Broken Frontier

A classic space hero from the 1950’s is exploring a new frontier: graphic novels.

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, an original story based on the popular television show, is scheduled for a May release.

“Space Cadet” follows Tom Corbett, Roger Manning and Astro as they study to become members of the Solar Guard in “the world beyond tomorrow.” Their adventures first appeared as a television show, running from 1950 to 1955 on all four major television networks of the day. The television series spawned a variety of spin-offs, including a radio series; a daily comic strip; comic books; novels and toys.

In the latest story, published by Bluewater Productions, Tom, Roger and Astro encounter a strange enemy while on a routine mission to repair an automated satellite.  This enemy, the One State, is a robotic force with a surprising origin and an even more surprising mission.  To combat this foe, Tom and the others enlist the help of other characters from the original show, such as Captain Strong and Joan Dale.

The graphic novel collects the four issues which were published as individual comic books.  The collection includes an introduction by Jan Merlin, the actor/writer who played Roger Manning in the original series.

This new adventure was written by Bill Spangler, with art by John DaCosta.  The cover is by Chris Colhbert.  In addition to writing Tom Corbett comics for another publisher, Spangler is known for his work on other TV –based comics, such as Alien Nation; Quantum Leap and Robotech.

Chris Roberson, author of the novel End Of the Century and the forthcoming I, Zombie comic from Vertigo, had this to say about the first issue of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet: “This is no slavish continuation of decades’ old material…This new Bluewater version is a fresh take on the concept, as accessible to readers unfamiliar with Tom Corbett as it is to long-time fans.”

The Tom Corbett graphic novel is available for pre-order in the current issue of Diamond Previews and can also be pre-ordered through Amazon.