Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Reading Room "Our Amazing Universe"

Sometimes I wonder if Wikipedia contributors learned their science from pages like this...
For example, the item about the Moon is false.
Besides revolving around the Earth, the Moon rotates.
And a jet plane could never reach the Moon, since (unlike a rocket) it needs air to function, and there's no air in space!
If you read Ziff-Davis' Lars of Mars #11 (1951) you would have learned these "facts".

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Reading Room EERIE ADVENTURES "Vampires from Venus"

It's hot and steamy outside...
...perfect weather for a tale about an invasion by aliens from a hot and steamy planet!
This 1951 tale combining Triffids (from the novel Day of the Triffids which had just been published) and vampires (with their classic weakness, sunlight) from the Ziff-Davis one-shot Eerie Adventures was illustrated by Bob Powell and Howard Nostrand.
The writer is unknown.

Eerie Adventures used leftover material from the recently-cancelled Amazing Adventures with an attempt to market it as horror rather than sci-fi/fantasy.
Only one issue was published as the title was dropped by Ziff-Davis to avoid legal action by Avon who already had an ongoing Eerie comics title.
ZD then did a Weird Adventures one-shot, which sold well, but discovered there was already a title with the same name from PL Publishing which debuted the month before!
So ZD retitled their book Weird Thrillers, before PL could take legal action.
The series ran five more issues before the Dr Wertham-led Seduction of the Innocent witch-hunt forced the cancellation of almost all horror-related comic books.
(Ironically, the PL series only ran two more issues before the entire company folded.)

Monday, July 21, 2014

Reading Room "Peek into the Future"

What did the near future of 2014 (or so) look like to readers of the 1950s?
Pretty much like this never-reprinted page from Ziff-Davis' Crusader from Mars #1 (1952)!
You'll note none of the predictions have come to pass...though the last one about cars is in the development stage!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Happy 45th Anniversary, Apollo 11!

In the 1940s (and before), we dreamed of meeting (and battling) aliens...
...In the 1950s, we feared meeting (and battling) Commies...
...when we actually got to the Moon in 1969, thankfully, there was nothing to fear (or fight)!
Happy 45th Anniversary!