It's the 30th Anniversary of the SECRET CITY SAGA!!!

30 years ago this month...

..., the final project Jack Kirby launched before his untimely passing appeared at Topps Comics!

Utilizing themes and designs he had never allowed to be used by other publishers, Kirby worked with editor Jim Salicrup and writer Roy Thomas to develop a "KirbyVerse" incorporating various concepts into a cohesive storyline.

Numerous high-profile creators along with established Silver Age (and even a couple of Golden Age) talents jumped on-board to participate in the world-building!

These three characters were the protagonists...

...and you'll see their never-reprinted story right here beginning tomorrow, and running though several RetroBlogs for the next couple of months!
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Kirby: Genesis
A retelling of elements of the Secret City Saga which also combines other Kirby projects like Galaxy Green, Captain Victory and Silver Star!

Space Hero Saturdays FLICK FALCON IN THE FOURTH DIMENSION "To Mars and Back"

You know the scientist-hero of this strip is stark-raving bonkers...

...when, after seeing a test item come back through his teleporter inside-out, he leaps into the device!

This premiere tale from Fox's Fantastic Comics #1 (1939) ends right there.

No "To Be Continued" caption or anything else.

The next page begins another strip, Sub Saunders.

But fear not, Flick Falcon will return for 20 more issues of Fantastic Comics!
Unlike Brick Bradford or Doctor Who, both of whom used other people's tech to jaunt around the Universe (and eventually the Multiverse), Flick created his own mode of travel, avoiding tedious (and dangerous) interplanetary travel by ship.
BTW, "Orville Wells" was a pen-name, probably inspired by Orson Welles, who had, only a few months before, panicked America with the legendary War of the Worlds radio show.
The artist (and probably writer) was Don Rico, who would become one of the premier creatives working in 1940s-50s comics before turning to writing novels.
(You can read one of his wildest comic tales HERE!)
Unlike contemporary Fletcher Hanks, whose Stardust and Space Smith strips also premiered in this issue, Rico's never received the attention and acclaim his equally-offbeat work deserves.
(That's not to put-down Hanks in any way.
His wild creations are equally as deserving of critical study by aficionados of sci-fi/fantasy.)
BTW, this never-reprinted tale was Rico's very first published comics work.

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Science Fiction Comics

Taylor History of Comics

Vol 3

Friday Fun TRUMP "Common Cold"

Long before a putz named Donald made the word a world-wide punchline...

...there was a humor magazine with this name published by Hugh (Playboy) Hefner.

Illustrated by Al Jaffee and likely written by editor Harvey Kurtzman, Jaffee himself (who was also serving as assistant editor), or Will Elder, this two-pager from #1 (1957) was a typical example of the high level of humor the creators (who had just left MAD) were capable of!

Though sales were decent, unrelated financial problems caused Hefner to cancel the title with #2 (and all other non-Playboy projects at that point in time.
Needless to say, Hugh overcame this temporary fiscal setback to create a world-wide publishing empire!
Kurtzman and Elder continued to do projects with Hefner, the best-known being Little Annie Fanny!
And, sadly, Al Jaffee, who's best-known for creating MAD Magazine's MAD Fold-In back cover feature passed away this week.

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Sincerest Form of Parody

Tales Twice Told TALES OF VOODOO "Devil's Machine"

If you're a faithful reader, you've already seen the 1950s version of this story on Tuesday!

Now here's a retitled, redrawn (and only slightly rewritten) retelling from Eerie Publications' Tales of Voodoo V4N5 (1971)!

Why was the story redrawn when so little was changed from one version to another?
It's not like they made it even more gruesome...as some of Eerie Publications' reworkings did, since they weren't under Comics Code Authority restraints like color comic book were!
Note: illustrator Walter Casadei started his career as a humor and "good girl" artist.

But when he proved he could handle any genre, Walter's assignments became predominantly horror/sci-fi!

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The Worst of Eerie Publications

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder MERCHANTS OF VENUS Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

Charming, rougish (yet honest) tour guide Audree Walthers is engaged by a rich couple to visit (hopefully) untouched Heechee archeological sites on Venus, hoping to find artifacts.

(The Heechee were the inhabitants of the planet, but none are currently known to be alive, so their cities and habitats are considered "abandoned" and legally-salvageble!)

Things take an unexpected turn when Audree discovers his clients are, in fact, totally-broke and hope to cash in on Heechee artifacts he'll lead them to.
But would that mean cutting him out of their contracted profit-sharing deal...

...one way or another?

Sadly, DC's Graphic Novel Series ended before a sequel, based on Frederik Pohl's then-ongoing Heechee series, could be developed!

If you haven't read it, you should...because the Heechee aren't gone!

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Gateway Trip

Tales and Vignettes of the Heechee

by Frederik Pohl

(which reprints Merchants of Venus and adds nine new short stories all illustrated by the legendary Frank Kelly Freas!)