There are definite holes in my encyclopedic comic book knowledge, one of those being non-superhero DC comics from the 50′s and 60′s. For example, their SF/Fantasy anthologies. I’ve often spoken about how much I appreciated the non-threatening, gently reassuring nature of DC’s 50′s and early 60′s comics but when comes to this genre (Mystery In Space, Strange Adventures, Tales of the Unexpected and House of Secrets) I much preferred the sometimes unsettling ookines of the Atlas/Marvel comics (Tales To Astonish, Strange Tales, Tales To Astonish, etc.) . And the Marvels had the better monsters; for me The Faceless Hunter and Yggardis the Living Planet just couldn’t compete with Fing Fang Foom and Googam.

As far as I was concerned the only advantage the DC’s had was they had reoccurring quasi-superheroes like Captain Comet and Adam Stange to fight the monsters. Oh, and the DC’s had gorillas. Now, I love me some gorillas, always have, both the real world variety and their fantastical fictional counterparts. How much? If you were able to check out my hard drive (and you really shouldn’t) you would find a lot of images of gorillas. Like, this one:

Supposedly back in the 50′s and 60′s it was an article of faith at DC Comics that a gorilla on a comics cover resulted in higher sales. Now no one has ever been able to produce an internal memo that substantiates the legend, but as you can see for yourself, the anecdotal evidence is pretty overwhelming:

Which resulted in this lovely one by Nick Cardy. Now that’s one nice, photorealistic gorilla.

According to the Grand Comic Book Database, “The Phantoms In the Ring” was drawn by George PappInks and inked by Sheldon Moldoff.

“The Magic Pass” was drawn by Howard Purcell and inked by Mort Meskin.

And finally bringing up the rear comes our star attraction, “Experiment 1000″ drawn and inked by Nick Cardy. Again, Nick Cardy could draw himself a gorilla.