Comic Book Creatures (The Planet Comics Edition)

Four years ago, your humble host presented two posts (here and here) describing beasts from public domain comic books.  Given the recent post on Adversaries in Space Opera, it's high time for another installment – one exclusive to creatures from science fiction.  To this end, all of the entries in this post are from Planet Comics, a Fiction House publication spanning the years 1940 to 1953.  Each issue contained various features with a roster of essentially interchangeable protagonists.  These heroes were manly men with nicknames like Buzz, Crash, and – for reasons perhaps best left unexplored – Spurt.

Trogolosaurus

Planet Comics #8 (Spurt Hammond feature);
1940, Fiction House, Art by Henry Kiefer

Speaking of Spurt, the adventurer tied the depicted Troglosaurus (also called 'Troglo') to his rocket ship and flew it from its native Venus to Mars.  Such a trip suggests that the creature is especially hardy and rugged; a suggestion corroborated by the fact that “the rays don't even hurt it!”

On Venus, “tamed fighting troglosauri” live in a valley.  Normally docile enough to follow a person around “like a puppy,” they can become furious (perhaps as a result of being flown through outer space unprotected and being struck by rays).

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Blost

Planet Comics #29 (Mars feature);
1944, Fiction House, Art by Joe Doolin

On Pan, “a minor moon of Saturn,” the Blost are nearly extinct.  The Blost pictured is old and decrepit.  One can scarcely imagine how fearsome a youthful, robust Blost would be.

Even this specimen can be riled into violent action by the forceful application of an electric whip.  However, the Blost tend to have a poor opinion of those who would inflict pain upon them and may aggressively display their opinion if given the opportunity.

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Elipticoon

Planet Comics #8 (Buzz Crandall feature);

1940, Fiction House, Art by Gene Fawcette (?)

In a story more reminiscent of a fever dream than a science fiction adventure, Buzz Crandall and Sandra West fly “in the remotest recesses of space and time.”  Somehow, “their space ship crashes through the walls of a crystal sphere...”  Sandra enters the Hall of the Elipticoon and faces “the giant time entity.”  Whatever its physiology may be, it has the “hum of a giant insect.”

The Elipticoon (at least this one) was destroyed when it attempted to consume the disembodied head of a “mad philosopher.”  But can a “giant time entity” ever really be destroyed?  If so, how?

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Mobile Fungus

Planet Comics #23 (Flint Baker feature);

1943, Fiction House, Art by Joe Doolin

On a “sinister little asteroid,” the mobile fungus lurks in a cave.  When visitors duck into the cave in an effort to escape the prevalent flying snakes, the “horrible phosphorescent mass rolls forward over ghastly remains” of its prior victims.

An effective way of deterring this thing is not yet known; even when pelted by rocks, it advances relentlessly.  Still, if you have enough time to throw rocks it, you likely have enough time to flee.

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Kloccial

Planet Comics #13 (Crash Parker feature);

1941, Fiction House, Art by Joe Doolin

The Kloccial, a “fiendish plant,” thrives in the twilight band of the planet Mercury.  It is evidently subterranean and sends tendrils above ground to grapple its prey.  On one occasion, Crash Parker inadvertently landed his rocket ship on top of one.  Of course, with a name like Crash, any landing that doesn't result in immolation is a good landing.

Coping with a Kloccial can be troublesome.  However, if you can manage to sever one of its tendrils, try blasting down the trunk of the tendril with a ray gun.  Acting as a conduit, the tendril carries the destructive energies to the heart of the Kloccial.

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 Vampire Birds

Planet Comics #12 (Crash Parker feature);
1941, Fiction House, Art by P. Rice & A. Cazeneuve

Crash Parker's adventures took him to various exotic locations, not the least of which is Uracius (or maybe Urania?), a “planet forbidden to Earth-men.”  True to his name, Crash wrecked his rocket ship there.  His excuse included the phrases “cosmic storm” and “vortex of the nebular maelstrom.”

In a cavern on that planet, Crash encountered the vampire birds, which possessed “heavy white fur and human-shaped talons!”  Apparently, “human-shaped talons” is supposed to mean “talons formed like human hands.”  Every vampire bird “has a queer crimson spot over the heart.”  It is this spot “through which the fiendish transfusions [of blood] take place.”

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Service Animals from Planetoid R

Planet Comics #61 (Lost World feature);

1949, Fiction House, Art by George Evans

These “fierce creatures” (affectionately called “hairy ones”) function as hunters and guides for “the blind mummy-men” of Planetoid R.  Their ability to burrow underground tunnels makes them particularly effective.

After the Voltamen conquered the Earth, they imported these “strange monsters” in their efforts to annihilate the last vestiges of human resistance.  These animals are very loyal to their mummy-men masters – a good reason not to antagonize the mummy-men.

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Dasta

Planet Comics #23 (Star Pirate feature);

1943, Fiction House, Art by Joe Doolin

Star Pirate (known informally as 'Star') encountered this beast on Zev.  However, we should not assume that the Dasta is native to that planetoid.  The Dasta is described as “three tons of armor-plated brute” and, as is shown, Star exclaimed, “Ten ray-guns wouldn't stop him!”

Star managed to blind the beast with a cloak and leaped atop “the bellowing bulk of a live torpedo.”  Star then felled the Dasta by employing the “bulldogger's twist,” a little trick that Star somehow “learned from an Earthman castaway.”

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Grok

Planet Comics #27 (Star Pirate feature);
1943, Fiction House, Art by George Appel

Years before Heinlein scribed Stranger in a Strange Land, the writers of Planet Comics used the word 'Grok' to name a space creature.  This is another animal that Star Pirate improbably killed without recourse to weapons.

While cruising the space-ways, Star's craft was surrounded by “a queer radiation,” precipitating a “space storm.”  After being “sucked into the swirling center...[of] a twisting space-whirlwind,” Star was adrift for days when hunger prompted him to attack the “bird-beast.”  How Star expected to dine through his space helmet is not explained.

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Dork

In another instance of a creature's name later acquiring a curious meaning, the Dork was a giant reptile from Neptune.  The Toags, a race of reptilian humanoids, kept the “slavering monstrosity” in their dungeon for purposes of entertainment.

It's so huggable!

Planet Comics #24 (Reef Ryan feature);
1943, Fiction House, Art by George Tuska

Combat in Space Opera

Art by Joe Doolin

Given its association with the Space Marines miniatures rules, one might reasonably expect the Space Opera combat system to dispense with simplicity.  One's reasonable expectations would be correct.

The default duration of a combat turn is six seconds; however, depending upon circumstances, a combat turn can supposedly lasts for a minute, six minutes, or an hour.  (A Space Marines combat turn has a duration of twenty seconds.)  Here are the nine phases of the combat turn sequence:

In Phase I, both sides roll 2d6.  The side with the larger result decides whether to be Side A (the mover) or Side B (the counter-mover).  In a six second turn, “a running man covers about 30m.”  Actions other than basic movement are 'functions' which reduce the amount of time a character can spend in movement (and which would presumably reduce distance covered).  For example, a 90° - 180° turn causes one second to be lost.  “Leave/enter most vehicles (per man)” has a cost of three seconds.

Actual combat (firing, etc.) does not depend upon having time to perform the function.  Rather, movement depends upon one's having the time left to do so.  For instance, if a PC intends to fire his weapon in the turn coming up, he must allow -2 seconds from his movement time if he also plans to move.

The percentage chance for a character to successfully hit a target with direct fire is derived mainly upon the character's firing stance and the distance to the target.  Various modifiers may apply.  With regard to small arms, “Each level of expertise adds 2% to the probability of hitting a target...”  So, the difference between someone with rudimentary skill and an Olympic level marksman is 18%.  Physical characteristics do not affect the chance of success, only the chance of increasing one's expertise.

In a melee phase, “each combatant rolls 1d20 (random factor), to which various modifiers will be added.”  In case you didn't realize, 1d20 generates a random result.  Characters attack in descending initiative order.  Page 39 informs us that a character's hand-to-hand capability for “Unarmed Combat, Quarterstaff, Clubs, etc.” equals “expertise + 2/5 (Dex + Agil + Str + Con + IQ) +2.”  A character's race and whether or not he is an armsman adjusts capability.  For instance, a human armsman has 110% capability; a human who is not an armsman has 80%.  An ursoid armsman has 200% capability; a non-armsman has 150%.  Hand-to-hand capability is apparently not the same thing as hit probability.  “All melee weapons have a basic 35% hit probability.”  The attacker's expertise adds to this chance; the defender's expertise subtracts.

Humans and humanoids have sixteen hit locations.  Aiming at a particular location modifies the attack roll.  A random hit location is determined when a character succeeds with an attack that was not aimed.  Different locations offer different wound profiles.  Non-humanoids have their own hit locations.  Apparently, hit locations for “Silicates & Cold Planeters” are irrelevant.  Rather than just state this, the rules offer the following table:

In terms of armor, there are eleven categories of protective value, coded 'A' through 'K'.  'A' offers the most protection and 'K' the least.  There are three categories for any given type of armor:  one for melee damage, one for missile weapons and explosions, and one for energy weapons.  For example, chain mail is classified as H/H/I.  Every weapon has penetration values associated with the various armor categories.  Against 'J', the value of a hurled dagger has a value of 7.  This means a 7 or greater must be rolled on 1d10 in order for the target to be damaged.  We learn that, “When a living target is penetrated by a projectile, energy bolt, or melee weapon, wounds result.”

To determine the effect of a wound, 1d20 is rolled and the result is checked on a table according to hit location.  For humanoids, there are five 'levels' of wounds:  very light, light, moderate, serious, and critical.  (Non-humanoids have only light, serious, and critical wound levels.)  The wound roll may be modified by weapon type.  Brass knuckles cause a -3 modifier while a fusion machine gun applies a +5 modifier.  Anyway, a very light wound causes 1-3 points of damage.  A serious wound inflicts 9 - 13 points damage (or 8 - 13 depending on how one chooses to interpret the rules).  Aside from damage being applied to a character's Damage Factor, wounds can cause various effects: