Old Creepy story?

[Gabara]

Well, not sure what it was from, but I'm eager to get hold of this again! Could have been a Creepy, Eerie, Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction...? NOT SURE!

I think it was the last story in the comic. The artwork was real weird, like airbrushed or something? Black'n'white, '70s sometime.

Basically this flying saucer lands & American "marines" jump out. They engage in a battle with these aliens, who are called "goblins" I think? There is a dogfight in the air, and I think the marines manage to release some prisoners held in the goblin city. Can't remember too much more, only that the visuals in this story have haunted me for 30 odd years! :p

I would love to find out what this story is from!!!

Any ideas?

Thanks again!

[Red Oak Kid]

Well, not sure what it was from, but I'm eager to get hold of this again! Could have been a Creepy, Eerie, Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction...? NOT SURE!

I think it was the last story in the comic. The artwork was real weird, like airbrushed or something? Black'n'white, '70s sometime.

Basically this flying saucer lands & American "marines" jump out. They engage in a battle with these aliens, who are called "goblins" I think? There is a dogfight in the air, and I think the marines manage to release some prisoners held in the goblin city. Can't remember too much more, only that the visuals in this story have haunted me for 30 odd years! :p

I would love to find out what this story is from!!!

Any ideas?

Thanks again!

I'm just bumping this one back up because I thought it would be solved by now. The fact that the story was airbrushed might help narrow down the candidates.

The Marines made me think of the cover of UWOSF 2, but I'm pretty sure there are no airbrushed stories in it.

http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=28376&zoom=4

[Gabara]

Thanks for the bump, pal! No, unfortunately it's not UWOSF 2. I recently acquired issues 1 to 3, with fingers crossed! Terrific comics, but this particular story wasn't in there!

As I said, the artwork in this story is very spooky/surreal... faces are almost "photo"-ish... Black'n'white, of course (we're talking '70s?)...

Opening scenes are "marines" running out from a landed flying saucer. They call the enemy "goblins" (if I remember correctly).

Any ideas?

[Gabara]

I'm wondering if anyone has a copy of Unknown Worlds Of Science Fiction #4 they could check? I believe there is a story in there, "Encounter At War" (??), and the aliens are called "gnomes" (not "goblins")???

[Red Oak Kid]

I'm wondering if anyone has a copy of Unknown Worlds Of Science Fiction #4 they could check? I believe there is a story in there, "Encounter At War" (??), and the aliens are called "gnomes" (not "goblins")???

According to the GCD:

http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=28803

Encounter At War was drawn by Richard Corben. He used airbrush so this looks like it could be what you are looking for.

[Gabara]

The more I search around, the more I think this is the one!

Thanks, Red Oak Kid!

[dan bailey]

I've got that issue -- as soon as the caffeine kicks in (I just got up), I'll look up the story.

[MWGallaher]

I was thinking it sounded like Corben. His work does tend to stick in one's mind. I found a synopsis of the story in question on a page dedicated to cataloguing Corben's work:


Synopsis: Aliens are about to attack to the Earth. Humans are finding their captain, when suddenly Sayer is kidnapped by aliens and transmitted to the alien planet. Sayer finds the captain, but saves the Earth.
Comment: The story is evidently Corben's early work.
Alternative, : Corben and Strnad reworked further earlier in Jan Strnad's fanzine's story and the result is still a little bit mish-mash. The story stays not so clear, specially on the alien planet. Comic has strange extra boxes up and down on pages three, six, eight and ten. Maybe the original comic book has more wider page size (cf. "Razar the Unhero"!). Alien language is balls and squares and triangulars on a place of letters.
Alternative, Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction version: The story was introduced (by Roy Thomas?) on the preceding page: "A year or two ago, comics-fan Jan S. Strnad and underground cartoonist Richard V. Corben collaborated on a short series of tales dealing with an Earth invaded by a race of gnome-like aliens who had teleported here from a distant star. This is the final episode of that interstellar struggle..." Actually "Survivors of the Suicide World, Episode 1: The Homecoming" appeared in Anomaly #1, written as a 7-page text piece by Jan Strnad with illustrations by Greg Phillips, not Corben. "Survivors of the Suicide World, Episode 2: The Gnome" appeared in Anomaly #2, written by Jan Strnad as a 3-page text piece with illustrations by Ken Meaux.
Comparing: The original story starts with short text and the lower part of reworked version's page 2 (first page and first frame on sec. page are new). Next page is similar, except in reworked version he added additional bars up and down. Page 3 is divided in two (upper part is beginning of reworked 4th page and lower two frames the end of 5th). Next page is again similar (with bars up and down). Fifth page has a lot of redrawn frames: the original story's first frame is truncened from left and added with new frame next to it. Two vertical frames are there, but last frame on top right is new. The middle frames all are redrawn (Captain Phillips has now moustashes and he's much older than in the original version). The dialogue is rewritten, but the bottom row is left alone. Next page has bars up and down, which means it is untoutched. Page 7 shows Captain Phillips on first frame, so Mr. Corben redraw it (maybe only the floor is from the original frame) and did frame at the same time way enough high to not to use additional bars. The rest of the page is untoutched (well, in the second frame Captain Phillips is added at the back of Sawyer). Page 8 has big bar down; page is untoutched, almost. Captain Phillips is again added behind Sawer on farest right middle row frame (you can see less Sawyer's fingers on the same frame). Page 9 is again almost untoutched. First frame is redrawn and Mr. Corben added additional sky and clouds on the very up of whole page. Sawer says only on the redrawn version, "The transmitter building!" (and Captain Phillips, "OUGH!") He also added the ball bomb in the hand of Sawer in last frame (ripped aliens are faded with coloring). On page 10 first two frames are replaced with one (because Sawer finds ball bomb already in the end of prev. page) and next two frames make now the first row with that new redrawn frame. The rest of the page is totally redrawn. Last page is again totally redrawn, only Captain Phillips' saying is left almost untoutched: originally is goes like, "You rotten BASTARD! You could have WAITED!!" All the rest of talking in reworked version's last page is rewritten. In the beginning (page one and first frame on sec. page) Mr. Corben and Mr. Strnad made additional framing story, which concludes the redrawn version. The reworked story has a woman, who was not there originally at all.

[dan bailey]

Yep, that's probably the one Gabara is remembering. From looking at the actual strip just now (wish I could scan it, but I lack the technology), I can see how the graphics would leave such an impression.

(Quite by coincidence, I was looking up Strnad's credits not that long ago, after finishing a very solid PB horror novel from '04, Risen, that he wrote as "J Knight." Pretty much all I knew him by back in the day was the "Valley of the Worm" adaptation HC [was it called Bloodstar? Something like that ...] he did with Corben in the mid-'70s ...)

[Gabara]

Last page is again totally redrawn, only Captain Phillips' saying is left almost untoutched: originally is goes like, "You rotten BASTARD! You could have WAITED!!"

Hmm now that really rings a bell!

OK thanks a lot people for your interesting comments! I shall go hunt the rest of these UWSF comics down ASAP!

Much appreciated!

[MDG]

OK, I read this story, but in an underground. I thought it was in SLOW DEATH, but it may have been Anomaly #4.

MDG

[Gabara]

YEP this is the one! Just got it today - UWoSF #4 (July '75). It is quite bizarre to reread this particular story ("Encounter At War") - I wonder why it stuck in my head all these years? Anyway, beautiful artwork & a weird-ass story make a good combination!

Just thought I'd report back...

Wow, these old Unknown Worlds Of Science Fiction comics are tremendous! Were there only the 6 issues?

[T GUy]

these old Unknown Worlds Of Science Fiction comics are tremendous! Were there only the 6 issues?

Six issues plus an Annual or Special collecting leftovers.

[danee]

I was thinking it sounded like Corben. His work does tend to stick in one's mind. I found a synopsis of the story in question on a page dedicated to cataloguing Corben's work:

Thanks guys for talking about this.
I loved the Corben work on this "Encounter At War" however I have never seen the other previous stories by Jan S.

Does anyone know where I can get the two comix, Anomaly #1 and Anomaly #2 that contained the "Survivors of the Suicide World" series 1 and 2. I have the 3rd Encounter at War version in my Unknown Worlds Of Science Fiction #4 magazine!

But I want to read the other eposides.

AND yes this bloody story led me to Corben art work (a thousand dollars worth or so) and it is like 30 years later as well.

What is it about this artwork that is so riviting (sp) !???

thanks danny

[Kirk G]

Would someone please post a scan so we can see what you are talking about?