Remembering Artist Murphy Anderson

Remembering artist Murphy Anderson on his birthday (July 9, 1926 - October 22, 2015) with a pair of Hawkman covers....#9 (August-September, 1965), featuring a team up with the Atom, and #18 (February-March, 1967), featuring a team up with Adam Strange.

Remembering Artist Murphy Anderson

Remembering artist Murphy Anderson on his birthday (July 9, 1926 - October 22, 2015) with a little look at his Strange Adventures...that is, two science fiction series he worked on, Captain Comet and the Atomic Knights.

Captain Comet was Adam Blake, a mutant born before his time with incredible mental powers, and the Atomic Knights included Gardner Grayle, who awoke to find himself in a post-apocalyptic world.

More on Captain Comet here, and the Atomic Knights here!

While a collection of the Atomic Knights happened over a decade ago, a planned Archive for Captain Comet never happened due to the end of the DC Archive line.

 

Remembering Artist Murphy Anderson

Remembering artist Murphy Anderson (July 9, 1926 - October 22, 2015) on his birthday.

Likely known better for his inking work (especially on Superman and Adam Strange), or his art on Captain Comet, Hawkman and the Atomic Knights, we celebrate Murphy Anderson today with his covers featuring the Spectre...as Murphy worked on the ghostly guardian's Silver Age revival in Showcase and the first issue of his series (where, unlike the rest of his Justice Society Of America friends, the Spectre was revived for more fun comics on his own).

Showcase #60 and #61 (January-February and March-April, 1966)

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Showcase #64 (September-October, 1966) and Spectre #1 (November-December, 1967)

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Earth's Frozen Heat Wave With Murphy Anderson

True, likely you don't need any reminder of the heat wave as it sweeps across the country, but, you might need a reminder that today is the birthday of artist, Murphy Anderson (July 9, 1926 - October 22, 2015).

Murphy Anderson drew many a strange adventure, including Strange Adventures #161 (February, 1964, with story by Ed Herron), where Earth faced the problem of all its water freezing during a heat wave!

If interested, here's a little more of Murphy Anderson's history, including Captain Comet, Kanjar Ro, special pin-ups of the Seven Soldiers of Victory and the JSA and more!

 

Thank A Mail Carrier Day 2018

Today we thank our letter carriers for their service, but none more so than Calvin Jackson, "Earth Hero Number One" (as of Strange Adventures #148 of January, 1963 by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson, with a cover by Murphy Anderson), as future students of the school named after him  look back to the day he saved the Earth from alien invaders!

Better still, this story has been reprinted twice, once in Super DC Giant #27 of the Summer of 1976 (with a cover by Ernie Chan), and once in the U.F.O Invaders Digest (DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #14 of October, 1981, with a cover by Joe Kubert), giving even more people a chance to review the historical record....

Strange Adventures In The Cold

As it gets colder, it is hard to image it getting worse, but it could.

In Strange Adventures #149 (February, 1963), scientist Bill Travis had to fend off an invasion from another dimension that was going to extinguish our sun in the story of "Raid Of The Rogue Star" by Gardner Fox and Sid Greene, under a Murphy Anderson cover. 

This tale was so warm, DC reprinted it in From Beyond The Unknown #21 (February-March, 1973), this time with Nick Cardy providing the cover of Earth's chilly doom.

Doesn't that make you feel warmer?

Happy Earth Day 2017!

Well, at least someone wants Earth!


Con man Silky Sloane tried to sell Earth to aliens in this story by writer Otto Binder and artist Sy Barry in Strange Adventures #47 (August, 1954) with "The Man Who Sold The Earth!"...


...all under this beautiful cover by Murphy Anderson!

Better still, this tale was reprinted in From Beyond The Unknown #25 (November-December, 1973), with cover art by Nick Cardy!


Let's try to keep the planet for ourselves!

Find The Strange Adventures Of Captain Comet

Captain Comet was a mutant, born 100,000 years ahead of his time (or over a decade before that group of kids and their professor came out as mutants against a magnetic menace...).

Adam Blake first appeared in Strange Adventures #9 (June, 1951) by writer John Broome, penciller Carmine Infantino and inked by Bernard Sachs, complete with his origins...though later tales would be drawn by Murphy Anderson, and inked by Sy Barry, with Gil Kane and Sy Barry finishing the art on the series in Strange Adventures #49 (October, 1954).

But...

....where to find those thrilling 1950s tales of space-bound, super-heroic action with Captain Comet, his friend Professor Emery Zachro and lady librarian Lucy Torrence?

 
Well, continue on.....

Strange Adventures #14

First up on this ride is Strange Adventures #14 (November, 1951) and it is a "Destination Doom" by writer John Broome and artist Murphy Anderson, where Captain Comet was taken off Earth in his alter ego of Adam Blake (looking like an average man) by aliens, who deposit their prisoners on planet FV 782 to be slaves to the robots there who lost their living inhabitants.  Captain Comet destroys the power source of the robots, then makes a spaceship to take his fellow captives home.


This story was reprinted in DC Super-Stars #4 (June, 1976), along with reprints of adventures of Adam Strange and Space Ranger, all under an Ernie Chan cover.

Strange Adventures #17

"Beware The Synthetic Men" was the warning given in Strange Adventures #17 (February, 1952) by writer John Broome, penciller Murphy Anderson and inker Joe Giella, where Captain Comet faces off against five Synthetic Men, artificial humans created by the army that the army lost control over.  Finding his mental powers don't work on this menace, Captain Comet is forced to use his brain to think of a way to defeat this menace, and prevent them from making more of their kind!



This story was reprinted in DC Super-Stars #6 (August, 1976) along with reprints of stories with Adam Strange, Tommy Tomorrow and the Space Cabby!

Strange Adventures #22

With Strange Adventures #22 (July, 1952), things get in order, thanks to "The Guardians Of The Clockwork Universe" by writer John Broome, penciller Murphy Anderson and inker Sy Barry.  Captain Comet is enlisted by the Guardians of the Universe (not related to but extremely similar to the Guardians of the Universe that mentored the Green Lantern Corps).  They send Captain Comet to the planet Lukan, whose rulers plan on moving their planet, which would throw the cosmos into chaos, meeting with his old friend, Radea, a female evolutionary mutant that the captain had met before, and frees her from the rulers of Lukan while stopping their plan, then returns her to her home planet.

This story is reprinted in World's Finest Comics #204 (August, 1971), with a cover by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, that features a Superman/Wonder Woman team-up and in the Mysteries In Space: The Best Of DC Science Fiction Comics book of October, 1980, along with the origin of the Martian Manhunter, and stories of the Space Museum, Space Cabby, Star Hawkins, Tommy Tomorrow, the Atomic Knights, the Star Rovers, Space Ranger and Adam Strange with a cover by Murphy Anderson featuring Adam Strange facing a flying gorilla!

Strange Adventures #28

Strange Adventures #28 (January, 1953) is the next Captain Comet story to be reprinted, with the "Devil's Island In Space" by John Broome and Murphy Anderson, but this story has a twist....Earth is picked by the aliens of Lamia as a place to put its criminals, and Captain Comet has to stop the invisible alien crooks from escaping, using a stolen hydrogen bomb to power the spaceship they are building.  The captain stops the criminals, returning them to their homeworld, warning the rulers there that Earth is not as backward as they thought, and not to use the planet as a prison.

This story was reprinted in the Greatest 1950s Stories Ever Told hardcover of 1990 with a cover by Joe Kubert and tradepaperback in 1992.

Strange Adventures #31

It's a real War of the Worlds in Strange Adventures #31 (April, 1953) by writer John Broome, penciller Murphy Anderson and inker Joe Giella, as Captain Comet becomes part of a re-enactment of Orson Wells' famous radio broadcast, but this time, it is for real, as real martians have replaced the actors in "Lights, Camera -- Invasion".  Captain Comet must break free from the aliens who have taken him captive and prevent them from taking over the Earth!

This story was reprinted in the Pulp Fiction Library: Mystery In Space tradepaperback of 1999, under a cover by Mitch O'Connell, and features many great science fiction stories, including tales of Tommy Tomorrow, Chris KL-99, Knights of the Galaxy, Space Cabby, Star Hawkins, Adam Strange, the Star Rovers, Space Ranger and Ultra the Multi-Alien!

Strange Adventures #34

With Strange Adventures #34 (July, 1953), you have a choice..."The Lady Or The Tiger Man" (by John Broome and Murphy Anderson).  Captain Comet discovers a new planet, ruled by an evil dictator, Esklon, who also has mental powers.  The captain frees the Tiger-Man, who then battles with him, until Esklon shoots him, revealing that it was the Tiger-Man who was the dictator, controlling him with his own mental powers.  Captain Comet frees the girl, Rana, who is Esklon's sister, and takes her with him to Earth.


This story is reprinted in Superman #244 (November, 1971) along with a new Superman story, and a Superman of 2465 reprint, all under a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson!

Strange Adventures #38

The last of the reprinted Captain Comet tales is Strange Adventures #38 (November, 1953) is "The Seeing-Eye Humans" by John Broome and Murphy Anderson, wherein Captain Comet and other humans are taken captive by aliens who take them to another planet, Reyna, whose inhabitants have been blinded by a nova from a nearby star.  Captain Comet helps lead the captives to freedom and tells the people of Reyna that they will adapt to being blind, and must make it on their own.


This story is reprinted in Justice League of America #60 (February, 1968), the story where Batgirl works with the JLA against the outer space menace of Zazzala, the Queen Bee (beautifully depicted in this cover by Murphy Anderson).

Now, some of these reprints are old as well...and DC was planning a Captain Comet Archives (announced in December of 2012 for August of 2013), but sadly, the Archive program ended before this book could be published (which would have included all of Captain Comet's Strange Adventures and his first 4 tales from the Secret Society of Super-Villains #2 to #5 from the 1970s; though maybe they could have included the tale of Captain Comet teaming up with Tommy Tomorrow to face dinosaurs and Chronos instead?).

One can only hope that DC will find a way to collect the original tales of Captain Comet in the future....

Happy Earth Day 2016!

Think Earth has it bad now?

What about "When Earth Turned Into A Comet"?

That was the title of a story from Strange Adventures #150 (March, 1963), by writer Gardner Fox, pencilled by Carmine Infantino and inked by Joe Giella (under this stunning cover by Murphy Anderson!).

Really a plot by aliens, it certainly freaked these astronauts out!

At least it was memorable. 

So memorable that Neal Adams did the cover for when the story was reprinted in From Beyond The Unknown #3 (February-March, 1970).



Be happy that our Earth isn't that mobile!

Remembering Murphy Anderson

Murphy Anderson was an artist and an inker, working primarily for DC Comics, whose work ranged from the Silver Age Hawkman, to Captain Comet, the Spectre, Adam Strange, the team-ups of Hourman and Dr. Fate and of Black Canary and Starman, and co-creating Zatanna and the Atomic Knights; as well as years of working as the main inker for Curt Swan on Superman and Action Comics.

Working primarily in DC's Silver Age (though quite a bit of work before it), Murphy's clean style was appreciated by many, he won a 1962 Alley Award for Best Inker, a 1963 Alley Award for "artist preferred on Justice League of America", 1964 Alley Awards for "Best Inking Artist" and "Best Comic Book Cover" for Detective Comics #329, 1965 Alley Awards for "Best Inking Artist", "Best Comic Book Cover" for Brave and the Bold #61 and "Best Novel" for Showcase #55.

Murphy's awards continued to stack up, being inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1998, the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2013 into the Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame.  Murphy was born on July 9th, 1926, and passed away this month at 89.

Best to let his work speak for itself!

Captain Comet in Strange Adventures

Strange Adventures

Starman and Black Canary

Hawkman and Adam Strange

Murphy's favorite

The Atomic Knights

In Action with Curt Swan

Superman and The Flash

Murphy, we'll miss you!