The Lost Kingdom of Athala by Wally Wood (1951)

From 1951, The Atomic Surgeons have polished up this great Wally Wood tale for your edification. Say, as a minor, did Tommy sign a waiver form for this trip? No? Why, what could possibly go wrong?

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Strange Worlds #4 (Sept., 1951) © Avon
Art by Wally Wood

Too bad about Tommy, but the Time Machine would have been a bit crowded on the way back!

Marvel's First Mutant (Nov. 1959)

Pencils: Jack Kirby; Inks: George Klein

Behind this typical-for-era Jack Kirby monster cover hides a story that introduces the concept of mutants with special powers that must remain hidden from a suspicious humanity - 3 years before Lee & Kirby debuted the same concept in X-Men #1 in Sept. 1963!

The Atomic Surgeons aren't up of the X-Men universe, but surely some scribe has retroed this story into continuity?

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Tales of Suspense #6 (Nov. 1959) © Marvel Comics.
Art by Joe Sinnott; unknown scripter.

Steve Ditko's First Changing Man (1960)

Steve Ditko’s Shade: The Changing Man debuted in 1977 from DC Comics, with story and art by Ditko, and dialogue by Michael Fleisher. Many creators have recycled old ideas more than once, and we can’t help but wonder if Ditko recalled this old story he did for Marvel when he came up with the initial concept for Shade.

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Tales of Suspense #8 (March 1960), © Marvel Comics
Art by Steve Ditko

Presented below is a mash-up of what a Changing Man book might have looked like if it came out from DC during the early 60’s.

Shade: The Changing Man © DC Comics

…And once again, The Atomic Surgeons step back into the Time Bubble…

Batman In The Future! (1950)

You know that any story that opens with the lines, “Look Robin – The Bat-Signal! We’re wanted back on Earth!”, is going to be a lot of fun! Give me the Sci-Fi, ‘Zebra’-Batman from the 1950’s over the psychopathic version on the stands today…!

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Batman #57 © DC Comics
Script: Bill Finger; Pencils: Bob Kane (Batman & Robin figures only)
& Lew Schwartz; Inks: Charles Paris



and...

FYI, The Atomic Surgeons will be returning to the future for most of the next few months. We'll send back dispatches when we can. Otherwise, look for further updates in Sept.

The Metamorphosis of the Gkmloooms (1952) by George Evans

Fawcett’s “World of Fear” showcased a lot of top talent – like the underappreciated George Evans, and featured some genuinely creepy stories that would not have been out of place over in the EC horror comics. This tale presents Atomic Surgery at its most disturbing. Poorer summer blockbuster movies have been made out of slimmer ideas than this.

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World of Fear #3, ©Fawcett
Art by George Evans

Centenary of Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s Birth

Jacques-Yves Cousteau (June 11, 1910 – June 25, 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, marine biologist and ocean explorer, known for his extensive underseas investigations. He was co-inventor of the aqualung which made SCUBA diving possible (1943).

Cousteau the developed the Conshelf series of manned habitats, the Diving Saucer, a process of underwater television and numerous other platforms and specialized instruments of ocean science. In 1945 he founded the French Navy's Undersea Research Group. He modified a WWII wooden hull minesweeper into the research vessel Calypso, in 1950. From Today In Science History

Here’s salute to the great man with a showcase of covers from our favorite undersea adventure series:

SubHuman is © M. Ryan and M. Schultz. All art © M. Schultz