The Brave and the Bold #31 (June 1960) introduces another science-fiction-y hero to the DC universe: Cave Carson. A spelunking adventurer, he was joined by love interest Christie and “Bulldozer” as they found their way into deep reaches of the Earth. In this first adventure they find themselves facing a living “lava creature”.
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Strange Adventures #117 (April 1960) debuts the Atomic Knights. Gardner Grayle is an “exactly average” solider in the Third World War – you know that atomic one that happened in 1986 and lasted a mere 20 days. Anyway, what begins is a really decent bit of world-building. Gardner is being chased by thugs and suffers […]
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Another DC newcomer in Showcase #17 (Sept 1958) in Adam Strange. Archaeologist Adam Strange accidentally leaps into a Zeta beam striking Earth at just the right moment and finds himself on the planet Rann. After being put through the “Menticizer”, he is able to understand the language and that the babe is Allana and the […]
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The Space Cabbie first appears in Mystery in Space #21 (June 1954). He operates in the 22nd century, having adventures while whisking people around the solar system. In this first story, he encounters a Martian who has a “photonic mesh suit” that gives him invisibility. The Martian ends up stiffing him for the cab fare, […]
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Atlas Comics (Marvel) debuts Speed Carter, Spaceman #1 (May 1953). Speed Carter was a member of the Space Sentinels, which jetted around space stopping invasions and battling space pirates in 2075. Speed Carter was drawn by Joe Maneely who had a pretty distinctive style filled with action and emotion.
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In EC’s Weird Fantasy #18 (January 1953), the now-infamous story of “Judgment Day!” appears. This tells the story of an astronaut from Earth who lands on a planet populated by sentient robots to see if the planet is ready to enter the great Galactic Republic. After being taken through the orange robot’s society, the astronaut […]
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While the Phantom Stranger has so far steered clear of actual paranormal activity, we get much closer in Phantom Stranger #4 (December 1952). A man experimenting with a book of spells has apparently summoned hairy demons and then has disappeared. The Phantom Stranger investigates and discovers strange hairy creatures. He captures one and convinces it […]
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Apparently EC comics had a bad habit of plagiarizing Ray Bradbury‘s short stories for their comic books. This resulted in the writer sending a letter to EC comics, who decided to credit Ray Bradbury on nearly every cover starting in October 1952. Above is a panel from a 1948 short story called “The Long Years!” […]
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In July 1952, EC Comics debuted a new comic: Mad! Filled with anthological stories from multiple genres with a silly bent, it eventually morphed into a satire magazine, rather than comic book and became the only surviving EC comic in just a few more years. One story is horror, one is crime, one is western, […]
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In DC’s Strange Adventures #19 (February 1952), the Captain Comet story features a galaxy-wandering crew of 12 mortal heroes from Earth’s past: Zus, Merkry, Hurkles, Demeter, Dionsius and more. Zus has the idea to create a spaceship that will let them wander the galaxy searching for the secrets of immortality. Every fifty years, one of […]
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