When "Disc Jockey" Didn't Mean "Flying Saucer Pilot"...or Did It?

With the US announcing a test of flying saucer-style tech...

...we thought we'd look back to an era when "disc" could mean "flying saucer" and/or "lp record (presuming you know what an "lp record" is), in a Case of Curious Censorship by the Comics Code Authority!

First, the original version of the story, as it appeared in Harvey Comics' Black Cat Mystery #46 (1947)...

OK, a straightforward tale of just desserts illustrated by comics legend Bob Powell.

Nothing too gory or gross.

But the Comics Code Authority thought otherwise!

When the tale was reprinted in Harvey Comics' Race for the Moon #1 (1958), there were some odd art changes to the aliens...

As we said, some odd art changes to make the aliens less-insectoid...which really made no sense!

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"Supreme Penalty" 1.0 & 2.0

Last month, we presented two radically-different versions of the same sci-fi comic tale...

...and we're doing so, again! Enjoy!

This version appeared in Black Cat Mystery #47 (1953) during the height of the horror comics boom.

It was re-presented in Race for the Moon #1 (1959) after the Comics Code went into effect.

Let's see how things have changed...

Almost every panel has a change from the original, either in art or balloons!

Panel 4 has an interesting change in dialogue indicating the condemned survive in space...

Only change is dialogue in the first panel, which indicates the exiled criminals are still alive, but in orbit.

The figure of Judge Krenk being murdered in Panel 6, and his corpse in Panel 7 have been removed!

Panel One: Judge Krenk is said to be wounded, not dead!

Panel Six: Frances' face redrawn to look less maniacal and his sentence altered to confine him to his lab!

Interesting to note the alterations inflicted by the Comics Code!

Art (and probably story) by Bob Powell.

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