Pre-Code Classics: Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Vol. 1

Pre-Code Classics: Tom Corbett, Space Cadet #1

by Paul S. Newman, John Lehti (Illustrator), Frank Thorne (Illustrator)

This is SF as it should be, with "space" substituted for "science." Here we see the wonder and unbelievable expanse of the cosmos that surrounds us, ringed planets and moons, space pirates, lost races, and even a spaceship graveyard, This book is for every boy that lives secretly inside every man who ever marveled at the saucer spaceship in Forbidden Planet. Collects Dell Four Color #378 (#1) February 1952, #400 (#2) May 1952, #421 (#3) August-October 1952 and Dell Tom Corbett, Space Cadet #4 Nov/Jan 1953, #5 Feb/Apr 1953, #6 May/Jul 1953, and #7 Aug/Oct 1953.

252 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2017

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very nice looking hardback collection of the first seven Tom Corbett, Space Cadet comic adventures that appeared from Dell in the early 1950's. Tom and his friends first appeared as a popular television series in 1950; he's the spiritual descendant of Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Captain Future. Grosset & Dunlap published a terrific series of eight novels that rivaled Heinlein's juveniles; they also appeared simultaneously with the comics. Tom is one of three cadets that crew the Polaris and the leader of the group that also includes Astro on the power deck, a strong and quiet Venusian boy, and the insufferable Roger Manning on the radar deck, who has a heart of gold underneath his bluster. Captain Strong is their leader and adviser, and they're sometimes joined by the beautiful Dr. Dale and Cadet Alfie Higgins, who was a nerd before that was a word. The stories are intended for a juvenile audience, but they're a lot of fun. The art is pretty rough in places, though the covers are gorgeous. They're hopeful and optimistic stories of the future, set in 2351, and their audience lived in a world that constantly feared nuclear war would destroy any hope of there being a future. I wish there had been an introduction included to give some details about the authors and artists and publishing history of the stories, but I enjoyed the book very much.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun compilation to read. I had read the eight novels many times as a teenager and into early college but never know there was once a television show based on the books, let alone a comic book series that ran for a limited number of issues. The stories in the comics were pretty tame, to be honest, compared to the books (in my opinion) but still fun to read. I felt Roger Manning and Tom Corbett were accurately drawn, I always had the impression that Astro was taller than the other two cadets. In these stories, he appears to be barely the same height as Roger. I also felt the characterization was pretty dead-on to how they were portrayed in the books.

I was surprised that they had Doctor Dale written as such a "strong love interest" for Captain Strong. I do not remember if I ever had that impression that the two were romantically interested in each other in the books and now I want to go back and reread them to see if I get that feeling this time around. In any case, she only appears for a limited period of time, and the only other times women appear are either as members of a space pirate colony on Mercury or passengers on a luxury liner. I do wish they'd had her in more stories, on the one hand, but I also realize the stories really do not lend themselves to her being with them every time.

I could not quite decide how I felt about her portrayal. She was never a "damsel in distress," but she did come across as "wringing her hands" regarding Captain Strong and the potential danger he was in. I could not really see an officer of the Solar Guard behaving the way she did, but I also realize it was the way women were portrayed during that time period (well, not just that time period, but for sure during that time in sci-fi). Sometimes she seemed strong and confident, and other times not quite as strong and confident. I almost felt like the writers did not know what to do with her, since she "suddenly" quit appearing in the storylines.

The stories are crazy, fun, and imaginative. There are aliens, space pirates, some kind of "outlaw colony" which strikes me as funny that the Solar Guard as no authority or jurisdiction over this stretch of space. There is also a crazy story that is reminiscent of ERB's Pellucidar series,
except that it takes place on the moon; the moon is said to be hollow with an ancient civilization living beneath the surface; the citizens are "miniature humans" that live in complete peace and harmony until some criminals come along. It's a fun story, a "simple" story, but fun nonetheless. There is even a story that takes place on another planet in another star system, which is pretty cool. It has dinosaurs and giant insects that cause all kinds of problems. Well, not "all kinds" all kinds, but enough to suit the needs of the story.

The artwork is an interesting blend of "simple" and . . . not "clever" or "intricate," but more than just getting the job done. I have seen artwork of other comics from around that time, and I liked the artwork in these stories. At the same time, it is definitely not "Terry and the Pirates" caliber, but I still felt it was well-done and complimented the stories nicely. It was done well-enough to easily identify the characters upon seeing them and before reading any introductions (based on my memories from the books). I don't know how to put it, except that the artwork added to the story instead of detracting from it.

Sometimes I think it would be interesting to see how these stories might have gone down if there were female space cadets as well. I know Heinlein's Space Cadet was his second juvenile novel and published in 1949 or so, which explains, on the one hand, why there are practically zero females in most of the stories. It almost makes one wonder how the human race was able to continue on in the future, what with the lack of females! Starship Troopers kind-of made up for this oversight by having the females pilot the space ships and act as crewmembers and naval officers for the navy in that book. So while I realize these comics and their stories are a bit of the "signs of the times," it does seem strange not to see very many females even as background characters when the cadets are in places where one would think you'd see more females.

I have probably said more than I needed to regarding these stories; they are somewhat simple and straightforward when compared to modern comics today. The stories are all wrapped up by the end of the issue; it felt like a good chunk of them involved somebody appearing to "turn bad" but then is revealed to have "gone undercover" in order to ensure the capture of whoever the villains were for that issue. The stories are a pretty decent length, so I felt the whoever wrote the stories was able to get some pretty good mileage out of the space and page length available.

It is funny to think of "how cheap" these comics were (which adjusted for inflation was probably pretty expensive) and how thick they were compared to comics today. It definitely feels like you are getting less bang for your buck when you buy comics today. Each of these stories have neat, tidy conclusions with Roger spouting off at the mouth about something (not all of the time, but a good chunk of the time).

I think the only thing that was missing was some kind of blurb or explanation about who did what; who did the writing, who was the artist, who was the editor. I think that would have been a nice addition to this compilation collection. That being said, I did like the little "blurbs" at the beginning of each comic that described a scene taking place and what was involve with the "snapshots" of daily life for the cadets. In any case, it was a fun compilation to read and I am glad that I picked it up. Hopefully I can find volume 02 as well as a copy of the newspaper strips that were combined into one issue.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom Corbett appeared on television from 1950-1955. The stories followed the adventures of Corbett, Astro, and Roger Manning, cadets at the Space Academy as they train to become members of the Solar Guard. The action takes place at the Academy, aboard their training ship the rocket cruiser Polaris, and on alien worlds, both within and without the solar system. These comic book tie-ins, published by Dell Comics, expand the TV universe with stories that were presumably too expensive for TV, featuring alien races and exotic locations. I've never seen the TV series, but I have read the Grosset & Dunlap novelizations, and these comic book stories are more fantastic than the more realistic books. They are reasonably entertaining, but have not aged well. The plots are pretty simplistic and the characters are locked into specific tropes. Manning's constant egotistical and condescending attitude wore thin very quickly, for example. There is no female presence to speak of, with the only woman relegated to a very small, supporting role, even though she is a doctor. I got the sense that the comic book creators had perhaps never seen the TV series, or were given great license to change the characters.

The artwork is at a good, journeyman level. This book retains the original coloring with its off-centering and flat tones. Also, the next-to-last page of every story is uncolored. I assume this was how the original comic books were printed. I guess the publisher didn't want to spend extra money on these public domain reprints to bring them up to today's standards. I suppose there is something to be said for retaining the original look, but I found it distracting.

This book is part of the publisher's "pre-code classics" series, but there is nothing in these stories that wouldn't have been approved by the comics code. There is certainly no sex (and only a vague hint at romance) and the violence is quite tame. One recurring plot is for a hero to turn traitorous only to be revealed as a trick to capture the bad guys, but otherwise the good guys are always straight-laced and triumphant.

I was very disappointed that this book lacks an introduction. The stories are not presented within any kind of context. No mention is given to the creators other than a mysterious credit on the back cover of the book.