Space Family Robinson
Encyclopedia
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
. It predates the Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
TV series.
Space Family Robinson was published as a total of 59 issues, from 1962 to 1982. The first issue was published in December 1962. With issue #15 (January, 1966), the "Lost in Space" title was added to the cover. The book "Silver Age: The Second Generation of Comic Artists" by Daniel Herman explains that that when the Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
TV series came out in 1965, it was obvious that it was inspired, at least in part, by the comic book, but CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, the network airing the show, had never acquired the license from Western Publishing
Western Publishing
Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company was a Racine, Wisconsin firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Western Publishing also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products as Golden Books Family Entertainment...
. Rather than sue CBS or Irwin Allen, Western decided to reach a settlement which allowed them to use "Lost in Space" for the title of the comic book. Since CBS and Irwin Allen licensed shows to Western, Western didn't want to antagonize them. Also the TV show title probably helped sales of the comic book.
The title was cancelled with #36 (October, 1969). It would then be brought back in October, 1973, in part due to the popularity of Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
. At this point, all issues between #37 and #44 had the tag "On Space Station One" added as well. The title was again cancelled with #54 (December, 1977) (with #49 being a reprint of #38). A further new story was published in Gold Key Champion #1 (1978). In 1981, the title was revived as a reprint title for issues #55-59 (1981-82) under the "Whitman Comics" line.
The comic was created by writer Del Connell and artist Dan Spiegle
Dan Spiegle
Dan Spiegle is an American comic book and cartoon artist and illustrator . He has had a long career in drawing comics based on movie and television characters, and has worked for companies including Dell Comics, DC Comics and Marvel Comics.-Life and career:In his second year of high school,...
. Gaylord Du Bois became the sole writer of Space Family Robinson once he began chronicling the Robinsons' adventures with Peril on Planet Four in issue #8. He had already begun the Captain Venture second feature beginning with Situation Survival in issue #6. As was typical of Gold Key's adventure comics, all cover-art was painted, most often by George Wilson
George Wilson
-Arts and entertainment:* George Wilson , British actor* George Balch Wilson , American composer, Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan* George Washington Wilson , pioneering Scottish photographer...
.
In the comic, the Robinsons were: scientist father Craig, scientist mother June, early teens Tim (son) and Tam (daughter), along with pets Clancy (dog) and Yakker (parrot). They lived in "Space Station One", a spacious moving craft with hydroponic
Hydroponics
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, or coconut husk.Researchers discovered in the 18th...
gardens, observatory, and 2 small shuttle craft ("Spacemobiles"). In the second issue, a cosmic storm deposited them far from Earth and they have adventures while they try to work their way home.
A backup series, entitled "Captain Venture and the Land Beneath the Sea", ran through issues #6-36 (1964-69). Gold Key would publish 2 reprint issues in 1968/69.
For some years the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is an annually published comic book price guide widely considered the primary authority on the subject of American comic book grading and pricing in the hobby/industry....
has a notion that the series was created by famed Disney comic book artist/writer Carl Barks
Carl Barks
Carl Barks was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , The Junior Woodchucks , Gyro Gearloose , Cornelius Coot , Flintheart Glomgold , John D...
. In fact Barks did suggest a Swiss Family Robinson in space comic to his editor Chase Craig in about 1960 but nothing came of it and the subsequent series was originated by people who hadn't heard of Barks' concept (which would have been more adventure oriented).http://web.archive.org/web/20091027105241/http://geocities.com/r_bryant42/ish-one.html
In Fall of 2011, Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
will start a hardcover archive reprint series. The first volume will reprint the first 7 issues, the second the next 7 issues, and the third the next 8 issues.
Space Family Robinson in Lady Penelope
In 1966 the weekly UK publication Lady PenelopeLady Penelope (comic)
Lady Penelope was a British weekly comic for girls which ran from 1966 to 1969.-Publishing History:Marketed as the comic for girls who love television, it was the sister publication to TV Century 21. It ran for 204 issues with the first dated 22 January 1966...
("the comic for girls who love television") printed Space Family Robinson stories. These used the same characters and technology as the Gold Key titles but were original scripts, not reprints. Authorship is not known for certain, although there is good reason to think that some may have been written by then sub-editor on Lady Penelope, Brian Woodford§. The artist was John Burns
John Burns (comics)
John M. Burns is an English comics artist, with a career stretching back to the mid-1960s.- Biography :His initial work was as an illustrator for Junior Express and School Friend...
.
The 52 weekly instalments, printed in black and white, told six stories:
- The Robinson family begin their mission and become lost when an explosion sends them far off course. This is the only story based on the Gold Key comic books.
- Unwittingly, they become involved in a war between two planets.
- The Robinsons meet telepathic tripods whilst searching for materials to repair the Station's power source.
- Tim and Tam are sent on a quest by aliens with the ability to restructure matter with their thoughts.
- An alien claims the Robinsons must pay tax for travelling through his space, and demands Tam as payment.
- The Robinsons land on a duplicate of Earth, mistaking it for home.
All six stories were reprinted in the Dutch comic TV2000.
The Lady Penelope Summer Extra (1966) included a three-page story in which the Robinsons land on a planet which has recently been abandoned. They discover that the hasty exodus was due to the approach of a massive gravity source. This story was reprinted in the TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra (1966) with the third page coloured by the Dutch publishers.
There was also a story in the Lady Penelope Annual for 1966. Unlike all the others, this one had a title, Tam Meets The Trygans, and told how Tam returns to the Station alone only to find it occupied by aliens intent on stealing it. This is the only story to be printed in colour throughout, and the only one not drawn by John Burns. The artist has not yet been identified.