My buddy Richard sent over this fun Iger Shop illustrated tale from the June 1953 issue of Strange Fantasy #6. He also profusely apologizes for the blurriness on page 4! No worries though, this scary space story is still a blast, and somehow fits nicely within our month of posts-- I mean, it certainly feels like Farrell trying their hand at an Atlas style sci-fi horror 5-pager, doesn't it? Annnnd if anybody is singing "Love Trap" to the tune of "Love Shack", I beg you stop it now. I mean it...
8 comments:
A space launch from Arizona, decades later Virgin Galactic would fly rocket planes from New Mexico. The writer was a bit prophetic but chose a different state, close but not exact. Even Nostradamus never predicted with 100% accuracy, that is if his predictions were true to begin with.
The alien as a cross between a brain with eyes and an amoeba was an interesting idea. In space, anything could exist so the wilder the better for Sci-Fi fans back then.
After looking at the art, I see some similarity between this art and the work of Jay Disbrow. It isn't exactly the same, but there is an influence. Disbrow did work for the Iger shop doing ink work and some pencil work so he might have blended the Iger style with his own.
One more tale that is out of this world, thanks!
There's some real interesting details on this tale -- not only are the crews segregated by sex but so are the space suits -- the women have completely different suits then the men! The women's suits are kind of standard for a space adventure, but I love the men's half globe helmets and chin straps!
I also like how the amoeba seems to be mixing up love with ... well, eating the guy like the blob. It really makes it a bit more sinister.
Lots of b-movie in this one, especially the planet of sexy people, something that most b-movies loved. Though, in 99% of those the daring pilot got to make out with the sexy space lady or at least see a cat women dance, not getting consumed!
No, I definitely was not humming the title to the tune of Love Shack after you suggested it to me. Okay, you got me, I totally was. It's kind of odd how the beginning of this story starts off with a pair of female astronauts--not usually seen during this time period, maybe a couple of them with the male astronauts, but for the most part, you usually saw all men astronauts heading off into space. Sadly, the women are gone by the second page, preyed upon by the planet. What's also odd is that you don't really see much of the "ugly other sex" on this planet. I mean, they're mentioned as being ugly, but they're drawn so out of sight that it's hard to see them. I kind of wonder if the planet just consists of that one particular creature who absorbs everyone else or if everyone is one of those things.
I noted the same thing that Glowworm did. The artist seems to shun the characters, in both case the opposite sex of the observers, that are perceived to be ugly. It's an odd choice; I feel like that would have been a meaty illustration subject. But this is a tale chock full of odd choices. Brian Barnes mentions that the amoeba is mixing the concepts of love and consumption up... but reading the story it seems more like the spaceman is. Or maybe their translators are having a bad connection?
"I'm gonna have to eat you up, spaceman."
"I'll-- I'll never love you ugly amoeba girl!"
"No, no, I what I said was... jeeze, is this thing even on?"
It's not the only time reading this thing that I thought the idea of "love" was kind of jammed into the story sideways.
What I think is cute is that the named both these ships "the Argonaut." Not after the Argo, as I'd expect, but rather memorializing those nameless sailors who piloted her alongside Jason, those screaming redshirts doomed to end up in the gullet of Harryhausen's hydra or maybe hacked to bits by armed skeletons. It really felt like a missed opportunity when they kept referring to the explorers here as "Rocketeers" instead of "Argonautnauts".
Got a couple of Ace bangers coming up here shortly, and as always thank you for the comments and continued support of THOIA— now in our 18 year to boot, if you can believe it!
Eighteen years of posts, yet it just doesn't feel like it. Somehow, for me anyway, it feels like this blog is still a relatively new site. Great comics, above average comics, but always worth a read comics.
I know I say this many times, but I thank you for all of these posts. You run one of the few blogs I bother to look up on a consistent basis, THOIA and AEET.
1,132 followers- some of us post, many don't, but all of us wouldn't be here if we didn't appreciate the hard work you do, so once more I say Thank You for keeping alive (or undead) the horror comics fun from the golden age to modern times.
Thank you so much, JMR! :) great people like you are the reason I keep doing this!
Yes, congratulations.
Post a Comment