First series

Space Adventures, a science-fiction anthology comic book from the Derby, Connectiut-based Charlton Comics, was initially published for 21 issues (cover-dated July 1952 - Aug. 1956). Issues #9-12 (Winter 1954 - Aug. 1954) were cover-titled Science Fiction Space Adventures. The following two issues were cover-billed Space Adventures Presents The Blue Beetle, and featured reprints of the defunct publisher Fox Comics' superhero, from 1939. Issues #15-18 (March-Sept. 1955) carried the rubric Space Adventures Presents Rocky Jones, and featured that children's television character in licensed TV spin-off stories. These were primarily illustrated by penciller Ted Galindo and inked by, variously, Dick Giordano, Ray Osrin, or Galindo himself. Giordano pencilled at least one "Rocky Jones" story, "Gravity-Plus", inked by Jon D'Agostino, in issue #18. Issues #19 and #21 reverted to Space Adventures, interspersed with another licensed tie-in, Space Adventures Presents First Trip to the Moon — a retitled reprint of writer Otto Binder, penciler Dick Rockwell and inker Sam Burlockoff's adaptation of the movie Destination Moon, from Fawcett Comics' 1950 one-shot of that name.

Space Adventures #10-11 (Spring-June 1954) contained two of Steve Ditko's first half-dozen comic-book covers. Issue #16 (May 1955) features a six-page story, "Jealousy on Kano", by artist Bernard Krigstein, one of EC Comics' acclaimed creators in one of his small handful of non-EC stories during that publisher's 1954-55 heyday.

Second series

The numbering for Space Adventures was taken over by the Charlton war series series War at Sea, which ran from #22-42 (cover-dated Nov. 1957 - June 1961). Space Adventures began again with issue #23, skipping the number #22, after taking over the numbering of the Charlton version of the former Fawcett series Nyoka the Jungle Girl

This second series ran 37 issues (#23-59, May 1958 - Nov. 1964). The first issue only was cover-titled Space Adventures Presents Space Trip to the Moon and contained a second reprinting of Fawcett's 1950s movie adaptation Destination Moon, this time with the first page deleted. Subsequent issues showcased much work by artist Steve Ditko, and at least one story by EC Comics veteran John Severin, as well as by such Charlton Comics regulars as Vince Alascia, Rocke Mastroserio, Charles Nicholas, and Sal Trapani.

Writer Joe Gill and artist Ditko introduced the space-age superhero Captain Atom in a nine-page story in issue #33 (March 1960). The character starred through issue #42 (Oct. 1961), except for skipping #41, with all stories drawn by Ditko except for two of the three in that final issue. The character would return later in the decade, and eventually be sold to DC Comics after Charlton's 1980s bankruptcy; the version continues as a DC superhero as of 2010.

Space Adventures, which had continued all through the superhero's run to include anthological science-fiction stories, reverted to all-anthology for issues 43-59 (Dec. 1961 - Nov. 1964) — all without Ditko, who by now freelanced exclusively for at Marvel Comics, where from 1956 he had become an established presence on that company's science fiction/fantasy comics, and would, in 1963, co-create the popular superhero Spider-Man.

One-shot publication

The title returned as a one-shot science-fiction anthology that continued the old series numbering and was published as Space Adventures Presents U.F.O. issue #60 (Oct. 1967). This featured early work by such later notables as writer Denny O'Neill (using the pseudonym Sergius O'Shaughnessy), and artists Jim Aparo and Pat Boyette.

All of the above are contained in this dvd-rom