From Beyond the Unknown #2 (On Sale: October 23, 1969) has a cover by Murphy Anderson.

We begin with "Parade of the Planets" by Otto Binder and Frank Giacoia from Mystery in Space #52. Next is "Giants of the Cosmic Ray" by France Herron, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs from Strange Adventures #82. Lastly we have "The Brain-Masters of Polaris" by John Broome, Alex Toth and Sy Barry from Strange Adventures #12.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Strange Adventures #221

Strange Adventures #221 (On Sale: September 18, 1969) has an Adam Strange cover by Murphy Anderson.

We begin with"The Duel of the Two Adam Stranges" by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs from Mystery In Space #59. A giant Adam Strange appears outside Ranagar and proclaims himself dictator. Alanna can’t believe that Adam has become evil, but he claims to have been altered by the gravitational pull of a radioactive planet. As the giant Adam begins demolishing Ranagar, the former dictator or Rann, Avanar Bar, rises to stop him.

When the real Adam Strange arrives, he explains that the giant is a robot. He tries to stop the robot as well, but when he can’t he realizes that Avanar is controlling it and in doing so trying to reclaim his position as ruler. Adam exposes the plot and gains control of the robot using a device Avanar had hidden under a wig.

Next is "The Square Earth" by Otto Binder and Sy Barry and reprinted from Mystery In Space #22.

We end with the Atomic Knights in "World Out of Time" by John Broome and Murphy Anderson and reprinted from Strange Adventures #129. Bryndon develops a machine that can tap into satellites in Earth's orbit. He uses the satellite cameras to view the world ravaged by World War III. Unexpectedly, the cameras reveal an island in the Atlantic that still has green trees. The Knights speculate that it might be Atlantis, so they leave to investigate.

The island is indeed Atlantis returned as a result of the war. The island is inhabited by Atlantean people planning to conquer the rest of the world. However, they cannot leave the island due to a radiation field surrounding it.

When the Atomic Knights arrive, they can safely pass through the radiation field. The Atlanteans capture them to find out how they are immune to the radiation. The Knights escape before their enemies learn that the armor they wear protects them. As they leave the island, an earthquake causes it to sink into the ocean. Marene manages to gather some seed and food before it sinks. The Knights hope plant life on Earth can be restored with what they've recovered.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Strange Adventures #218

Strange Adventures #218 (On Sale: March 18, 1969) has a cover by Neal Adams

We begin with Adam Strange in "The Planet and the Pendulum," reprinted from Showcase #17 and created by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Joe Giella. Adam Strange is again transported to Rann by stepping into the path of the Zeta-Beam. This time he arrives in the ruined city of Yardana, where he is captured by the barbaric Zoora tribe. Believing Adam to be a sorcerer, the tribe take Adam to the Tower of Rainbow Doom. Surrounded by a rainbow of lights, Adam is teleported to Anthorann a nearby planet.

Adam discovers the wreckage of a spacecraft on the surface whose passengers include Sardath and Alanna. Alanna explains that the scientists from Samakand gave their technology to the people of Ranagar. This enabled Sardath to construct a spacecraft to travel to a lost colony on Anthorann. Their ship was attacked by a vessel from Morleen and forced down.

Adam, Alanna, and Sardath are met by a man from New Ranagar and taken inside the protective dome of the city. The aliens return using a giant pendulum to slice open the dome. Using a rocket pack and ray-gun found in the spaceship, Adam destroys the pendulum while dodging enemy fire. With the weapon destroyed, the aliens leave, and Adam once again returns to Earth when the Zeta radiation dissipates.

Next is "Interplanetary Insurance, Inc." from Mystery in Space #16 by Sid Gerson, Carmine Infantino and Sy Barry.

Lastly we have the Atomic Knights in "The Rise of the Atomic Knights" from Strange Adventures #117 by John Broome and Murphy Anderson. Gardner Grayle, a man who is statistically the average soldier, has survived World War III, which lasted only 20 days. In the post-holocaust world, all plant and animal life has been destroyed. The only remaining food supplies are being hoarded by a tyrant called the Black Baron.

Grayle is attacked by looters trying to rob him. He escapes, then helps another man, Douglas Herald, fend off the attackers. Grayle and Herald discover a set of six medieval suits of armor that have become resistant to radiation. The two men decide to use the suits to attack the Baron's stronghold. They recruit three other men to join the fight, leaving the last suit of armor behind because it is too small.

The five men assault the Baron's stronghold wearing the armor which resists the tyrant's rayguns. The Baron nearly kills Grayle, but he is rescued by an unknown person wearing the sixth suit of armor. After the Baron is defeated, the sixth knight is revealed to be Marene, Herald's sister. The six knights agree to stay together to fight for justice in the post-apocalyptic world.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Phantom Stranger #1

Phantom Stranger #1 (On Sale: March 13, 1969) has a cover by Bill Draut.

Fresh from his Showcase tryout we have the Phantom Stranger. We begin with "When Ghosts Walk" from Phantom Stranger #1 (1952) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Sy Barry. Three friends share a plane flight that ends in a fatal crash. Sometime after the crash, ghosts appear and carry out the plans of the dead men that they were unable to complete.

The ghost of Carson Rand attempts to take papers from Edgar Jones which were to be used to blackmail him. The ghost is stopped by the Phantom Stranger. Next the ghost of Bart Benson appears to break a unbreakable bronco. The Phantom Stranger appears to and reveals that it was a trick.

Finally, the apparent ghost of John Martin contacts his fiancee, Margo Phillips. The Phantom Stranger once again appears. The Stranger unmasks the ghost as Matt Wright, a night club employee which Margo caught stealing. Matt had used the ghosts to disguise his true goal of killing Margo. The Stranger's arrival saves Margo and exposes the ghostly hoax.

Next is Doctor 13 in "The Hermit's Ghost Dog" from Star Spangled Comics #125 by Francis Herron and Leonard Starr.

Lastly is the only new material in the book, "Defeat the Dragon Curse ...or Die" by Mike Friedrich and Bill Draut. This new story was reprinted in Showcase Presents Phantom Stranger Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Our Army at War #206

Our Army at War #206 (On Sale: March 4, 1969) has an interesting split cover by Joe Kubert.

We start with Sgt. Rock in "There's a War On" by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. That's followed by "The Wall" a reprint from All-American Men of War #7 by France Herron, Jerry Grandenetti and Sy Barry. Lastly is "Death Crowns an Ace" by Robert Kanigher and Ken Barr.

This is Scottish artist Ken Barr's first work for DC. Ken would draw twelve stories for DC in all, eleven of them between 1969 and 1974 and a final one in 1981. Barr would also write one of the stories and he would draw four war covers for DC as well. Ken's style lent itself to war books, though two of his stories were for the horror/mystery line.

Comic fans most likely remember Ken Barr for his paintings. He did a couple of covers for Warren's Creepy and for the fanzines Phase 1 and Hot Stuf but his real workload was for Marvel. Ken painted the covers of their black and white Doc Savage book from issue 2-8. He also did covers for The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, The Rampaging Hulk, Marvel Preview, The Savage Sword of Conan, Planet of the Apes and Savage Tales.

According to his website, Ken is currently working on a fully painted Dracula graphic novel.

Edited by Joe Kubert.

DC Special #3

DC Special #3 (On Sale: February 13, 1969), the "All-girl Issue," has a cover that the Grand Comics Database says is penciled by Neal Adams and inked by Nick Cardy, but I have to disagree with that. The Art of Nick Cardy says that Nick penciled and inked the cover, which I would agree with. However, the Supergirl figure has been reinked if not also redrawn by Neal Adams.

We begin with a previously unpublished Golden Age Wonder Woman story, "The Cheetah's Thought Prisoners" drawn by H. G. Peters.

Next is "The Maid of Menace" as Supergirl story reprinted from Action Comics #304. by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney. A female super villain with all the powers of Supergirl begins attacking Earth. Supergirl responds to the emergency and learns the villain is called the Black Flame. The villainous claims she is from the future and a descendant of Supergirl herself. Supergirl researches the claim and cannot find evidence to disprove it.

Supergirl then decides to remove her own powers using Gold Kryptonite to prevent her descendant from receiving them. After exposure, Black Flame reveals that she is really a Kandorian named Zora, enlarged by a Red Kryptonite cloud. After the Red K wears off, she shrinks to normal size and Supergirl uses tiny grains of Gold K to remove Zora’s powers. She herself never used real Gold K, so Supergirl is able to retain her own powers. Zora is then sent back to Kandor for incarceration.

Next is Black Canary in another unpublished Golden Age story "Special Delivery Death," written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs. Reprinted in Black Canary Archives Vol. 1 HC.

This is followed by "Girl in the Golden Flower" a reprint from Strange Adventures #18 by Gardner Fox, Alex Toth and Sy Barry.

Lastly is a reprint from Green Lantern #16, "The Secret Life of Star Sapphire" by John Broome, Gil Kane and Joe Giella. Having learned how to fly a plane from Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris is piloting her private aircraft for fun. Suddenly, her plane is yanked from the sky by an unknown force. She is brought down by the Zamorans, a race of immortal women from a distant planet. They are ruled by a mortal queen, which has just died. Carol is a replica of the dead ruler, so the Zamorans crown Carol, Queen Star Sapphire. However Carol reveals she is in love with Green Lantern, whom the Zamorans believe is inferior because he is a man. In order to prove the superiority of women to Carol, they give her a royal gem which gives her super-powers.

At the Ferris Company, Hal Jordan is worried about Carol, who hasn’t returned from her flight. He sets out as Green Lantern to find her. He spots Star Sapphire flying over the city. The female challenges GL and dares him to stop her from committing a robbery. She takes an ancient hand mirror from a museum exhibit and flys off with it. (The mirror was actually placed there by the Zamorans.) When Green Lantern tries to stop her, he is blasted by a repelling ray, enabling her to escape.

Still not convinced of her own superiority, Carol, as Star Sapphire, convinces the Zamorans to give Green Lantern another chance. The Zamorans inform Green Lantern that Star Sapphire is committing another robbery, so GL flys after her. The two battle each other to a stalemate until Green Lantern discovers incoming radiation being sent to her. He cuts off the radiation which weakens Star Sapphire, and enables him to capture her. The Zamorans teleport her back to their ship and remove her powers and memory, disappointed in her defeat. Green Lantern later finds Carol near her plane, and he locates a star sapphire gem near her as well.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.