When aliens wore fedora hats #2

It took me a while to figure out how I could share my love of Alan Class’s wonderful vintage comics, Creepy Worlds, Astounding Stories and all the rest. How could I put them in my novels in an interesting, entertaining way? I struggled for a while but eventually hit on a really simple solution – give the characters in the novels their own comics to read and enjoy! Theirs would be based on the real ones I had read, with the same kind of brilliant stories, cover art and interplay of speculation and retro.

And then I realised these comics could do more than that – provide tantalising clues for my readers about what was going on in the novel. They could become ‘stories within stories’ and actually become mixed in with the unfolding action. So you could have different layers of interplays between the reader, characters and the comics. This would also give a post-modern nod, a wink to the reader saying, ‘This is artificial. We know it’s artificial. But, hey, let’s enjoy the ride!’ 

Oh, and while researching Alan’s comics, I also made a surprising discovery – there was a whole world of British comics too from the 1940s and 50s which I didn’t even know about! I knew about Eagle but there was a whole universe of other comics like Oh Boy!, Valiant and Thrill. And plenty of wonderful characters too like the multi-talented Gail Garrity and amazing Kronos the Egyptian. So I decided to give these long-forgotten Brit superheroes guest appearances in my novels. 

   

So how did it all these work out in the end?  Well, in the final instalment I’ll post some extracts so and you can decide for yourself. After all, the reader is the best judge.

Now where’s my tie with Kronos hand painted on it…? 

alanclasscomics.blogspot.co.uk/

www.internationalhero.co.uk/e/erauk.htm

When aliens wore fedora hats

I really love comic books. Back in my childhood I couldn’t get enough of those square-bound comics with their extraordinary cover art and wonderful stories, everything from sci-fi to mystery, crime, the supernatural and the, well, just plain weird.  And I was struck by the how the action and setting were mixed up with the fashions, language and cars of earlier times. Nearly all my meagre pocket money went on getting those stories – and they were worth every penny.  

Actually for years I thought those comics had come straight off the presses in America. I didn’t realise that they’d been out of print for years. In fact, an English guy called Alan Class had bought the rights and given them a new lease of life, importing them to the Britain for eager kids like me. I really didn’t go for Captain Marvel and the other superhero type stuff. No, it was Alan’s comics that I got a real kick out of.  Maybe it was the format. Maybe it was the material and sheer diversity. And that interplay of retro, sci-fi and speculative. I mean, even now the hairs on the back of my neck start to rise when I see some of that extraordinary cover art.   

Now, of course, Astounding Stories and all the rest are pretty much unloved by collectors, and the shelves of my old newsagent around the corner are stacked with Frozen and Bob the Builder. Nope, I guess nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.  Looking back, though, one thing I’ve never quite figured out was did those comics originally influence TV series like The Twilight Zone or was it the other round?  Or did they just sort of head out there on their own separate weird and wonderful trajectories? 

When I got into writing I was determined to figure out a way of celebrating Alan’s comics. Share the love. Hey, maybe even generate some new interest in them.

In part two I’ll talk about how I’ve tried to do that…