Pre-Code Classics: Tom Corbett, Space Cadet

A 2017 series from PS Artbooks reprinting the 1950s comic-book adventures of Tom Corbett, a clean-cut cadet at the Space Academy, this two-issue collection draws from the original Dell Comics run. The stories, most often scripted by Paul S. Newman and illustrated by Al McWilliams, capture the earnest, pre-Sputnik optimism of the Space Age, when atomic-powered rockets and interplanetary patrols felt just around the corner. A tidy snapshot of vintage, wholesome sci-fi, it offers a direct portal to the early days of American comic-book space opera.