Showing posts with label space opera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label space opera. Show all posts

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Was INAPAK the Chocolate Drink That NEVER Actually Existed?

Now here's an interesting point...
It apparently never existed!
Really!
From extensive research (we're talking off-line and on-site) thru the archives of several dealers and collectors who handle related food ephemera like Ovaltine and Quik (now Nesquik) packaging and advertising, we've yet to come across anything (besides the comic book itself) relating in any way to Inapak!
Could it have been a proposed project that never got off the ground, like Victor Fox's Kooba Kola?
If so, who was behind it?
Magazine Enterprises, the publishers of the The AvengerFunnyMan, and original Ghost Rider, produced the comic, and it's copyrighted in their name, not an outside corporation, as most licensed comics are!
Bob Powell is obviously the artist, though the writer is unknown.
It's theorized on the Grand Comics Database that Gardner Fox scripted the two stories in the book.
Speaking of which, here's the short tale from the back of the book...
Now, here's my theory about who Major Inapak is and how he came to be...
At this point (1951), there were a number of kids' sci-fi tv shows like Captain Video, featuring characters who also promoted their sponsors' products...

...and there was talk of a tv version of radio/comic/movie serial hero Captain Midnight (who was still owned by Ovaltine) with a heavier sci-fi/space opera flavor to compete with Captain VideoTom Corbett: Space CadetSpace Patrol, et al.
A Captain Midnight TV series eventually aired in 1954-56 with some sci-fi elements, but set present-day to keep the budget down.
(And of course, it had lots of promotion for Ovaltine products...)
Could this book have been a tryout with the original, futuristic, format for Captain Midnight, spotlighting his sponsor, Ovaltine?
And, when it didn't sell to Ovaltine, the story was retitled/relettered with a new character and a non-existent chocolate drink to demonstrate what Magazine Enterprises could do for potential clients, and then used as a trade-show giveaway to drum up business for a licensed-comic division (similar to what both Marvel and DC have today)?
You'll see the action-packed space adventure right here on Saturday!

Saturday, June 7, 2025

Space Hero Saturdays WITCHCRAFT "Hero of the Venus Flyer!"

Being a Space Hero Can Be as Easy as Being in the Right Place at the Right Time...

...and as difficult as being willing to die to save others!




Illustrated by Gene Fawcette and scriped by an unknown writer, this tale appeared twice within a year, first in Avon's WitchCraft #6 (1953), then in Avon's Strange Worlds #18 (1954), where, due to a miscalculation in pagination, the last page of the story ended up on the inside back cover, in black-and-white!

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Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder STAR RAIDERS "Beginning...the Saga of the Star Raiders!" Conclusion


...if you can't tell from the montage above, to coin a phrase..."Things are about to get busy!"










This particular concept/plotline didn't advance any further.
But it wasn't contradicted or retconned either!
Instead, DC decided to launch an ongoing regular comic-format series as more of a direct sequel to the original mini-comics, featuring original series character Martin Champion, his son, and a new assortment of supporting characters battling original series villain Dark Destroyer!
Elliot S! Maggin wasn't the writer of this version.
Gerry Conway (who co-wrote the mini-comics) returned as writer, but Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez remained as penciler for the first story arc, then contributed covers sporadically over the series' 21-issue run!
Next Week:
A New World of Wonder!

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Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder STAR RAIDERS "Beginning...the Saga of the Star Raiders!" Part 4

We Have Already Seen...

...successfully stopping a Xylon attack, Jed and Tommy return home to nurse their wounds and make reprairs, not realizing they now have an admiring enourage in tow who are eager to join the battle...












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Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder STAR RAIDERS "Beginning...the Saga of the Star Raiders!" Part 3

When Last We Left Jed, Tommy, and Ezikial...

...oh, the heck with it, read Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE!
Then come back and enjoy the mayhem!














Written by Eliiot S! Maggin and beautifully-painted by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, this never-reprinted 1983 graphic novel was apparently-meant as the original follow-up to the previous Atari Force mini-comics which were included with video game cartridges!
None of these characters ever reappeared in the later Atari Force series, though more of the cute aliens created for the Atari Force mini-series, the Hukkas, appear here.

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