Oh those rascally aliens.
the Grey Hordes from the Center of the Earth:
The Grey Hordes from the Center of the Earth, aka the Grey Men, have been bombing London for unclear reasons using hard-to-see transparent planes. War correspondent Danny Dash and his associate Shamrock "Mac" McGlynn (!) stumble upon a group of them in the English countryside after their car is wrecked by a mysterious bomb-throwing glowing limousine, but since the "Danny Dash" feature never concluded we never really learn the answers to the reasons behind any of this, including why they are making war on the British or why they have corkscrews on top of their hats. (War Comics 001, 1940)
the Jovian Mountain People:
The Jovian Mountain People live a simple life that revolves around the harvesting and processing of native jurta berries into a potent drug. They call in the heroic Space Patrol after a rash of murder and robberies (sixty!) point to an organized jurta drug ring in the area.
Basil Wolverton's knack for alien design was remarkable not just for its inventiveness but for the fact that he could make such sympathetic alien characters who weren't just humans with blue skin, and the Jovian Mountain Folk might just be the greatest example of this, with their little round bodies and concerned expressions. The above image of the jurta harvester carefully processing his crop is one of my favourite in all of comics, and it's a shame that the poor guy is about to be tossed off of a mountain by one of...
the Balloon Men:
The Balloon Men showcase another of Wolverton's strengths: creating aliens that are simultaneously goofy yet believably threatening. A big orb-shaped dude with little fluttering wings is undeniably a silly-looking fellow, but just scroll back up to that image of the attack on the jurta-man and picture one of these guys silently descending on you with murderous intent. Eerie. Plus I really appreciate the clear distinction between the inflated and deflated states of the Balloon Men,
The Balloon Men are not, however, the ultimate architects of the jurta thefts. No, it turns out that they are working for...
the Haggur:
The Haggur are identified as a "cruel and crafty tribe of South Jupiter" and if this is an accurate description then this otherwise-unnamed Haggur is an exemplar of his kind. He and his imported Balloon Men intend on plundering the entire season's jurta drug harvest no matter how many Mountain People they have to kill to do so. It's only being totally exploded by the Space Patrol that stops this dastardly plan.
Design-wise, the Haggur is a pretty standard big alien bruiser, though I do really like the huge bands of muscle attached to the jaw and of course welcome the single central Basil Wolverton nostril whenever it makes an appearance.
The comic ends with a little gag about how unattractive the Jovian Mountain Ladies are, in case you were worrying that it had no flaws. I personally think that they're cute. (Amazing Mystery Funnies v3 005, 1940)
