James Nicoll Reviews

Robert C. Dille’s 1969 The Collected Works of Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century is a collection of Buck Rogers strips from the 1920s to the 1940s. Early story arcs were written by Phil Nowland and illustrated by Dick Calkins. The last two arcs are by Calkins alone.

Trapped by a mine collapse, 20^th century American Buck Rogers is surely doomed, in this, the first panel of what would be a long-running series. 

When Buck wakes up, he finds that the USA has been delenda¹.

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Philip Francis Nowlan’s Armageddon — 2419 A.D. was first published in 1928. In 1929, it was followed by a sequel, The Airlords of Han. This background was reworked for the comic strip ​“Buck Rogers,” which has been adopted into radio, movies, television and roleplaying games. The edition I first read (the cover featured here) was the combined edition Ace created in the 1960s. Since I no longer own that, I’ve resorted to reading the Project Gutenberg editions. 

Anthony Rogers was just another radioactive-gas entrepreneur when a surveying foray into a promising mine ended in tragedy. Trapped by the tunnel collapse that killed his companions, Rogers was overcome by the very radioactive gases he hoped to mine. Death seemed certain. 

Four hundred years later, Rogers wakes to find America transformed. 

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