Mystery in Space
Encyclopedia
Mystery in Space is the name of two science fiction
comic book
series published in the United States
by DC Comics
, then known as National Comics. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 - 1966, with a further 7 issues continuing the numbering during a 1980s revival of the title. The second series was an 8-issue limited run in 2006/7.
Together with 'Strange Adventures
', 'Mystery In Space' was DC Comics flagship science fiction anthology series. It won a number of awards, including the 1962 Alley Award
for 'Best Book-Length Story' and the 1963 Alley Award for 'Comic Displaying Best Interior Color Work' . The title featured short science fiction stories and a number of continuing series, most written by many of the best-known comics and science fiction writers of the day, including John Broome
, Gardner Fox
, Jack Schiff, Otto Binder
and Edmond Hamilton
. The artwork featured a considerable number of the 1950s and 1960s finest comics artists such as Carmine Infantino
, Murphy Anderson
, Gil Kane
, Alex Toth
, Bernard Sachs
, Frank Frazetta
and Virgil Finlay
.
series (issues #53-100, #102), but also featured a number of other characters in series of varying length:
'Mystery In Space' #1 featured '9 Worlds To Conquer' , the first 10-page tale of the Knights of the Galaxy by Robert Kanigher (under the name Anthony Dion) with art by Carmine Infantino, together with three 8- or 10-page non-series science fiction stories by Gardner Fox and John Broome, the first of a series of single page information pieces 'Stars and their legends' and a two-page text article 'What do you know about comets?' ; establishing a format that would last for some years.
'Space Taxi' in 'Mystery In Space' #21 (August/September 1954) introduced the first long-term series to the title - Space Cabbie (also known as Space Cabby), whose stories involved taking people from planet to planet in a battered space taxi he called 'the jalopy' and the scrapes he got into as a result; written by Otto Binder with art by Howard Sherman. There was no indication the story was the first of a series, yet Space Cabby returned just three issues later in 'Hitchhiker In Space' ('Mystery In Space' #24, February/March 1955), and then had an unbroken 22-issue run until 'The Riddle of the Rival Space Cabbies!' ('Mystery In Space' #47, October 1958). The next few issues featured only short stories, and it was almost a year before another continuing series graced the pages of 'Mystery In Space'. A story by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino, 'Menace of the Robot Raiders!' ('Mystery In Space' #53, October 1959) featured one of the most enduring and fondly remembered space heroes of the next ten years, Adam Strange, in a 10-page tale which led to the best known period for the 'Mystery In Space' title. Adam Strange had begun in a three-issue run in Showcase #17 (November–December 1958), and although DC considered that those issues had not sold sufficiently to warrant granting him his own title, his return a year later in 'Mystery In Space' was to last an impressive 42 appearances over the next seven years. The Adam Strange space opera tales were crafted by Gardner Fox in the best Flash Gordon tradition, with the hero caught between two planets and a love a galaxy away, giant menacing robots, dust devils, perils on two worlds, and distinctive art by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson (who drew almost all issues until #92 (June 1964)). A number of these stories are considered among the finest of the 1960s, including the full-issue tale 'The Planet That Came to a Standstill!' ('Mystery In Space' #75, May 1962), which won comic fandoms Alley Award for the Best Book-Length Story of 1962, and was fairly unusual for the time inasmuch as it featured a cross-over with other major DC characters, the Justice League of America. The following year 'Mystery In Space' gained a further Alley Award, for ' Comic Displaying Best Interior Color Work' - a result of the stylistic Infantino/Anderson Adam Strange pages.
By issue #71 (November 1961) the number of stories in each issue of 'Mystery In Space' had dwindled to two as the Adam Strange stories increased in size. As well as single stories, a number of other characters filled the title behind Adam Strange. Star Rovers
featured in seven issues between 1961–64, written by the ubiquitous Gardner Fox and drawn by artist Sid Greene. The Hawkman issues ('Mystery in Space' #87 - #90, November 1963 - March 1964) followed two three-issue tryouts of the character in 'The Brave and the Bold
' #34-36 and #42-44 which had not sold enough copies to launch the character in his own comic. However, DC decided to give Hawkman a further tryout. For this short series, Editor Julius Schwartz replaced Joe Kubert
with Murphy Anderson
as artist, and utilised an unusual format for the day - the Adam Strange story 'The Super-Brain of Adam Strange' in issue #87 led straight into the Hawkman story 'The Amazing Thefts of the I.Q. Gang' in the same issue (both written by Gardner Fox). In addition, for the first time since he had appeared in the title, Adam Strange was replaced as cover star (although his head did appear on the cover with the strapline ' In this issue ... an Adam Strange thriller' ) and Hawkman took the honours. Although the characters returned to solo stories in the following two issues, 'Planets in Peril' ('Mystery In Space' #90, March 1964) was an epic cross-world book-length team-up between Hawkman and Adam Strange. The cover to #90, with an iconic Adam Strange soaring between Earth and his adopted home, Rann
, is often cited as one of the classic science fiction covers of the early 1960s, and this issue was also to have significant impact on DC story continuity in later years as the story first established the links between Rann and Hawkman's world, Thanagar
. The war between the two planets has been the defining subject of many of both Hawkman's and Adam Strange's stories and mini-series in the 1990s and 2000s as well as a theme running right across many DC titles.
His 'Mystery In Space' series was successful enough to finally launch Hawkman into his own title in 1964, but Adam Strange was not to be so fortunate - after a final 2-part story by Fox/Infantino/Anderson, 'The Puzzle of the Perilous Prisons!' ('Mystery In Space' 91, May 1964) Jack Schiff replaced Julius Schwartz as Editor and the 'Mystery In Space' title changed significantly. Schiff introduced Space Ranger
, a long-running character from 'Tales of the Unexpected
' (another DC anthology title he edited), while Adam Strange was given a new writer, Dave Wood
, and artist, Lee Elias as Carmine Infantino had moved with Schwartz to his new titles. Space Ranger would from here on slowly edge Adam Strange out - taking the cover of four of the next ten issues and sharing two more with Adam Strange (neither appeared on the cover to #100 (June 1965)), co-featuring in the story 'The Riddle of Two Solar Systems' ('Mystery In Space' #94, September 1964) and sharing a storyline in the separate stories 'The Wizard of the Cosmos' and 'The Return of Yarrok of Zulkan' ('Mystery In Space' #98, March 1965). For issue #100, Adam Strange was reduced to an 8-page story, and, having not appeared at all in #101 (August 1965), his last appearance was in the 16-page 'The Robot World of Ancient Rann' ('Mystery In Space' #102, September 1965). Space Ranger ended the following issue with 'The Billion-Dollar Time Capsule' ('Mystery In Space' #103, November 1965), and the title was not to regain its earlier form again. From issue #103 (November 1965) 'Mystery In Space' featured a new character - Ultra The Multi-Alien
- but the series was cancelled because of poor sales only a year later with issue #110 (September 1966). Interestingly, the annual circulation statement in issue #110 showed average sales of 182,376 copies - considerably more than most high-selling comics today, although not even in the Top 50 sales at that time and significantly less than 1960's declared sales total of 248,000.
. The revival replaced DC Comics only other science fiction anthology title at the time, 'Time Warp', which had recently ended with issue #5 (July 1980). All the stories in the 1980s version of the title were short one-off tales by a number of talented writers and a fine cast of artists, including younger artists Marshall Rogers
, Tom Sutton
, Michael Golden, Joe Staton
, Brian Bolland
and Rick Veitch
, and longer-established artists like Steve Ditko
(in a number of issues), Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino and George Tuska
. Despite the line-up the series was not a success, ending just seven issues later with #117 (March 1981).
with art by Jerry Ordway
and Mark McKenna. Featuring Adam Strange, with supporting characters Alanna Strange, Elongated Man
and his wife, Sue Dibny
, this single issue revival was a homage to the original Adam Strange series, down to the copy of the Adam Strange cover to issue #82 of 'Mystery in Space', this time drawn by Alex Ross
. The comic was one of a series of eight tributes to DC Editor Julius Schwartz, who had died earlier in the year.
written by Jim Starlin
and drawn by Shane Davis
. This series featured a new Captain Comet
, in a detective story set in the far reaches of the DCU. The first seven issues also contained a backup story starring The Weird
from the eponymous 1988 miniseries, with art by Starlin. Neither character appeared in the original 'Mystery In Space' series.
' animated series, first aired in March 2009 was entitled 'Mystery In Space'. Written by Jim Krieg and Directed by Brandon Vietti, it featured Batman
, Aquaman
and Adam Strange rescuing Alanna Strange and Rann from certain doom.
'Mystery in Space' , published by Pulp Fiction Library, (208 pages, September 1999, ISBN 1-56389-494-7) was a trade paperback
that reprinted some of the same stories, with other stories from the series; it won seventh place in the Comics Buyer's Guide
Fan Award for 'Favorite Reprint Graphic Album for 2000'.
The second series has been collected into two trade paperbacks:
L Miller and Son Ltd.
(who also reprinted Captain Marvel's adventures for a British audience) published nine issues of Mystery In Space, a 28-page A4-sized magazine, between 1952–54, while Strato (a subsidiary of publishers Thorpe and Porter) published thirteen issues of a 68-page A4 size magazine with the same title between 1954-56. Both featured reprints of DC's Mystery In Space and Strange Adventures stories, in black and white, with slightly adapted covers from the original Mystery In Space series.
Thorpe and Porter also issued a hardback Mystery In Space Annual in 1968. However, although it used the cover to Mystery In Space #95, the contents of the annual were complete random issues of remaindered comics from a number of companies (including their covers), and not Mystery In Space stories.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, then known as National Comics. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 - 1966, with a further 7 issues continuing the numbering during a 1980s revival of the title. The second series was an 8-issue limited run in 2006/7.
Together with 'Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures
Strange Adventures was the title of several American comic books published by DC Comics, most notably a long-running science fiction anthology that began in 1950.-Original series:...
', 'Mystery In Space' was DC Comics flagship science fiction anthology series. It won a number of awards, including the 1962 Alley Award
Alley Award
The Alley Award was an American series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, under executive secretary Jerry Bails, and later Paul Gambaccini and David Kaler, the award...
for 'Best Book-Length Story' and the 1963 Alley Award for 'Comic Displaying Best Interior Color Work' . The title featured short science fiction stories and a number of continuing series, most written by many of the best-known comics and science fiction writers of the day, including John Broome
John Broome (writer)
John Broome , who additionally used the pseudonyms John Osgood and Edgar Ray Meritt, was an American comic book writer for DC Comics.-Early life and career:...
, Gardner Fox
Gardner Fox
Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer best known for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic-book historians estimate that he wrote over 4,000 comics stories....
, Jack Schiff, Otto Binder
Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books...
and Edmond Hamilton
Edmond Hamilton
Edmond Moore Hamilton was an American author of science fiction stories and novels during the mid-twentieth century. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was raised there and in nearby New Castle, Pennsylvania...
. The artwork featured a considerable number of the 1950s and 1960s finest comics artists such as Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...
, Murphy Anderson
Murphy Anderson
Murphy Anderson is an American comic book artist, known as one of the premier inkers of his era, who has worked for companies such as DC Comics for over fifty years, starting in the 1930s-'40s Golden Age of Comic Books...
, Gil Kane
Gil Kane
Eli Katz who worked under the name Gil Kane and in one instance Scott Edward, was a comic book artist whose career spanned the 1940s to 1990s and every major comics company and character.Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, and...
, Alex Toth
Alex Toth
Alexander Toth was an American professional cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but is known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His work included Super Friends, Space Ghost, The...
, Bernard Sachs
Bernard Sachs
Bernard Sachs was a Jewish-American neurologist. After graduating with a B.A. from Harvard in 1878, Sachs travelled to Europe and studied under some of the most prominent physicians of the time, such as Adolf Kussmaul , Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen , Friedrich Goltz , Rudolf Virchow...
, Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for work in comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers and other media...
and Virgil Finlay
Virgil Finlay
Virgil Finlay was an American pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror illustrator. While he worked in a range of media, from gouache to oils, Finlay specialized in, and became famous for, detailed pen-and-ink drawings accomplished with abundant stippling, cross-hatching, and scratchboard techniques...
.
Mystery In Space (vol 1) pt 1 (1951 - 1966)
Directly appealing to public taste for science fiction in the late 1940s and early 1950s, 'Mystery In Space' was launched by DC Comics with adverts in most of their titles published in Spring 1951 - proclaiming 'The Universe Is The Limit In Every Issue Of Mystery In Space' and 'The Magazine That Unlocks The Secrets Of The Future' around a copy of the first cover. Offering 'Amazing trips into the unknown' , 'Astounding adventures on uncharted worlds' , and 'Astonishing experiments of super-science' the title was modelled on the success of 'Strange Adventures', first published the previous year. Like 'Strange Adventures', Mystery In Space' was an anthology comic featuring a combination of short science fiction stories, science-fiction based heroes and super-heroes, and single page articles on subjects associated with space and space technology. It is probably best known for publishing the classic Adam StrangeAdam Strange
Adam Strange is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky, he first appeared in Showcase #17 .In May 2011, Adam Strange placed 97th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time....
series (issues #53-100, #102), but also featured a number of other characters in series of varying length:
- Knights of the GalaxyKnights of the GalaxyKnights of the Galaxy was a short-lived science fiction series published by DC Comics. They first appear in Mystery in Space #1, , and starred in the first eight issues of the series...
(issues #1-8) - Interplanetary Insurance, Inc (issues #16-25)
- Space CabbieSpace CabbieSpace Cabbie is a science fiction character that first appeared in the comic book Mystery in Space #21 . He was series created by Otto Binder and Howard Sherman.-Fictional character biography:...
(issues #21, #24, #26-47) - Star RoversStar Rovers"Star Rovers" was an short, science fiction, American comic book feature published by DC Comics between 1961 and 1964. The feature first appeared in seven issues of DC's science-fiction anthology comic Mystery in Space, followed by two issues of DC's companion science-fiction title Strange Adventures...
(issues #66, #69, #74, #77, #80, #83, #86) - HawkmanHawkmanHawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
(issues #87-90) - Space RangerSpace RangerSpace Ranger is a science fiction hero who was published by DC Comics in several of their 1950s and 1960s anthology titles. He first appeared in Showcase #15 , and was created by writers Edmond Hamilton and Gardner Fox, and artist Bob Brown...
(issues #92-99, #101, #103) - Jan Vern, Interplanetary Agent (issue #100, #102)
- Ultra the Multi-AlienUltra the Multi-AlienUltra the Multi-Alien was a science fiction superhero featured in comics published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Mystery in Space #103 , pushing out Adam Strange and Space Ranger from that title...
(issues #103-110).
'Mystery In Space' #1 featured '9 Worlds To Conquer' , the first 10-page tale of the Knights of the Galaxy by Robert Kanigher (under the name Anthony Dion) with art by Carmine Infantino, together with three 8- or 10-page non-series science fiction stories by Gardner Fox and John Broome, the first of a series of single page information pieces 'Stars and their legends' and a two-page text article 'What do you know about comets?' ; establishing a format that would last for some years.
'Space Taxi' in 'Mystery In Space' #21 (August/September 1954) introduced the first long-term series to the title - Space Cabbie (also known as Space Cabby), whose stories involved taking people from planet to planet in a battered space taxi he called 'the jalopy' and the scrapes he got into as a result; written by Otto Binder with art by Howard Sherman. There was no indication the story was the first of a series, yet Space Cabby returned just three issues later in 'Hitchhiker In Space' ('Mystery In Space' #24, February/March 1955), and then had an unbroken 22-issue run until 'The Riddle of the Rival Space Cabbies!' ('Mystery In Space' #47, October 1958). The next few issues featured only short stories, and it was almost a year before another continuing series graced the pages of 'Mystery In Space'. A story by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino, 'Menace of the Robot Raiders!' ('Mystery In Space' #53, October 1959) featured one of the most enduring and fondly remembered space heroes of the next ten years, Adam Strange, in a 10-page tale which led to the best known period for the 'Mystery In Space' title. Adam Strange had begun in a three-issue run in Showcase #17 (November–December 1958), and although DC considered that those issues had not sold sufficiently to warrant granting him his own title, his return a year later in 'Mystery In Space' was to last an impressive 42 appearances over the next seven years. The Adam Strange space opera tales were crafted by Gardner Fox in the best Flash Gordon tradition, with the hero caught between two planets and a love a galaxy away, giant menacing robots, dust devils, perils on two worlds, and distinctive art by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson (who drew almost all issues until #92 (June 1964)). A number of these stories are considered among the finest of the 1960s, including the full-issue tale 'The Planet That Came to a Standstill!' ('Mystery In Space' #75, May 1962), which won comic fandoms Alley Award for the Best Book-Length Story of 1962, and was fairly unusual for the time inasmuch as it featured a cross-over with other major DC characters, the Justice League of America. The following year 'Mystery In Space' gained a further Alley Award, for ' Comic Displaying Best Interior Color Work' - a result of the stylistic Infantino/Anderson Adam Strange pages.
By issue #71 (November 1961) the number of stories in each issue of 'Mystery In Space' had dwindled to two as the Adam Strange stories increased in size. As well as single stories, a number of other characters filled the title behind Adam Strange. Star Rovers
Star Rovers
"Star Rovers" was an short, science fiction, American comic book feature published by DC Comics between 1961 and 1964. The feature first appeared in seven issues of DC's science-fiction anthology comic Mystery in Space, followed by two issues of DC's companion science-fiction title Strange Adventures...
featured in seven issues between 1961–64, written by the ubiquitous Gardner Fox and drawn by artist Sid Greene. The Hawkman issues ('Mystery in Space' #87 - #90, November 1963 - March 1964) followed two three-issue tryouts of the character in 'The Brave and the Bold
The Brave and the Bold
The Brave and the Bold is the title shared by many comic book series published by DC Comics. The first of these was published as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983...
' #34-36 and #42-44 which had not sold enough copies to launch the character in his own comic. However, DC decided to give Hawkman a further tryout. For this short series, Editor Julius Schwartz replaced Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...
with Murphy Anderson
Murphy Anderson
Murphy Anderson is an American comic book artist, known as one of the premier inkers of his era, who has worked for companies such as DC Comics for over fifty years, starting in the 1930s-'40s Golden Age of Comic Books...
as artist, and utilised an unusual format for the day - the Adam Strange story 'The Super-Brain of Adam Strange' in issue #87 led straight into the Hawkman story 'The Amazing Thefts of the I.Q. Gang' in the same issue (both written by Gardner Fox). In addition, for the first time since he had appeared in the title, Adam Strange was replaced as cover star (although his head did appear on the cover with the strapline ' In this issue ... an Adam Strange thriller' ) and Hawkman took the honours. Although the characters returned to solo stories in the following two issues, 'Planets in Peril' ('Mystery In Space' #90, March 1964) was an epic cross-world book-length team-up between Hawkman and Adam Strange. The cover to #90, with an iconic Adam Strange soaring between Earth and his adopted home, Rann
Rann
Rann is a fictional planet in the Polaris star system of the whose capitol city is Ranagar. Rann is most famous for being the adopted planet of the Earth explorer and hero Adam Strange and for their teleportation device called the Zeta Beam...
, is often cited as one of the classic science fiction covers of the early 1960s, and this issue was also to have significant impact on DC story continuity in later years as the story first established the links between Rann and Hawkman's world, Thanagar
Thanagar
Thanagar is a fictional planet in the . Thanagar is the original home of the humanoid Thanagarian race, noted for the discovery of gravity-defying Nth metal...
. The war between the two planets has been the defining subject of many of both Hawkman's and Adam Strange's stories and mini-series in the 1990s and 2000s as well as a theme running right across many DC titles.
His 'Mystery In Space' series was successful enough to finally launch Hawkman into his own title in 1964, but Adam Strange was not to be so fortunate - after a final 2-part story by Fox/Infantino/Anderson, 'The Puzzle of the Perilous Prisons!' ('Mystery In Space' 91, May 1964) Jack Schiff replaced Julius Schwartz as Editor and the 'Mystery In Space' title changed significantly. Schiff introduced Space Ranger
Space Ranger
Space Ranger is a science fiction hero who was published by DC Comics in several of their 1950s and 1960s anthology titles. He first appeared in Showcase #15 , and was created by writers Edmond Hamilton and Gardner Fox, and artist Bob Brown...
, a long-running character from 'Tales of the Unexpected
Tales of the Unexpected (comics)
Tales of the Unexpected was a science fiction comic book published by DC Comics from 1956 to 1968 for 104 issues. It was later renamed The Unexpected although the numbering continued and it ended at issue 222, in 1982...
' (another DC anthology title he edited), while Adam Strange was given a new writer, Dave Wood
Dave Wood
Dave Wood is an Australian calligrapher born in Manchester, England. Among his teachers was Donald Jackson. In 1983, he became the first calligrapher ever to be exhibited individually in New Zealand. He published The Painted Word, which includes many of his works.-External links:**-References:...
, and artist, Lee Elias as Carmine Infantino had moved with Schwartz to his new titles. Space Ranger would from here on slowly edge Adam Strange out - taking the cover of four of the next ten issues and sharing two more with Adam Strange (neither appeared on the cover to #100 (June 1965)), co-featuring in the story 'The Riddle of Two Solar Systems' ('Mystery In Space' #94, September 1964) and sharing a storyline in the separate stories 'The Wizard of the Cosmos' and 'The Return of Yarrok of Zulkan' ('Mystery In Space' #98, March 1965). For issue #100, Adam Strange was reduced to an 8-page story, and, having not appeared at all in #101 (August 1965), his last appearance was in the 16-page 'The Robot World of Ancient Rann' ('Mystery In Space' #102, September 1965). Space Ranger ended the following issue with 'The Billion-Dollar Time Capsule' ('Mystery In Space' #103, November 1965), and the title was not to regain its earlier form again. From issue #103 (November 1965) 'Mystery In Space' featured a new character - Ultra The Multi-Alien
Ultra the Multi-Alien
Ultra the Multi-Alien was a science fiction superhero featured in comics published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Mystery in Space #103 , pushing out Adam Strange and Space Ranger from that title...
- but the series was cancelled because of poor sales only a year later with issue #110 (September 1966). Interestingly, the annual circulation statement in issue #110 showed average sales of 182,376 copies - considerably more than most high-selling comics today, although not even in the Top 50 sales at that time and significantly less than 1960's declared sales total of 248,000.
Mystery In Space (vol 1) pt 2 (1980 - 1981)
Sixteen years later, the title was revived with 'Mystery In Space' #111 (September 1980), edited by Len WeinLen Wein
Len Wein is an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men...
. The revival replaced DC Comics only other science fiction anthology title at the time, 'Time Warp', which had recently ended with issue #5 (July 1980). All the stories in the 1980s version of the title were short one-off tales by a number of talented writers and a fine cast of artists, including younger artists Marshall Rogers
Marshall Rogers
Marshall Rogers was an American comic-book artist best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics in the 1970s, particularly as one of the illustrators of Batman and Silver Surfer...
, Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton was an American comic book artist who sometimes used the pseudonyms Sean Todd and Dementia...
, Michael Golden, Joe Staton
Joe Staton
Joe Staton is an American illustrator and writer of comic books.-Career:Staton started his work with Charlton Comics in 1971 and gained notability as the artist of the super-hero book E-Man...
, Brian Bolland
Brian Bolland
Brian Bolland is a British comics artist, known for his meticulous, detailed linework and eye-catching compositions. Best known in the UK as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology 2000 AD, he spearheaded the 'British Invasion' of the American comics industry, and in...
and Rick Veitch
Rick Veitch
Richard "Rick" Veitch is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.-Early career:...
, and longer-established artists like Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
(in a number of issues), Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino and George Tuska
George Tuska
George Tuska , who early in his career used a variety of pen names including Carl Larson, was an American comic book and newspaper comic strip artist best known for his 1940s work on various Captain Marvel titles and the crime fiction series Crime Does Not Pay, for and his 1960s work illustrating...
. Despite the line-up the series was not a success, ending just seven issues later with #117 (March 1981).
DC Comics Presents: Mystery In Space (2004)
In September 2004 DC Comics released 'DC Comics Presents: Mystery in Space' Vol 2, #1, featuring the stories 'Crisis on 2 Worlds' written by Elliot S. Maggin with art by J.H. Williams III, and ' Two Worlds' by Grant MorrisonGrant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
with art by Jerry Ordway
Jerry Ordway
Jeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths , his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and...
and Mark McKenna. Featuring Adam Strange, with supporting characters Alanna Strange, Elongated Man
Elongated Man
The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is a reserve member of the Justice League. His first appearance was in The Flash vol. 1, #112...
and his wife, Sue Dibny
Sue Dibny
Susan "Sue" Dearbon Dibny is a fictional character from DC Comics associated with the Elongated Man. Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in Flash vol. 1 #119...
, this single issue revival was a homage to the original Adam Strange series, down to the copy of the Adam Strange cover to issue #82 of 'Mystery in Space', this time drawn by Alex Ross
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an...
. The comic was one of a series of eight tributes to DC Editor Julius Schwartz, who had died earlier in the year.
Mystery in Space (vol 2) (2006 - 2007)
DC revived Mystery in Space between November 2006 - August 2007 as an eight issue limited seriesLimited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
written by Jim Starlin
Jim Starlin
James P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters...
and drawn by Shane Davis
Shane Davis
Shane Davis is an American comic book artist, currently under exclusive contract for DC Comics.-Career:Davis broke into the industry in 2003 by illustrating Robin #110 and a spot illustration in JLA-Z #3...
. This series featured a new Captain Comet
Captain Comet
Captain Comet is a fictional DC Comics superhero created by DC Comics Editor Julius Schwartz, writer John Broome, and artist Carmine Infantino....
, in a detective story set in the far reaches of the DCU. The first seven issues also contained a backup story starring The Weird
Weird (comics)
The Weird is a fictional DC Comics character created by Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson. He first appeared in his own self-titled miniseries The Weird in 1988.-Publication history:The Weird appeared in the eponymous mini-series....
from the eponymous 1988 miniseries, with art by Starlin. Neither character appeared in the original 'Mystery In Space' series.
Animated
Season #2, Episode #14 of the Warner Brothers 'Batman: The Brave and The BoldBatman: The Brave and the Bold
Batman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
' animated series, first aired in March 2009 was entitled 'Mystery In Space'. Written by Jim Krieg and Directed by Brandon Vietti, it featured Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
and Adam Strange rescuing Alanna Strange and Rann from certain doom.
Collected editions
'Mysteries in Space: The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics' , published by Fireside Books (ed.: Michael Uslan, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0-671-24775-1, 1980), reprinted 11 stories from the original series plus 13 stories from other DC science fiction comics.'Mystery in Space' , published by Pulp Fiction Library, (208 pages, September 1999, ISBN 1-56389-494-7) was a trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
that reprinted some of the same stories, with other stories from the series; it won seventh place in the Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
Fan Award for 'Favorite Reprint Graphic Album for 2000'.
The second series has been collected into two trade paperbacks:
- 'Mystery In Space, Volume 1' (collects 'Mystery in Space' #1-5), 208 pages, October 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1558-0
- 'Mystery In Space, Volume 2' (collects 'Mystery in Space' #6-8 and the original 'Weird' miniseries), 288 pages, May 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1692-7
UK reprints
Two British companies reprinted DC's science fiction stories from Mystery In Space during the 1950s and 1960s.L Miller and Son Ltd.
L. Miller & Son, Ltd.
L. Miller & Son, Ltd. was a British publisher of magazines, comic books, and pulp fiction intended primarily to take advantage of the British ban on importing printed matter. Between 1943 and 1966, the firm published British editions of many American comic books, primarily those of Fawcett Comics...
(who also reprinted Captain Marvel's adventures for a British audience) published nine issues of Mystery In Space, a 28-page A4-sized magazine, between 1952–54, while Strato (a subsidiary of publishers Thorpe and Porter) published thirteen issues of a 68-page A4 size magazine with the same title between 1954-56. Both featured reprints of DC's Mystery In Space and Strange Adventures stories, in black and white, with slightly adapted covers from the original Mystery In Space series.
Thorpe and Porter also issued a hardback Mystery In Space Annual in 1968. However, although it used the cover to Mystery In Space #95, the contents of the annual were complete random issues of remaindered comics from a number of companies (including their covers), and not Mystery In Space stories.