This first issue of Tales of Suspense, Strangers from Space' is a treat for art fans. Leading off is a story drawn by the legendary Al Williamson known for his work at the acclaimed EC comics. The lead story contains Williamson's trademark exceptional draughtmanship, detailed beautifully designed alien landscapes, futuristic cities and alien spaceship design with a nice use of varied panel sizes borderless panels. There are no writer's credits available for any of the tales here but this one is a nice little morality play with a twist.
Not many people could top Al Williamson at this time, and Don Heck for those who know him from superhero comics only generally consider him reliable but increasingly crude in his embelishment until he became an absolute liability as an inker (I'm thinking of his inking on Ka-Zar). But in 'I D
ared Explore the Unknown Emptiness!'here we can see what he could really do. The panels are detailed and finely rendered with excellent figure work and the strong storytelling which he always displayed. It's a beautiful piece of work like the cover which is also his. As to the story:
In 2478 mankind is finally able to travel at unthinkable speeds through space. They are going to need all the speed they can get as humans desperately search for a new planet to live on, fleeing from a massively overpopulated Earth!
Like a lot of comics in this day it's caption heavy but it allows an epic tale to unfold in five pages taking us to outer space and half a dozen planets (one of which may have contained the seed of the idea for Ego the living planet). Again it ends on a thoughtful note and one that resonates particularly in the modern age with the current ecological crisis.
The third offering, 'The day I left my body' is another treat for comic historians and fans of John Buscema as he did little work in comics during this period. The story displays his usual talent for drawing people but the drama is relatively low key and gives us an idea how his art would have developed if he'd wound up at DC understudying Kurt Swan rather than being encouraged to learn Kirby's dynamic approach like everyone else at Marvel in the sixties.
As far as the last story goes, it's just plain silly, but with Ditko drawing 'Prisoner of the Satellites' is still fun, just for the visuals, full of atmosphere and somewhat surreal with some interesting layouts.
Contents
- The Strangers From Space!
- The Newshound
- I Dared Explore the Unknown Emptiness!
- The Day I Left My Body!
- He Fled In The Night
- Prisoner of the Satellites!
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