP Pence will outline the Drumpf administration's plan to create a new branch of the military focused on defending the ultimate high ground.

You can watch it live HERE!

Were Don the Con's grandiose plans inspired by these comics about "space marines" from his childhood?

(I doubt he actually read any books, so it's unlikely he was inspired by Heinlein's Starship Troopers!)

Published in 1952, the series ran only two issues, with a couple of unpublished stories appearing in other mags later on.

Conceived by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, illustrated by comics legends Bernie Krigstein and Murphy Anderson, with covers by Norman Saunders and Allen (no relation to Murphy) Anderson, the series took the concept of the US Marine Corps and transplanted it to outer space in the near-future.

Though not specificially-stated, the Space Busters were Americans and Western Europeans, with no Communist countries or non-white nations represented.

You can read a complete digitally-remastered re-presentation of this apparently-groundbreaking (and still never reprinted) series at our brother RetroBlog, War: Past, Present & Future!

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Spaceman Jet & the SpaceBusters Store!

Featuring the Working Class-Heroes of Space!

Trump's Space Force Already Existed! SPACE BUSTERS

Don the John wants to create a "space force"...

...perhaps inspired by these comics about "space marines" from his childhood?

(I doubt he actually read any books, so it's unlikely he was inspired by Heinlein's Starship Troopers!)

Published in 1952, the series ran only two issues, with a couple of unpublished stories appearing in other mags later on.

Conceived by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, illustrated by comics legends Bernie Krigstein and Murphy Anderson, with covers by Norman Saunders and Allen (no relation to Murphy) Anderson, the series took the concept of the US Marine Corps and transplanted it to outer space in the near-future.

Though not specificially-stated, the Space Busters were Americans and Western Europeans, with no Communist countries or non-white nations represented.

Starting next Wednesday, we're presenting a complete digitally-remastered re-presentation of this apparently-groundbreaking (and still never reprinted) series at our brother RetroBlog, War: Past, Present & Future!

Don't Miss It!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Our...

Spaceman Jet & the SpaceBusters Store!

Featuring the Working Class-Heroes of Space!

Is THIS Our Future???

With North Korea threatening us with nuclear weapons (again)...

...maybe we should look at how it was during the Cold War by looking at what they thought (in the 1950s) would happen in the near-future (the 1960s onward)!

Turns out it wasn't so great, as you'll see when you click on the links to our "brother" RetroBlog War: Past, Present & Future...and read about...

Atomic War

and

World War III

...which were two different series with two different plotlines and histories taking place at the same time in the near future...from the same publisher!