Wednesday Worlds of Wonder CLAWFANG THE BARBARIAN

Here's a one-time World of Wonder for you before the New Year!

(BTW, isn't it weird how most fictional barbarians have a "hard C" or "hard K" name...Conan, Crom, ClawFang, Claw, Kull, Kothar, Kyrik, etc.)

We'll never know, since this was ClawFang's only published adventure!

A cool mix of sf/fantasy genres written and laid-out by Wally Wood with pencils and inks by Al Williamson, appearing in Harvey's Unearthly Spectaculars #2 (1966), part of a short-lived line of action/adventure comics produced by Harvey Comics in the mid-1960s.

Oddly, while there were numerous "jungle hero/heroine" strips and books with sci-fi/fantasy elements, Clawfang was only the second actual barbarian strip in comics history, after Crom...which was also from Harvey Comics!

Five years later, Marvel would launch Conan the Barbarian, and suddenly, an entire new genre bloomed in comics with almost every publisher launching at least one barbarian-themed comic!
Speaking of which...

The "barbarian in a post-apocalyptic future Earth" concept is an oft-used trope in sci-fi/fantasy...

...from ClawFang to Teenage Caveman to BlackMark to Kamandi to Killraven: Warrior of the Worlds to Lost World (from Fiction House's Planet Comics) to IronJaw, to Talos of the Wilderness Sea,  to Planet of the Apes (Yes, PotA qualifies since mankind is reduced to primitives) to Thundarr the Barbarian to Yor: Hunter from the Future, scantly-clad heroes using primitive weapons against super-science and/or sorcery in a devastated world has proven to be a popular trope in various media, not just print.

Join us next Wednesday as we begin our re-presentation of one of the best (though least-known) series featuring this concept...

Wolff the Barbarian

by

Esteban Maroto, Sadko, and Laurence James

Reading Room UNEARTHLY SPECTACULARS "Saucerer"

The 1960s were a weird period in comics (and pop culture in general)...

...as this camp-fest from the "Swinging Sixties" amply demonstrates!

BTW, could you guess that the creators were both middle-aged guys whose exposure to "rock-n-roll" was through their kids (more likely, their grand-kids)?

Yep!

Written by long-time sci-fi and comics author Otto Binder (born 1911), and illustrated by Golden and Silver Age artist Carl Pfeufer (born 1910), this never-reprinted two-pager appeared in the back of Harvey's Unearthly Spectaculars #3 (1967)!.

In point of fact, most Silver Age creators were 40 (or over)!

In comparison, today's comic creators are mostly in their 20s and early 30s...and judging from their output, I'm wondering if that's such a good thing...

Reading Room: UNEARTHLY SPECTACULARS "Hidden World"

"Men in Black" were here long before the 1990s comic (much less the movies)...

...as this never-reprinted story from Harvey's Unearthly Spectaculars #1 (1965) by Doug (Jonny Quest) Wildey shows!

The story was probably part of the inventory of material left over by the cancellation of Race for the Moon in 1960.
After all, in 1965, Wildey was far too busy working on both Jonny Quest, and the Marvel Super-Heroes animated series in California to do comic book work in NYC!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Order...

Sci-Fi Art: a Graphic History

Space Hero Saturdays UNEARTHLY SPECTACULARS "EarthMan"

"What if Superman had been a Terran marooned on another world..."

...and what if he lost his memory?"

On a koolness scale from 1-10, this tale rates an "11".

Unfortunately, there was never a sequel to this story from Harvey's Unearthly Spectaculars #2 (1966), so we'll never know if EarthMan got his memory back or not!

Written, penciled, and inked by Wally Wood, who apparently had some interesting variations on the theme planned, but never had the opportunity to carry them out.

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics!

Visit Amazon and Order...

Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

Reading Room: UNEARTHLY SPECTACULARS 3 Rocketeers "Invincible Eranus"

I can just envision the really-bad jokes about that title...

...but, I can assure you this is a deadly serious matter, space cadets!

Written by noted sci fi novelist Otto Binder (who wrote over 3,000 comics scripts) and illustrated by Golden and Silver Age workhorses Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia, this tale of time and space was the next-to-last 3 Rocketeers story published.

We already ran the final one (out of publication order) HERE.

Visit our

The Future WAS Fantastic!

Comics Collectibles Store!

Reading Room: UNEARTHLY SPECTACULARS "How the 3 Rocketeers Teamed Up!"

Everybody who reads comics likes a good origin story...

...unfortunately, this particular tale ain't one of them, bunky!

Uhhh...yeah...OK...

Written by noted sci fi novelist Otto Binder (who wrote over 3,000 comics scripts) and illustrated by Golden and Silver Age workhorses Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia, this reboot of the series in Harvey's UnEarthly Spectaculars #2 (1967) was not inventory from unpublished 1950s Race for the Moon material, but a new tale commissioned during Harvey's brief 1960s fling with non-humor comics.

Be here tomorrow for the final tale in our re-presentation of the 3 Rocketeers saga...

Visit our

The Future WAS Fantastic!

Comics Collectibles Store!

Reading Room: UNEARTHLY SPECTACULARS 3 Rocketeers "1...2...3...Infinity!"

Though the 3 Rocketeers were originally-set in the "day after tomorrow"...

...and based on the Moon, by the end of their too-brief run, they were traveling to other planets on a regular basis!

Written by noted sci fi novelist Otto Binder (who wrote over 3,000 comics scripts) and illustrated by Golden and Silver Age workhorse Bill Draut, the Rocketeers' final appearance in Harvey's UnEarthly Spectaculars #3 (1967) was not inventory from unpublished 1950s Race for the Moon material, but a new tale commissioned during Harvey's brief 1960s fling with non-humor comics.

Visit our

The Future WAS Fantastic!

Comics Collectibles Store!