Beneath the cover art of Joe Simon Jack Sparling featuring the lead character Jack Q. Frost, there's a small inset with some Wally Wood characters named Miracles, Inc. More on them later. One finds a bevy of tales in Unearthly Spectaculars #2. These books were put together by Joe Simon and are host to many really excellent artistic outings, but you have to know to look.
Perhaps the finest is Earthman by Wally Wood. Earthman is an astronaut who has crashed on a distant world and overcome by amnesia who in short order becomes a hero to several populations because of his great strength and willingness to help. The story has that John Carter of Mars feel to it with a tinge of the modern dashed in for visual splendor.
The eponymous "Earthman" defeats the villain and rescues the damsel, but as you can see from this final page wanders off for more adventures. Those adventures were apparently pending a demand from the fans and either the demand or the opportunity or neither was found and we have only this nugget from Wood to enjoy.
Also tucked between these covers is a little lightweight superhero farce called Miracles, Inc. As you can see Wood is using his slightly more cartoony style to tell the misadventure of a superteam eager to prove themselves, but exceedingly willing to enjoy the comforts of hearth and home. The team is made up of their leader Professor Who, Manlet, Thermo, Klank, Misfit, Reflex, and the lovely Una. They rate an appearance on the cover unlike Earthman.
The Earthman story is collected up in Titan's Simon and Kirby Science Fiction tome from some years back. the Miracles, Inc. story is not included. Yet another story written by Wood but drawn wonderfully by Al Williamson is included, a piece dubbed Clawfang, a barbarian in the far future of a decimated world.
Rip Off
I believe that little inset of Miracles Inc. was intended to be a full cover, perhaps on a self-titled comic. (Note the blurb that says "Soon to be seen in Magazines of their own.") There was pressure from over-burdened distributors to make new titles in the giant 25 cent size to make their meager profit on a comic higher. So several of Joe Simon's Harvey Thriller line were giants, as were the new Tower Comics. Marvel's Silver Surfer premiered as a giant and Not Brand Ecch converted to one. Fatman, Captain ("split") Marvel; the list goes on...
ReplyDelete