[Captain Audio]

Ray Bradbury's work has appeared several times in comics, whether any were in Golden Age Comics or not I'm not sure.

I remember one Horror Comic who's cover depicting a Skeleton on a Carosel won an international award. I think that in the story itself it was supposed to have been a Ferris Wheel rather than a Carosel, the wheel going in one direction made the character younger, in the other direction it made him older.
The Cover was magnificient either way.

Perhaps a thread on mainstream Sci Fi authors and their works that were featured in Comics would prove fruitful.

[John C]

Perhaps a thread on mainstream Sci Fi authors and their works that were featured in Comics would prove fruitful.

Looks like one of the moderators split this off for you, but just so you know, you're just as entitled to start topics as the rest of us, if you think it'll interest the group.  Don't be afraid to color outside the lines a little bit...

Anyway, Bradbury's works were published, I believe, by DC in the '80s under a quasi-imprint they planned to expand mightily but never caught on.  If I remember correctly, it was more a line of heavily-illustrated, abridged novels than what we'd call a graphic novel.

Of course, I've never understood the draw of "look, we hired a REAL writer."  Probably because I see those types of moves as more strongly enforcing the ghetto (in the isolated Prague sense, not the "down in da 'hood" sense, by the way) atmosphere than breaking it.  But that's an entirely different discussion for another time.

More to the point here is that there are many writers who didn't move in one direction or the other, but rather kept a foot in both worlds.  Otto Binder (with his brother Earl under the pseudonym "Eando Binder"--E And O, which is kind of cute) and CC Beck both did a fair amount of Pulp sci-fi which is fair to good.  Edmond Hamilton is also another Fawcett alum who also spent a bit of time inspiring and writing for DC, but also has a lot of magazine work under his belt.

And even if you didn't know any of that, you've almost certainly heard of the Binders' most enduring creation, Adam Link, an intelligent crime-fighting robot that DC in no way stole for their Robotman character.  Totally different, and the fact that the trials that prove their humanity are almost word for word identical is a complete coincidence.  (Yes, I know that Robotman has a human brain, and is therefore technically different.)  Adam has been portrayed on "The Outer Limits," I believe, and also certainly inspired many characters (directly and indirectly) like Star Trek's Commander Data, who also had to defend his humanity at trial that couldn't possibly be like what the Binders wrote.

Oh, and as I mentioned before, there's Harlan Ellison.  I don't think his work made it to the comics, but he did, in the most nonsensical excuse for a Justice League story until the hiring of Brad Meltzer.

http://www.jlasatellite.com/2008/02/justice-league-of-america-89-may-1971.html

Seriously.  I've read it.  It's as bad as it sounds.  Don't listen to the hipster commenters pretending that they "get" the story.  They don't.  It really is just a story about a jerk throwing a tantrum because a woman dressed like a hooker (well, cigarette girl, technically--go ahead and look it up, if you don't believe me) won't date him.

[JonTheScanner]

EC adapted quite a few Bradbury stories (particularly Martian Chronicles) in their comics.  As I recall, They had never sought permission and Bradbury wrote Gaines (or at least EC) a letter saying you forgot to send me my royalty check, but apparently liked the adaptation enough to permit more.

[Captain Audio]

Authors like Otis Albert Kline
http://goldenagecomics.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1634.0.html
Were more or less mainstream in their day, though probably not that well remembered, and of course the stories of his contemporary Edgar Rice Burroughs ended up in the comics fairly often.
Robert E Howard died (suicide) before his work was really appreciated and his characters are fairly familar to the comics fans, at least from the 70's onwards.

H G Wells stories have seen more play in comics, even if by way of being rehashed in League of extraordinary gentlemen, than in earlier times, though I think they were occasionally subjects of Illustrations in British publications like the strand.
The classics Illustrated "War of the Worlds" and "The Time Machine" are classic classics.

[darkmark]

In case nobody knows about it, Alfred Bester was a journeyman writer in comics.  He did a batch of Green Lantern stories in the 40's and Genius Jones, plus some other stuff I've forgotten.  I don't know if Manly Wade Wellman (who wrote The Spirit and a few others) did a lot of sf, but he did do fantasy / horror.  I imagine there were more than a few sf writers who "slummed" in comics sometimes to pay the bills.  And, of course, Harry Harrison started out as a comics artist, not a writer.

[Captain Audio]

In case nobody knows about it, Alfred Bester was a journeyman writer in comics.  He did a batch of Green Lantern stories in the 40's and Genius Jones, plus some other stuff I've forgotten.  I don't know if Manly Wade Wellman (who wrote The Spirit and a few others) did a lot of sf, but he did do fantasy / horror.  I imagine there were more than a few sf writers who "slummed" in comics sometimes to pay the bills.  And, of course, Harry Harrison started out as a comics artist, not a writer.

Great information, I do vaguely remember Alfred Bester's name being associated with the Green Lantern, but I never real got into GL.

Manly Wade Wellman's horror was in part Sci Fi, in so far as alternative dimensions and lost races can be considered Sci Fi. H P Lovecraft's Elder gods are Aliens after all is said and done.

[OtherEric]

I'm actually looking for the Genius Jones stories these days; they're a severely underrated series.

Ellison has done quite a few odd comics here and there; mostly he plotted and others scripted but there are a few he wrote entirely himself.

Alan Brennert, who is sadly not that well known a writer, has written a small handful of comics.  They start at very good and rapidly progress to several probably in my 100 all time favorite stories.  Well worth tracking down any of them.

[John C]

Definitely agreed on Brennert, Eric.  Any time someone asked what my favorite stories were, I'd find myself going through the same batch, only to see on rechecking that they were all written by the same guy.  All clever and touching.

I seem to recall reading that he was involved in the Wonder Woman show, which I somehow never watched when it was on (oh, right--it was about a GIRL), but have on DVD for the event that I have a block of free time.

What little I've seen of Genius Jones also was interesting, and I wonder why DC has never touched the character since, when just about everything else has been dredged back up.

[Captain Audio]

I seem to recall reading that he was involved in the Wonder Woman show, which I somehow never watched when it was on (oh, right--it was about a GIRL),

Linda Carter being just a girl is a true understatement. Her costume was especially padded and braced to prevent her natural bounce from getting out of hand and stunning the male audience into insensibility.
Not until Xena's opening credits ride down the beach would so much femininity be in motion at one time on screen.

[JonTheScanner]

What little I've seen of Genius Jones also was interesting, and I wonder why DC has never touched the character since, when just about everything else has been dredged back up.

I thought Genius Jones a player in one of the mini-series associated with Final Crisis or one of the other recent mega-crossovers?  But I'm probably wrong.

[JVJ]

Daniel Keyes (Flowers for Algernon) has credits in pre-code Horror comics. Don't know if he had any input into the great movie adaptation of Flowers (Cliff Robertson's - Charly). I think one of the stories he wrote for the comics was illustrated by Basil Wolverton...

(|:{>

[OtherEric]

What little I've seen of Genius Jones also was interesting, and I wonder why DC has never touched the character since, when just about everything else has been dredged back up.

I thought Genius Jones a player in one of the mini-series associated with Final Crisis or one of the other recent mega-crossovers?  But I'm probably wrong.

He showed up in the Doctor 13 series that ran as a backup in one of the various miniseries; I've got the collection.  To damn with very faint praise, it's the best thing I've read by Brian Azzarillo (sp?).  However, it's very clear that the writer had only ever seen a few Genius Jones stories and he misses key bits of the character.  I've got... 11 issues with GJ: 2 Adventures, 6 More Funs, and 3 All Funnys.  To be fair, even those stories have some anomalies.  But GJ is a) not a kid, he's a small adult; b) doesn't insist on the payment being an actual dime, and c) doesn't answer questions when in his Answerman outfit.  (That last one isn't 100% followed; but it is a key plot point in More Fun 108.)

[jfglade]

Alfred Bester has written a couple of entertaining little essays about writing some of the Green Lantern stories he worked on. There is an Australian adaption of Bester's "The Stars My Destination" which is said to be first rate work both in terms of the artwork and as an adaption of a story in one medium being adapted into another medium. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to run down a copy.

[JonTheScanner]

Stanley Pitt drew (and his brother wrote) fourteen pages of Gully Foyle as an adaptation of The Stars My Destination.  It was never sold to a syndicate.  These pages were "reprinted" several places first in a portfolio and later in the fanzine Star Studded Comics (#12 I think and only some of them).  I may have them or scans around here someplace.  They were not the complete story by any means.

One of the portfolios is currently on a BIN at eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alfred-Bester-THE-STARS-MY-DESTINATION-Stan-Pitt-comic_W0QQitemZ370292679226QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20091118?IMSfp=TL091118189002r17928

Howard Chaykin adapted it years later

[darkmark]

Also, a page of that showed up in Marvel's UNKNOWN WORLDS OF SCIENCE FICTION.  It was MUCH superior to the Chaykin adaptation that followed.

[philcom55]

Alfie Bester's most enduring legacy to DC Comics was probably his creation (with Paul Reinman) of Solomon Grundy.

Over in the UK Arthur C. Clarke was at one time scientific advisor to the Dan Dare comic strip in the weekly comic Eagle. (He later stood down saying there weren't enough errors to justify his involvement). I think Clarke also write a one-off comic strip for Playboy during the 1960s.

Also in the UK Michael Moorcock wrote reams of excellent comic strips during the 1950s and 1960s, and even edited the weekly Tarzan comic for a time.

- Phil Rushton

[Salty]

I didn't see the Gilberton Classics Illustrated mentioned: many Jules Verne and HG Wells novels were adapted there.  50s artists like Lou Cameron were involved in their versions of War of the Worlds and the Time Machine. First Men in the Moon featured EC veteran George Evans, IIRC.
I'm inclined to throw in some of Edgar Allen Poe's work to this discussion as well: though the bulk of his material was mystery/horror, he was one of the first authors to do detective AND science fiction (Descent into the Maelstrom as well.
Otto Binder (& his brother) had credentials in the pulps before they did Capt. Marvel for Fawcett--some here might remember his Adam Link Robot series in the Warren mags?  It was originally serialized in the SF periodicals. 
Edmund Hamilton, a 50s-60s Superman regular, was also a prolific pulp fiction writer.  He had helped to create a Buck Rogers-esque character called Captain Future in the 40s.
The respected SF novel When Worlds Collide was adapted by Al McWilliams--I THINK that was a strip, not a comic book. 
Lots of "legit" science fiction has made it into the comics. 

[Brainster]

One of the reasons so many SF writers also wrote for the comics was that Julius Schwartz and Mort Weisinger had contacts with them from their years as literary agents.  Schwartz talks a bit about this in his (terrific) autobiography, Man of Two Worlds.