When I was most actively reading comics in the 1970’s and early 1980’s comics with a space-bound characters or characters in science-fiction stories often piqued my interest. In the 1970’s, the various reprints of the adventures of Adam Strange, The Space Ranger and Cryll, The Atomic Knights, and Captain Comet (among others) were favorites of mine. DC had begun a reprint-line of comics in 1976 called DC Super-Stars. Issues 2, 4, 6, and 8 of this title all had the sub-heading of Space. I picked up all four of these from the spinner racks when they were first published. This type of comic and the predecessor line of 100-Page-Super-Spectacular comics were very entertaining during my elementary school years.

As we approached 1980, Marvel seemed to move into the forefront of science-fiction with their Bizarre Adventures black-and-white title and Epic magazine. But, we’ll talk about those magazines another time. I was at a small local convention a few weeks ago and I happened upon some comics that fit the DC Science Fiction theme.

Time Warp

It wasn’t until recent years that I became aware of a DC title called Time Warp. It was a short-lived series that ran for five issues as one of DC’s Dollar Comics titles. I don’t remember seeing it at my regular comic haunts in 1979 / 1980. I picked up issues #3 and #4 at the aforementioned con.

I’ll tell ya … they had some big name talent on the writing and art for these issues. I was a little surprised to see that Steve Ditko had drawn some of these stories. Don Newton and Steve Mitchell had some outstanding art in this series as well. The covers for the issues I have were drawn by Mike Kaluta. I think they’re absolutely great covers. The art in most of these stories is really well done, but it appears on the normal comics stock of the day, so it doesn’t really pop for the most part.

The stories varied in entertainment value. Most had twist endings that we were probably all used to if we’d read the older DC titles such as Mystery in Space. I just really wasn’t enamored by these comics. It looks like there was a one-issue revival of the title several years back, but I don’t really know much about that comic.

DC Super-Stars of Space

Do you associate certain comics with where you bought them, like I do? I remember picking up all four of the reprint DC Super-Stars of Space collections at the same place. I got them from the spinner rack at my parents’ preferred grocery store. I remember finding these ( and others in the DC Super-Stars series ) on the same spinner rack. I picked up copies of these two issues at the local con.

Ok. Adam Strange, the scientist / adventurer with a ray-gun and a jet-pack who gallivants around the cosmos, has been a favorite character of mine for a very long time. Strange is an Earth scientist who finds his way to the planet Rann by way of an attempted communication mechanism. Rann’s chief scientist, Sardath, used a beam called the Zeta-beam to try to communicate with Earth and other worlds. However, the beam’s properties were altered and it became a teleportation beam. Adam Strange was caught in one of these beams and ended up on Rann. After a short while, the Zeta radiation discharges from his body and he ends up back on Earth. By following the scheduled transmissions of the Zeta-beams, Strange is able to regularly visit Rann … mainly to hang with Sardath’s daughter … the lovely Alanna.

In issue #2 above, we get to enjoy a reprint story of Adam and Alanna teaming up with Hawkman and Hawkgirl ( before all of the Thanagar War stuff ) to thwarts a Ranagarian mad scientist who had used the Zeta-beam to teleport Earth into an area of space near Rann. Adam ends up proposing to Alanna in this issue. We later get to see them marry in an issue of Justice League of America. The story in #8 dealth with a space siren of sorts … a mystery woman who seemed to have Adam in a hypnotic daze. Strange often used science (or pseudo-science) to solve the problem of the day before he had to jaunt back to Earth.

The stories were written by Gardner Fox who wrote a lot of these tales. Murphy Anderson, Sid Greene, and Carmine Infantino were artists for these two stories. Fox sure wrote a lot of these stories, which really isn’t a surprise to anyone, I don’t suppose. I always thought the combination of the Gardner Fox / Murphy Anderson duo made for entertaining sci-fi comics. They were prevalent in some of the other stories in the above comics, like the first appearance of The Atomic Knights. In addition, we get to see The Space Ranger and his shape-changing pal Cryll. I enjoyed those stories, but many of them hinged on Cryll changing into some alien creature that exhibited the one power that would save the day.

I have the other issues I had mentioned somewhere around the house. Captain Comet was another long-time favorite of mine. I need to pick up the archived collections of his 1950’s comics at some point.

Recommendation: I’d say that if you’re a fan of DC’s line of Dollar Comics or if you’re just a bit curious about Time Warp, pick up an issue or two if you can find inexpensive copies. I wasn’t really bowled-over by issues #3 and #4. I have a great fondness for all of the DC Super-Stars of Space comics, but I was a much younger reader when I first happened upon these so there’s a nostalgia-factor at play here. I still think these stories, especially the Adam Strange stories, hold up and continue to provide entertainment.