Spaceman #2

This November 1953 Atlas Comics entry in the Speed Carter, Spaceman and the Space Sentinels series pitches readers headlong into the void with a cover by Carl Burgos that crackles with Cold War-era space anxiety. The scene shows a space-suited figure grappling in open space with a menacing insectoid alien creature — all writhing appendages and eerie yellow-green coloring — while a sleek golden spacecraft and two smaller suited figures float below against a vivid blue cosmic backdrop. With Hank Chapman writing and Joe Maneely handling the interior art, this dime-priced "Science-Fiction Tales of Men in Space!" delivers exactly the kind of thrilling extraterrestrial tension its cover promises.