Number 2343: Wallace Wood in the Stone Age

I believe that Wallace Wood drew better when he got a story he was interested in drawing. This story, “The Lost Kingdom of Athala” is one of those. It has a prehistoric setting, it has a beautiful girl in an abbreviated animal skin. And it even has a Wood-version of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I read it, but I more-or-less dismissed the story to look at the artwork.

However, during a second look I did read it, and note, this is a spoiler: sexy Rhoa, the cavewoman ruler, says she wants to be like other girls of leading man Jack Rance’s world. I doubt she’ll be thinking that when she gets to that era in the time machine Jack and his young friend traveled in. She just doesn’t fit into that early '50s era, when women were expected to be in the kitchen or taking care of the kids. And speaking of time machines, that odd-looking mechanical device looks clunky to me, not as sleek as the devices we are used to seeing Wood draw.

The story was printed originally in Strange Worlds #4, an Avon comic from 1951. My scans came from a 1958 IW reprint, Strange Planets #9.

Number 1591: Earth people good, space people bad

After surviving the shock of Wednesday’s post with the devious Earthmen preying on the innocents of another planet, we get back to fare we are more used to. When it comes to people who live on other planets we are xenophobic. We’re xenophobic with those who live on our own planet as well, but here we have alien stand-ins. Tradition in science fiction returns: we are the good guys, they are not.

The two stories today come from Avon’s Strange Worlds #7 (1952). Gene Fawcette signed “The Space Gods of Planetoid 50”, but the artist(s) of “Sabotage on Space Station 1” gets a “?” from the GCD.

This ends our week of skiffy stories.

Number 685


The Hot Flame Goddess!


Until I saw this story, attributed by the Grand Comics Database to Sid Greene, I didn't realize Sid could draw such great-looking babes.

My familiarity with Greene, besides one Target story I showed in Pappy's #540, is from the Silver Age science fiction he did at DC, like this story from Pappy's #527, and for various inking jobs which I thought were very distinctive.

Shelia is a sexy chick in a pin-up fan's delight of a story. From Avon's Strange Worlds #3, 1951.

Number 462


What the Heck...?


I like the job Don Heck did on this well-drawn strip. It's obvious he put a lot of work into this five-pager from Strange Worlds #1, 1958. You'll probably recognize the last panel of this story It's a tale told in various forms over the years, with the same punchline.

I've now posted all of the stories from Strange Worlds #1, which was the reintroduction of the old Atlas line after a hiatus of over a year, when publisher Martin Goodman sold his Atlas distributing company.

Number 430


I Am Robot


"I am robot hear me roar, in numbers too big to ignore..."

Oh, sorry...that ungodly croaking you hear is just me singing. The title of this story reminds me of an old song.

"I Am Robot" is from Strange Worlds #1, December 1958. It was the first comic published after the 1957 implosion of what was formerly Atlas Comics . Publisher Martin Goodman sold his Atlas distributing company, then made a deal with DC Comics for distribution of his comic books. It was a deal with conditions, like limiting how many comic books he could publish per month.

The story is drawn, according to the Grand Comics Database, by Bob Powell and Joe Sinnott. It was a nice pairing of styles, and I wish there were more stories from this team. If there are I'm not aware of them. Oddly, the usually knowledgeable Atlas Tales web site gives no credits for the artwork.

It has a typical Stan Lee plot device, something he used a lot. Aliens invade earth, and the first thing they encounter gives them some sort of resistance. They assume the whole earth is like that so they leave. They traveled unknown hundreds or thousands of light years, have technology far in advance of ours, yet when their first attempt doesn't work they are too stupid to try something else. Uh-huh. We buy that.

Number 391

The scourge of Atlantis


Dick Ayers returns to Pappy's with a soggy tale from Strange Worlds #2 from 1959. Strange Worlds was the first title published after a hiatus when Martin Goodman, publisher, sold his Atlas Distribution company, then had to seek distribution from his competition, DC Comics. Strange Worlds is post-Atlas, but pre-Marvel Comics. "I Am The Scourge Of Atlantis" is obviously not part of the Sub-Mariner/Marvel Universe. It owes its ending to "Ping Pong" in Mad. Oops. Should I have posted a SPOILER ALERT tag before telling you that?

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This is one of those novelty company ads from comic books. Some of these items seem almost terroristic: Hot Seat! Sneezing Powder! Itching Powder! Exploding fountain pen! How about scaring the crap out of your parents with a hypo needle that seems to plunge into your arm? "Mom! Dad! Watch me jolt up some heroin, yok yok!" Weapons of mass destruction: a sling shot with "riflelike accuracy. Excellent for targets or small game." Balanced throwing knives...little brothers watch out. You will be a target.

Of course we have the famous X-Ray Specs and "Throw Your Voice" gizmo. I'm sure plenty of kids threw them down in disgust when they realized they'd been duped.

Nowadays we need stuff like Fake Muslim Beard, Exploding Cell Phone, Shoe With Fuse. Real laugh-out-loud fun stuff.