Reading Room: SPACE SQUADRON "Invaders"

Before Speed Carter, Atlas' resident space hero was Jet Dixon...

...leader of the circa-2000 Space Squadron in the 1951-52 series of the same name!

I'm still waiting on my flying car, much less interplanetary travel...

This premiere story from Space Squadron #1 was illustrated by George Tuska who later became the final artist on the original Buck Rogers comic strip (1959-67) and then assumed the art duties for almost a decade on Marvel's Invincible Iron Man!

The writer is unknown, but the scripting is clearly more simplistic and juvenile-oriented than the relatively more-sophisticated Speed Carter several years later.

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Design of the Week Redux--Love at the Beach

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week, due to great sales, we repeat our popular sumertime design...with the beginning of the season of fun at the beach, here's a kool retro romance comic design on everything from beach blankets to t-shirts, to tote bags!
Summer's gonna be hot, Hot, HOT!

YOU can be the Fighting Yank on Flag Day (or at least wear his uniforn shirt)!

With Flag Day approaching, why not adopt the vintage look of one of the most patriotic superheroes of World War II, the Fighting Yank (now appearing in Project SuperPowers), by wearing his uniform shirt emblazoned with a 1940s period-accurate 48-star flag unfurling proudly on the chest (Remember, Hawaii and Alaska didn't become states until the late 1950s!) and a tiny official Lost Heroes logo on the back collar area (where it won't be seen under your cape!).

Available as a sweatshirt or long-sleeve t-shirt, depending on how much padding you feel you need to achieve the "heroic" look you want.
Tricorn hat and knickers not included.
But a sport jacket or denim jacket might go better with it...

And, we offer the usual assortment of other kool kollectibles like Mugs, Messenger Bags, Magnets, etc. with the unfurled Old Glory fluttering proudly...

Reading Room: SPEED CARTER: SPACEMAN "Famous Explorers: Mercury"

Remember when, in 2005, we landed on Mercury?

Me neither.

But, it must have happened, since it's history!

Look! I'll prove it...

See?

Told ya!

Writer Hank Chapman and artists Bill Benulis & Jack Abel wouldn't lie to us!

Chapman, who wrote the entire Speed Carter series, apparently wanted to emulate writers like E.E. "Doc" Smith and Issac Asimov in creating a cohesive universe with an established backstory.

Today, it's more or less standard practice for any ongoing series in print, movies, or tv, but back then, it was far from the norm.

This story from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #2 (1953) references the previous Famous Explorers tale in it's first paragraph, mentioning James Carter and the exploration of Venus.
(Though saying Carter "discovered" Venus was inaccurate.)

Note: the astronauts in this story, which takes place three generations in the "past" of Speed Carter, have different uniforms and lower-end technology than what's shown in the Speed Carter tales.

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Reading Room: "Space Speedsters"

Combine When Worlds Collide, Damon Runyon's Broadway tales, Flash Gordon, and Front Page...

...and you get this really-weird one-shot tale!

So, we got...Armageddon, gangsters, intrepid spacemen (and women) and spaceships, newspaper reporters, and some comedy relief.

Did I miss anything?

This never-reprinted tale from Black Terror #23 (1948) seems like part of an ongoing series, but I can't find any other stories featuring the lead characters!

Illustrator (and possible writer) Stan Asch was one of the steadily-working artists who were the backbone of the comics industry in the Golden Age.

With over 300 stories and covers to his credit, he co-created Johnny Thunder and Dr Mid-Nite for DC Comics, and assisted both Milton Caniff (on Terry and the Pirates) and Al Capp (on Lil' Abner) during his long career.

Was this a try-out for an onoging series that didn't sell?

We'll never know...

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