Space Adventures (sometimes cover-titled Science Fiction Space Adventures, Space Adventures Presents Rocky Jones and other variations for particular issues) was an American science-fiction anthology comic book series published sporadically by Charlton Comics from 1952 to 1979. Its initial iteration included some of the earliest work of industry notables Steve Ditko, Dick Giordano, and Tony Tallarico, and at least one story by EC Comics mainstay Bernard Krigstein.
In 1960, a second iteration introduced the superhero Captain Atom by writer Joe Gill and artist Ditko, shortly prior to Ditko’s co-creation of Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.
Space Adventures, a science-fiction anthology comic book from the Derby, Connecticut-based Charlton Comics, was initially published for 21 issues (cover-dated July 1952 – Aug. 1956). Issues #9-12 (Winter 1954 – Aug. 1954) were cover-titled Science Fiction Space Adventures. The following two issues were cover-billed Space Adventures Presents The Blue Beetle, and featured reprints of the defunct publisher Fox Comics’ superhero, from 1939. Issues #15-18 (March-Sept. 1955) carried the rubric Space Adventures Presents Rocky Jones, and featured that children’s television character in licensed TV spin-off stories.
These were primarily illustrated by penciler Ted Galindo and inked by, variously, Dick Giordano, Ray Osrin, or Galindo himself. Giordano penciled at least one “Rocky Jones” story, “Gravity-Plus”, inked by Jon D’Agostino, in issue #18. Issues #19 and #21 reverted to Space Adventures, interspersed with another licensed tie-in, Space Adventures Presents First Trip to the Moon — a retitled reprint of writer Otto Binder, penciler Dick Rockwell and inker Sam Burlockoff’s adaptation of the movie Destination Moon, from Fawcett Comics’ 1950 one-shot of that name.
Space Adventures #10-11 (Spring-June 1954) contained two of Steve Ditko’s first half-dozen comic-book covers. Issue #16 (May 1955) features a six-page story, “Jealousy on Kano”, by artist Bernard Krigstein, one of EC Comics’ acclaimed creators in one of his small handful of non-EC stories during that publisher’s 1954-55 heyday.
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