Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #1 - Marvel

I haven't talked about Marvel's Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction nearly enough--a great, all-too short-lived labor of love from editor Roy Thomas and a host of talented artists and writers.

The movie poster-ish cover is the once-in-a-lifetime combo of Kelly Freas and John Romita. Apparently, the powers-that-be thought that the cowering couple needed to be more "Marvelized" so who better to do that than Jazzy John Romita? (In some weird way, I think the cover neatly summarizes the underlying concept of the magazine--the world of sci-fi(Freas) invading the world of Marvel(Romita). Am I reading too much into this?)

Note: A lot of the material in this first issue were taken from sci-fi/comic fanzines, on the idea that most readers had never seen this material before. And as you'll see, Marvel was able to cull material from some of the best in the biz at the time.

After an editorial/mission statement by Roy, we open with UW's setting--an adaptation of Bob Shaw's "Slow Glass" concept where via mysterious pieces of glass people can see alternate worlds and maybe their future. These wraparounds were by Tony "The Tiger" Isabella and the unbeatable art team of Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. A young couple comes in to the antique shop of one Mr. Sandson O Tyme(!) and sees...

"The Day of the Triffids", an adaptation of the book by John Wyndham, by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, and Ernie Chua. Mysterious, malevolent, plant-like creatures start taking over the Earth! This is part one of a multi-part story, continued into future issues.

Next is the head-trippin' "A View From Without..." by Neal Adams. Reprinted from Phase #1, A young man comes across an old, beaten-up data recorder which plays for him a tale of the brutal war that once took place in a country called "Vietnam." The tale is told via art and photos, featuring a talking head played by Adams himself! Neal doesn't pull any punches on this story, as it features a scene of a young Vietnamese baby getting its hand blown off. I wonder how long it would take for Neal and the editors to get thrown into jail if they had done this story today?

Next is a text feature, an all-new interview with the legendary(to say the least) Ray Bradbury! He talks about his work, his influences, and his enduring love for dinosaurs.

After that is "Smash Gordon", Frank Brunner's goofy parody combining Flash Gordon, a nekkid Dale Arden(in a Marvel mag!), and the crew of the Enterprise! This piece was originally done for a fanzine called Heritage. Very fun, and a nice counterpoint after the gut-punch of the Adams story.

Next is "Savage World!" by Wally Wood and Al Williamson, which was also a reprint, this time from Wood's Witzend magazine. A nuclear bomb goes off and then an entire underworld civilization is discovered in the crater! Classic Flash Gordon-esque art by Williamson and a host of uncredited all-star inkers, like Angelo Torres, Roy Krenkel, and Frank Frazetta!

Up next is another interview, this time with cover artist Kelly Freas, and then "Hey Buddy, Can You Lend Me A..." by Mike Kaluta, reprinted from Scream Door #1. It's about four space travelers who land on a world populated with giant, murderous insects, and has a classic, EC-esque twist ending. Save your dimes, everybody!

The couple and Sandson have time for one more tale, "Light of Other Days", also by Isabella and Colan, with inks by Mike Esposito. We get to see the sad events surrounding the creation of the "slow glass." It freaks our young couple out, and they split, leaving Sandson to marvel about how "They all want to know about slow glass. But they never seem to make any purchases."

A really great first issue, filled with varied themes, approaches, and tones. One of the best attempts at merging comics and sci-fi, and as we'll see, more good material was in the wings...