Friday Fun FAIRY TALES "Gingerbread Boy"

Finishing off the last of my delicious Christmas gingerbread cookies while sitting at the computer...

...inspired me to run this never-reprinted story from Ziff-Davis' Fairy Tales #11 (1951).
Note: the cover contains a spoiler!

This is not so much a fairy tale as a folk tale or fable.

In most versions it's a fox who carries the Gingerbread Boy across the river and devours him!

The comic strip's art is by Leon Winik, who probably also did the cover, which matches the third panel on the final page above perfectly!

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Reading Room LOST WORLDS "Quest of the Chlorophyl Monsters"

Before reading this story, lots of kids didn't know what "chlorophyl" was...

...and to think some say comic books aren't educational!

This scientifically-semi-accurate tale from Standard's Lost Worlds #5 (1952) was penciled by Jack Katz and inked by Aldo "Al" Rubano.
(A traveling planet's surface would freeze during the periods it was in interstellar space, making it unusable for growing plants.
Plus, in deep space, the mobile world wouldn't receive enough sunlight to stimulate the chlorophyll in plants to function.
Theoretically, the aliens could use hydroponic gardens with artificially-produced "sunlight" in caverns inside the planet, but that's not mentioned in the story.)
The writer is unknown.

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder ATARI FORCE "Chapter Two: Deadly Orbit!"

We Have Already Seen...

In the year 2005, the Atari Institute is infiltrated by a black-clad female martial-artist with an Irish accent.
Meanwhile, Astronaut Martin Champion and Dr Lucas Orion are summoned to the Institute by Assistant Director Lydia Perez.
En route, Champion tells Dr Orion how he met Perez years ago...

We'll find out more next week, when Champion and Orion enter...

Final Approach!

Plotted by Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway with Conway doing the script, this first "issue" of Atari Force (published in 1982) introduces us to the devastated Earth of 2005 and the group that will eventually become "Atari Force", with flashbacks about most of them.

Illustrated by Ross Andru (pencils) and Dick Giordano & Mike DeCarlo (inks), the premiere had a slick, clean, highly-professional look.

Join us next week as we probe further into both the fictional and real-life worlds of Atari Force!

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Reading Room OUTER SPACE "Planet Which Had Everything--Almost!"

Here's a tale that takes a concept from one of H.G. Wells' novels...

...a concept which was based on real-life events from Earth's history!

Yep, it's the classic ending from War of the Worlds!

Note: The movie version of Wells' First Men in the Moon also incorporates the "germs kill aliens who haven't been exposed to them" concept, but it's not in the original novel!

As to real-life, European settlers inadvertently brought a plague to North America and caused an epidemic that decimated a number of native tribes that had contact with them.

While the writer of this tale from Charlton's Outer Space #1 (1968) is unknown to me, the art is by Charles Nicholas and Vince Alascia.

Monday Madness FANTASTIC "Deadly Doodles of Dandy!"

One of the funkiest versions of the "Everything I write comes to life!" concept...

...is this tormenting tale from Youthful's Fantastic #9 (1952)!

While the writer is unknown, the art is by Edwin Goldfarb and Bob Baer...or is it?
Oddly, the duo of Goldfarb and Baer poped up all over the place, always working together.
Yet the quality of their art fluctuated wildly from barely competent to superb!
This story has a lot of the stylistic hallmarks of both Mike Sekowsky and Carmine Infantino, while the inking looks a helluva lot like Frank Giacoia.
Were "Goldfarb & Baer" pen-names?
We may never know!
Note: For January, we're taking our leave of Mars-based stories, since our buddy at Rip Jagger's Dojo is doing a month-long look at the various renditions of life on the Red Planet...and how it affects life on our world!
We'll make a decision at the beginning of February as to what direction our Monday feature will take.
In the meantime, we're restoring the "Madness" aspect to this weekly feature!
Enjoy!

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