SPACE: 1999 (1976) Original Comic Art By Joe Staton

Veteran comic book cartoonist Joe Staton was still relatively new to the field when he drew the first two issues of Charlton Comics' Space: 1999 series, but he handled the assignment marvelously. Case in point: this terrific cover painting for Issue #2, pitting an unarmed Commander John Koenig against a massive, indigo alien warrior in hand-to-hand combat. I've always really loved this cover, with its fiery, crimson sky and simple, effective composition.

The story it accompanies is pretty nifty, too. Also drawn by Staton, with a script by Nicola Cuti, its plot - which has Koenig and and the alien stranded on a planet together, beginning as enemies and finally working together - prefigures Enemy Mine (and the Barry B. Longyear story it was based on) by nearly a decade.

Joe Staton also co-created (with Cuti) the super-hero series E-Man for Charlton before moving on to DC Comics, where he drew virtually every major character in their line, including a long run on Green Lantern. As it happens, he's a friend of mine, and a valued collaborator. He's drawn several of my comic book scripts, including my crime comic/graphic novel, Femme Noir: Dark City Diaries.