Number 784


Science Fiction Week: Three by Two


Science Fiction Week continues with this entry from the waning days of World War II, and the inimitable Planet Comics.

When the guys were at war, the gals helped by stepping in. That was true with Rosie the Riveter, her part in war production, and to a much lesser degree in comics. Some of the women who got into the male bastion of comic books during this time drew as well as, if not better, than many of the men. These three stories, "The Lost World" by Lily Reneé, "Mysta Of the Moon," and "Gale Allen" by Fran Hopper, are good examples.

After the war Lily Reneé worked for several years in the boys' club of comics, but Fran Hopper eventually left to go into another field.

I think Planet Comics was at its peak at this time. Bug-eyed monsters, beautiful leggy babes, and even if some--did I just say "some"? I meant "most"--of the stories are ridiculous, they sure are fun to look at. Pure pulp, through-and-through. These three stories are from issue #37, 1945:

Number 783


Science Fiction Week: "The Train That Vanished"


Science Fiction Week continues with a story drawn by John Buscema.

I was impressed by this story from Forbidden Worlds #87 in 1959, when I first read it, and especially liked the art. Buscema's panels explaining the Möbius strip made an impact on me. I actually learned something! The story wasn't original, though. A few years later I read an anthology from Astounding Science Fiction, and there was the story, "A Subway Named Möbius," by A. J. Deutsch, originally published in 1950.

Number 782


Science Fiction Week: Amazing Adventures #3


This August I'm doing themes for four weeks. I'm kicking off my theme month with a Science Fiction Week.

First up, Amazing Adventures #3, from 1951, a Ziff-Davis publication that is pulp all the way through. Four different stories, all of them with familiar pulp themes: people shrinking, body transference, a disembodied brain gone amok, and space opera. The futuristic stories have the usual guys in capes and skintight costumes, and chicks in bikinis! Really, what more does a fan want? Oh yeah...and a painted cover by Norm Saunders, which packages it nicely.

The only other art credit the Grand Comics Database lists is "Parker" for the first story. That would probably be Paul Parker.

Tomorrow, Science Fiction Week continues with John Buscema, drawing a 1959 tale that swipes a famous story.