Lost in Space | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Innovation Comics |
Schedule | Monthly |
Genre | Science-fiction |
Publication date | 1991 |
Main character(s) | John Robinson, Maureen Robinson, Don West, Judy Robinson, Penny Robinson, Dr. Zachary Smith, The Robot |
Creative team | |
Created by | Irwin Allen |
Written by | Billy Mumy Kevin Burns |
Artist(s) | Michael Dutkiewicz |
Lost in Space was a comic book published by Innovation Comics, based upon the television series Lost in Space . It utilized the settings and characters from the series, but was set years after the end of the series, and featured older characters coming to terms with being cut off from Earth for so many years. [1]
In the 1980s, Bill Mumy (who played Will Robinson on the series) had tried, and failed, to convince Irwin Allen to allow production of a Lost in Space film for theatres or TV. In 1991, a fledgling publisher called Innovation Comics began to produce an ambitious, high-quality Lost in Space comic, which was authorized and licensed. It was scripted by Mumy himself, and his intention was to reflect the more serious tone of the first season episodes, but this was somewhat undercut by artwork that sexualized the characters of Judy and Penny Robinson, prompting some exasperated notes from Mumy in the editorial pages.
The comic also established a romantic triangle between Judy, Penny (now depicted as someone in her late teens), and Don that was not present in the original series.
One storyline in this comic book retcons the "serious episodes" - which some critics claim ended about a third of the way through the first season - as excerpts from Prof. Robinson's log, while the more humorous episodes were taken from Penny's diary. Also suggested is the idea that Dr. Smith is working with some of the aliens encountered in the early episodes, rather than with any terrestrial source, as evidenced by his efforts to make radio contact with some third party after the Jupiter II has left Earth.
Lost in Space was Innovation's best selling property, outselling all their other comics combined. The comic only managed to run for 18 issues, 2 annuals and 1 of 2 issues of a miniseries however, but not because of poor sales. Innovation's ambitious projects couldn't keep ahead of their bottom line, and the company went out of business.
While this left a major story arc unresolved, a trade paperback entitled "Voyage to the Bottom of the Soul" was later published, completing the story.
In 1998 Dark Horse Comics published a tie-in comic based on that year's Lost in Space film which ran for three issues. [2]
Irwin Allen's Lost in Space: The Lost Adventures were a series of comics published in 2016 by American Gothic Press, based on two unused scripts for the original series, "The Curious Galactics" and "Malice in Wonderland" by Carey Wilbur. These never filmed scripts were adapted by Holly Interlandi into a series of comics, with art by Kostas Pantoulas and Patrick McEvoy. While "The Curious Galactics" was originally a First Season script, both stories are presented as being set after the events of Season Three.
A new comic based on the reboot of Lost in Space , sub-titled Countdown to Danger was published in four parts during 2019. The new comic is written by Richard Dinnick and Brian Buccellato with art by Zid. [3]
A comic book named Space Family Robinson was published by Gold Key Comics and written by Gaylord DuBois. [4] The Robinsons were: scientist father Craig, scientist mother June, early teens Tim (son) and Tammy (daughter), along with pets Clancy (dog) and Yakker (parrot). They lived in "Space Station One", a spacious moving craft with hydroponic gardens, observatory, and 2 small shuttle crafts ("Spacemobiles"). In the second issue, a cosmic storm deposited them far from Earth and they have adventures while they try to work their way home. That comic book is not a spinoff of the TV series but was in print prior to the conception of the show.
Space Family Robinson was published by Whitman and distributed by Western Publishing and sold for 60 cents each. They featured captions on their front covers such as #58's:
"An Emergency Landing on a War-Torn Planet Brings the Robinsons their strangest experience in Space!"
They were also sold in plastic packages of three comic books for $1.39 ($1.80 value) with other titles in the package such as Buck Rogers #14 and Doctor Solar #30.
In 1966 the weekly UK publication Lady Penelope , the comic for girls who love television, printed Space Family Robinson stories. These used the same characters and technology as the Gold Key titles but were original scripts, not reprints. Authorship is not known for certain, although there is good reason to think that some may have been written by then sub-editor on Lady Penelope, Brian Woodford. The artist was John Burns.
Charles William Mumy Jr. is an American actor, writer, and musician and a figure in the science-fiction community/comic book fandom. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a child actor whose work included television appearances on Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and a role in the film Dear Brigitte, followed by a three-season role as Will Robinson in the 1960s sci-fi series Lost in Space. Mumy later appeared as lonely teenager Sterling North in the film Rascal (1969) and Teft in the film Bless the Beasts and Children (1971).
Robotech is an American science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production; it was first released in the United States in 1984.
Lost in Space is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 Johann David Wyss novel The Swiss Family Robinson. The series follows the adventures of the Robinsons, a pioneering family of space colonists who struggle to survive in the depths of space. The show ran for 83 episodes over three seasons. The first season comprised 29 one hour episodes, filmed in black and white. Seasons 2 and 3 episodes were shot in color.
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics Universe, and first appeared in Adventure Comics #247.
Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.
Irwin Allen was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. His most successful productions were The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974). He also created and produced the popular 1960s science-fiction television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants.
Starstruck is an American science fiction comic book series. It is based on the off-Broadway stage play of the same name written by Elaine Lee, with contributions from Susan Norfleet Lee and Dale Place. An audio drama has also appeared.
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.
Robinsonade is a literary genre of fiction wherein the protagonist is suddenly separated from civilization, usually by being shipwrecked or marooned on a secluded and uninhabited island, and must improvise the means of their survival from the limited resources at hand. The genre takes its name from the 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The success of this novel spawned so many imitations that its name was used to define a genre, which is sometimes described simply as a "desert island story" or a "castaway narrative".
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Nicola Cuti, known as Nick Cuti, was an American artist and comic book writer/editor, science-fiction novelist; he was the co-creator of E-Man and Moonchild, Captain Cosmos, and Starflake the Cosmic Sprite. He also worked as an animation background designer, magazine illustrator and screenwriter.
Battlestar Galactica has been adapted to the comic book format since its inception, with six publishers to date taking on the project of relating the story of the Colonial Fleet and their adversaries, the Cylons, at different points.
Robotech comics first officially appeared in print in 1985, though Comico published the first issue of its license from Harmony Gold USA under the Macross name.
Ib Jørgen Melchior was a Danish-American novelist, short-story writer, film producer, film director, and screenwriter of low-budget American science fiction movies, most of them released by American International Pictures.
Space Family Robinson was an original science-fiction comic-book series published by Gold Key Comics. It predates the Lost in Space television series. Both are loosely based on the 1812 novel by Johann David Wyss The Swiss Family Robinson.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a 1964–1968 American science fiction television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. Both were created by Irwin Allen, which enabled the film's sets, costumes, props, special effects models, and sometimes footage, to be used in the production of the television series. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was the first of Irwin Allen's four science fiction television series, and the longest-running. The show's theme was underwater adventure.
Lady Penelope was a British weekly comic book magazine for girls which ran from 1966 to 1969. Produced by Century 21 Publications and published by City Magazines, it was a sister publication to TV Century 21. Lady Penelope was edited by Gillian Allan, wife of comic strip writer Angus Allan.
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Gaylord McIlvaine Du Bois was an American writer of comic book stories and comic strips, as well as Big Little Books and juvenile adventure novels. Du Bois wrote Tarzan for Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics from 1946 until 1971, and wrote over 3,000 comics stories over his career.
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