The Disney Dictator from Saturn in Future Comics, Up for Auction

The short-lived and obscure title Future Comics may be one of the weirdest comic book series of the Golden Age — and that’s saying something.  Best known for its covers that include a strange-looking science fiction character named Rebo wearing bizarre headgear, the story behind that imagery may be even stranger than the covers implies.  David McKay Publications often licensed comic strip material to publish in comic book form (Future Comics also contained a collection of the Lone Ranger comic strip, interestingly enough), but in this case, the publisher licensed material from another country.  The lead feature of Future Comics, Saturno contro la Terra (Saturn against the Earth) is the first comic book material form Italy to be translated and published in the United States.   An the obscure series with a fascinating origin, there are two issues of Future Comics up for auction in Monday’s 2022 January 9-10 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122202 from Heritage Auctions.

Saturno contro la Terra was created by Cesare Zavatinni, Federico Pedrocchi and Giovanni Scolari, and published by Mondadori beginning in 1937 in I tre porcellini (The Three Little Pigs) which was later merged into Topolino (also the Italian name for Mickey Mouse), and in the title Paperino e altre adventure (Donald Duck and Other Adventures). All of these titles also featured Disney material.  The main character of the saga is Rebo, the dictator of Saturn whose forces mount an invasion of Earth, creating an interplanetary war. The original Saturno contro la Terra continued through 1946, and interestingly the character Rebo was revived in 1960 and again in 1995 to take part in Disney comics Donald Duck adventures published in Italy.

An the obscure series with a fascinating origin, there are two issues of Future Comics up for auction in Monday’s 2022 January 9-10 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122202 from Heritage Auctions.

Future Comics #1 (David McKay Publications, 1940) Condition: Apparent GD. Origin of the Phantom. Lone Ranger begins. Restoration includes: interior and exterior tape reinforcement. Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $309.

Future Comics #4 (David McKay Publications, 1940) Condition: Apparent GD/VG. Great “chicken man” cover by Joe Musial. Last issue of the title. Royce Cole story, Ralph Carlson art. Restoration includes: interior and exterior tape reinforcement. Overstreet 2021 GD 2.0 value = $116; VG 4.0 value = $232