Yeah, I don't think so either, Capt. Kirk. This is a page from the Gold Key Star Trek series, namely issue #9, "The Legacy of Lazarus." This particular story may or may not have been written by Len Wein, but the art is definitely by Alberto Giolitti or someone in his employ doing a fantastic Giolitti impression. How's that for clarification? Well, someone's responsible, dammit, and I hope we can get to the bottom of this the way Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the Enterprise crew solve the mystery after they beam down to a planet where the entire population appears to be made up of Earth history's greatest-- and worst-- figures.
How do they handle social engagements? I mean, I can't imagine Winston Churchill inviting Adolf Hitler to his dinner parties no matter what planet they're stuck on-- it's bad enough when they meet out on the street, as they no doubt do just off-panel on this page. Those are probably tense moments. Somehow, I think Hitler and Herman Goering there probably spend most of their days skulking around together, ostracized by the likes of Henry VIII and Cleopatra's personal assistants.
I love these goofy old comics. As I've related here before, these were difficult to find when I was growing up. Coming across one was always a treat. I'm not sure why Kirk and McCoy are wearing lime green shirts with black turtleneck collars, but it makes me happy. Disgraced historian Alexander Lazarus and his museum-quality replica people all turn out to be complete jerks in the end, but in what other comic can you find a blood-crazed Abraham Lincoln attacking people with what appears to be part of a kite frame or canvas-stretcher?
2 comments:
Oh no, they've landed on Riverworld! Or at least a version of it where everyone is dressed.
(The novel was published in 1971, but Len may have read the original short story in 1965, or came up with a similar idea independently.)
Ha! It is like Riverworld in a way, isn't it? Where's Mark Twain?
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