Friday, June 26, 2009

Sometimes, being a space cadet is a good thing



From Kolchak:

One reason why you haven’t heard much from me recently is because, I’ve been getting reacquainted with some old friends . I’m writing a four-issue revival of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet for Bluewater Comics.
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet was a very popular television show in the 1950s. It was one of the first—if not the first—sf show to be a multimedia hit, spawning a comic strip, a series of books, and other merchandise. The main characters were Tom, Roger Manning and Astro, three cadets studying to become members of the Solar Guard, in “the world beyond tomorrow.”
But you don’t have to have read any of Tom’s previous appearances in order to enjoy this series. We’re trying to make a comic book that’s fun, and accessible, to all readers. In this story, Tom and the others will be encountering the One State, an army with an unusual goal and an unusual origin. The talented John DaCosta will be handling the artistic side of the series.
In my hometown, the Tom Corbett books made up at least half of the science fiction section in the children’s library. So I was a fan of the series long before I saw an episode of the television show. I wrote eight issues of a Tom Corbett comic for Eternity Comics, and I introduced myself to Bluewater Publisher Darren Davis as soon as I heard about his plans to revive the character.
Bluewater has been making waves recently—yes, he did go there—with graphic biographies of prominent American women such as Michele Obama and Sarah Palin. Along with Tom Corbett, the company will also be bringing back such sf series as Logan’s Run and Tek World
The first issue of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet will be out in September, but the official solicitation is in the issue of Previews that arrived in your local comics shop this week. The best way to make sure you get the issue to order it now.