The Six Three Rocketeers

Three Rocketeers - Count 'Em!

1...2...3...

...4...5...6!

Hmm...

This trio got there first, back in 1952 -

But that was all there was.

A half dozen years later, a new Trio claimed the title with a tolerably awesome support trio - Jack Kirby and Al Williamson, with Joe Simon running Mission Control -

Unfortunately, they debuted in the final issue of Race For The Moon. It would be another 7 years before their adventures continued in Blast-Off -

(By the way - you can also find a couple tales from Larry Ivie in Blast-Off #1, illustrated by Al Williamson and Reed Crandall.)

However, Blast-Off lasted only a single issue, so it was another year before we saw them again in Unearthly Spectaculars as Otto Binder tells us how they got together, with Mike Sekowsky on pencils -

Amazingly, at this point, that was not Unearthly Spectacular's final issue. 

They lasted one more...

And so, apparently they parked the ship in the garage and never went speeding again.

page art by Vic for Atom Age Combat #3 and Jack Kirby, Al Williamson, Mike Sekowsky, and Bill Draut for Race For The Moon #3, Blast-Off #1, and Unearthly Spectaculars #s 2 & 3 (1952, 1958, 1965, 1966, 1967)

Saturday Matinee - Jet & Joe

This weekend we're doing our semi-regular matinee feature, but we're doing so with old friends - comics we've visited before (and often are likely to visit again). Just because Jet Dream's stories are conveniently short 4 pagers, she'll and her team will be bracketing our main features.

This time out, it's Joe Guy: America's Foremost Hero. We've seen his two previous adventures and are (ever so slowly) leading up to the big confrontation/meeting with his father in the fifth and final episode. In today's tale, he faces Cardinal Synn: Archfiend Of The Universe.

For Jet Dream and her Stunt-Girl Counterspies, it's animal action this time - Tigers and Spiders - Eek!

Next time, the team gets a new tiger.

It's Saturday! Sounds like a good night for a romance feature, eh?
See you then.

Jet Dream's Spider by Dick Wood, Mike Sekowski, & Mike Peppe for The Man From UNCLE #8, Jet Dream's Tiger by ?? & Joe Certa for The Man From UNCLE #9, Joe Guy by Jim Stenstrum & Abel Laxamana for The Rook # 9 (1967, 1981)

JET-A-REENO!

As noted last time, i spent years thinking that Jet Dream And Her Stunt-Girl Counterspies #1 was the only appearance of Jet and her team. Also noted: I was wrong.

I had long given up on seeing more of Jet's team. Another decade and more passed until, one day while digging through old UK Annuals, i ran into this story -

My brain melted. How did this come to be?
The hunt was on!

My first mistake in looking for more of Jet Dream was looking to the future after her comic - much of her stories took place before her comic was released. The second mistake was not digging through old back-up strips.

Jet Dream and her team had another 15 adventures beyond the two we've seen. They ran as a break between acts in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. comic from Gold Key. (The tale above was found in The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'s  1970 UK Annual - pointing us to the original source. It was actually the team's 9th adventure.)

The first tale appeared in TMFU #7 and she appeared every issue through #22, the final issue. Oddly enough, she never seems to have shown up in The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. despite seeming to be a natural companion piece. A pity, because that would have meant more stories.
Here's her introductory tale, scripted by Dick Wood, with art by Mike Sekowsky & Mike Peppe -

For balance, here's the final Jet Dream story from TMFU #22. Like The Set-Up Sultan that opened this post, artwork is by Joe Certa; the writer is unknown on both -

These days those short little tales would each be decompressed into a 3 issue mini-series, but i enjoy those old stories that packed all they could into just a few pages.

Want more Jet Dream?
Join us this weekend when we'll be revisiting old friends including Jet, Joe, Koppy and Ulysses.

Jet Dream pages by Dick Wood, Mike Sekowsky, Mike Peppe, and Joe Certa for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. #s 7 & 22 and 1970 Annual (UK) (1966, 1969, 1970)