Planet Comics #55
Chapter 13
July 1948
Chapter 13 of the Futura Saga from Planet Comics
#55 (July 1948) gives the reader a
rapid-fire succession of action and new ideas. Nearly too much at times for the space allotted. The Venusians are still seeking freedom, the Space Patrol shows up and the menace of the Space Tyrant so readily beat down by Futura in the previous chapter is replaced by the introduction of a new character, that of Yrina the Planet Comics #55 (July 1948)
Corsair Queen.
When Yrina is first revealed her pose is identical to that of one made by Futura from Chapter 12. That Futura and Yrina appear alike when introduced is more than an example of that economical, deadline-induced style that Fiction House demonstrated so often. While some could dismiss the panel layouts as derivative of previous artwork what is clear is that Yrina is a crafty pirate and the artist drew a similarity between the two women that was, perhaps unconsciously, for a reason. Chapter 13 of the Futura Saga may be a lesson for the title character: That the protagonist and antagonist may differ only by the choices they made and the paths taken.
Planet Comics #55 (July 1948)
Planet Comics was a science fiction comic-book title produced by Fiction House and issued from Jan. 1940 (issue 1) to Winter 1953 (issue 73). Like many of Fiction House's early comics titles, Planet Comics was a spinoff of a pulp magazine, in this case Planet Stories, which featured space operatic tales of muscular, heroic space adventurers who were quick with their 'ray pistols' and always running into gorgeous females who needed rescue from bugeyed space aliens or fiendish interstellar bad guys.
Planet Comics #1 (January 1940)
Planet Comics was considered by noted fan Raymond Miller to be "perhaps the best of the Fiction House group," as well as "most collected and most valued." In Miller's opinion, it "wasn't really featuring good art or stories... in the first dozen or so issues," not gaining most of "its better known characters" until "about the 10th issue." "Only 3 of its long running strips started with the first issue... Flint Baker, Auro - Lord of Jupiter, and the Red Comet."