Sky Masters

Sky Masters of the Space Force was an American, syndicated newspaper comic strip created on September 8, 1958 by writer Dave Wood and penciler Jack Kirby, featuring the adventures of an American astronaut.

Sky Masters of the Space Force began life as a science-fiction strip created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Dave Wood called Space Busters, which was designed to be sold to a newspaper syndicate This strip did not sell, however.

In 1958, Harry Elmlark, "an agent from the George Matthew Adams Service", asked DC Comics editor Jack Schiff for a science-fiction comic to be adapted into strip form, to capitalize on American interest in the Space race in the wake of the previous year's launch of Sputnik. Schiff rejected Space Busters and then either collaborated in the creation of a new strip, or simply encouraged Kirby and Wood to produce "a strip that dealt with rocket launchings, moon shots, and general story lines just a little ahead of current developments in the news."

Wallace Wally Wood's 1st wife recalled in the Eisner Award recognized Wood biography Wally's World that it was Jack Kirby who sought out the famous science-fiction artist to collaborate on Sky Masters. Wallace Wood had proven to be American comics' best science-fiction artist through his landmark work on EC's Weird Science, Weird Fantasy and Wood was invited by Will Eisner to collaborate on the Outer Space Spirit newspaper series. By the time, Kirby was thinking about a space strip, Wood had given up comicbook work for higher paying magazine and advertising work including Mad and illustrating top science-fiction authors in Galaxy, Worlds of If and other magazines and books. But Wallace Wally Wood was happy to accept Kirby's invitation. With art samples and story outline approved by Elmlark, Kirby penciled the strip, which was initially written by brothers Dick & Dave Wood and inked by the unrelated Wally Wood; at that same time, Dave Wood was also working with Kirby on the Showcase Comics issues of Kirby's "Challengers of the Unknown" feature for DC Comics, and Wally Wood would later ink issues #2-8 of Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown comic book series during the last half of 1958 and the first half of 1959. Once Kirby and Schiff got into a dispute, Wally Wood moved on to other projects. Later "Sky Masters" strips were written by Kirby, and inked by Dick Ayers, with the final month penciled and inked by Kirby alone.

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