Reading Room: SPACE ACE "Harp of Death"

This is the last story of the first of three incarnations of Space Ace by the same publisher...

...none of whom have any relation to the 1980s video game character!

While it's not confirmed as to who wrote the tale from Manhunt #7 (1947), it's clearly illustrated by Fred Guardineer, creator of numerous Golden Age characters including Zatara, Tor the Magician (both of whom spoke their incantations backwards), Blue Tracer, Alias the Dragon, and Moon-Man.

This 1930s-40s Buck Rogers-style character ran in the first seven issues of Magazine Enterprises' Manhunt anthology comic, which featured law enforcement officers past, present, and future.

As of #8, Ace was replaced by a Western hero, Trail Colt, and the ManHunter of the 21st Century wouldn't be seen for a couple of years.

When he did reappear, he was (literally) a new man...as we shall see tomorrow...

Support Small Business!

Visit

The Future WAS Fantastic!

Comics Collectibles Store!

Reading Room: SPACEBUSTERS "Frog Men against Belzar"

You thought the SpaceBusters story ended with the book's cancellation after #2?

Art by Bernie Krigstein, adapted from page 1.

Nope!

Though the publisher (Ziff-Davis) went out of business, the published (and unpublished) material ended up at several other companies, including St John Publishing.

This particular story features the uniform and weapon designs from SpaceBusters #1, before Murphy Anderson was brought on board for #2 and revamped everything to look more like his work on the Buck Rogers newspaper comic strip.

Bernie Krigstein illustrated this story, as he did all the tales in SpaceBusters #1.

Oddly enough, though the aliens invading Mars remained "Belzarians" and the Terrans were referred to as "Earthians", the heroes went through a name-change.

Blond and blue-eyed Captain Brett Crockett received a new name, becoming "Captain Andall", while his balding and mustached sergeant, Bolo, became "Sgt Bala".
And the nickname "SpaceBusters", used incessantly in the two issues of the series, is nowhere in sight...

The story saw publication three times in ten years, ironically making it the most-printed of all the SpaceBuster tales!
First in Daring Adventures #6 (1954) from St John (where it was not the cover feature).
Then, it was reprinted in Great Exploits #1 (1957) by Ajax/Farrell (who purchased some of St John's material when they left the comics business to concentrate on magazines), where it finally became the cover feature (as seen at the top of this post).
Finally, it was reprinted in 1964 by Super/IW Comics, with a new cover by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.

Side note; I really enjoy playing detective, piecing together clues to discover "lost" items like this, or to correct historical inaccuracies like who really was the first Black superheroine.

Support Small Business!

Visit the

SpaceBusters

Comics Collectibles Shop!

This Date in History: September 13, 1999

The Moon was blown out of orbit!

Click on art to enlarge!

We have the proof right HERE, on our "brother blog" Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™!

Learn the truth!

See what the government has been keeping from you!

Images!

Audio Files!

The Truth is Indisputable!

Reading Room: BARBARELLA 4.2

When Last We Left Our Heroine...

After surviving the Excessive Machine, Barbarella ends up in the bedroom of the Queen of Sogo.
The pair manage to escape and free the blind angel, Pygar.
However, unskilled in piloting the alien craft they are traveling in, Barbarella crashes the ship, and in the ensuing confusion, the Queen escapes...

This multi-part comic strip was turned into a graphic album, and then adapted into a feature film starring Jane Fonda in the title role.

Barbarella wouldn't have a new adventure until 1974, when Wrath Of The Minute Eater was published in France.
Two more graphic novels, False Moon aka Moon Child (1977) and Storm Mirror (1982), have appeared since.
Of the three sequels, only Moon Child is available in English in a presently OOP graphic novel.
There are no current plans for any English-language reprints.

Nelvana Animation, proposed doing an animated series during the 1990s, but no network was willing to finance it.

Proposal art by Jean-Claude Forrest

Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Machete) had a movie remake in development, but it died in 2009, and no one else seems interested...

Check out the

Barbarella Comic Collectibles Corner

Reading Room: BARBARELLA 4.1

It's been a couple of months since we checked up on Barbarella...

...so let's begin the final chapter of her 1960s adventures!

Tomorrow:

The Fantastic Finale!

Plus some fun facts!

Check out the

Summer SpaceMen, SuperHeroes & Spies

Comic Collectibles Shop

featuring

Queen of Space

Queen of the Galaxy

Queen of the Universe

Reading Room: SPURS JACKSON "Meet the Menace of Comet X"

Click on the art to enlarge

With Cowboys & Aliens opening tomorrow, we once again travel back to the 1950s, when four-color cowpokes journeyed into space on a bi-monthly basis...

"Scientific accuracy!  We don't need no scientific accuracy!"
The appropriately-titled blog Awesomer Than Thou details the many, many goofs of this story!

With the re-introduction of Korok and Vodor, there were obviously plans to make them ongoing baddies.
Unfortunately, Space Western Comics only had one issue to go before reverting to Cowboy Western Comics! (with one final appearance by Korok and Vodor!)
Art by John Belfi.

We're offering a line of Space Western collectibles, perfect for summer wear at the beach, or the movie theatre when you go see Cowboys & Aliens. (C'mon, you know you're going!)

Check out the

Comics Collectibles Store

and have a look below at some Cowboys and Aliens movie tie-ins from Amazon!

Cowboys vs Aliens Starring...Buster Crabbe?

Click on the art to enlarge

Yes, that's Buster Crabbe, beloved movie serial (Flash Gordon / Buck Rogers) and b-movie star in his own 1950s comic book.
And, yes, he's battling lizardlike aliens while wearing full cowboy regalia over 40 years before Cowboys and Aliens, the graphic novel!
And, yes, that's a beautiful alien woman with a ray gun at his side, zapping lizardlike aliens!
(You didn't think Spurs Jackson had a monopoly on this sort of stuff, did you?)

For an explanation, and the complete, uncut, never-reprinted comic story, click on over to our "brother" blog Western Comics Adventures™ where the Old West is not only wild, it's weird!

We've taken the art from the cover of this issue, digitally-remastered and restored it, and emblazoned it on a variety of kool komic kollectibles!

Check out our online store...

...for Cowboys vs Aliens 
duds and provisions!