Every Sunday morning we showcase a classic comic cover, complete with compelling commentary, for your cordial contemplation. It’s the Classic Comic Cover Corner!
Planet Comics #9 – November, 1940
Cover art by Nick Cardy
A couple of nights ago I was thumbing through a book I recently added to my collection, Action! Mystery! Thrills!: Comic Book Covers of the Golden Age 1933-45 by Greg Sadowski, and I came across a cover that had me giggling like grade school kid. We’ve all heard the endless (and never old) jokes about the infamous seventh planet from our Sun, but I couldn’t believe that “Uranus” would actually be used as the serious title of a comic book story.
I absolutely love this classic comic cover. Not only does Planet Comics #9 (November, 1940) feature the awesomely titled story, “Invasion from Uranus,” starring The Red Comet, it also has some of the coolest character names you’ll ever read. I mean, come on, who can’t get behind heroes with monikers like Flint Baker, Buzz Crandal, Cosmo Corrigan, and the great Spurt Hammond?
The “Invasion from Uranus” story made me wonder, when exactly did Uranus become the “butt” end of so much innuendo and humor? Apparently in 1940 it was still okay to use the planet’s name in a dignified manner. If anyone knows who cracked the the first Uranus joke, please let us know.
This very cool cover by Will Eisner Hall of Famer (and legendary Aquaman artist), Nick Cardy, has our man Flint taking on the “fierce denizens of the dark underground inferno of Mars,” who appear to be using some sort of drilling devices. When you think about it, it’s a fortunate thing this is happening on Mars and not that “other” planet.
UPDATE: It has come to our attention that the legendary Golden & Silver Age comic artist, Nick Cardy, passed away on November 3, 2013. He was 93 years-old and left the world with a fantastic body of work that will entertain comic book fans for generations to come (including two different comics that we’ve featured in CCCC over the past two weeks, unbeknownst of Mr. Cardy’s unfortunate end.) RIP Mr. Cardy and thank you for your awesome contributions to pop culture.
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