Wednesday Worlds of Wonder BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR "Test Pilot"

We Have Already Seen...

...note that, at this point, the story has diverged from the novel.

Howard Chaykin assumes this art duties for this issue, continuing the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' only "hard sci-fi" story (as compared to the "scientific romances" of John Carter and Carson of Venus) with this fast-paced, never-reprinted installment from DC's Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle #216 (1973).
The question is...who scripted it?
Various sources attribute either Marv Wolfman or Denny O'Neil, with no definitive answer available.

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Beyond the Farthest Star

by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Reading Room STRANGE ADVENTURES "Winner"

In the early 1970s, DC experiemented with pulp-style illustrated prose tales...

...in genre (sci-fi, horror, western, and romance) titles!

Written by Denny O'Neil, and rendered in retro 1950s Buck Rogers style...

...by Murphy Anderson, this never-reprinted text feature from DC's Strange Adventures #227 (1971) seems more a tribute to classic 1940s-50s "hard" sci-fi pulps instead of a then-current "new wave" science fiction tale!

Murphy seemed to be DC's "go-to" guy when they needed retro-style material in the 1960s-70s!

He was the artist for Silver Age revival try-outs of Golden Age characters in Brave & Bold (Starman & Black Canary) and Showcase (Dr Fate & HourMan and The Spectre), as well as the first few issues of The Spectre's own Silver Age title!

Anderson was also the initial artist on DC's Bronze Age version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars, as well as filing-in where needed on other Burroughs strips including Korak and Beyond the Farthest Star!

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics

Monday Madness FANTASTIC COMICS "Space Smith vs the Interstellar Insurance Pirates"

Yeah, I know the title's a little...weird...

...but, it'll make sense by the end of the story, I promise!

This never-reprinted story from Fox's Fantastic Comics #15 (1941) points out that, just as man's virtues will follow us into space, so will our vices!

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Science Fiction Comics
Taylor History of Comics
Vol 3

This Was "Shark Week" LONG BEFORE There WAS "Shark Week"!

Wonder what this psychedelic early-1960s shark image is all about?

You'll find out...if you click HERE!

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Shark Week

Dominating the Deep

Reading Room STRANGE ADVENTURES "Science-Fiction Convention on Mars!"

You gotta ask: how can three of the best creatives of the Silver Age of Comics...

...make such an exciting concept so dull?

Writer Gardner Fox, penciler Gil Kane, and inker Joe Giella (together and seperately) produced some of the koolest tales of the Silver Age!

Yet, this story from DC's Strange Adventures #73 (1956) almost put me to sleep!

The premise is great, the concepts are well-thought out, but the rendering of it is...well...drab!

Why aren't the Martians more visually-interesting?

They're just bald guys!

Couldn't they be using disguises (either masks or holograms) while on Earth and then reveal themselves to be Martians when the convention-goers arrive on Mars?

It's not like penciler Gil Kane has any problem with rendering kool-looking humanoid aliens, as shown HERE!

And would it have killed them to give the creatives an extra page?

Jamming in all that exposition into the last page really limited Gil into what he could present.

(Remember, DC worked "full script", so Kane knew how much room the captions and dialogue balloons needed to take!)

Using two pages for that last sequence would've helped enormously!

And what about the weird rays that destroy any spaceships?

Natural?

Artificial?

We'll never know...

In comparison, this tale from Dell's Four Color #1288: Twilight Zone has a less-epic, but much more "fun" feel to it!

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Showcase Presents

Strange Adventures

Volume 1

(which reprints this tale...but in black and white)