Spacehawk

The complete collection of Wolverton's legendary costumed crusader. Basil Wolverton is one of the greatest, most idiosyncratic talents in comic book history. Though he is best known for his humorous grotesqueries in MAD magazine, it is his science-fiction character Spacehawk that Wolverton fans have most often demanded be collected. The wait is over, as The Complete Spacehawk features every story from Spacehawk’s intergalactic debut in 1940 to his final, Nazi-crushing adventure in 1942. Spacehawk is the closest thing to a colorfully-costumed, conventional action hero Wolverton ever created, yet the strip is infused with Wolverton’s quintessential weirdness: controlled, organic artwork of strangely repulsive aliens and monsters and bizarre planets, and stories of gruesome retribution that bring to mind Wolverton’s peer, Fletcher Hanks. Spacehawk had no secret identity, no fixed base of operations beyond his spaceship, and no sidekicks or love interests. He had but one mission in life: to protect the innocent throughout the Solar System, and to punish the guilty. He was a dark ― yet much more visually playful ― counterpart to Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon.

This volume continues Sadowski’s biography of the famed Mad cartoonist. It includes scores of letters between Wolverton and his editors and publishers and excerpts from his personal diaries, providing documentary insight not only into Wolverton’s day-to-day life and career, but also the inner workings of the early comic book industry. It is also chock full of Wolverton’s comics stories from this period, including 17 science-fiction and horror tales fully restored and never before collected in a single volume.

The 1940s saw the birth of many enduring superheroes like Superman, Batman, Captain America and Captain Marvel. Outside of the superhero genre, the golden age of comics also featured a host of lesser-known, evil-fighting action figures, and this book contains a wealth of information about these heroes without capes. Covered here are jungle heroines like Sheena, Rulah and Princess Pantha; science fiction stalwarts including Spacehawk, Hunt Bowman and Futura; adventurers such as Kayo Kirby, Werewolf Hunter and Senorita Rio; and Western heroes ranging from Tom Mix to the Ghost Rider.

This is the first in a two-volume retrospective―collecting full comics stories, unpublished art, ads, etc.―and biography of the famous Mad cartoonist. This is the first of two volumes reprinting copious amounts of comics stories and recounting the career of cartoonist Basil Wolverton. Based on his correspondence and journals, the biographical portion of the books follow Wolverton from childhood to adult day-to-day life as freelance cartoonist, itinerant handyman, persistent contest enterer, and local pastor of the Radio Church of God. Wolverton lived and worked in the Pacific Northwest, unique among the first generation of comic book pioneers. In the precious period before the industry calcified into a commercial institution, Wolverton was free to work under the radar to explore in detail his weird tales of the future. The book collects all of Wolverton’s non-humorous comic stories and a substantial selection of his humorous comics, alongside dozens of pages of unpublished artwork, unsold features, and never-before-seen correspondence, including rejection letters!

Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Predator, The Matrix - part of the appeal of great science fiction is its distinctive look. Now, withZap! How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comics,artists everywhere can learn to create their own sci-fi realities and to draw space heroes and heroines, intergalactic villains, robots, spaceships, blasting rockets, slimy aliens, and much more. A history of science-fiction comics is followed by an overview of the genre illustrated by the masters, including Alex Raymond (creator of Flash Gordon), Wally Wood (who shaped the look of 1950s sci-fi), and Basil Wolverton (whose bizarre art launched a thousand mid-century sci-fi stories). Then readers turn to Bryan Baugh’s clear, detailed step-by-step instruction on how to draw dynamic cosmic action figures plus all the futuristic technology they can dream up. Perfect for artists, fans, even writers,Zap! How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comicslets the art of the future spring from the art of the past.

When a luxury spaceliner is hijacked in the Bishti sector, sets in motion are a series of events that could well lead to interstellar war. A Senator from the Confederation, along with his wife, are among the passengers taken hostage. Jason Hawke, former Confederation Marine, is awakened from an alcoholic cycle of self-destruction and spurred to go to the rescue of the woman he once loved, Kristin Baird, the wife of the Senator. Meanwhile, agencies within the Confederation and the Confed Navy are making plans to go to the rescue of the hostages, little knowing that the rival DeSotoan Empire is laying an ambush for them, using the hostages as bait. But when Jason is joined by his three brothers and a beautiful fighter pilot, the hostage takers may find out that they've bitten off much more than they can chew. After all, violence is the Hawke clan's family business!

A history of American comic books told almost entirely through reprinted comic book covers.