Monday Madness: FLYING SAUCERS x FOUR #1 "Secret of the Flying Saucer!"

In the old days (pre-Silver Age), comic books recycled plots every few years...

Art by Bill Everett

...since the editors believed the target audience changed every few years!

This month, Monday Madness will look at how a specific concept was re-used for over a decade by one publisher.

Exhibit #1 is this tale...

Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Fred Kida, this never-reprinted, pre-Comics Code tale from Atlas' Men's Adventures #21 (1953) is definitely more "horror" than "sci-fi".

That's to be expected since this was the era of horror comics' greatest popularity, before the Congressional witchhunts and claims of comics causing juvenile delinquency.

Stan Lee would reuse the concept of a sentient spaceship meeting hapless humans several more times...as we shall see

Next Monday!

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Science Fiction Comics

Taylor History of Comics

Vol 3

Happy New Year's Day!

Action Comics #81. Art by Wayne Boring & Stan Kaye
One of the coolest New Year's Eve/New Year's Day covers ever!

Space Hero Saturdays CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT "Trip to the Moon!"

We've already-seen multi-media star Captain Midnight in outer space...

...so let's join him as he returns to the dark depths for a never-reprinted adventure!

Though this tale from Fawcett's Captain Midnight #49 (1947) wasn't the cover feature, the sci-fi oriented stories would soon come to dominate the book's editorial orientation....as you'll see next year!

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Captain Midnight Archives

Volume 2

Captain Midnight Saves the World!

(...which doesn't include the story we presented here!)

Friday Fun MARVIN MOUSE "Shoe-In"

The late Stan (the Man) Lee wrote numerous graphic story classics!

This ain't one of them, but it does show off his "Catskill comic" (aka vaudville) sense of humor!

A caption at the end of the book read "And remember, every issue Marvin Mouse magazine brings you the best in laughs, adventure, and fun ... don't miss a single issue!"

No problem!

The book ended up a one-shot and the already-completed material intended for #2 became filler in the backs of other humor titles.

(Editor Stan Lee was very frugal and didn't let anything go to waste!)
Most of the never-reprinted Atlas' Marvin Mouse #1 (1957) consisted of single-page or half-page Marvin Mouse features plus a Dippy Duck story.
There was another multi-page Marvin tale, which we presented HERE!
Note: Dippy Duck was another funny animal comic written by Stan Lee launched at the same time...which also lasted only one issue!
Hey, they can't all be hits!

Robot Reading Room TALES OF SUSPENSE "Robot Hater!"

The third variation on the "robot saves human despite mistrust" theme...

...as shown HERE and HERE, shares both plotter and artist in common with one of the other tales!

Technically, the pilot is an android, not a robot.

Illustrator Paul Reinman, also rendered the Xmas-themed "It Walks Like a Man!" which was plotted, like this story from Atlas' Tales of Suspense #3 (1959), by Stan Lee!
There are several more Atlas/Marvel stories with this same concept.
Would you like to see them?

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Marvel MasterWorks
Atlas-Era Tales of Suspense
Volume 1