Best of Reading Room: WEIRD THRILLERS "Cycle of Time"

With the revived popularity of dinosaurs due to the new movie Jurassic World...

...we're re-presenting one of our favorite stories; a sci-fi triple-treat: time travel, aliens, and dinosaurs!

Illustrated by Murphy Anderson, who was doing quite a bit of work for ZD including the second issue of Space Busters and both issues of Lars of Mars as well as various one-shots like this one from the HTF Ziff-Davis' anthology Weird Thrillers #2 (1951)!.

We don't know who wrote this tale, but it might be series editor Jerry (Superman) Siegel.

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Reading Room KIDNAPPED BY A SPACE SHIP "Part 2 - Red Menace!"

We Have Already Seen...

Despite the miscolored hair and clothing, this is Jean Martin and Tom Pratt on the cover.

...in the far-flung future of 1970 (Well, it was "far-flung" when this story was published in 1959!)

Tween-ager Jean Martin and her friend, Tom Pratt, are given a tour of experimental spaceship "Starlight II" by Jean's father, Colonel Martin, the ship's pilot.

The doors suddenly snap shut and the shop lifts off!

(Note: this is one time the kids didn't accidentally hit a switch or button, as usually happens in these stories!)

So why is this chapter called "Red Menace"?
Since there aren't any Communists in this tale from Treasure Chest V14N12 (1959), I'm presuming that one of the two celestial bodies they're approaching is red!

We'll see which one they land on when the story continues next Monday!

Writer Frances Crandall followed the accepted concepts of space travel postulated by scientist Wener Von Braun and, illustrated by Chesley Bonestell in various books and magazines like Conquest of Space, and popularized in numerous 1950s movies like Destination Moon and Angry Red Planet!

Artist Fran Matera was also the art director/art editor for Treasure Chest, but is best known for his long run on the Steve Roper and Mike Nomad newspaper strip.

Salute the Star-Spangled Banner on Flag Day!

Design of the Week: DINOSAUR!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another.
This week, we ask the question: What kid doesn't love dinosaurs?
The idea of being a huge, unstoppable creature rampaging, devouring, and stepping on everything and everybody in your path has an undeniable appeal to little ones, who usually feel helpless in a world too big for them! (Why do you think the new Jurassic World flick had such a great opening day or that Godzilla is still going strong after 50 years?)
This week we say...

Dinosaurs!
Once they ruled the planet!
Now they'll dominate your wardrobe!

Available on t-shirts, mugs, and all sorts of kool kollectibles!

Snap them up...before they snap you up!

Reading Room LARS OF MARS "Crucial Game"

Even a Martian pretending to be a TV actor playing a Martian reveres the Great American Pastime...

...and won't allow anybody to sully or demean the sport's image...even if it means cheating to do so!

The ends justify the means even if it involves alien manipulation of peoples' minds, eh?
Great lesson for kids.
Written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, illustrated by noted DC Comics artist Murphy Anderson, this tale appeared in Ziff-Davis' Lars of Mars #11 (1951), the second (and last issue) of the series!
Considering the moral lessons the series taught, perhaps it was for the best...