More Retrofuturistic 1950s Cards: Jets, Rockets, and Spacemen!

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bowman, cats in space, jets rockets and spacemen, outer space, pteranodon, science fiction, space octopus, space pirate, trading cards, vintage space art

Bowman produced these beautifully painted trading cards beginning in 1951: Jets, Rockets, and Spacemen! The “jets” cards merely showed normal airplanes with informative text on the back, but the rest of the series told a story about a fantastic space adventure, with each card as a chapter.

The slideshow below features some of my favorites. You can find a complete collection of both the fronts and backs of these cards, so you can take the entire journey, at http://www.lowellsplace.com/jrs/jrs_main_page.html

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Though I only heard about these cards this year, the series is clearly a direct ancestor of the Meteor Mags stories. Its conception of space involves pirates, cats, octopuses, and dinosaurs (flying reptiles, actually: pteranodons). That’s my kind of space adventure!

Octopuses in space!

Vicious cats on other planets!

Space pirates!

Interplanetary Dinosaurs!

I love keeping up with current developments in space exploration, but I guarantee you that interplanetary travel will never kick as much ass as it did in 1951! Tragically, this series stopped before the complete story was told. You can read more about its production, and why it was never finished, at https://www.psacard.com/articles/articleview/6976/psa-set-registry-1951-bowman-jets-rockets-spacemen-trading-card-thats-blasting-off-popularity

 

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.

Jack Kirby’s Captain Victory: Splash Panel Gallery

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Captain Victory, Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers, Galactic Rangers, Indie Comics, Jack Kirby, outer space, Pacific Comics, science fiction

In the early days of Mars Will Send No More, we ran a series of daily splash panels from many of Jack Kirby’s masterpieces. Captain Victory proved very popular, perhaps because not many readers have seen this underrated series near the end of Kirby’s career.

 

 
As Kirby continued what seems now like a life-long struggle for creative control, he released Captain Victory through Pacific Comics. But in 1981, well before the internet or even specialty comic shops had taken root in America, most readers of Marvel and DC never even heard of Captain Victory. What Kirby lost in widespread promotion, however, he made up for in unrestrained outrageousness and endless gallons of Kirby Krackle.

 

 
We think you will agree the over-the-top awesomeness of Jack Kirby’s comic book style rarely looked better than in these eye-popping splash panels. And so, in celebration of sharing three years of comic book awesomeness with you here on Mars, please behold the splendor of Captain Victory.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1-13; Pacific Comics, 1981.

In 2011-2012, Dynamite Entertainment published a new Captain Victory series with some wonderful Alex Ross covers.

 

 

John Byrne’s Space 1999 #3-6; Charlton, 1976

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Charlton, Indie Comics, John Byrne, Nicola Cuti, outer space, science fiction, Space 1999, Space 1999 Magazine

Damn it, these issues are hard to find in print! John Byrne worked on four issues of Charlton’s short-lived science fiction series, Space 1999. You don’t find too many of them in the back issue bins, though.

Archaia Press recently published new Space 1999 material by Gary Morrow, who also turned in some great black and white artwork for the original 1970s Space 1999 Magazine. John Byrne’s issues, however, remain something of a rarity.

We suspect once you see the pages, you understand why. Nicola Cuti’s story telling got us way more involved in the space drama than we expected. Byrne’s art rocks at the level of his classic X-men and Alpha Flight stories that garnered him far more fame not long after this brief stint. Our sole complaint: this outer space adventure tale did NOT run for 50 or 60 issues! What a great team Cuti and Byrne make here. Enjoy!

Collector’s Guide:
– From Space 1999 #3-6; Charlton, 1975.
John Byrne art, Nicola Cuti story.

John Byrne fans may also want to collect Space 1999 Magazine #4 produced by Charlton at the same time. Byrne worked on the fourth issue only.

 

For Sale: Behold the Awesomizer; comic book pop art painting inspired by Jack Kirby; 16×20

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acrylic, art, awesomizer, behold the awesomizer, comic book art, eBay, Jack Kirby, Kirby Krackle, outer space, painting, science fiction

Painted in bright, primary acrylics with chrome enamel highlights, it has a protective high-gloss varnish. Behold the Awesomizer measures 16x20x1 inches, with the artwork extending uninterrupted over the edges of the canvas.

Inspiration for this work of comic book-themed pop art comes from comics legend Jack Kirby, whose style practically defined Marvel Comics art of the 60s and 70s. Best known for co-creating Captain America, the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer, the Eternals, OMAC, and the DC classics of his own Fourth World series, Kirby published Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers near the end of his career.

Behold the Awesomizer pays tribute to Kirby and to the sense of cosmic wonder found in science-fiction comic books. As the powerful hand emerges from a whirlpool of rippling energy, a metallic eye shoots beams of light into the krackling vastness of outer space. Kirby Krackle coalesces around the hand as beams of light radiate from its fingertips. Inside it all, a great cosmic brain thinks thoughts that only you can determine.

Please see our ebay listing if you would like to make an offer on this artwork. SOLD.