Once again, Ill be using this thread to post the original letter columns for the latest archive release, Adam Strange volume 2. I hope this will be a valuable reading companion to the stories, and provide additional context as to how readers responded to these tales when they were originally published. In addition, I highly recommend that anyone reading this volume check out the commentary by Michael E. Grost it is as detailed and learned an analysis of these stories that Ive ever seen, and can be found here: hometown.aol.com/mg4273/strange.htm
Before we begin, Id like to thank poster atomicknights, who once again pitched in with a column that I was missing.
At its inception in 1951, Mystery in Space did not print letters. What it did have was a quiz called What do you know? 2 pages of tough questions - multiple choice, true/false, matching on some astronomical topic. Editor Julie Schwartz was determined to educate his readers as well as entertain them. Early text features of MiS proceeded to quiz us on comets, eclipses, the sun, the planets, even one that Im sure had the schoolboys snickering What do You Know about Uranus?
Somewhere around issue #20, the quiz gave way to a regular text feature entitled Wonders of Space, where Julie would hold forth on any number of issues, ranging from space exploration to unexplained phenomena of the universe. In 1958, MiS began printing questions from readers, and the text feature evolved into an astronomy Q&A session, with Julie playing the role of learned professor. But in issue #53, when it came time to introduce the new Adam Strange feature to the readers, there was a one-time departure from the usual format to give us the following:

The feature then went back to general science Q&A for the next dozen issues. It was in issue #66 (coincidentally, the very issue that kicks off this volume), after a lengthy rant about UFOs, that a letter appeared that would trigger the final evolution of the text page:

So, thanks to Bob (unsigned), the call went out for reader reaction to the MiS stories.
Next: The fans respond!
Before we begin, Id like to thank poster atomicknights, who once again pitched in with a column that I was missing.
At its inception in 1951, Mystery in Space did not print letters. What it did have was a quiz called What do you know? 2 pages of tough questions - multiple choice, true/false, matching on some astronomical topic. Editor Julie Schwartz was determined to educate his readers as well as entertain them. Early text features of MiS proceeded to quiz us on comets, eclipses, the sun, the planets, even one that Im sure had the schoolboys snickering What do You Know about Uranus?
Somewhere around issue #20, the quiz gave way to a regular text feature entitled Wonders of Space, where Julie would hold forth on any number of issues, ranging from space exploration to unexplained phenomena of the universe. In 1958, MiS began printing questions from readers, and the text feature evolved into an astronomy Q&A session, with Julie playing the role of learned professor. But in issue #53, when it came time to introduce the new Adam Strange feature to the readers, there was a one-time departure from the usual format to give us the following:

The feature then went back to general science Q&A for the next dozen issues. It was in issue #66 (coincidentally, the very issue that kicks off this volume), after a lengthy rant about UFOs, that a letter appeared that would trigger the final evolution of the text page:

So, thanks to Bob (unsigned), the call went out for reader reaction to the MiS stories.
Next: The fans respond!
