Space Crazy Comics: Prisoners of the Incredible Plants

Some of these crazy old things are awesome enough that they deserve more attention than others.

(That, and occasionally they are long and I am sometimes low on time.)

Prisoners of the Incredible Plants, from Space Action #2 (available on Golden Age Comics), is one of my favorite totally insane old stories from these things.

We start with a charming old atomic rocket type spaceship design.

Plus, naturally, physics that defy, well, the laws of physics.

What? "Cut the jets?" Guys, come on.

Oh, never mind.

Amazingly, crashing on that "hard central core" does not reduce the rocket to a piece of molten slag with carbon-based vapors emitting from it. In fact, the worst anybody suffers is a sprained ankle.

How exactly could the second guy tell that everybody was stunned? Please tell me.

Then, as they start exploring, we get our first hint of the titular "incredible plants."

Dang, but those are some burrs I wouldn't want stuck in my glove.

Anyway, that dude's right-these are plants the likes of which have never been seen on Earth.

Yet. (Cue dramatic riff.)

They need some copper to fix their hull (copper? Really? Copper's kind of heavy for that job), and so set out with ore detectors to find some. The plants don't seem too threatening, just kind of weird...

...so far.

But OH SNAP WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING?!

They try to save him with their ray guns, but their aim is sloppy, and they turn him into a crater.

Actually, no, I'm just joking, the dialogue indicates that the plant killed him before succumbing to a sustained bombardment from the guns. But doesn't this look like indiscreet raygun usage to you?

Unfortunately, their mining seems to have caused further issues...

It turns out that the entire ground cover (it's not "grass" like they say it is unless it's an actual species of grass, which seems dubious, considering the nature of the other plants around) is part of the same plant superorganism.

Also, Dawson bites it. Bye, Dawson!

They make an observation of dubious value on the plants...

...but it's still a cool and entertaining bit of insanity.

At great personal peril and suffering more losses, the ship is repaired, and takes off.

But...

Oh snap. Giant rocket-grabbing plant attack.

I'll go out on a limb here, and say that things are about to go from bad to worse.

Sadly for you (if you don't go and download the comic for yourself), you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens next.

-Signing off.