The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1903: Terranauts #1, 1986

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 I was totally not expecting this comic to be as good as it was. There are some really interesting things that go on in here, given its era, that really set it apart from the usual dollar bin fare from whence, in my case at least, it sprung.

The set-up is fairly standard pulp adventure stuff - two expeditions in the Amazon jungle somehow find themselves trapped in a world full of dinosaurs, cavemen, and giant spiders. It's a story that goes back hundreds of years (check out Cavendish's Blazing World), so bringing anything fresh to the tale is a difficult thing to do. Daly and Secrease manage it, however. The first thing I was waiting for, and this shows how trained I've been by media, was for the team led by a Russian and a Moroccan to be the bad guys - that's just how it always is in these sorts of tales. However, having had their fair shares of tribulations, the teams actually team up and are happy to see other humans, regardless of nationality. I think, sadly, Indiana Jones may have set up some really racist tropes with regard to anyone not American being a hero in such pulp tales. Further, given the mid-80s publication date, it's surprising to not see people from the USSR or the Middle East as the villains. Very forward thinking of the creators.

You've also got at least on really good female character in the comic, in the person of Cleonie LaGrange Deveraux, the ostensible leader of one of the expeditions, who is searching for her lost husband. Cleonie is as brave and capable as any of the men on the expedition, and the text feature at the back of the comic lets us know that she holds a PhD in Chemistry. Fully-formed female characters who remain completely clothed? Friendly foreign nationals? We really have wandered into a strange world in this comic.

F for Fantasy General

A fucking good read

Though with only one issue

I'm left with a need.

More to follow.