Space Crazy Comics: The Machine Men of Mars

This story, from Outer Space #24 (blah blah Golden Age Comics blah blah public domain blah blah), features some interesting designs and a story with a somewhat surprising ending.

A rocket journeying around near Mars is suffering from difficulties.

Generally speaking, unless you need extra materials, if you've got spacesuits you can effect repairs in space pretty easily most of the time... A bit dangerous, perhaps (you don't want to get hit by a micrometeoroid), but less wasteful of fuel and time than landing on a planet or moon and then taking off again.

So naturally, they land on one of Mars' moons.

On the approach, they make a discovery reminiscent of the strange discovery from this tale-the surface is covered in something.

Instead of slab creatures, it's buildings.

Unlike the other story, they happily land on the obstructions.

They make a most peculiar observation:

Somebody built the buildings? SHOCKING.

They see a bunch of robots running around on the ground, and take off right before the robots come up onto the roof to catch them.

Then, they decide to do something really crazy-land on Mars.

So let me get this straight: A bunch of robots tried to catch you on Deimos, and you think they might be from Mars, so you're going to Mars to investigate?

Huh. Does this make you think what it makes me think?

I have to admit, sometimes the breathless narration in this story amuses me.

Especially right here.

Those look like regular speech bubbles to me, pal.

We learn the tragic story of Mars, and then disaster strikes.

There must be some Laws of Stupid Robotics out there somewhere, don't you think? (The Laws of Stupid Robotics would be equivalent to Asimov's Laws, but designed by a bunch of simpering morons from a story like this one.)

Anyway, there was so much stuff on the last page, I just shrugged and decided I'd stick up the whole thing in one piece. (It saved me from an extra picture upload, too.)

The captain decides that, in order to keep the robots from having a chance to invade Earth, he and his crew must make the ultimate sacrifice and tells the Earth fleet to take out the building that the master robot is keeping them in, because the master robot is in it too.

This story is interesting if for no other reason than the fact that it kills off all the protagonists in a simple, pure act of heroism. It's very different from a lot of these stories, anyway.

-Signing off.