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Roy Thomas Presents
Roy Thomas Presents: Planet Comics, Vol. 1
Long before Star Wars, there was Planet Comics, home to a veritable parade of steely-jawed interstellar adventures and some of the most gorgeous damsels in distress you could ever with to find.
More than fifty years since Planet closed up shop ex-Marvel, editor Roy Thomas presents the original issues collected together.
Volume One includes a special introduction from the late, great Carmine Infantino as well as all the Planet Comics’ stories digitally enhanced and faithfully reproduced from the original comics.
Volume One features stories from issues 1 - 4 from January 1940 – April 1940.
More than fifty years since Planet closed up shop ex-Marvel, editor Roy Thomas presents the original issues collected together.
Volume One includes a special introduction from the late, great Carmine Infantino as well as all the Planet Comics’ stories digitally enhanced and faithfully reproduced from the original comics.
Volume One features stories from issues 1 - 4 from January 1940 – April 1940.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 2, 2019
So much fun! Wish i'd been ten when these came out. They're illogical as all get out, but so what? Wish i could give this to an elementary school friend, but i'm afraid he'd see it as to young. (i always love seeing women in high heels walking on the moon) (spoiler, the good guy comes back to earth and picks up a spaceship full of termites to drop on the world of carnivorous plants, so he can rescue his friends.) And a hero named "Spurt" - all of Frank Miller's writing combined isn't worth one of these stories.
November 4, 2024
I was a little disappointed by this, but it's an interesting historical artifact. It collects the first four issues of Planet Comics, which appeared from January of 1940 until a Winter 1953 issue. These early issues were hastily produced to capture the stray dimes of very young readers who were anxiously awaiting the next installment of Buster Crabbe's Flash or Buck adventure. Some of both the art and the dialog and science and logic could surely have been better rendered by some of those young readers. One of the bad guys is named Felon, in Captain Nelson Cole of the Solar Force. Buzz Crandall of the Space Patrol encounters a slimy-tentacled lunar land squid on the Moon. Flint Baker and his pals get around via pogo sticks on Mars. Auro, Lord of Jupiter, fights Neptunian pirates who open the window of their spaceship and throw out a pilot who refuses to submit to being one of their slaves. Finally, the fierce women warriors who rule the Lunar polar regions are known as Lunerzons, of course, and the hero who opposes them is Spurt Hammond, Planet Flyer... Who names their protagonist "Spurt"?!?! There were some amusing bits, but it was all little less sophisticated than I was expecting. The coloring is a bit off and some of the stories are all green and difficult to read, but it was an interesting experience. There's a brief introduction from the indefatigable Infantino in which he proclaims no connection to the issues he's introducing.
March 1, 2015
Comic books were still a very new thing in 1940, and the publishers were still trying to figure out what there was a market for. Science fiction themes seemed popular, so Fiction House created the pulp-inspired Planet Comics to appeal to fans of rockets and aliens. This volume collects the first four issues, including some of the advertisements.
After a brief introduction by Carmine Infantino, which is mostly about the fact that he had nothing to do with any of the included material, we get right down to some luridly colored adventures. Dick Briefer was the artist on “Flint Baker and the One-Eyed Monsters of Mars”, the first story in the volume and perhaps the most complex. Mr. Baker has designed and built a spaceship, but no sane people want to go on a trip to Mars with him. So he pulls political strings to have three murderous mechanics freed from Death Row if they’ll volunteer for the voyage.
After takeoff, it’s discovered that Mimi Wilson, a reporter for the New York Globe, has stowed away on the ship. Flint is quickly *ahem* convinced to let her stay aboard. The three convicts tell their stories, and amazingly, all three of them were actually guilty. The first one does claim self-defense, but the second decided to shoot his sister’s fiance at the altar on the grounds that he was “rotten.” The third man, Grant, claims to have been forced to murder by a mysterious man with hypnotic powers. Hmm….
It turns out that Mr. Baker’s is not the first expedition to Mars. As the ruler of the light side of Mars and his daughter Princess Viga explain, the Earthmen were criminals, and exiled to Mars’ dark side (protip: Mars does not have a “dark side”) where even now they plot to conquer the peaceful Martians. The word “they” turns out to be misleading. Their leader, Sarko, has murdered the others and seized control of an army of one-eyed monsters.
There is a fierce battle, during which the named women are captured, and the King of Mars gives up. The Earthmen are made of sterner stuff and infiltrate the enemy headquarters. Sarko is planning to kill Viga to prevent any opposition to his eternal rule, and is going to give Mimi immortality to be his Empress. Turns out that Sarko was the man who forced Grant to murder and then left him in prison to rot–they both wind up dead. But more adventures next month!
Other standout characters are the Red Comet, a mystery man who can shrink and grow at will thanks to a special belt, Amazona, last woman of a superior Arctic race, and Auro, Lord of Jupiter, who was raised by a saber-tooth tiger. Spurt Hammond is not so special in and of himself, being a standard two-fisted space pilot, but he battles the Lunerzons, woman warriors of the Moon with a vaguely Chinese culture, who are easily defeated when their leaders both get the hots for Spurt.
The design aesthetic is very pulp SF, which leads to some fascinating spaceships and cityscapes. But much of the art is crude, and some of the stories have lazy pages of big panels with little art in them. Often the stories are disjointed and somewhat nonsensical; this is most obvious with the Fletcher Hanks “Tiger Hart” piece which is apparently a medieval story with a couple of word balloons edited to make it happen on Saturn.
There’s no real depth of theme in these stories, just plenty of action. Be warned, there’s some period racism (seriously, a global invasion by what appear to be Eskimos?) and sexism. For most people, I’d recommend checking to see if you can find this through your public library. Only the most fanatical Golden Age collectors (like me) are likely to want to own it.
After a brief introduction by Carmine Infantino, which is mostly about the fact that he had nothing to do with any of the included material, we get right down to some luridly colored adventures. Dick Briefer was the artist on “Flint Baker and the One-Eyed Monsters of Mars”, the first story in the volume and perhaps the most complex. Mr. Baker has designed and built a spaceship, but no sane people want to go on a trip to Mars with him. So he pulls political strings to have three murderous mechanics freed from Death Row if they’ll volunteer for the voyage.
After takeoff, it’s discovered that Mimi Wilson, a reporter for the New York Globe, has stowed away on the ship. Flint is quickly *ahem* convinced to let her stay aboard. The three convicts tell their stories, and amazingly, all three of them were actually guilty. The first one does claim self-defense, but the second decided to shoot his sister’s fiance at the altar on the grounds that he was “rotten.” The third man, Grant, claims to have been forced to murder by a mysterious man with hypnotic powers. Hmm….
It turns out that Mr. Baker’s is not the first expedition to Mars. As the ruler of the light side of Mars and his daughter Princess Viga explain, the Earthmen were criminals, and exiled to Mars’ dark side (protip: Mars does not have a “dark side”) where even now they plot to conquer the peaceful Martians. The word “they” turns out to be misleading. Their leader, Sarko, has murdered the others and seized control of an army of one-eyed monsters.
There is a fierce battle, during which the named women are captured, and the King of Mars gives up. The Earthmen are made of sterner stuff and infiltrate the enemy headquarters. Sarko is planning to kill Viga to prevent any opposition to his eternal rule, and is going to give Mimi immortality to be his Empress. Turns out that Sarko was the man who forced Grant to murder and then left him in prison to rot–they both wind up dead. But more adventures next month!
Other standout characters are the Red Comet, a mystery man who can shrink and grow at will thanks to a special belt, Amazona, last woman of a superior Arctic race, and Auro, Lord of Jupiter, who was raised by a saber-tooth tiger. Spurt Hammond is not so special in and of himself, being a standard two-fisted space pilot, but he battles the Lunerzons, woman warriors of the Moon with a vaguely Chinese culture, who are easily defeated when their leaders both get the hots for Spurt.
The design aesthetic is very pulp SF, which leads to some fascinating spaceships and cityscapes. But much of the art is crude, and some of the stories have lazy pages of big panels with little art in them. Often the stories are disjointed and somewhat nonsensical; this is most obvious with the Fletcher Hanks “Tiger Hart” piece which is apparently a medieval story with a couple of word balloons edited to make it happen on Saturn.
There’s no real depth of theme in these stories, just plenty of action. Be warned, there’s some period racism (seriously, a global invasion by what appear to be Eskimos?) and sexism. For most people, I’d recommend checking to see if you can find this through your public library. Only the most fanatical Golden Age collectors (like me) are likely to want to own it.
May 18, 2014
Simple stories from a simpler time. This book collects the first four issues of PLANET COMICS, a Fiction House title from the early 40s. The stories are a lot of fun in an old-fashioned way, with lots of science fiction action, random twists of fate, and abrupt endings. The stories aren't gripping and loaded with tension, but they do provide some amusing, lighthearted entertainment.
The reproduction found in this volume might not work for everyone, but I like the look of these old comics and can appreciate the fact that the PS Artbooks did little more than scan the images and reproduce them as is. They did go in and clean up the white word balloons, which helps with readability, but for the most part, this is how the art looks over 70 years ago, warts and all. That's how I prefer these old comics.
The reproduction found in this volume might not work for everyone, but I like the look of these old comics and can appreciate the fact that the PS Artbooks did little more than scan the images and reproduce them as is. They did go in and clean up the white word balloons, which helps with readability, but for the most part, this is how the art looks over 70 years ago, warts and all. That's how I prefer these old comics.
September 30, 2023
I have a certain fascination with post-Depression era optimism. The future looked bright. Then, as now, technology was advancing and improving life. It's a world view that is missing from all post-Blade Runner Science Fiction. Our dystopian future has become a dystopian present, making this an even more escapist read. I keep waiting for humanity to reach it's Star Trek moment, but we seem to be going in the opposite direction.
Buck Rogers kicked off this genre a decade earlier than these comics. It was his wildly successful imitation, Flash Gordon, that is the biggest influence on the stories presented in this anthology series. Flash Gordon is one of those rare cases where the imitation was more imaginative than the originator. Alex Raymond's influence is stamped all over these comics like a boot print. Primary colors abound, in part because of the primitive four color printing press and in part because Flash Gordon made great use of reds and yellows and shied away from blends.
Like all Golden Age comics, these can be overly simplistic, silly, and unintentionally funny, but that's part of the charm for me. On a purely historical level this series is essential reading. This is the stuff that made kids like George Lucas spark their ideas. These stories also entertain in their own right, albeit in a silly way.
While most of the stories are variations of the Buck Rogers/ Flash Gordon riff, I enjoy strips like Auro, Lord Of Jupiter. It's a ripoff of Tarzan...but on Jupiter! Hilarious. What it lacks in originality it makes up for with ambition. By issue 4 it morphs into some kind of Flash Gordon ripoff with no real explanation how or why.
Fletcher Hanks takes the cake for batshit crazy comic book writers and artists. Hanks' artwork is bizarre, with barrel-chested he-men with necks as long as a giraffe. His work (including this story) have been reprinted before by Fantagraphics across two softcovers and, more recently, in one big fat hardcover. His stories make no sense, turn on a dime, and often just skid off of the tracks and into a ditch. Other times, like the one reprinted in this book, they just end with no real resolution. He is, in his own way, an absolute genius.
Issue 3's Amazona, Mighty Woman seems completely out of place. It is an Earthbound strip and has nothing to do with the rest of the series in tone. It's cool but it doesn't fit in with the sci-fi theme. It's more of a superhero story than a science fiction one.
Please note that this is the revised first printing of the book. PS subscribers like myself got the first printing of this book, dated September 2012 with the same ISBN, which was sourced from microfiche and looked abysmal. They recalled the book from Diamond Book Distributors and scanned newly purchased original copies for this version.
Buck Rogers kicked off this genre a decade earlier than these comics. It was his wildly successful imitation, Flash Gordon, that is the biggest influence on the stories presented in this anthology series. Flash Gordon is one of those rare cases where the imitation was more imaginative than the originator. Alex Raymond's influence is stamped all over these comics like a boot print. Primary colors abound, in part because of the primitive four color printing press and in part because Flash Gordon made great use of reds and yellows and shied away from blends.
Like all Golden Age comics, these can be overly simplistic, silly, and unintentionally funny, but that's part of the charm for me. On a purely historical level this series is essential reading. This is the stuff that made kids like George Lucas spark their ideas. These stories also entertain in their own right, albeit in a silly way.
While most of the stories are variations of the Buck Rogers/ Flash Gordon riff, I enjoy strips like Auro, Lord Of Jupiter. It's a ripoff of Tarzan...but on Jupiter! Hilarious. What it lacks in originality it makes up for with ambition. By issue 4 it morphs into some kind of Flash Gordon ripoff with no real explanation how or why.
Fletcher Hanks takes the cake for batshit crazy comic book writers and artists. Hanks' artwork is bizarre, with barrel-chested he-men with necks as long as a giraffe. His work (including this story) have been reprinted before by Fantagraphics across two softcovers and, more recently, in one big fat hardcover. His stories make no sense, turn on a dime, and often just skid off of the tracks and into a ditch. Other times, like the one reprinted in this book, they just end with no real resolution. He is, in his own way, an absolute genius.
Issue 3's Amazona, Mighty Woman seems completely out of place. It is an Earthbound strip and has nothing to do with the rest of the series in tone. It's cool but it doesn't fit in with the sci-fi theme. It's more of a superhero story than a science fiction one.
Please note that this is the revised first printing of the book. PS subscribers like myself got the first printing of this book, dated September 2012 with the same ISBN, which was sourced from microfiche and looked abysmal. They recalled the book from Diamond Book Distributors and scanned newly purchased original copies for this version.
October 19, 2023
I love it! Genre of space opera might come dull and boring for today's comic-readers but it is unbelievable that all these content is from 1940s .
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews