Challengers of the Unknown #4

(October-November 1958)

Draw Me! (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Art Instruction, Inc. courses / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Chapter 1: The Wizard of Time (Table of Contents: 2)

Challengers of the Unknown / comic story / 5.67 pages (report information)

Script

Jack Kirby

Pencils

Jack Kirby

Inks

Wally Wood

Colors

?

Letters

Joe Letterese ?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I-I can hardly believe it!

Genre

adventure

Characters

The Challengers of the Unknown: Rocky Davis; Prof Haley; Ace Morgan; Red Ryan
Darius Tiko (first appearance); Professor Harlan Fuller (archeologist); ancient Greeks

Synopsis

When a group of men dressed as ancient Greek soldiers attempts to steal a plane, one is captured. The Challengers are brought in to investigate and find that the captured soldier only wishes to return to the "Island of the Wizard." The soldier leads the Challs to this island where they meet Darius Tiko, who experiments with time travel. Confronted, the scientist disappears in a time cube but the Challs and the soldier follow in another cube, to track down Tiko and recover his stolen technology.

Reprints

• in Mighty The 100-Page Comic! (K. G. Murray, 1957 series) #10 ([March 1959])
• in Challengers of the Unknown (Thorpe & Porter, 1960 series) #3 ([1960])
• in Titanes Planetarios (Editorial Novaro, 1953 series) #82 (15 de febrero de 1960)
• in Super DC Giant (DC, 1970 series) #S-25 (July-August 1971)
• in Aventures Fiction (Arédit-Artima, 1966 series) #52 (2ème trimestre 1976) [N&B et recadré/B&W and reframed]
• in Super Héros (Arédit-Artima, 1979 series) #6 (1980)
• in Challengers of the Unknown Archives (DC, 2003 series) #2 ([July] 2004)
• in Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown (DC, 2006 series) #1 ([December] 2006)
• in Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby (DC, 2012 series) ([August] 2012)
• in Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby (DC, 2017 series) ([January] 2018)

Keywords

time cube; time-travel

Indexer Notes

Wood inks per Nick Caputo. Previous indexer credited Marvin Stein. Per Stein's conversations with Greg Theakston, he did not ink any Challengers stories.

Jack Kirby reused the Time Wizard’s costume for Immortus in his first appearance in The Avengers (Marvel, 1963 series) #10 as per Comic Book Historians article researched by Alex Grand.

The Challenger’s yellow square shaped time travel portal is the same device Kirby uses for Dr Doom’s time travel machine in Fantastic Four (Marvel, 1961 series) #19 as per Comic Book Historians article researched by Alex Grand.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 3) (Expand) /

Tootsie Roll / advertisement / 0.33 page (report information)

Do You Know the Legend of Superman? (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

Superman / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 5)

Moolah the Mystic / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I've noticed you on your flying carpet, Moolah!

Genre

humor

Characters

Moolah the Mystic

Reprints

• in Five-Score Comic Monthly (K. G. Murray, 1958 series) #13 ([May 1959])

Keywords

flying carpets

Chapter II: The Men Who Rode Across the Sun (Table of Contents: 6)

Challengers of the Unknown / comic story / 4.67 pages (report information)

Script

Jack Kirby

Pencils

Jack Kirby

Inks

Wally Wood

Colors

?

Letters

Joe Letterese ?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Faster, Ace, faster! These ancients play pretty rough!

Genre

adventure

Characters

The Challengers of the Unknown: Rocky Davis; Ace Morgan
the Oracle; ancient Greeks

Synopsis

Having split up, Ace and Rocky are looking for Tiko and his stolen technology in ancient Greece where they are accused by an oracle of being messengers of ill omen. They run from the Greeks, find Tiko's stolen plane, and crash it near where they hope Prof and Red will return with their time cube.

Reprints

• in Mighty The 100-Page Comic! (K. G. Murray, 1957 series) #10 ([March 1959])
• in Challengers of the Unknown (Thorpe & Porter, 1960 series) #3 ([1960])
• in Titanes Planetarios (Editorial Novaro, 1953 series) #82 (15 de febrero de 1960)
• in Super DC Giant (DC, 1970 series) #S-25 (July-August 1971)
• in Aventures Fiction (Arédit-Artima, 1966 series) #52 (2ème trimestre 1976) [N&B et recadré/B&W and reframed]
• in Super Héros (Arédit-Artima, 1979 series) #6 (1980)
• in Challengers of the Unknown Archives (DC, 2003 series) #2 ([July] 2004)
• in Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown (DC, 2006 series) #1 ([December] 2006)
• in Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby (DC, 2012 series) ([August] 2012)
• in Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby (DC, 2017 series) ([January] 2018)

Keywords

time-travel

Indexer Notes

Wood inks per Nick Caputo. Previous indexer credited Marvin Stein. Per Stein's conversations with Greg Theakston, he did not ink any Challengers stories.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 7) (Expand) /

Tootsie Roll / advertisement / 0.33 page (report information)

Lost -- A Free Education! (Table of Contents: 8)

Binky / public service announcement / 1 page (report information)

Script

Jack Schiff

Pencils

Win Mortimer

Inks

Win Mortimer

Colors

?

Letters

Ira Schnapp

Genre

advocacy; teen

Characters

Binky; Tim

Indexer Notes

This PSA is produced in sequential comics-art style.

Chapter III: The Sorcerer's Sect (Table of Contents: 9)

Challengers of the Unknown / comic story / 6.67 pages (report information)

Script

Jack Kirby

Pencils

Jack Kirby

Inks

Wally Wood

Colors

?

Letters

Joe Letterese ?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

This is a fine welcome to ancient Egypt!

Genre

adventure

Characters

The Challengers of the Unknown: Rocky Davis; Prof Haley; Ace Morgan; Red Ryan
Rhamis (the Pharaoh's astrologer); the Sorcerer's Sect; Nostradamus; ancient Egyptians; ancient Greeks

Synopsis

In Egypt, Prof and Red destroy Tiko's stolen telescope, reunite with Rocky and Ace, and head to the 15th century to find Nostradamus and Tiko, but Tiko has already met the seer and gone.

Reprints

• in Mighty The 100-Page Comic! (K. G. Murray, 1957 series) #10 ([March 1959])
• in Challengers of the Unknown (Thorpe & Porter, 1960 series) #3 ([1960])
• in Titanes Planetarios (Editorial Novaro, 1953 series) #82 (15 de febrero de 1960)
• in Super DC Giant (DC, 1970 series) #S-25 (July-August 1971)
• in Aventures Fiction (Arédit-Artima, 1966 series) #52 (2ème trimestre 1976) [N&B et recadré/B&W and reframed]
• in Super Héros (Arédit-Artima, 1979 series) #6 (1980)
• in Challengers of the Unknown Archives (DC, 2003 series) #2 ([July] 2004)
• in Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown (DC, 2006 series) #1 ([December] 2006)
• in Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby (DC, 2012 series) ([August] 2012)
• in Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby (DC, 2017 series) ([January] 2018)

Keywords

time cube; time-travel

Indexer Notes

The splash page is very reminiscent of a panel in Fantastic Four #19 with Rama-Tut.

Wood inks per Nick Caputo. Previous indexer credited Marvin Stein. Per Stein's conversations with Greg Theakston, he did not ink any Challengers stories.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 10) (Expand) /

Tootsie Roll / advertisement / 0.33 page (report information)

Cosmic Time Bomb (Table of Contents: 11)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Tension mounted in the steel and concrete bunker at the satellite launching station.

Genre

adventure; science fiction

Characters

Mark Cranston

Reprints

• in Challengers of the Unknown (Thorpe & Porter, 1960 series) #3 ([1960])

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 12)

Doctor Rocket / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Come, I will show you around our planet, Dr. Rocket!

Genre

humor; science fiction

Characters

Doctor Rocket

Synopsis

Doctor Rocket gets a tour on an alien city covered with a giant glass dome where nothing gets done on Tuesdays. On Tuesday everybody in the city spends the day washing the glass roof.

Reprints

• in Titanes Planetarios (Editorial Novaro, 1953 series) #82 (15 de febrero de 1960)

Chapter IV: The Mechanical Judge (Table of Contents: 13)

Challengers of the Unknown / comic story / 6.67 pages (report information)

Script

Jack Kirby

Pencils

Jack Kirby

Inks

Wally Wood

Colors

?

Letters

Joe Letterese ?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

We made it!

Genre

adventure

Characters

The Challengers of the Unknown: Rocky Davis; Prof Haley; Ace Morgan; Red Ryan
Darius Tiko; United Earth police; electronic judge

Synopsis

The Challengers find Tiko in the year 3,000 AD, but all are arrested and submitted to the judgment of a machine, which dismisses all charges and sends them back to their own time (in one cube) for Tiko to face justice.

Reprints

• in Mighty The 100-Page Comic! (K. G. Murray, 1957 series) #10 ([March 1959])
• in Challengers of the Unknown (Thorpe & Porter, 1960 series) #3 ([1960])
• in Titanes Planetarios (Editorial Novaro, 1953 series) #82 (15 de febrero de 1960)
• in Super DC Giant (DC, 1970 series) #S-25 (July-August 1971)
• in Aventures Fiction (Arédit-Artima, 1966 series) #52 (2ème trimestre 1976) [N&B et recadré/B&W and reframed]
• in Super Héros (Arédit-Artima, 1979 series) #6 (1980)
• in Challengers of the Unknown Archives (DC, 2003 series) #2 ([July] 2004)
• in Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown (DC, 2006 series) #1 ([December] 2006)
• in Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby (DC, 2012 series) ([August] 2012)
• in Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby (DC, 2017 series) ([January] 2018)

Keywords

time cube; time-travel

Indexer Notes

The fate of the second time cube is revealed in Adventures of Superman (DC, 1987 series) #508 (January 1994).

Wood inks per Nick Caputo. Previous indexer credited Marvin Stein. Per Stein's conversations with Greg Theakston, he did not ink any Challengers stories.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 14) (Expand) /

Palisades Amusement Park Admission / advertisement / 0.33 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 15) (Expand) /

7 Gigantic Dinosaurs / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 16) (Expand) /

Stephens Credit Sales Mottoes / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Hey Skinny! ...Yer Ribs Are Showing! (Table of Contents: 17) (Expand) /

Charles Atlas Dynamic Tension System / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 18) (Expand) /

Midwest Cards / advertisement / 1 page (report information)