Captain's 50th Anniversary Library SPACE: 1999 "Moonless Night"

Our final graphic adaptation of the pilot episode, "Breakaway", from the first issue of the color Charlton comic series.

Script by Nicola Cuti (who also wrote last week's "The Last Moonrise").

Art by Joe Staton (who, most recently, helped reboot the long-running Dick Tracy newspaper strip).

Next Week:
The Never-Seen-in-America Illustrated Short Story Adaptation of "Breakaway" from the 1975 British Space: 1999 Annual!

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Space: 1999
The Complete Series

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Captain's 50th Anniversary Library: SPACE: 1999 "The Last Moonrise"

We presented the first of three different comic adaptations of the pilot episode, "Breakaway".

Today, we offer the second adaptation, from #1 of Charlton's Space: 1999 b/w magazine.

Written by Nicola Cuti, drawn by Gray Morrow.

It's interesting to see how much is left out of the five-page story, as opposed to the twenty-page Power Records version, which is much more complete.

Artist Gray Morrow was also the magazine's art editor, and painted all eight covers, some of which were reused on merchandise like t-shirts and puzzles.

The cover art for #1, shown above, was also used as advertising key art for first season print ads.

Next Week:

...the Four-Color Comic Adaptation!

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Space: 1999
The Complete Series

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Captain's 50th Anniversary Theatre SPACE: 1999 "Breakaway"

 

Space: 1999 debuted in 1975 with a major licensing push, including audio adventures, novelizations (along with original novels), and both comic books and b/w magazines.
Power Records, the premier children's audio line of the era did two lp record albums and two comic book/45 record adventures, including the pilot episode "Breakaway".
Charlton Comics published two different series, one as a standard four-color comic, the other a b/w magazine, both of which adapted the pilot episode with far different results.
With three different graphic adaptations (not including the prose novelization from Pocket Books), "Breakaway" was the single most adapted sci-fi movie or tv show in history, until Battlestar Galactica came along in 1979.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Space: 1999, on Wednesdays though October, we're going to present all three adaptations of "Breakaway", plus the prose short story from the rarely-seen-in-America hardcover Space: 1999 Annual published in England!
First up, the Power Records version, complete with soundtrack!
(After all, it was meant as a read-along adventure!)


The writer who adapted the screenplay is unknown, but the art is by Rich Buckler, Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin, and Neal Adams' Continuity Studios crew.
Trivia: While the various American licensors had the rights to use the likenesses of most of the cast, for some reason recently-deceased actor Prentis Hancock couldn't be used as Paul Morrow!

In all the American comics (including the two Power Records stories), artist/art director Gray Morrow served as the visual model for Paul Morrow!
However, the British comic strips in the Annuals and Look-In Magazine did use Prentiss' mustachioed visage as the stalwart Main Mission Controller!

Next Wednesday, the b/w magazine version.

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Space: 1999
The Complete Series

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Captain's Library: Christmas Comics: CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT "Sergeant Twilight Writhes Again"

Captain Midnight enjoys celebrating the holidays, whether it's Thanksgiving or Christmas...

...in one of the last comic book stories based on the radio show's format.

The comic book began to diverge from the radio show about the time this never-reprinted story, illustrated by Jack Binder, appeared in Fawcett's Captain Midnight #4 (1943).

Ichabod Mudd, who was Midnight's primary aide in all his media incarnations was already being altered with the addition of the comic-relief "Sgt Twilight" identity.
Cap himself would soon abandon the modified military flight suit seen in this story and adopt a skintight ensemble with built-in glider wings.
(It had the same color scheme, so many thought the new ensemble was just the old outfit with wings attached.)

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year!

Captain's Holiday Library: HOT WHEELS "Humbug Run"

In the Economical Spirit of ReGifting...

Art by Neal Adams & Dick Giordano

...here's a never-reprinted Yuletide tale from over a half-century ago that we originally-presented over a decade ago, so it's likely most of the blog's current readers have never seen it!

The cover story for DC's Hot Wheels #6 (1971) was written by Len Wein, with art by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, following Alex Toth's character designs from the 1969-1971 animated series based on the toy line.

Toth also illustrated most of the stories in the comic series!

Art by Alex Toth from Hot Wheels #1

Merry Christmas

&

Happy New Year!

Video's Valentine FLYING NUN "Perfect Valentine"

During the Swinging Sixties, you could turn almost anything into a TV series...

...as this silly, but amusing series (and spin-off comic) prove!

Though Sally Field's previous TV series, Gidget, had done poorly in the ratings and was cancelled after only one year, ABC discovered the starlet was incredibly-popular with the teen audience...which the ratings system of the time didn't take into account!

With sci-fi/fantasy dominating pop culture, the network commissioned a new series with a fantasy theme, resulting in a three-year run!

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Flying Nun

Seasons One & Two
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