Retrofuturistic Topps Space Cards from 1958

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1958, fried eggs, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, meteor, Moon, outer space, planets, topps, trading cards, vintage space art

Space travel ain’t what it used to be! Technology, design, and planetary knowledge have evolved since these beautiful Topps trading cards came out in 1958. But if you are like me and easily amused by vintage space art, these cards are worth checking out.

Below is a slideshow featuring a few dozen of my favorites. You can find a complete collection, including scans of the text on the back of the cards, at http://www1.coe.neu.edu/~dan/tsc/go.html

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Meteor Peril! Isn’t space travel exciting?! The only thing that could make it more fun is fried eggs.

mars

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gustav holst, Mars, planets, poems, poetry, war

mars

you and i have unfinished business

you taught me destruction
a skill for leaving trails
of unmarked graves and broken spears

your path leads nowhere but down

stone is your only element
you bask in the sun for millennia
and only learn what it means to burn

you serve neither love nor justice
but conquest as its own reward
its prize a thread of wounds and ash

what words could you offer for redemption

how dare you speak them
over the eulogy of rain
and falling earth

Do Not Panic!

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Mars, Martian, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

This great Steve Ditko short story comes from Strange Tales #95. Steve’s splash pages for these stories just rock our world. What great posters they would make!

 

Race for the Moon: The Face on Mars!

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Al Williamson, Face on Mars, golden age, Harvey Comics, Jack Kirby, Mars, Race for the Moon

What do you get when you cross Jack Kirby and Al Williamson? The coolest science fiction comics of the golden age! Thanks to our friends at the Digital Comic Museum, we’d like to share with you some stories from 1958’s Race for the Moon. Buckle up your space suit and get ready to rock!

Collector’s Guide:

It can be tough to find the original Race to the Moon comic books (Harvey, 1958). But in 2014, a Kindle version of Race for the Moon became available. It has all three issues, formatted just for Kindle.

Issue #1 features artwork by Bob Powell.
#2-3 feature Jack Kirby and Al Williamson.

Life on Other Worlds – MARS!

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golden age, Life on Other Worlds, Mars, Planet Comics

In the future, women will not wear much clothing. But they will be in awe of man’s ability to ride ferocious beasts and kill really ugly monsters. In other words, it will end up being a lot like the past… At least that’s what we got from reading Planet Comics!

From 1948-1950, Planet Comics included one and two-page features called “Life On Other Worlds.”

A little bit of science and a whole lot of fantasy, they still make for fun reading – and some of the rocket ships and aliens are outta sight! This month, we share with you the complete “Life On Other Worlds” features. So strap on your space helmet – and remind your girlfriend to undress before departure!

Life on Other Worlds appeared in Planet Comics #49-51, #54-61, and #64.