(Whirlwind Comics 002, 1940)
This is Muskog, ruler of the Earth's core in the far-future year of 1980 CE and total dick. Muskog has been blasting the surface of the planet with a static electricity ray for seemingly no reason whatsoever, or at least no reason that he cares to state. This of course attracts the attention of crack science adventurer Bruce Barlow, who ventures into the molten depths on behalf of his people to ask "how come?"
There are precisely three things I want to note about Muskog's sole appearance. The first is simply to note that his name is infuriatingly close to muskeg, the Arctic/subarctic bog biome. Is this a coincidence, or did Bruce Barlow's unknown creator(s) know and love the word as much as I do?
Secondly, we must mention Barlow's method of getting to the centre of the Earth: via a capsule that is shot out of a big gun into a volcanic crater. Never has any idea so neatly conveyed how simultaneously wonderful and dumb comic books can be. And how is he going to get back, you ask? Why by means of an "upward space helmet" that will simply float him back through the fiery mantle.
Finally, as always, I must take note of any time that an alien or otherwise nonhuman species crops up in which the males are, e.g., bug-eyed green weirdos but the females are conventionally attractive human women, as seen here in the person of Muskog's rebellious daughter Eda. Ah, the wonders of evolution.
Eda frees Barlow, allowing him to destroy the irreplaceable explosion machines, but unfortunately is unable to join him on his voyage through thousands of kilometres of molten rock because she is wounded. Barlow promises to return and is later seen trying to spin this return voyage not as a sex thing but as being in the interests of science, heh heh.
Bruce Barlow is of course honoured by the surface world for his efforts, and this gives us the opportunity to see that the US flag of 1980 has only 28 stars - what great calamity has caused 20 whole states to succeed/ be kicked out/ other? Worldbuilding!
No comments:
Post a Comment