Today in Comics History, June 4, 1942: "You people, you're all astronauts in some kind of...star wars."

Today in Comics History? Yes! It is history, because note the year: 1941! And today, it's...well, todat is not December 7, 1941, not in this panel (see ya again in December, panel!)...


from What If? (1977 series) #14 (Marvel, April 1979), script by Don Glut, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Pablo Marcos, colors by "D. R. Martin", letters by Tom Orzechowski
Yes, it's the infamous issue of What If? that gives us SGT. FURY IN SPAAAAAAACE(aaaace aaaace aaaace)!






cover of What If? #14; pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Gaspar Saladino
What the--? How the Sam Scratch (or Sam Sawyer) can an outer space battle be taking place in 194-flippin-1? Well, here's the first reason: Because Leonardo DaVinci.


This is regarded as something of a cheat among is What If?fiandos, because What Ifs are generally defined as revolving around a changed point specific to the Marvel Universe, not general history. But let's just blame the Watcher™ for this one. or should we blame reason number 2?...


Reason #2: Roy Thomas, who invented "What If."! Rioy' editorship of this still-fairly-new title has never let a violation of the basic concept get in the way of an entertaining story. Still, not every fan bought "da Vinci created technology earlier" as an excuse to twist a tale around, including me...but then I saw the final sentence of Roy's reply.


from the letter column in What If? #16 (Marvel, August 1979)
You're saying comics oughta be fun, Roy?!?

You have hoisted me on my own petard, Rascally One! I mean, just lookit this space war action! That warrants a big wow! In spaaaaaaace!




Anyway, my point (and I do have one) is that this here comicy book covers the Battle of Midway! IN SPAAAAAAACE(aaaace aaaace aaaace)! So if December 7, 1941 is the date on which Space Station Pearl was attacked, that mean this here story takes place when the real Midway started: June 4, 1942! In SPAAAoh you know the rest.


Well, it's better than the movie Midway, I'll tell ya that. The new one...


...or the old one.


Now, this comic doesn't have Sensurround, but it does have Sgt. Fury smoking his cigar inside a space helmet, and that's better than a movie any day.


So if that story took place on June 4, there's no reason this story, teased at the end of What If? #14, can't take place tomorrow (in Comics History) on June 5! Right? Right!


PS: That story does not take place tomorrow.