(Planet Comics 008, 1940)
Once again an adventure begins that most classic sci-fi way: Buzz Crandall and his gal pal Sandra are noodling around in space when they run smack into something, in this case a crystal sphere that houses the secret headquarters of Sophus, the Mad Philosopher.
I couldn't tell you what school of philosophy Sophus subscribes to, but it's one with an intellectual framework that encompasses a) turning other humanoids into mist and keeping them in bottles and b) freaking people out of their gourds by flinging them through a time portal into a crazy abstract weirdscape. Since Sophus is mad, perhaps he's just taking a philosophy dedicated to helping other improve themselves way too far? Or maybe he took a Philosophy 101 class in university and decided that that was all he needed to be insufferable about his evil interests forever, who knows.
As Sandra is flung into the timestream and Buzz attempts to rescue her, we get a passable rendition of 1960s Dr Strange-style psychedelia, only in the 1940s. It's pretty neat, though it does make me pine for what will eventually be.
Sophus is eventually undone not by the heroes of our story but by his own jerk nature, as his villainous cackling over Buzz and Sandra's doom is delicious-sounding enough to draw the attention of the Elipticoon, a "giant time entity" that was about to devour Sandra but instead opts for a delicious and attention-grabbing philosopher. All the jarred people are set free, the end.
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