Space Force Saturdays INTERPLANETARY POLICE "Rumpus on Rex" Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Heroes...

The Space Siren plans to mine the valuable newly-discovered mineral Taganium, found only on asteroid Rex.

However, she lacks transport for the bulky metal.

So, she steals several freighters from a starbase on Venus.

However, Captain Bruce Warren of the InterPlanetary Police has tracked her to Rex, found the stolen ships, and radioed for backup.

Enraged, Tanya attacks Warren's ship and a space dogfight ensues...

Why is it good guys in comics are so hot for bad girls? (Batman/Catwoman)

But good girls tend to be attracted to really dull good boys? (Wonder Woman/Steve Trevor)

This high-adventure story from Buster Brown Comic Book #30 (1953) was written by Hobart Donovan, penciled by Reed Crandall, and inked by Ray Willner.

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

Friday Fun MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN "...Meets Boris Karload, Master of Horror"

For decades, he was the actor you thought of when you heard "Frankenstein"...

...so it seems obvious that this was a team-up waiting to happen!

Of course, they had to use a variation of his name, but we know who he is...

Now, on with the show...

Believe it or not, the writer/artist of this version of Frankie (call him "Mark 2") is the same guy who did the later, horrific, version ("Mark 3") you saw HERE!

This tale, from Prize's Frankenstein #11 (1948), shows not only the now-friendly Monster, but members of his supporting cast.

Makes you wonder if the creators of The Munsters didn't read this book when they were kids...

Next Week: More Horrifying Humor!

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Frankenstein
The Mad Science of Dick Briefer

Reading Room STRANGE TALES OF THE UNUSUAL "Moving Stairs!"

Finding a never-reprinted Steve Ditko tale is exciting...

...especially one with both an atypical illustration style and a Twilight Zone-type "gotcha" ending!

One of the reasons Stan Lee turned the Spider-Man assignment over to Ditko rather than Jack Kirby, was Ditko's knack for rendering individuals as less "idealized" and "heroic" and more "everyman" than Kirby.

Nowhere is that more evident than this never-reprinted story from Atlas' Strange Tales of the Unusual #4 (1956)!

The people are more detailed and exaggerated than usual, almost to the point of caricature, but it works in context.

Though the writer is unknown, it's likely editor Stan Lee or his brother, Larry Lieber.

And, to answer an obvious question, no, the book is not Strange Tales, which ended up introducing both Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts and Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Strange Tales began in 1951 and ran for 168 issues until 1968 when it became Doctor Strange.

Strange Tales of the Unusual began in 1955 and was cancelled in 1957 after only 11 issues.

Note for the completists among you: Strange Tales was revived in 1973, continuing from #169 onward for another 20 issues...

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Amazing Adult Fantasy Omnibus

...which features nothing but kool Steve Ditko art!

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder TALOS OF THE WILDERNESS SEA "to the Wilderness Sea" Part 1

Welcome to the future...

...which looks a lot like the past, as shown in heroic fantasy fiction, in both prose and graphic novel form!

The story continues...next Wednesday!

Riding high on the success of the Sword of the Atom mini-series and follow-up annuals which re-imagined the hard sci-fi character in a barbarian adventure setting, Gil Kane (along with collaborator Jan Strnad) was given the go-ahead for another high-adventure series, this time based on a new character.

Planned as a 12-issue mini-series, cutbacks at DC dictated that the already-penciled and scripted first two issues be combined into a one-shot whose sales would determine if the project would continue.

Unfortunately, the unfamiliar character didn't attract a large enough audience (as The Atom had), and only the single, open-ended issue came about.

BTW, if you're thinking the plotline seems familiar, It's because Kane based it on the Biblical tale of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt, transposed into a barbaric future!

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Blackmark

by Gil Kane

One of the first true graphic novels

Reading Room OUT OF THIS WORLD "Antique Collectors"

What's "antique" really depends on your point of view...

...as this tiny tale (from 1959) demonstrates!

Cars from 1959 are extremely collectible now, and it's only 62 years later!

Both the writer and artist of this story from Charlton's Out of This World #13 (1959) are, sadly, unknown.

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics