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.

mercury

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gustav holst, Mercury, planets, poems, poetry

mercury

when you no longer hate the sun for shining
or curse it for bringing life
to our cold blue speck

when you run out of things to say
i will hold your heart in my hand
so you may count the petals of every flower

every hand that held another holds us
ache for me when i am gone
then realize i never leave you

write our manifesto and burn it
our buried chest of golden coins
will grow to a garden of stars

love it for me as if it is our child
my place is with you

we paint the stars together
when no one else is breathing
the moon hides below the horizon

our neighbors rise from beds
like corpses from their graves
unable to recall the songs

the mockingbird performed at 4 a.m.
the wind whistled down the asphalt
haunted only by coyotes

my modern mercury’s caduceus
is a radio tower pulsing
between realms like dreams

the serpents of his staff
become iron girders riveted to the sky
broadcasting love and fury

to the sons and daughters of lightning
spanning the globe under incandescent shelter
from midnight’s prehistoric treachery

clarity
communication
the courier’s gift
signals the dawn

This poem appears in the collection Inner Planets: 50 Poems by Matthew Howard. Available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook.

I’m Not Marrying Any Creature from Mercury!

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alien, Carl Wessler, golden age, Jay Scott Pike, Mercury, World of Fantasy

In this short story from World of Fantasy, a man hesitates to start up conversation with a lovely lady standing in the rain one night. But, the reader gets a glimpse of the strange events that would unfold if the man had actually worked up the nerve to talk to her. We don’t want to spoil it for you, but it involves aliens!

Atlas published nineteen issues of World of Fantasy from 1956-1959. Stan Lee edited the series and wrote many of the stories. Besides golden age sci-fi greats like Joe Orlando, Joe Manelley, and Angelo Torres, World of Fantasy featured artists who would become big names at Marvel and DC afterward. Just to name a few: Bill Everett, Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnot, Don Heck, Ross Andru, Jack Abel, Dick Giordano, Jim Mooney, Steve Ditko.

We haven’t had any luck tracking down a reprint collection of these. If you know of one, leave a comment for us!

Collector’s Guide: From World of Fantasy #2; Atlas, 1956. Script by Carl Wessler, art by Jay Scott Pike.

Life on Other Worlds – Mercury!

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golden age, Life on Other Worlds, Mercury, 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!

Collector’s Guide: Life on Other Worlds appeared in Planet Comics #49-51, #54-61, and #64.