Tara in Thrilling Comics 71

Thrilling Comics 71

Apr 1949

Satellite of the Moon Spiders

by Gene Fawcette

9 pages

Tara, Robin, and Malo go on a mission to Mimas, one of the moons of Saturn. They take Timo, Haneesh’s timid nephew, with them. Timo screws everything up and jeopardizes the success of the mission but in the end he redeems himself by saving them all from the deadly moon spiders.

Tara in Wonder Comics 20

Wonder Comics 20

Oct 1948

The Death that Grew

by Gene Fawcette

9 pages

Tara, Robin, and Malo travel to Mars to find the cure for the Spore Death after Haneesh falls ill. Botol, the wig-maker, helps Tara and Robin piece together disguises once they are on Mars. Malo stays behind in their spaceship. They find the Spore Death and escape back to Phantom Haven just in time to save Haneesh’s life and apprehend the traitor who infected him.

Tara in Wonder Comics 19

Wonder Comics 19

Aug 1948

The Secret Bride of Bharbon

by Gene Fawcette

10 pages

Tara, Robin, and Malo land near the city of Xeros because their ship is in need of repairs. They help Tarman after he attempted to assassinate Bharbon, the tyrant who runs the city with an iron fist. Myrene, Tarman’s daughter, is engaged to Bharbon but not by choice. Tarman doesn’t learn this fact until later, soon before he is murdered by Armos, Bharbon’s enforcer. 

Tara in Wonder Comics 18

Wonder Comics 18

Jun 1948

The Key of the Cuchin Van

by Gene Fawcette, George Roussos

10 pages

Tara, Robin, and Malo travel to Titan (moon of Saturn) in search of a powerful weapon. They fear what might happen if Daro Dallas, Prime Minister of Mars, gets his hands on it. They arrive on Titan with Dallas hot on their trail. Only they have the key to unlock the building where the weapon is kept.

Tara in Wonder Comics 17

Wonder Comics 17

Apr 1948

The Eight Hands of Tenslith

by Gene Fawcette

10 pages

The Plutonic Plague ravages the Earth. Tara, Robin, and Malo travel to the planet Aquam to obtain a supply of Ranadium Weed, which can be used to quell the virulent outbreak on Earth. They contact Queen Hlorte in the Floating City of Vlanuda once they arrive on Aquam. She wants to help them but at the moment Vlanuda is caught in the midst of a war with Tenslith, the undersea ruler of Aquam who seeks to conquer Vlanuda and control all of Aquam.

Tara in Wonder Comics 16

Wonder Comics 16

Feb 1948

The Fabulous Jewel of Morn

by Gene Fawcette

10 pages

Tara's ship need some repairs. Tara, Robin, and Malo land on Venus where Haneesh, a local bandit leader, helps them with the repairs but only after they agree to do a job for him. He wants them to steal the Jewel of Morn from Karlsen who lives on the third moon of Jupiter. Haneesh promises them membership in the Brotherhood of Space if they can bring him the Jewel.

Their first attempt to steal the Jewel of Morn is unsuccessful and ends with Tara a prisoner of Karlsen. Robin and Malo redouble their efforts. They rescue Tara and get the famed Jewel of Morn. 

Tara in Wonder Comics 15

Wonder Comics 15

Dec 1947

The Outlaw of the Universe

by Gene Fawcette

10 pages

Tara is headed home to Earth with her father, who is ready to retire, when their space ship is attacked by space pirates. Captain Atto and his men kill Tara’s father and lock her up. Tara joins forces with Robin and Malo, two other prisoners of the villainous Captain Atto. The trio escapes from Atto’s prison and recovers her spaceship, the Space Rover.

Adam Ames (Part 1)

Adam Ames

by Elliott Caplin and Lou Fine

I recently discovered an archive of this comic strip online at ComicBookPlus. I decided to give it a try. Adam Ames was a daily strip (Mon-Sat). It ran for just over three years, from July 6, 1959 until July 28, 1962. I started by reading it for free on ComicBookPlus which has the strips through Feb 11, 1961 (about half of the total run of Adam Ames). After reading the first five weeks worth of strips I decided to order the collected edition from Lulu which includes the full run of Adam Ames.

Junior 11

Junior 11

Jan 1948

Stories by Bill Brown aka Al Feldstein

1. Junior: On the Outs at an Outing!

Junior and Deena take a ferry up to Bear Point. Junior can’t seem to do anything right. He shows up late. He's in a rush and they get on the wrong boat. He spills chocolate milk all over Deena. He steps on another man’s picnic basket. He gets them lost in the woods at Bear Point. 

2. Junior: A Record Breaking Day

It’s Junior’s birthday and he wants the new Ken Stanton album. He tells Goofy but Goofy has already bought him a present. Goofy tells Deena and Gwenny and they both buy him the album. Meanwhile, Junior asks his mother for money so he can buy the album himself.

Sunny 11

Sunny 11

Dec 1947

Stories by Bill Brown aka Al Feldstein 

1. Sunny: Monkey Business

Sunny and Teddy try to win $50 in a radio contest. The announcer promises to give $50 to the first person to come to the studio dressed as a gorilla. Sunny and Teddy find a gorilla suit. Teddy puts it on but the zipper gets stuck and he can’t get out of it. He scares a few people on the way to the radio station.  (9 pages)

This was kind of silly but it did bring a smile to my face. They didn’t win the money in the end.

2. Sunny: Rookies at Hooky

Sunny, Teddy, Richy, and Barb all decide to ditch school because they haven’t done their homework for history class. They worry about getting caught but in the end it turns out they didn’t have anything to worry about. (7 pages)

I love how irresponsible all four of them are and how they were all counting on someone else in their group to bail them out. 

Junior 10

Junior 10

Nov 1947

Stories by Bill Brown aka Al Feldstein 

1. Junior: Of Mice and Women

Junior buys Deena a pair of mice for her birthday. The mice wreck havoc in Deena’s home. Junior spends the rest of the story trying to set things right with Deena. (9 pages)

Goofy is in the very beginning of this story but Gwenny is nowhere to be found.

Mice? Really? What kind of a person buys mice as a birthday present?

Junior 9

Junior 9

Sep 1947

by Al Feldstein 

1. Junior: Down in the Dumps

Junior and Goofy have to overcome a few obstacles in order to get the latest issue of The Clarion, the school newspaper, published. (9 pages)

2. Junior: A Junk Drive

Junior and Goofy are collecting junk to raise money for charity at the same time that Junior's mother is trying to impress the local women’s club. (7 pages)

3. Junior: Picnic Yarn

Deena and Gwen compete to win a date with Junior. Deena gets angry when she winds up with Goofy and Gwen winds up with Junior. (8 pages)

4. Deena & Gwenny: The Run Around

Deena and Gwen both want Junior to take them to the dance and come up with a convoluted way to decide which one of them gets to go with him. (6 pages)

Teenage Temptations 2 (4/5)

Teenage Temptations 2

Jun 1953

My Dance with Danger

by ??

4 pages

Donna isn’t ready to get married to Derry, her dance partner, and settle down. She wants to enjoy life for a while longer. Mike, a theatrical agent, introduces her to Lyle who is also looking for a new dance partner. She starts a career dancing (and possibly more) with Lyle at nightclubs, despite still being engaged to Derry, who doesn’t approve of her career choice.

Teenage Temptations 2 (1/5)

Teenage Temptations 2

Jun 1953

Fighting for My Love

by Nina Albright, Cal Massey

9 pages

Nina is torn between Herb and Tom, two guys she has known most of her life. Tom is a bookie and Herb is a boxer. Nina doesn’t want to choose between them but feels as though she must.

Thoughts

The credits for this story are incomplete and uncertain. The two names that I have put above are believed to have done the pencils and inks.

Teen-Age Temptations 1 (4/4)

Teen-Age Temptations 1

Oct 1952

Reform School Girl

by Ric Estrada (art)

Eve Clayton likes to have fun. She is dating Randy Leech and running with a wild crowd, as she puts it. She drives the getaway car when Randy robs a store. They get caught. Eve gets sentenced to two months in reform school.

Eve moves away when she gets out of reform school. She changes her last name to Brown and gets a job working for a fishing company. She meets a guy named Jerry Bell who works for the company. Everything is going swell until Randy Leech shows up.

Teen-Age Temptations 1 (3/4)

Teen-Age Temptations 1

Oct 1952

Out for No Good

by ??

Linda is tired of Jimmy, the guy she’s seeing, when some other guy tries to pick her up. The experience gives her a thrill. The next night she decides to try something different. She goes out by herself and when some guy, Will, tries to pick her up she lets him. The night after that she goes out with another guy, Tom, whom she meets in a park where young people are making out.

Linda goes out with Tom more than once. He is getting ready to leave town. She doesn’t want their relationship to end. Tom invites Linda to come with him. She agrees but once they get close to his hometown she finds out that he is already married.

Teen-Age Temptations 1 (2/4)

Teen-Age Temptations 1

Oct 1952

Soiled Reputation

by Ric Estrada (art)

Karen is accused of going to a petting party. She tells the judge she wasn’t there and he accepts her side of the story. She tells her friend Jean that she was at the party and has been to three petting parties. Word gets around at school and soon Karen is getting the sort of attention she hoped for from Gary, who is on the basketball team and previously didn’t pay attention to her.

Karen goes out with Gary. She enjoys herself until a car that seems to be following them crashes. Karen comes to the realization that she needs to come clean. She tells Jean and others the truth and feels much better about herself.

Teen-Age Temptations 1 (1/4)

Teen-Age Temptations 1

Oct 1952

Tourist Cabin Escapade

by Dana Dutch, MattBaker

June pursues Jim Harris, a man she met through work. He says he needs her to do some typing for him and so he invites her out for dinner. She’s game and they have a wonderful evening together but then her father forbids her from seeing Jim again.

June gets heartsick when she sees Jim out with someone else. She can’t stand to see him with someone else. She lies to her father and sees Jim again. It isn’t until she is alone with Jim in a tourist cabin that she realizes he has no interest in her typing abilities.