Moon Shots!

In celebration of the magnificent accomplishment of Neil Armstrong and the other brave astronauts of the Apollo program, here is a gallery of comic book covers featuring all manner of trips to our best pal in all of space -- the Moon.
























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Doomsday On The Moon!

As one nation, as one world we watched the glorious moment when Neil Armstrong first set foot on anther world, the Moon. It was a splendid shining chapter in the whole of human history, but we did not know when we watched out television screens on that July day that we were not privy to the whole story.

It seems that the Apollo 11 crew needed the help of another team of explorers, the Fantastic Four created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby no less. The secret origin of the moon landing is revealed a few months after the grand event, in the pages of Fantastic Four #98 dated May 1970, where it is reported for the first time that while the brave American astronauts approached their appointment with destiny, the team of Reed Richards, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm worked together here on Earth to defeat Kree Sentry #9168 bent on stopping the American moon landing from his craggy island base.

Thankfully the Fab 4 were successful and the Kree plot to quicken an ancient living force buried under the Moon's surface was extinguished and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed safely on the silent surface while Michael Collins orbited above. The Fantastic Four saved the day, as they had so many times before. The Earth's heroic astronauts never knew how close to disaster they had come.


Here's a look at the original cover art for this one-shot epic, featuring Jack Kirby's and Joe Sinnott's lush artwork. This sadly is the last truly dramatic cover they would create together. It's a gem.


Nearly a decade later in 1978 this tale got reprinted for some reason the cover image gets flopped, and there seem to be a few other touch ups as well. Al Milgrom is credited for the alterations apparently needed to freshen the image for its second outing.

Whatever the case, at least now we know (cue Paul Harvey) the rest of the story.

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One Small Step For Man!

Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott from Fantastic Four #98
It's with great sadness that I read this morning that Neil Armstrong had died. Armstrong as the first human being to set foot on the Moon was the first to stake mankind's claim to an existence beyond this meager globe.

The word "hero" gets tossed around with careless ease in modern society. Any good deed, any decent act, which once upon a time was merely the way things were done, gets someone labeled a "hero", often despite their own desires. We heap praise on relatively minor acts, which unfortunately diminishes somewhat the true meaning of the concept of hero when it should be applied sparingly to truly worthy accomplishments.


Neil Armstrong's distinction as the first man on the Moon is just such an accomplishment. Buzz Aldrin was there with him of course on, but it was Armstrong who got the nod to first tread on the extra-terra firma. It was Armstrong who in one dazzling and dramatic moment transformed all of mankind truly and properly into a multi-planet species.


Our meager efforts to follow up on these spectacular triumphs of Armstrong and the faceless others of the Apollo program is to the everlasting regret of this observer. The United States has squandered in many ways its opportunity to transform the nature of man and to fundamentally create a new way forward for all of mankind. Instead we retreated from the Moon, and from space, and to no small extent from ourselves. We now reside in the shadows of those grand glories.

The Friendly Ghost Casper #138
The death of Neil Armstrong signals an end to one era of exploration. Sure there are countless others who are still with us, Buzz Aldrin no less. But something seems different now with this quiet and private hero having slipped off into that good night. Something seems lost, something seems left behind. Sadly it seems it was just one small step for man.

Wally Wood from Astonishing Tales #1
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