In their DC science fiction anthology title Strange Adventures, editor Julius Schwartz and his staff demonstrated an understanding of the dreamlike quality of the childhood mind.
As an example, let’s take issue 118, appearing on newsstands early in 1960, which cover-featured The Turtle Men from Space by writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky.
Boys in 1960 often had pet turtles in little plastic water dishes that sported a plastic palm tree, and even more frequently owned green plastic “army men” (sold in bulk for as little as a penny apiece in clear plastic bags during the decade, before the Vietnam war eroded their popularity).
Massage those interests a while in your subconscious, and you might come up with the idea that turtles are armored, and military tanks are armored, so…
This was back before Americans began to regard verified, factual knowledge as a threat. You got your dime’s worth.
“The good old days when scientific discoveries were accepted and respected,” Bob Doncaster wrote. “Oh, and I still like turtles.”
“That's what made The War That Time Forgot series so great. Your plastic army guys vs. your plastic dinosaurs," Larry Eischen wrote. “Good times!”
I poured over DC’s two- and three-cover house ads each month, imagining what might be behind those covers. Elsewhere that month, the Mercurian criminal Norvo used an amnesia ray to turn Cryll against Space Ranger (Space Ranger’s Super-Enemy, Tales of the Unexpected 51), and a giant lens intended to communicate with the planet Venus accidentally freed energy monsters (I Unleashed the Light-Ray Creature, My Greatest Adventure 45).
Vincent Mariani:
ReplyDeleteI can only add that even for the youngest readers, the artwork had to carry the story (whether good or bad) forward.
The concepts could entice readers' curiosity, but mediocre or inconstent artwork has always been a drag.
Joseph Lenius:
ReplyDeleteDC needs to get off its collective rears and reprint this series and Mystery In Space in huge Omnibus collections. Instead they opt to reprint mainly crap.
Paul Zuckerman:
ReplyDeleteThe stories didn't always live up to the covers but when they did, it was great. And when it didn't, the creative reader could come up with his/her own ideas for a story. I remember the cover of Adventure with Lightning Lad being imprisoned. I had imagined my own story behind it, which I think was far better than the one that was published! Oh well--
I second Joe's comments about the reprints. I wish DC would focus more on stuff that I don't have but want!!!! 🙂
For the record, I never had a pet turtle, nor did I want one. But I did have those plastic soldiers. I think I still have one or two in a box along with a plastic fireman, who had a removable hat. Somehow they survived waves of parental and grandparental housecleaning.
I used my comics as action figures when I was very young. Then I discovered that a deck of playing or baseball cards worked better--much more manageable sizes. Taking a cue from the Metal Men's flying car, I re-positioned my comics to be flying vehicle. They still got beat up as they were always crashing to the ground. But no one could say that I didn't get a lot out of them for my twelve cents!
Vincent Mariani:
ReplyDeleteYes, we called the little guys "army men."
Gully Foyled:
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how different in tone the Atlas and DC books of the time were even when they were dealing with similar subjects like giant monsters.
The Atlas books had a sort or manic energy and sense of danger, while the DC books were staid.
Michael Kelly Schurman:
ReplyDeleteHere in Texas, before DDT wiped most of them out, horned toads were found in every field, vacant lot and large yard. They were harmless, fairly easy to catch, and made great prehistoric monsters wreaking havoc among green army men and their equipment.
Bob Bailey:
ReplyDeleteDan, I absolutely loved Julius Schwartz’s’ wonderful Strange Adventures. My favorite features were Space Museum by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino and the Atomic Knights by John Broome and Schwartz’s’ favorite artist and longtime friend Murphy Anderson. Thankfully they did an archive of the latter feature.