RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books Post-Apocalyptic stories in comics

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It occurs to me that another post-apocalyptic series (although more of a space-travel science fiction series, as well as a romance with Alanna) is Adam Strange, in MYSTERY IN SPACE 53-91, by Fox and Infantino.
On the planet Rann, they had a devastating global nuclear war, from which a thousand years after, the people of Rann are still struggling to recover from.
https://viewcomiconline.com/mystery-in-space-1951-issue-53/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Strange




Infantino reluctantly left the Adam Strange series in 1964, assigned to work on the "new look" Batman in DETECTIVE 327-369.

The series continued after Infantino's last issue in MYSTERY IN SPACE 91 for a few more issues, by artist Lee Elias, but it just wasn't the same without Infantino. The series was remarkably upbeat and optimistic for a post-apocalyptic series. Because it was more about Adam Strange as the hero of Rann, using his wits to repel one race of alien invaders after another., with Rann's nuclear war history mostly as a backdrop occasionally mentioned. The series also focused on the unrequited love of Adam Strange and Alanna.
I first read these stories reprinted in STRANGE ADVENTURES 217-244 (1969-1973), in what seemed like a very long and well received series of reprints.

Since then about 15 years ago, they were also reprinted in three DC Archives volumes.
And just as I got the third volume, they announced an omnibus hardcover of the same issues.


Here are all the Infantino issues, in MYSTERY IN SPACE 53-91 :
https://viewcomiconline.com/mystery-in-space-1951-issue-53/

And while I'm less enthusiaastic about the three origin story issues that preceded the Infantino run, here are the three Sekowsky issues in
SHOWCASE 17-19 in 1958-1959 :
https://viewcomiconline.com/showcase-issue-17/


I also really enjoyed the wedding story of Adam Strange and Alanna, in JLA 120-121.
https://viewcomiconline.com/justice-league-of-america-1960-issue-120/

And a few Adam Strange team-up stories in three issues of BRAVE AND THE BOLD in issues 90 ( a good "last Batman story", by Haney and Andru/Esposito), issue 161 (by Haney and Aparo), and issue 190 (by Barr and Infantino/Trapani)
https://viewcomiconline.com/category/the-brave-and-the-bold-1955/

And a SECRET ORIGINS 17 story, Aug 1987, where Infantino once again pencilled Adam Strange in his origin re-telling. Why Murphy Anderson was not selected as inker (instead of Tony DeZuniga) is a mystery to me. Writing and art that re-tells the origin story, but for me strayed a bit too far from its Silver Age appeal. Thanks to DeZuniga, Infantino's art was virtually unrecognizable.
https://viewcomiconline.com/secret-origins-1986-issue-17/

As compared with this "Space Museum" tribute in SECRET ORIGINS 50, also pencilled by Infantino, and beautifully inked by George Perez, that I think in both story and art perfectly re-captures the Silver Age stories it was tribute to.
https://viewcomiconline.com/secret-origins-1986-issue-50/

Adam Strange's run was one of the brightest lights of the Silver Age. And likewise Infantino's FLASH run and DETECTIVE COMICS run, particularly the Elongated man backup stories in DETECTIVE. And Gil Kane's THE ATOM, and Kubert's HAWKMAN, and the early Zatanna crossover appearances. All very fondly remembered. A wonderful blend of beautiful art, whimsey and optimism across all of these Schwartz-edited titles. In Adam Strange's case, even amid the aftermath, a thousand years after a nuclear war on Rann.

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Bringing a little Biblical apocalyse to the post-apocalyptic topic, this offering from Jack Chick's THE CRUSADERS series, issue 5.

https://viewcomiconline.com/the-crusaders-1974-issue-5/




For those unfamiliar with the series, each issue has these two Christian missionaries, Jim Carter and Tim Clark, sent on missions to different parts of the world, to aid people against political and spiritual threats. And once there, enlighten people what Bible scripture foretells about the threat they face.

In issue 1, they travel to communist-occupied Rumania, where they help smuggle in the Bible on microfilm, to spread the gospel and allow the Rumanians to teach scripture and print their own bibles, The two missionaries clash with the KGB, who try to discredit and undermine them.

Issue 2 is set in southern California, and deals with runaways who unwittingly make friends with Satanists, and are unwittingly drugged and used as human sacrifices.

Issue 3 is set in southern Africa, about an African nation's dictator, who was savagely beaten at a young age by imperial British soldiers, sparking a lifelong hatred of whites that drove him to become an oppressive dictator. He also allies with Chinese-looking communists who seek to use his country as part their communist global expansion. One of the best illustrated issues. The dictator character somewhat resembles then-revolutionary and later prime minister Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
Issue 4 is set in India, and deals with demonic posession.

Relevant to this discussion, in issue 5 the two crusaders are sent to Israel on a mission, and a Bible scholar they meet discusses details of Israeli history and end-time Bible prophecy, the rise of the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet, a revived Roman empire (ten nations with ten kings, "the beast with ten horns", that unite under the AntiChrist in end times), the 7-year Tribulation period, and the battle of Armageddon (Armageddon comes from Har Megiddo, or the hill of Megiddo, a high-ground hill overlooking the valley of Jezreel, where the battle of Armageddon is foretold will be fought, that in Biblical times had a watchtower fort built on top of it.

This issue was released in 1975, so it has some amusing dated elements such as hippies and peace signs, with giant tattoos of 666 symbols on everyone's foreheads. Whereas in the current era, we know this "number of the beast" required mark on everyone's right hand and forehead would be in invisible chip form that can be electronically scanned. And the global threat of Soviet communism has shifted since 1991, in modern times to be a world more dominated by a Chinese communist threat than a Russian one. Although the Russians still have enough missiles to blow up the world, or be reigned into a war in the Middle East, in alliance with Arab nations, that could bring about the same basic scenario of a global conflagration.
While a serious story and an informative review of Biblical end-time prophecy, these dated anachronisms in the story and other bits of deliberate silliness make them fun to read, such as the zealous communist spies everywhere: "I must notify Moscow at once, my Comrades will be pleased."

Issue 6 deals with Evolution, and anti-Christian messaging in popular culture.

Issue 7 explores archaeological history that supports the existence of Noah's Ark, that several documentaries have shown to still remain on Mount Ararat on the northeasternmost edge of Turkey, where the two missionaries travel on their assignment that issue.

The two best issues of the series for me are issues 3 and issue 7, that also have the best art. Issue 5 is another nice offering to the series.
https://viewcomiconline.com/the-crusaders-1974-issue-3/
https://viewcomiconline.com/the-crusaders-1974-issue-7/

Here's another updated link to larger scans of the complete DOOMSDAY +1 issues 1-6 (also reprinted as 7-12 in the same order), that load more quickly and are easier to navigate.
https://comiconlinefree.net/doomsday-1-1975/issue-1/full
On this site, you can click to select in the upper left, to either view one page at a time, or "full" and view the full issue you can more easily scroll through.


[ ViewComicOnline, also has these same issues, that are my current preferred online reading site. They are complete and work now. But weirdly, previously, issues 1-6 were on their website missing the last page of each issue. And then the reprints in 7-12 also were all missing the last page of each issue. But fixed and working now.
https://viewcomiconline.com/doomsday-1-1975-issue-1/

And frustratingly, neither ViewcomicOnline.com or ComicOnlineFree.net have scans of Fantagraphics' DOOMSDAY SQUAD reprints that provide better offset printing of the same DOOMSDAY+1 Byrne issues, and for the first time present a 7th previously unpublished story for the series by Byrne, reprinted from the CHARLETON BULLSEYE fanzine. Oh well, at least you have the above site where you can read the original 1975-1976 issues...
And less easy to navigate, but still there as a backup, the DiversionsOfTheGroovy site scans of them as well, from before these other online libraries were created.

ReadComicOnline also has them too, but is still having problems, that currently has a ridiculous amount of pop-up ads that re-open as soon as you close them. ]

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An updated link to the complete issue for ALIEN WORLDS 3:


I also updated the second link above so you can read the full story for WEIRD FANTASY 18 (Al Feldstein story, Joe Orlando art)

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From WEIRD FANTASY 17, Jan 1953, the Ray Bradbury story "There Will Come Soft Rains", adapted by Al Feldstein and Wallace Wood.
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Weird-Fantasy-1951/Issue-17?id=124729


A wonderfully quiet post-Apocalyptic tale, where nuclear war has killed off all the humans, and for a while anyway, the timer-set lights still go on, the sprinklers still run every day, and to some degree the cities and suburbs continue their routine, even in the absence of humans. That in some ways is chilling, but also gives a surface appearance of normalcy.



In an interview of Ray Bradbury, in a funny account, Bradbury told how he noticed in the early 1950's, EC Comics was unashamedly swiping his stories and doing uncredited adaptations.
Bradbury sent a letter to managing editor William Gaines, saying "You know, I really enjoyed your adaptation of my story, but I haven't received your royalty check yet..."

After which Gaines sent him a check, and they became friends, and led to many more credited Bradbury story adaptations.

Also in this issue is the story "The Aliens", another post-Apocalyptic tale, observing Earh's destruction through the eyes of observing aliens, by Feldstein and Al Williamson. The origin of the famous humorous alien-language phrases "Squa Tront" and "Spa Fon". That also spawned two EC fanzines using the same names.

SQUA TRONT 1-14 (July 1967 - March 2022)
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=172261

SPA FON 1-5 ( 1966 - Sept 1969)
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=35146388

https://comiconlinefree.net/druuna/issue-1/full
New updated link.

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Another post-Apocalyptic offering is SABRE, initially a black-and-white graphic novel by Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy (1978)

The black and white graphic novel was also released in more or less its original form in a 2nd printing(1979) , then 10th anniversary, 20th anniversary, and 30th anniversary re-releases.
(The various printings of the 8" X 11" b&w graphic novel version: ) https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?q=sabre+&pubid=&PubRng=

For the black-and-whie graphic novel version, I like the 20th anniversary version the best, it has the clearest printing and the strongest binding. And has the nicest logo, that it was displayed with in ads when first released, but to my knowledge not used on the actual book until the 20th anniversary edition.
This also had the distinction of being the very first Eclipse publication.
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Sabre-1998/Full?id=159378 (b & w graphic novel, 20th anniversary edition, 1998 )


But I first read the McGregor / Gulacy story as the first 2 issues of the SABRE full-color comics series, when re-released in that form in 1982. Eclipse's first comic book series as well. While the b & w 1978 graphic novel version is interesting to see in its original form, I prefer the color version.
Full issues online to read at :
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Sabre/Issue-1?id=123387 (color comic series, issues 1-14)



I thought the first 2 issues by McGregor/Gulacy, and the 3rd issue by McGregor and Graham/Freeman beginning a new storyline, were all fantastic, both in writing and art.
To be honest, beyond that, I felt the story and art changed direction and become not as compelling.
Though there are also some nice backup stories by Sutton (3), "The Incredible Seven" by B.C. Boyer (4-6), Kent Williams (7 -8, and many covers), Michael Bair (9-10, a k a, Mike Hernandez), and Denys Cowan (12)

But in the initial issues, I like the swashbuckling heroism and optimism of the character, in what is essentially set (issues 1 and 2) in all but name in the post apocalyptic remains of Walt Disney World, with Sabre and his band of mercenary drifters and some innocent bystanders defying an authoritarian and corrupt police state that governs what's left of the world. With a lot of humorous ironies and twists thrown in, amid an intelligent and well-written story.

The series ran a total of 14 issues.
Issues 1 and 2 are a complete story.
Issues 3-9 complete a second storyline, with art by Billy Graham.
And issues 10-14 with art by Jose Ortiz, the third and final storyline.

Old Man Logan is a really good post apocalyptic Marvel story, marred only by the fact that bleak post apocalyptic marvel stories are a dime a dozen, and Marvel not knowing when to quit as they stretched out the Old Man Logan universe as far as it could go, until the character itself got folded into the 616 continuity.

I never heard of it till you mentioned it.
But yeah, looking it up, I can easily see Marvel turned it into a minor franchise :

https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?q=old+man+logan&pubid=&PubRng=

I guess it starts with this 5-issue series in 2015:

OLD MAN LOGAN
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Old-Man-Logan-2015/Issue-1?id=18626


Followed by a 50-issue second series beginning in 2016 :
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Old-Man-Logan-2016/Issue-1?id=18835

Plus a lot of other ANNUAL issues, one-shots and collected trades.
If Marvel did several TRUE BELIEVERS reprint issues, I guess they consider it a big deal in Marvel's continuity and history.
And that's not even including some other storylines you mention with "616", that I have no familiarity with.

Something to explore after the holiday.
I've been joking for years that you need a Phd. in Comic Book Continuity to read the new books, and this appears to be just the latest example.

Wolverine was part of the DAYS OF FUTURE PAST story in X-MEN 141-142 (mentioned earlier in the topic) , which is well received by many, including me.
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Uncanny-X-Men-1963/Issue-141?id=22820

I guess we were lucky back then, that Marvel didn't think to maximize that storyline into a massive franchise, like they did with this OLD MAN LOGAN one.

It's not just a storyline. There was a period where the mainstream continuity Wolverine died, and he was replaced by Old Man Logan (in all the teams). It's poorly handled, too. Unlike his version in the miniseries, Old Man Logan in the mainstream 616 continuity is basically the same character, just with grey hair (grizzled, with a lot of emotional baggage and frequent problems with his age is not a defining trait, because normal Wolverine already has those qualities.)

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So... he became a cranky old Wolverine who needed to take his Midol?

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Man...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth-616

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Universe

... as if the Marvel continuity were not already complicated enough.

It's gratifying how viscerally both editors Tom Brevoort and Joe Quesada thoroughly reject the "Earth 616" term.
As apparently do many others in the Marvel offices they refer to but don't name, as staff who agree with them and don't use the term.



I actually read these Dave Thorpe, Alan Moore and Alan Davis stories about 25 years ago, reprinted in the U.S. in a title called X-MEN ARCHIVES 1-7, and at the time didn't realize they had any significance at all, that apparently spawned the idea for this "Earth 616" thing.
The Thorpe, Moore and Davis stories were apparently given a greater significance retroactively by other writers and artists in later storylines.

all 7 issues at :
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/X-Men-Archives-Featuring-Captain-Britain

They can reject it as much as they want, even the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the videogames have started assigning each other numbers. DC's not doing so well either. I don't even know what their mainstream continuity designation is, but they have letters and numbers for each Earth.

Yeah, I think it's a case of Quesada, Brevoort and their editorial staff being the older generation (about the same age as me), and therefore resistant to the whole "Earth 616" thing.
Whereas the newer generation of Marvel editors, and readers, and Marvel movie fans, maybe were introduced to Marvel with the "616" thing, and so are not resistant to it.

If you grow up with dumb stuff, I guess it seems less dumb.
And that's probably true of a lot of the stuff I grew up with too.

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Another I enjoyed is the Atomic Knights, that ran in every 3rd issue from STRANGE ADVENTURES 117 to 160, from June 1960 -January 1964.
The entire series written by John Broome, with all art by Murphy Anderson.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Knight#The_original_Atomic_Knights

117 “The Rise of the Atomic Knights” (16 pages), June 1960
120 “The Menace of the Water-Raider” (8 pages), Sept 1960
123 “The Cavemen of New York” (9 pages), Dec 1960
126 “The Lost City of Los Angeles” (9 pages), March 1961
129 “World Out of Time” (9 pages), June 1961

132 “Thanksgiving Day--1990" (9 pages), Sept 1961
135 “War In Washington” (9 pages), Jan 1962
138 “The Attack of the Giant Dogs” (9 pages), Mar 1962
141 “Menace of the Metal-Looters” (9 pages), June 1962
144 “When the Earth Blacked Out” (15 pages), Sept 1962

147 “The King of New Orleans” (16 pages), Dec 1962
150 “The Plant That Hated Humans” (16 pages), March 1963
153 “Danger In Detroit” (15 pages), June 1963
156 “Threat of the Witch-Woman” (16 pages), Sept 1963
160 “Here Come the Wild Ones” (15 pages), Jan 1964

So 15 issues total, spanning 4 years. It was a delightfully upbeat and very Silver-Age-ish post-Apocalyptic vision. As in other post-nuclear-war stories of the 1950's and 1960s, whether in comics or movies or TV shows, I'm always struck by how polite everyone is, so well mannered, so clean cut, as they fight in the post-Apocalypic ashes for the last can of beans. One thing that stuck out for me visually was their riding mutated giant dogs as horses. And also the notion of wearing medeival suits of armor from a museum, and holding rituals like King Arthur and his knights sitting at round table meetings, discussing how they would organize and resolve their survival issues.

I also like how they traveled each story to a different city almost every issue, so that whatever part of the country you lived in as a reader, you got visuals of the local region you were familiar with in the bombed-out post World War III future, as well as seeing the rest of the country.

Another thing I loved was the nuclear war that destroyed the world being well known to the characters as October 29 1986.
There were two guys working at DC in the 1980's and one of them was a huge enthusiast of the Atomic Knights, I think maybe Jack C. Harris and Cary Burkett. And in a DC editorial around 1987, that I haven't been able to find again, one of the 2 relates how one day he got a phone call from the other, saying "Hey Jack, guess what? It's October 29 1986...." !!

Years later, right after the Neal Adams Deadman run ended (STRANGE ADVENTURES 205-216) in 1969, DC then made STRANGE ADVENTURES a reprint book for the remainder of its run in issues 217-244, reprinting one Adam Strange story per issue, and one Atomic Knights story per issue. And it was with these issues that I first discovered and enjoyed both characters. All but one of the Atomic Knights stories were reprinted, in order (217-231), with the single exception for some reason of issue 120 ( “Menace of the Water-Raider”"). And a thick slice of the more numerous Adam Strange stories were also reprinted.