Number 2059: Boy Commando rides a flying saucer

It has been 70 years since pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing unidentified flying objects over Mount Rainier in Washington State, beginning the flying saucer craze. This story, “Invasion From Out of Space,” comes along relatively early after the first flap of UFO sightings, from Boy Commandos #26, cover dated March-April 1948, which means it appeared on newsstands in January 1948.

And not just flying saucers; the writer figured he might as well throw in Martians stealing Earth’s water,* giant robots, and a pill-sized atom bomb to end the story. Oh, and Commando Brooklyn rides a flying saucer. Not ride in a flying saucer, mind you. It was while reading that part of the story that I came to expect the last panel would be Brooklyn waking up from a dream caused by a heavy meal before bedtime. It may look like a dream, but it’s not.

*Those darn aliens are still after our water! This is from a Cheerios giveaway Justice League comic published this year:

Grand Comics Database credits Curt Swan and John Fischetti with the artwork, but no dreamer is listed as author.

In 1947 the Boy Commandos went to the moon! Just click on the thumbnail.