Weird Science-Fantasy #1: "Fish Story"

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Back in the old days, before the comics industry felt the need to censor its own product, EC Comics produced some of the finest science fiction comics ever published. One of the reasons why Weird Science, Weird Fantasy (and later, Weird Science-Fantasy) were so good was the work of a lanky young man named Al Williamson. At 21, Williamson was the youngest of the EC family, but everyone was in awe of his draftsmanship. Williamson could draw bravura science fiction adventure like no one else, though it didn't hurt that he had the likes of Frank Frazetta, Roy Krenkel, and Angelo Torres assisting him with backgrounds and inking.

After the collapse of the EC line of comics. Williamson worked for such companies as ACG, Atlas, and Harvey, to name just a few, bringing to the stories what he did for their SF and mystery titles the same superb rendering and palpable sense of atmosphere that made his EC work so memorable. In addition to the comic books he did, Williamson also made significant contributions to the art of the comic strip, ghosting several weeks of Flash Gordon for Dan Barry, and assisting John Prentice on Rip Kirby. These last two assignments are particularly ironic when you consider that it was Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon that inspired Williamson to become a comics artist in the first place. Indeed, Williamson had been the primary proponent of heroic realism in comics, and is the rightful heir to the Flash Gordon mantle of Alex Raymond, something Williamson proved with his superb work on the King Flash Gordon title of the mid '60s, and on the Flash Gordon movie album adapted from the (otherwise wretched) DeLaurentiiss film.


"Fish Story" is reprinted from Weird Science-Fantasy (EC, 1954 series) #23 (Spring 1954), which is courtesy of Russ Cochran.



Credits

Cover: Wally Wood
Script: Albert B. Feldstein
Pencils: Al Williamson
Inks: Al Williamson

Reprinted:

• From Weird Science-Fantasy (EC, 1954 series) #23 (Spring 1954)
  

Alien Worlds #4: "Land of the Fhre"

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"Land of the Fhre" was first published in Wally Wood's Witzend magazine in the late 1960s as "Savage World!" with a script by Wood and lettering by Arlene Williamson, who was Al's wife. It was originally intended for an issue of Buster Crabbe Comics in the early 1950s. "Savage World!" was again printed in the mid-1970s by the Marvel Group.

"Land of the Fhre" marks the first appearance of the job in color. None of the artwork was ever reworked in any edition—only the script. For more information about this story click here.

Sporting a beautiful 1950s retro cover by Dave Stevens, also included is "Princess Pam" with script and pencils by Bruce Jones and inks by Stevens.

Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #1: "Savage World!"

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Al Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was the leading exponent of the heroic adventure style introduced by Alex Raymond in Flash Gordon. A genuine boy wonder, Williamson started in comic books when he was only seventeen. He moved from Heroic Comics to Toby Press's John Wayne in 1950 and had Frank Frazetta inking some of his pages. He next drew some very imaginative fantasy and science-fiction stories for such titles as Forbidden Worlds and Out of the Night. In 1952 he went to work for EC Comics.

Williamson drew a wide range of EC titles, including Weird Fantasy, Valor, and Piracy. In the middle 1960s he actually got to draw Flash Gordon, when King Features ventured into comic books. In addition, he drew the Secret Agent Corrigan strip for King from 1967 to 1980. The first artist on the strip, when it was titled Secret Agent X-9, was Williamson's idol Alex Raymond.

Over the last ten years or so of his professional career Williamson concentrated on inking, chiefly for Marvel. A recent hardcover, Al Williamson Adventures, collects some of his best earlier comic work.



Credits

Cover Painting: Frank Kelly Freas
Script: Wally Wood.
Pencils: Al Williamson (layouts); Al Williamson (pencils / signed); Angelo Torres; Roy Krenkel
Inks: Al Williamson, Angelo Torres, Frank Frazetta.
Letters: Arlene Williamson.

This story was originally prepared for Lev Gleason's The Adventures of Buster Crabbe before the company went out of business. Rewritten by Wallace Wood for Witzend. Reprinted from Witzend (Wallace Wood, 1966 series) #1. For the back story on Savage World, see Death Rattle v2 #10 at end of post.

For another version of this story in color, please click here.













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An introduction to "Savage World"