1) Survivors of the Suicide World, Episode 3: "A Brief Encounter at War"
10[+1] pgs. Appeared [B&W] in Anomaly #3 (1971) [VERS.1]. Reprinted [B&W] in Flights into Fantasy (1981) [VERS.2] on pgs 73-83.
Germany [GER]: as "Überlebende aus der Selbstmordwelt III: Teil Eine kurze Begegnung im Krieg [VERS.2]" in Flüge in die Fantasie (1981).
Spain [SPA]:
a) as Supervivientes del mundo suicida episodio tercero: "Breve encuentro en la guerra [VERS.2]", [B&W] in Vuelo a la fantasia (1981),
b) as Supervivientes del mundo real, episodio tercero: "Breve encuentro en la guerra [VERS.2]" (!), [B&W] in Richard Corben obras completas #11, and as "A Brief Encounter at War [SPA]", in Rich Corben #3 (1993).
2) "Encounter at War"
13 pgs (reworked). Appeared [B&W] in Anomaly #4 (1972) [VERS.3]. Reprinted in Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #4 (1975) [VERS.3] and [COLOR] in Den [III] #4 (1988) [VERS.4].
Story: Jan Strnad. Color(prob. colored by overlays)/Art: Richard Corben (no signature). Lettered by hand (Corben).
Brazil [BR]: as "Encontro na guerra" in Kripta - 3a Geração #3 (1981).
France [FRA]: as "Brêve rencontre sur le champs de bataille" in Actuel [II] #40 (197?), and as "Encounter at War [FRA]" in Ran tan plan #27, and as "Secours" in L'Echo des savanes spécial U.S.A. [I] #2 (1977) and Sueurs froides (1983).
Germany [GER]: as "Begegnung im Krieg [VERS.3]", [B&W] in U-Comix Sonderband #3 (1974).
Italy [ITA]: as "Missione di soccorso" in Mondo mutante [ITA] (1984), Lo straordinario mondo di R. Corben (1984), and 1984 [ITA] #9 (1980).
The Netherlands [NL]: as "Encounter at War [NL]" in U-Comix Sonderband [NL] #3.
Spain [SPA]: as "Encuentro en guerra" in Mundi-comics #21, and Rich Corben #3 (1993).
Style: B&W zipatone / Black line with color. Genre: SF. Time Span: Future. Nudity: None.
Keywords: Aliens. Attack. Earth. Trasmitter.
Synopsis: Aliens are about to attack to the Earth. Humans are finding their captain, when suddenly Sayer is kidnapped by aliens and transmitted to the alien planet. Sayer finds the captain, but saves the Earth.
Comment: The story is evidently Corben's early work.
Alternative, [VERS.1]/[VERS.2]: The original, [VERS.1], was untitled since it lacked totally the title page, which was added in Flights into Fantasy ([VERS.2]).
Alternative, [VERS.3]: Corben and Strnad reworked further the story and the result was still a little bit mish-mash. The story stays not so clear, specially on the alien planet. Comic has strange extra boxes up and down on pages three, six, eight and ten, because the original comic book has more wider page size (cf. "Razar the Unhero"!). Alien language is balls and squares and triangulars on a place of letters.
Alternative, Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction version: The story was introduced (by Roy Thomas?) on the preceding page: "A year or two ago, comics-fan Jan S. Strnad and underground cartoonist Richard V. Corben collaborated on a short series of tales dealing with an Earth invaded by a race of gnome-like aliens who had teleported here from a distant star. This is the final episode of that interstellar struggle..." Actually "Survivors of the Suicide World, Episode 1: The Homecoming" appeared in Anomaly #1, written as a 7-page text piece by Jan Strnad with illustrations by Greg Phillips, not Corben. "Survivors of the Suicide World, Episode 2: The Gnome" appeared in Anomaly #2, written by Jan Strnad as a 3-page text piece with illustrations by Ken Meaux.
See: Anomaly #3 vs. Anomaly #4.
Comparing: The original story starts with short text and the lower part of reworked version's page 2 (first page and first frame on sec. page are new). Next page is similar, except in reworked version he added additional bars up and down. Page 3 is divided in two (upper part is beginning of reworked 4th page and lower two frames the end of 5th). Next page is again similar (with bars up and down). Fifth page has a lot of redrawn frames: the original story's first frame is truncened from left and added with new frame next to it. Two vertical frames are there, but last frame on top right is new. The middle frames all are redrawn (Captain Phillips has now moustashes and he's much older than in the original version). The dialogue is rewritten, but the bottom row is left alone. Next page has bars up and down, which means it is untoutched. Page 7 shows Captain Phillips on first frame, so Mr. Corben redraw it (maybe only the floor is from the original frame) and did frame at the same time way enough high to not to use additional bars. The rest of the page is untoutched (well, in the second frame Captain Phillips is added at the back of Sawyer). Page 8 has big bar down; page is untoutched, almost. Captain Phillips is again added behind Sawer on farest right middle row frame (you can see less Sawyer's fingers on the same frame). Page 9 is again almost untoutched. First frame is redrawn and Mr. Corben added additional sky and clouds on the very up of whole page. Sawer says only on the redrawn version, "The transmitter building!" (and Captain Phillips, "OUGH!") He also added the ball bomb in the hand of Sawer in last frame (ripped aliens are faded with coloring). On page 10 first two frames are replaced with one (because Sawer finds ball bomb already in the end of prev. page) and next two frames make now the first row with that new redrawn frame. The rest of the page is totally redrawn. Last page is again totally redrawn, only Captain Phillips' saying is left almost untoutched: originally is goes like, "You rotten BASTARD! You could have WAITED!!" All the rest of talking in reworked version's last page is rewritten. In the beginning (page one and first frame on sec. page) Mr. Corben and Mr. Strnad made additional framing story, which concludes the redrawn version. The reworked story has a woman, who was not there originally at all.
Extras: The Jan Strnad interview (February, March 2001)
Survivors of the Suicide World, Part 1 by Jan Strnad. A prose story in Anomaly #1.
Survivors of the Suicide World, Episode 3: "A Brief Encounter at War". In Anomaly #3 as 10 pgs version (without the title page). In Flights into Fantasy as 11 pgs version (with the title page).
"Encounter at War". As printed in Anomaly #4.
"Encounter at War". As printed in Den [III] #4.
Copyright © 1997 Heart-Attack-Series, Ink!,
Created: August 17, 1997. Modified: March 2, 2019.