The ultimate statement of 1940s pulp science fiction art was the holy trinity of man, woman, and monster. Whether it was aliens invading Earth or humans out in space encountering unknown life forms, the three would act out their roles: the male - usually heroic, the female - lovely and underdressed, and the creatures — who got nicknamed BEMs, which stands for bug-eyed monsters. In addition to reducing space opera to its essence, these covers also made a philosophical point - at least to the guys of yesterday and today — that the aliens, however inhuman, had something in common with the home boys: they both seemed to like the ladies. Thus it became - most often - a futuristic "St. George and the Dragon" with the knight, the princess, and the magical beast. This tradition was upheld in the science fiction comics as well - most ably by publishers who also produced pulp SF.

     The two green BEMs on the cover of Startling Comics #48 (November 1947) may not be the most terrifying monstrosities ever imagined, but the whole scene is so well constructed that it rates as a classic. It's beautiful work by Alex Schomburg in his airbrush "Xela" mode. This isn't really a science-fiction comic ofthe kind the 1950s would bring; it's an anthology with Lance Lewis Space Detective as cover feature.

     The first strip inside is "Tygra" - a jungle heroine who gained super strength by drinking a new vitamin formula. In this ish she's fighting a mad doctor who transplants human brains into apes and vice versa. It's a solid nine-pager. Then Lance Lewis battles an invasion of lizard-men that's mildly engaging through some very familiar gyrations.

     The superhero entry, The Fighting Yank, is unsatisfying because you can only get so excited about a "hero" who's always getting help at the end from the ghost of his Revolutionary War ancestor. But that's followed by some snazzy teen humor as Jefferson Jones takes part in a high-school production of Romeo and Juliet. The art on this charmer is by humor and romance specialist Al Hartley.

     Don Davis, the secret agent strip at the end is pure filler, but it still adds up to a worthwhile comic from Better, who also published the pulp mag, Startling Stories.

     Avon was not as heavily into pulps as Better, but they had one of the first digest lines, and by the early 1950s they had published pulps, paperbacks, and comics - all with a strong commitment to SF/fantasy. Strange Worlds #2 (April 1951) has plenty of verve. The Gene Fawcette cover comes across clearly; it's got an accompanying three-page illustrated text story inside - an effort to be different that doesn't quite succeed but an effort nonetheless.

     The opening yarn features Crom the Barbarian in "The Giant From Beyond." Crom was a Conan-clone who could have been a contender... In this, his third and last adventure (he debuted in Out Of This World, a one-shot that preceded Strange Worlds) he battles enemies led by a giant warrior. It's an adequate if unspectacular story that could have used a little more magic, but the character had potential.

     The middle tale is a muddle... about ancient Atlantis, redeemed only by Wally Wood's art. The last strip, "Dana of the Vikings," is a typically "doofus" yarn of two yanks who discover a race of Vikings living as they did a thousand years ago in an unexplored part of Greenland. It's pleasant reading despite the preposterous concept. All in all, it's not a brilliant comic, but one that was always trying to entertain and achieved enough to sufficiently reward a reader.

     Planet Comics #70 (Summer 1953) has an emphatic "BEM blasting away with his ray-gun as he clutches a hapless space-woman in his hairy tentacle" cover and contains some reasonably good reprints inside. A "Lost World" episode, illustrated by the adept Lily Renee, starts things off looking well with a typically bizarre chapter in the war waged by future humans trying to regain Earth from the conquering Volta Men.

     Then Space Patrol gal Gale Allen takes on some giant spiders and the crazy cultists who feed them human sacrifices. They capture the Patrolwoman but are overwhelmed by her blonde beauty and declare her to be Sun-Hair, the Queen who legend predicted would come and lead them to glory... This helps Gale get the best of them - 'nuff said.

      Next there's six enthusiastic pages of "Star Pirate" signed and dated 1945 by a young Murphy Anderson. This is the yarn described by the cryptic cover blurb "space-wrecked women and plastic men." After that, the Space Rangers close out the book with a romp involving seven female robots and a pirate queen. It's typical Fiction House. They also did this kind of stuff with less pictures in their pulp mag, Planet Stories. In fact a house ad urges readers to "thrill and chill to the blaze of high adventure in the Universe of Future Centuries... ALL for 25 cents in every exciting new issue..."

     Perhaps by now it's obvious that comic books with awesome aliens menacing maidens on the cover don't always contain the most sophisticated sci-fi. But that doesn't stop them from being a lot of fun. Unfortunately, after 1953 the pulps were phasing out fast, and comic books of the space opera genre dwindled as well... but collectors can still strap on their rocket packs and blast off to weird worlds of promise and peril.

Pat Calhoun has been collecting, researching and appreciating comic books since the early 1960s, and is a nationally recognized comic book historian. Pat resides in Santa Rosa, California.