Free Old School Comic Download - EC Comics Incredible Science Fiction Issue #33 As Fodder For Your Old School Campaigns

 

Having grown up with the E.C.reprint comics & came to love Wally Wood's artwork, the great E.C. writing, plus the easy adaption for old school gaming. 

EC comics was the powerhouse of the Fifties and would have continued for many years possibly out doing Marvel in the present, but during the Comics Code came along with its sorted history and well changed the face of comics.
Out of this whole debacle came Incredible Science Fiction and according to Wiki : 
Incredible Science Fiction was a retitled version of the comic Weird Science-Fantasy, which changed its title in 1955 in order to be accepted under the Comics Code, which did not allow the use of the word "Weird". The comic changed its title with issue 30, but due to attempts to save money on postage, the numbering did not restart (and hence, issue 30 is actually the first issue of this title).

Aside from the title change, Incredible Science Fiction was also different from its predecessor because it now had to follow the tight standards of the Comics Code, which was created in 1954 to censor the controversial comics of that time. Eventually the Comics Code would spell the end of not only this comic, but all comics produced by EC. When a story in issue 33 did not meet the standards of the Code, publisher Bill Gaines and editor Al Feldstein decided to reprint the story "Judgment Day!" (originally in Weird Fantasy #18). A powerful anti-racism story, "Judgment Day!" was also rejected because Judge Charles Murphy, the Comics Code Administrator, demanded that the black astronaut be removed. Gaines refused and threatened to take the matter to the Supreme Court. The Comics Code backed down, and Gaines then printed the story without any changes.^[2] But Gaines had seen the writing on the wall, and he left the comic book industry soon after. Incredible Science Fiction #33 was the last comic book he would publish.

Incredible Science Fiction ran for four issues, boasting a number of skilled artists including Jack Davis, Wally Wood,Bernard Krigstein, Joe Orlando and Roy Krenkel. Three of its covers were done by Davis, with the final issue's cover by Wood. This comic is notable for having Jack Davis' only science fiction work for EC.^[1] Roy Krenkel also provided his only solo story for EC with issue 31's "Time to Leave".

The story "Food For Thought" from issue 32 (which featured art predominantly from Al Williamson but also Roy Krenkel as well) was awarded best artwork for an individual science fiction story at the 1972 EC Fan-Addict Convention.^[1]

Grab It Right

HERE

This was a land mark issue featuring some of the straight up talents of such greats such as Wally Wood and many more this issue also had some ground breaking science fiction echoing the times, done in the classic EC style. The Big Moment is at once a post apocalyptic story, lost world, and sc fi adventure all wrapped together and its a perfect jump off point for a time travel adventure. There are some very deep roots here to pull a party of adventurers into the deep end of the sc fi pond.

Kaliscope is just the sort of adventure where an old man's imagination might provide some vital clues for a party to perhaps not his dreams and flights of fancy but memories of times long past which might be molded into a vital part of an adventure. Classic artwork makes this story a perfect blend of science fiction comic and classic fifties themes. 

'One Way Hero' gives a possible origin for an NPC whose suffered the effects of classic 'space madness' and washed out. This tale has bits of old EC horror in the background buts punch is a bit bitter. 

Small World is a classic EC one pager, a small side line story with the bits and pieces of the EC twist to it. 

An Eye For An Eye is a classic post apocalyptic wasteland tale with classic EC sci fi artwork and the twists that make EC such a great company. This tale can easily be used as a jump off point for a Mutant Future or even a Metamorphosis Alpha 1st edition jump off point. It has all of the classic EC earmarks and can easily be used for a touch stone for a number of old school adventures points.

Some really solid background is available right over HERE

Retrocommentary On The Free Skywald Comics Download - 'The Saga Of The Victims' Your Old School Alternative 1970's Rpg Campaigns

 

Grab It Right Over

HERE

• 

 "The Saga of the Victims" originally appeared Scream 6-9 & 11 
from the 1970's Skywald publishing company. Skywald never really played it 'safe' skirting
 the lines of good taste, horror, and pure grind house awesomeness.  According to wiki - 

Skywald Publications was a 1970s publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror anthologies Nightmare, Psycho, and Scream. It also published a small line of comic books and other magazines. Skywald's first publication was Nightmare #1 (Dec. 1970). The company lasted through the end of 1974 or early 1975, with Psycho #24 (March 1975) being its final publication. Nightmare published 23 issues and Scream put out 11 issues." Saga of the Victims is a pulpy, weird trippy, over the top beyond gonzo horror comic from the folks at Skywald publications.  Scream issue number 6 featured the introduction to the Saga of the victims, tells  the story of two young girls from the Scollard Manse School for Girls in Manhattan, where they are kidnapped by horrific mutants  in the Manse and dragged deep down into the depths of the school right into the underworld of alternative Earth. This is only the beginning for the ladies of Saga. But there are several very unusual characteristics about our heroines. First of all the ladies are very,very, slick and skilled. They don't just overcome their circumstances they kick ass and survive. There was also cheesecake, bondage/fetish overtones, sci-fi and horror trappings and lots and lots of crazy 1960s-style cosmic weirdness. The ladies  look to be based on actress Teresa Graves and actress  Britt Ekland who both very popular at the time.

But they could have both been based on Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, then starring in a bunch of low-budget exploitation sword and sandal films  like The Arena. Which for my purposes is closer to the grindhouse feel that I'd be going for with this sort of a campaign. Today I might do this campaign with either Castles & Crusades Siege engine  or as an Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg domain campaign. 

The heroines were very unusual, Josey our African  heroine is rich, smart, confident and a skilled combatant. Ann from Washington, DC is smart, crafty, good with her hands, and capable of murder when the situation calls for it. The adventuresses go from one troubling scene to another with wonderful artwork by  Jesus Manuel (Suso) Rego was one of the premier comic illustrators of the time. Not only were these heroines capable of out thinking their tormentors they did it with style and murderous wit  that I've only seen matched a few times.  The ladies faced everything from  skinless businessmen, robots, pterodactyls, midget Nazis, zombie pirates, mutants, and worse. The problem is that there was never any resolution that I've seen, Skywald went belly up before the ending could be revealed.

As other comic blogs have described the series as 'the strip was quite simply a wild ride of exploitation glee with each episode the girls getting put through increasingly more terrifying scenarios with little no rhyme or reason as to why what was happening or where it all was heading (leaving the reader to think creator Hewetson must have been thinking 'what misery can I put the girls through this episode? The material seems quite tame by today's standards.  But I don't really think that this is one for the kids.

Skywald always had much more of a 'the weird just happens' attitude towards its comic and horror material. Elements were warped in, completely exploited for the sake of the series and they just were. This makes it perfect for exploitation by a DM for adventure design. Crazy over the top pulpy weird settings, a ton of monsters to throw at players, and lots of non PC action.

Deconstructing the Saga of The Victims

For Your Old School Campaigns

Saga of the Victims has several reasons for use; the comic series isn't that well known today. The disappearance of the two main characters is sure to be noticed by several organization that can be brought into play. The Saga's characters make excellent NPC's and could possibly be  run into during the course of play. The modern guns, 1970's style equipment and vehicles stats could be downloaded from the OSR library blog.

The Saga's characters both have United Nations connections and are both skilled fighters in their own right. There could well be conspiracy or occult connections linking the PC's to the adventure events of the Saga.

There are several reasons I can think off the top of my head for using Saga; 

1. The Saga's heroines are confident, skilled, fighter class heroines right out of the gate.
2. The conspiracy theory, the 'Insearch of' 1970's occult revival exploitation angle is ripe for fleshing out for an old school LoFP game campaign or even a Dungeon Cult Classics game. 
3. Very quick scene and setting switches between adventure and worlds in the comic series just let's the world happen around the action. 
4. The weird elements of the Saga doesn't care, it just is and it happens in that trippy grind house sort of pulp way. 
5. Mature themes in the saga while troubling seem almost tame today. They're prime to be exploited for pulpy adventure by a DM with a bit of slight of hand two step DMing. 
6. The world settings of saga could be linked to form a planar or dimensional mega dungeon structure. 
7. The character's of the Saga's background are ripe for pulp or weird campaign histories. 
8. The weird 1970's psychedelic horror and sci fi themes of Saga are perfect LoFP grist for the mill. 
9. The open ended nature of Saga means that anything can and might happen. 
10. There are plenty of loot, open ended relics, factions, etc. for a DM to have old school expansion. 
    
    

Here's what might work for a modern 'Saga of The Victims''s style campaign. The PC's are bounty hunters, soldiers, etc. all working for the United Nations to try & track down the girls. This means that they have to travel from one domain 'dungeon' or 'adventure location' to another. The party can claim these planar domains & exploit them as needed within the campaign. This is where the Menace From The Inner Earth - 'Big Jim's P.A.C.K.' Campaign Hook & Lost World Challenge blog entry comes into play. 

Free Old School Comic Magazine Download - 1984 Magazine Warren Publishing Issue #9 (1979) For Your Old School Science Fiction Campaigns

 

Grab It Right Over
HERE

Welcome to issue number # 9 of Warren magazine's controversial and subversive more adult title, 1984 then  it's other titles either Creepy or Eerie. They went quite a bit further upon some of the sexual bits and story elements that are racy even by today's standards. Warren was competing with titles such as Heavy Metal. So consider yourselves warned! This stuff isn't for the kids. Considered yourselves warned! 

There's plenty of weird and high strangeness to pull from in these issues for old school gaming, everything from dark and dangerous one shot plot lines for adventures to dangerous characters as NPC's.

But really what was 1984 and what was its backdrop on the comic magazine scene back in 1979?

According to Wiki :

1984 was a black and white science-fiction comic magazine published by Warren Publishing from 1978 to 1983.1984 was edited by Bill Dubay. The title of the magazine was changed to 1994 starting with issue 11 in February,1980 based on a request by the estate of George Orwell.

 Back then it featured some of the top talent of comic book artists and writers. 

Artists who contributed stories to 1984/1994 included Alex Niño, Richard Corben, Jose Gonzalez, Jose Ortiz, Frank Thorne, Esteban Maroto, Rudy Nebres, Abel Laxamana, Wally Wood, Luis Bermejo, Alfredo Alcala and Vic Catan. Cover artists included Nino, Corben, Patrick Woodroffe, Jim Laurier, Sanjulián, Jordi Penalva, H.R. Giger, Steve Fastner, Rich Larsen, Lloyd Garrison, Terry Oates and John Berkey. Writers included Dubay, Thorne, Jim Stenstrum, Jan Strnad, Rich Margopoulos, Kevin Duane, Nicola Cuti and Gerry Boudreau.

The magazine featured a set of recurring characters : 

• Mutant World (Artist: Richard Corben; Writer; Jan Strnad)
• Ghita of Alizarr (Drawn and written by Frank Thorne)
• Idi Amin (Artist: Esteban Maroto; Writer: Bill Dubay)
• Rex Havoc (Artist: Abel Laxamana; Writer: Jim Stenstrum)
• The Starfire Saga (Artist: Rudy Nebres; Writer: Bill Dubay)
• Young Sigmond Pavlov (Artist: Alex Niño; Writer: Bill Dubay)
  
  
  Issue nine is of special interest because of its line up of stories to pull from for old school gaming. 

Break Even has a whole pack of trouble waiting for your interstellar adventurers right out of the gate. Strange technologies, odd interstellar worlds, and plenty of opportunities to get the PC's in the deep end. A nice and perfect little yarn for an X plorers or Stars Without Numbers one shot. 

Herma is a well drawn take on the princess frozen in the block of ice motif that got used numerous times in swords and sorcery comics here its the basis for a character whose got far more going on under the plot then first meets the eye. A nice back drop story for use with a retroclone like Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Imagine coming across an NPC Viking princess from Old Earth and all of the weirdness that would go right along with such a character. This is a perfect vehicle for such a character. 

Clear and Present Danger  is a time travel yard with some really interesting wrinkles on how a super science gimmick and device can be used to generate a whole cloth undercurrent for a one shot adventure. Imagine your party trying to prevent the birth of a madman who will go on to end the world far in the future? Suddenly the gateway is open for those old school evil assassin types in your campaigns. A nice yarn to use with all of those science fiction retroclones with super science and technologies. 

The Star Fire saga was a really well done series of adventures centering around a regular feature in 1984 and its perfect for something like Stars Without Number. Great 1970's star ships, classic science fiction elements and a perfect one shot adventure piece for fodder for game play. The origin point for one of the characters is pretty damn controversial by today's standards and I don't endorse that particular bit. Moving on. 

Rex Havoc and the Ass Kickers of the Fantastic is a strip that had its its tongue planted firmly in cheek, much of this material is perfect fodder for Planet Mother %$%$er or an encounter critical campaign. The art is about on the old Crack Magazine from the 1970's level and Rex is a real one of a kind character.

All in all I think that issue nine of 1984 was a pretty solid issue. The magazine ceased publication with issue 29 in February, 1983 due to the bankruptcy of Warren Publishing. You can read more about that right over HERE

Free Comic Book OSR Resource - Charlton Comics Space 1999 "The Metamorph" by Pellowski and Morrow For Your Old School Campaigns

Go Read It Right Over

HERE

When I was a kid my dad's friend was a retired RAF pilot and science fiction nerd both of them are to blame for my science fantasy and fiction leanings. This family friend told me about the 'great sci fi square' of his basically '2001 A Space Odyssey.'1968, the classic British sci fi shows 'UFO.', 'Space 1999' & of course the cultclassic 'War in Space.' from Japan ( because the crew jump suit uniforms are similar to Alpha's) are all connected. Then there are the Marvel comic books series connections with the Kirby ' 2001 A Space Odyssey.' marvel series and the Kirby Fantastic Four run all of which have threads weaving throughout each other and its all  the Watcher's fault.But there's plenty to exploit here as fodder for DYI sci fi games.

   Which brings me to the 'Metamorph', the  final issue of Charlton's Space: 1999 mag (issue 8, cover dated October 1976). There's lots of inter connections threading its way through this issue for Space 1999:

• Psychic computers that use the 'minds and souls' of their victims connected with their masters through a psychic link. 
• A space wizard with high index psychic powers who has the ability to rearrange matter through thought and energy very 'Forbidden Planet' Krell technology stuff going on here. Technologies and such that Arthur C. Clark and other sci fi writers would use as a primer for our connecting with alien intelligences down the line. Mentor is a higher advanced alien life form then we are.
• What about those other poor victims of the plot here seems as though the intergalactic scene in Space 1999 was about as busy as the setting in the 2001 paper back. That there are thousands of intergalactic travelers who run into each other. Not always for the good, Mentor is an almost Morbius figure from Forbidden Planet whose under the control of the very system he has serving him. I'm thinking that perhaps this might be Krell technology that Maya's race stumbled upon. Or they might even be left over Krell experimental material. 
• Some of those space craft even look like ones we'd see in later episodes of Space 1999. Especially the almost but not quite spacecraft Discovery One in the later episode Alpha Child

•  This is another comic book with lots of potential to exploit, the Alphans wreck even more Eagle Transporters which seem to have a habit of showing up all over the place in my games.

• Continuing along the thought process line could the ruins of the world of the Psychons be the result of successful transition into a higher evolutionary state of being ala 2001 and the machinery of the Krell from Forbidden Planet? There are some evidence to support this Myra in the Psychon art of molecular transformation, able to assume the form of any living organism at will and her father demonstrates the ability to transform matter into energy at will and viceversa

Then there's this :

Commander John J. Adams: Monsters from the subconscious. Of course. That's what Doc meant. Morbius. The big machine, 8,000 miles of klystron relays, enough power for a whole population of creative geniuses, operated by remote control. Morbius, operated by the electromagnetic impulses of individual Krell brains.
Dr. Edward Morbius: To what purpose?
Commander John J. Adams: In return, that ultimate machine would instantaneously project solid matter to any point on the planet, In any shape or color they might imagine. For *any* purpose, Morbius! Creation by mere thought.
Dr. Edward Morbius: Why haven't I seen this all along?
Commander John J. Adams: But like you, the Krell forgot one deadly danger - their own subconscious hate and lust for destruction.
Dr. Edward Morbius: The beast. The mindless primitive! Even the Krell must have evolved from that beginning.
Commander John J. Adams: And so those mindless beasts of the subconscious had access to a machine that could never be shut down. The secret devil of every soul on the planet all set free at once to loot and maim. And take revenge, Morbius, and kill!
Dr. Edward Morbius: My poor Krell. After a million years of shining sanity, they could hardly have understood what power was destroying them.

 This is a comic with plenty of DYI science fiction & fantasy potential for the gaming table as fodder. The ideas here are solidly done and the artwork is great!

Retrocommentary On The Free Skywald Comics Download - The Saga Of The Victims - As Fodder For A Lamentations of the Grind House Princess Campaign Or Your Old School Alternative 1970's Rpg Campaigns

Grab It Right Over
HERE

 "The Saga of the Victims" originally appeared Scream 6-9 & 11 
from the 1970's Skywald publishing company. Skywald never really played it 'safe' skirting
 the lines of good taste, horror, and pure grind house awesomeness.  According to wiki - 

Skywald Publications was a 1970s publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror anthologies Nightmare, Psycho, and Scream. It also published a small line of comic books and other magazines. Skywald's first publication was Nightmare #1 (Dec. 1970). The company lasted through the end of 1974 or early 1975, with Psycho #24 (March 1975) being its final publication. Nightmare published 23 issues and Scream put out 11 issues." Saga of the Victims is a pulpy, weird trippy, over the top beyond gonzo horror comic from the folks at Skywald publications.  Scream issue number 6 featured the introduction to the Saga of the victims, tells  the story of two young girls from the Scollard Manse School for Girls in Manhattan, where they are kidnapped by horrific mutants  in the Manse and dragged deep down into the depths of the school right into the underworld of alternative Earth. This is only the beginning for the ladies of Saga. But there are several very unusual characteristics about our heroines. First of all the ladies are very,very, slick and skilled. They don't just overcome their circumstances they kick ass and survive. There was also cheesecake, bondage/fetish overtones, sci-fi and horror trappings and lots and lots of crazy 1960s-style cosmic weirdness. The ladies  look to be based on actress Teresa Graves and actress  Britt Ekland who both very popular at the time.


But they could have both been based on Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, then starring in a bunch of low-budget exploitation sword and sandal films  like The Arena. Which for my purposes is closer to the grindhouse feel that I'd be going for with this sort of a campaign. And I totally stole this idea from HERE

The heroines were very unusual, Josey our African  heroine is rich, smart, confident and a skilled combatant. Ann from Washington, DC is smart, crafty, good with her hands, and capable of murder when the situation calls for it. The adventuresses go from one troubling scene to another with wonderful artwork by  Jesus Manuel (Suso) Rego was one of the premier comic illustrators of the time. Not only were these heroines capable of out thinking their tormentors they did it with style and murderous wit  that I've only seen matched a few times.  The ladies faced everything from they face skinless businessmen, robots, pterodactyls, midget Nazis, zombie pirates, mutants, and worse. The problem is that there was never any resolution that I've seen, Skywald went belly up before the ending could be revealed.

As other comic blogs have described the series as 'the strip was quite simply a wild ride of exploitation glee with each episode the girls getting put through increasingly more terrifying scenarios with little no rhyme or reason as to why what was happening was happening or where it all was heading (leaving the reader to thinking creator Hewetson must have been thinking 'what misery can I put the girls through this episode').'
The material seems quite tame by today's standards and certainly Lamentations of the Flame Princess's standards have nothing on this Skywald saga. But I don't really think that this is one for the kids.


Skywald always had much more of a 'the weird just happens' attitude towards its comic and horror material. Elements were warped in, completely exploited for the sake of the series and they just were. This makes it perfect for exploitation by a DM for adventure design. Crazy over the top pulpy weird settings, a ton of monsters to throw at players, and lots of non PC action.
Deconstructing the Saga of The Victims
For Your Old School Campaigns


Saga of the Victims has several reasons for use; the comic series isn't that well known today. The disappearance of the two main characters is sure to be noticed by several organization that can be brought into play. The Saga's characters make excellent NPC's and could possibly be  run into during the course of play. The modern guns, 1970's style equipment and vehicles stats could be downloaded from the OSR library blog.



The Saga's characters both have United Nations connections and are both skilled fighters in their own right. There could well be conspiracy or occult connections linking the PC's to the adventure events of the Saga.
There are several reasons I can think off the top of my head for using Saga; 

1. The Saga's heroines are confident, skilled, fighter class heroines right out of the gate.
2. The conspiracy theory, the 'Insearch of' 1970's occult revival exploitation angle is ripe for fleshing out for an old school LoFP game campaign or even a Dungeon Cult Classics game. 
3. Very quick scene and setting switches between adventure and worlds in the comic series just let's the world happen around the action. 
4. The weird elements of the Saga doesn't care, it just is and it happens in that trippy grind house sort of pulp way. 
5. Mature themes in the saga while troubling seem almost tame today. They're prime to be exploited for pulpy adventure by a DM with a bit of slight of hand two step DMing. 
6. The world settings of saga could be linked to form a planar or dimensional mega dungeon structure. 
7. The character's of the Saga's background are ripe for pulp or weird campaign histories. 
8. The weird 1970's psychedelic horror and sci fi themes of Saga are perfect LoFP grist for the mill. 
9. The open ended nature of Saga means that anything can and might happen. 
10. There are plenty of loot, open ended relics, factions, etc. for a DM to have old school expansion. 
    
    I'll have more thoughts on expanding the Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg into a modern 1970's occult revival campaign setting coming soon.

Free OSR Saturday Comic Book Resource - Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #17 For Your Old School Campaigns

Grab It right Over
HERE

Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds was a great Charlton Comics title that had a few twists and turns to it. Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds was one of the most successful science fiction titles of the 1950s and ’60s, and was one of the highlights of the Charlton publishing enterprise. The stories were the standard horror/suspense fare found in most similar titles, with shock endings, creepy characters, and a strong undercurrent of pulp-style fantasy and adventure.What made Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds stand out was the astonishing artwork of Steve Ditko, whose mastery in depicting weird, shadowy worlds and turning magic into a tangible, physical presence on the page was at its absolute peak. Ditko’s virtuoso style could gloss over pedestrian storytelling and single-handedly carry the title through most of its early run. I chose this issue of Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #17 for a few reasons, one the artwork is top drawer.
  The first story in this issue features a pretty interesting character named Mr.Nuss who would make an excellent NPC from the story 'The Stranger". Here we get bits and pieces of Mr. Nuss a stranger who befriends a young character and shares certain traits,etc. Nus of course is far more then he appears to be and makes an excellent NPC for a party of adventurers to run into. 

Next up is the Negative Way, a piece on some very special glasses that allow one to peer into realms no man or woman should see and be subject  to the truly terrifying piece and ripe for mining and plundering for adventure backgrounds and idea, 

The Strange Island is a perfect place that allows the owners to key the strong lost world vibe echoing throughout the story. 

The story has some extra elements that dove tail right into the middle of this issue and suggest that familiar beat and  go down the post alien invasion plans of some rather strange and dangerous creature and the owner seem to be. There are several place where this issue would work perfectly as a jump off point for a  mini campaign.

Free Comic Book OSR Resource - Charlton Comics Space 1999 "The Metamorph" by Pellowski and Morrow For Your Old School Campaigns

 

Go Read It Right Over
HERE

When I was a kid my dad's friend was a retired RAF pilot and science fiction nerd both of them are to blame for my science fantasy and fiction leanings. This family friend told me about the 'great sci fi square' of his basically '2001 A Space Odyssey.'1968, the classic British sci fi shows 'UFO.', 'Space 1999' & of course the cultclassic 'War in Space.' from Japan ( because the crew jump suit uniforms are similar to Alpha's) are all connected. Then there are the Marvel comic books series connections with the Kirby ' 2001 A Space Odyssey.' marvel series and the Kirby Fantastic Four run all of which have threads weaving throughout each other and its all  the Watcher's fault.But there's plenty to exploit here as fodder for DYI sci fi games.

   Which brings me to the 'Metamorph', the  final issue of Charlton's Space: 1999 mag (issue 8, cover dated October 1976). There's lots of inter connections threading its way through this issue for Space 1999:

• Psychic computers that use the 'minds and souls' of their victims connected with their masters through a psychic link. 
• A space wizard with high index psychic powers who has the ability to rearrange matter through thought and energy very 'Forbidden Planet' Krell technology stuff going on here. Technologies and such that Arthur C. Clark and other sci fi writers would use as a primer for our connecting with alien intelligences down the line. Mentor is a higher advanced alien life form then we are.
• What about those other poor victims of the plot here seems as though the intergalactic scene in Space 1999 was about as busy as the setting in the 2001 paper back. That there are thousands of intergalactic travelers who run into each other. Not always for the good, Mentor is an almost Morbius figure from Forbidden Planet whose under the control of the very system he has serving him. I'm thinking that perhaps this might be Krell technology that Maya's race stumbled upon. Or they might even be left over Krell experimental material. 
• Some of those space craft even look like ones we'd see in later episodes of Space 1999. Especially the almost but not quite spacecraft Discovery One in the later episode Alpha Child

•  This is another comic book with lots of potential to exploit, the Alphans wreck even more Eagle Transporters which seem to have a habit of showing up all over the place in my games.

• Continuing along the thought process line could the ruins of the world of the Psychons be the result of successful transition into a higher evolutionary state of being ala 2001 and the machinery of the Krell from Forbidden Planet? There are some evidence to support this Myra in the Psychon art of molecular transformation, able to assume the form of any living organism at will and her father demonstrates the ability to transform matter into energy at will and viceversa

Then there's this :

Commander John J. Adams: Monsters from the subconscious. Of course. That's what Doc meant. Morbius. The big machine, 8,000 miles of klystron relays, enough power for a whole population of creative geniuses, operated by remote control. Morbius, operated by the electromagnetic impulses of individual Krell brains.
Dr. Edward Morbius: To what purpose?
Commander John J. Adams: In return, that ultimate machine would instantaneously project solid matter to any point on the planet, In any shape or color they might imagine. For *any* purpose, Morbius! Creation by mere thought.
Dr. Edward Morbius: Why haven't I seen this all along?
Commander John J. Adams: But like you, the Krell forgot one deadly danger - their own subconscious hate and lust for destruction.
Dr. Edward Morbius: The beast. The mindless primitive! Even the Krell must have evolved from that beginning.
Commander John J. Adams: And so those mindless beasts of the subconscious had access to a machine that could never be shut down. The secret devil of every soul on the planet all set free at once to loot and maim. And take revenge, Morbius, and kill!
Dr. Edward Morbius: My poor Krell. After a million years of shining sanity, they could hardly have understood what power was destroying them.

 This is a comic with plenty of DYI science fiction & fantasy potential for the gaming table as fodder. The ideas here are solidly done and the artwork is great!

Free OSR Comic Book Resource - Forbidden Worlds Issue #2 For Your Old School Campaigns

Forbidden Worlds was a fifty two page comic book fantasy/horror anthology that had some fantastic artwork,imaginative stories, and is mostly forgotten today except by public domain and pre code horror comic geeks like me and a wide audience of folks. According to Wiki, Forbidden Worlds was a fantasy comic from the American Comics Group, which won the 1964 Alley Award for Best Regularly Published Fantasy Comic. It published 145 issues between July/Aug. 1951 to Aug. 1967.
 And this makes it perfect fodder for mining for old school gaming, and issue #2 from Sept - Aug. 1951 is a good solid issue to start. You can download this issue right over HERE

This issue starts out strong with the story the Mists of Midnight an tale of soul destroying horror in which a pack of spectral lords from the Ectosphere or the Beyond   decide to make life a living hell for Neil and Audrey when she witnesses a man being drawn back into the mists by these ghostly lords. These bastards scheme to drag down Audrey that she snaps and becomes a thrall and victim of these lords. But Audrey is fare more resilient to the machinations of these supernatural bastards. And through some fancy foot work manages to elude and ultimately escape these horrors clutches. Which brings up the point, if she finally escapes the Mists who else may run afoul of these horrors. That's where your adventurers are called in to make things right. 

Post Script to Death is another tale with a really neat little gimmick that the DM can exploit for his own plans with the PC's. 

The League of Vampires is played partially for comedy and part of the normal horror story. The progenitor of the story is simply a very nasty but very awkward vampire who might make an excellent NPC in your games. All in all its a pretty twisted little tale. But the Dead Man's Doom really has a nice brush with a creature that fits right into the background of a horror game. And there are some nasty elements in this one including a brand new monster from the depths to play around with your PC's. 

True Witches of History is the sort of character that might fit in perfectly with a Lamentions of the Flame Princess. 

Strange Staircase is a one line gag story with lots of potential if used in the proper setting. The Magic Coin is a mystic time travel tale with a weird love story, a bit of adventure, and magic item all in one. This is a great adventure for a party to get into the middle of. There's plenty of travel, some of this story would make a hell of an adventure into the past or an alternative world for your campaigns. 

Uncanny Mysteries is a tale of a real ship with all kinds of horror and weirdness lurking in the background. This tale concerns the fate of the good ship Fellowship and her horrid fate. There's plenty here to mine and the Fellowship might make an excellent addition into a Spelljammer style of game. 

The boy who talked with spirits is a low level story with NPC ghosts who make excellent adventure fodder.
All in all Forbidden Worlds issue two is one of those public domain comic titles that offers all kinds of possibilities for the DM to mine, use, and mutilate to their heart's content.