Fantastic Adventures in the Comics

<p> Science fiction and fantasy comics present colorful if disparate visions of the future, from bleak, post-apocalyptic nightmare scenarios, to prophetic explorations of technical advances, to startling stories of space colonization. Concentrating on the 1940s to 1980s, this book presents a critical analysis of the genre, examining everything from hokey, even chauvinistic tales of virile adventurers and their space "babes" to more thought-provoking tales of the clash of alien cultures and frightening, ironic looks at the joys and pitfalls of outer space travel.</p><p> This volume scrutinizes the output of many different publishers: DC Comics with their long-running <I>Strange Adventures</I> and <I>Tales of the Unexpected</I>, among others, series that specialized in gimmicky covers geared to attract and pull in the juvenile reader; EC comics with its more adult, occasionally controversial tales in <I>Weird Science</I> and <I>Weird Fantasies</I>; Marvel Comics, who populated its various series with many monsters and grotesque alien creatures; Charlton with its numerous fantasy magazines; American Comics Group, a publisher that contrasted humor and whimsy with more sobering stories in its <I>Forbidden Worlds</I> and <I>Adventures into the Unknown</I>, along with comics from Dell, Gold Key, Avon, Fiction House, and many others. The most notable stories, writers and artists are highlighted.</p>