Number 1619: Joy buzzers in space

We begin another theme week. Our three postings this week will be what I call Spacey Stories. That is, stories which take place in space, and also have a degree of spaciness (as in off-the-wall) in the storytelling, deliberately or not.

Gardner Fox wrote and Fred Guardineer drew this spacey tale of Space Ace, from the ME one-shot, Space Ace #5 (1952). The stories are all reprints from Manhunt. This particular story is originally from Manhunt #6 (1948). Space Ace (Jet Black) and his young crew member, Jak Tal are in orbit doing their Space Patrol duties when they encounter an alien spaceship. The story’s title calls the aliens men, but they look more like something out of H. P. Lovecraft. That isn’t enough to make it oddball...it’s the use of a common novelty item, a joy buzzer, called a handshake buzzer here, to help defeat the invasion-minded aliens.

Here is another posting with Space Ace. Just click on the thumbnail.

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Number 1379: Ace of Space, meet Space Ace

With a comment in Pappy's #1346, reader Darci sent me on a hunt for the character, Ace of Space. Ace Egan is considered to be a precursor to Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern. The story is from Feature Comics #38 (1940), and crams a lot into an origin story, but whether it inspired editor Julius Schwartz or writer John Broome, who knows? It’s an interesting thought. The writing on this five-page origin story is clumsy, especially as Ace discovers his powers. After putting on the power belt bequeathed him by the dying alien he says, “I seem to know the answer to all problems!” Despite growing to be nine-feet tall, jumping a quarter mile or having super vision, I’d think just having answers to all problems would be power enough. Harry Francis Campbell did the artwork, and H. Weston Taylor the writing.

I’ve included the Space Ace story by Gardner Fox and Fred Guardineer from Manhunt #4 (1948). Here Space Ace is Jet Black, a “space patrolman” (space would be a mighty big patrol area). The Space Ace character from the four issues of Jet (Jet Powers, not Jet Black) a couple of years later, also published by ME, is more of a pirate.

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Number 164


Space Ace Gets Woody!


This is the last Space Ace story from Jet Comics #4, the final issue.

Not only the last Space Ace, but because of the artwork it's the best of the series. Wally Wood inked over Al Williamson's pencils. What a combination they made. I wish they'd done a lot more work together. Wood's bold inking replacing Williamson's tentative inking of this period really makes a difference in how dynamic the story looks.

As for the story itself, well, it's Space Ace, after all…ace criminal of the spaceways, blah blah blah…gets into a jam over a woman, then gets himself out, blah blah…meantime getting lots of reward money or some jewelry or something good, blah blah…and then gets a full pardon for all his crimes, et cetera, et cetera...nice life!

As usual, some of the most entertaining bits of business are the little things that scripter Gardner Fox was good at: his pseudoscientific-sounding creations, like Ace's electric space pants (!!!) Wouldn't they give you a shock if you had to — you know — go to the bathroom? Not only that, he has the ability to turn them into a key to unlock a cell door. Or how about the paralysi-ray? Or Space Ace finding big tanks of nitrous oxide — laughing gas— so conveniently? Or how about describing Ace's fighting ability as being like a "Plutonian tigercat"?

I'm not an expert on all Golden Age comics (duh), so I just found out that ME published a Space Ace comic in 1952. I was also surprised to find out that Space Ace appeared in ME's Manhunt as far back as 1947. Well, hit me with a paralysi-ray! There's always something new to learn in this crazy comic book business.

I found this cover on the Internet:

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Number 152


Space Ace and the Nothing Weapon!


Space Ace returns for his third appearance in Jet #3. It's his first appearance drawn by Al Williamson. As a treat, here's a scan of the original art for the splash page of this story.

Click on the picture for the full-size image.

Space Ace runs into a rare book and a pirate queen. Flor. She pulls the ol' come on over act on him, wearing her sexy dress with the slit up the side...on Saturn's moon of Titan, yet! She doesn't think that he knows that she knows that he's slipping her a mickey. He really knows that she knows but he also knows she doesn't know he's switched the mickey around. Too bad for Flor. Space Ace gets one up on her. Flor ends up on the floor.

This is full of more space opera hokum courtesy of scripter Gardner Fox. I like the "paralysobeam" reference she uses to her henchman, Gayta. (Gayta?) The henchman takes off with the book, but the rest of her pirate gang is still around. You can tell they're pirates because one of them is wearing a punk rock mohawk, and a shirt with a skull on it. Or it could be he picked up an old rock t-shirt from the Titan Salvation Army Thrift Store.

I don't think Al Williamson ever did a job by himself. Harvey Kurtzman called the Williamson posse "The Fleagle Gang," and they were tight: Al, Torres, Frazetta, Krenkel. I've seen this strip reprinted in several different fanzines over the years. Pre-EC work by Williamson (and his gang) is so desirable it's the reason most people would have for collecting Jet #3.

In the upcoming and final Space Ace in Jet #4, you'll see he even enlisted some aid from Wally Wood.

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Number 139


Space Ace and the Invisible Death!


This Space Ace story, "The Invisible Death!" from Jet #2, 1951, is an action-filled short science fiction story right out of Planet Stories and Planet Comics. It's real space opera with a beautiful babe and Space Ace on Saturn's moon, Titan, looking for the "Ocean Of Diamonds," which is protected by the Invisible Death! And that's a problem only if you get by the Jumping Mountains to get there.

The explanation for the Invisible Death — using rays to cook someone from the inside out — sounds like a microwave oven.

The art is credited to Lawrence Woromay, and like the story in Jet #1 is influenced by Wayne Boring, then the main Superman artist.

In Jet #3, upcoming, Al Williamson takes over the Space Ace art chores.

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Number 127


Space Ace: The Man Who Would Be Boring

This is story number three from Jet #1, an ME science fiction comic from 1950. The character is completely different from the star of Jet, Jet Powers. Jet's world is that of 1950, although some of his technology would be advanced even for 2007.*

The Space Ace stories are set in the future when people live on Mars. It's space opera, with pirates and rogues in tight costumes and funny helmets, and in this first story some giant robots.

The artist isn't identified except by some initials, "LW.", on the bottom right of the splash panel. That is Larry Woromay, according to the Grand Comics Database. The artist has borrowed poses and some other things from Wayne Boring, who at the time was the Superman artist.

*He didn't have the Internet, though! Not so smart after all, are you, Mr. Jet Smartypants Powers?

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