First up was "Rocket Lanes of Tomorrow", a 2-page Simon&Kirby feature from REAL FACT COMICS #1 (1946). A nice little filler about the wonderous future of jet-packs, space exploration and trans-world tunnels. Very nice artwork, showing the influence of pulp sci-fi illustrations on Kirby's early style.
Later in the book is a sample of Kirby's 1950s work at DC, the 8-page "I Found the City Under the Sea" from MY GREATEST ADVENTURE #15 (1957). In this story, the crew of a fishing boat find a strange tube with a note inside from an oceanographer, Ellery Jones. He detected signs of a civilization under the ocean, and went to explore, finding a massive city.
That panel of the city is nice, very much like a rough form of the odd perspective city-scapes he'd perfect in the 1960s with some of the views of Atlantis or Asgard, and later with New Genesis.
As it turns out, the city is filled with aliens, planning to conquer the surface world, once they can get their hands on an experimental new chemical, aqua-ulium, without which the aliens and their materials vapourize in the atmosphere. They're just waiting to sink a shipment of the chemical to proceed. With the help of a peaceful alien scientist, Jones is able to escape, finds a way to send out his note in case he fails and then prepares to blow up the alien city.
Back on the fishing ship, they think the note is just fantasy, until suddenly an underwater explosion jolts the ship, and then the note and container dissolve. They check and find out that an approaching ship is in fact carrying a shipment of aqua-ulium.
Very fun story, with some nice Kirby artwork. In particular I liked the alien city, both the city-scape views and some of the interior views, with odd bits of alien sculpture.
Published 1999
No comments:
Post a Comment