Strange Adventures #223

Strange Adventures #223 (On Sale: January 20, 1970) has an Atomic Knights cover by Murphy Anderson.

We begin with Adam Strange in "The Beast with the Sizzling Blue Eyes" from Mystery In Space #62 by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs. While waiting for Adam Strange to return to Rann, Alanna is apparently caught in a time-warp, taking her back to a prehistoric jungle. She quickly realizes that she is not in the past, but in a forcefield bubble. Adam arrives inside the bubble and saves Alanna from a dinosaur, but suddenly the bubble disappears, taking the jungle and beasts with it.

Later another bubble appears in the ocean, this time containing a sea-beast. Adam and Alanna are able to penetrate the forcefield, but the bubble once again disappears. Unknown to Adam and Alanna, the bubbles are being made by device created by scientist, Zhoran Tew, to study to past. However, Zhoran’s lab assistant, Mortan, has imprisoned the scientist and is using the device for evil.

Mortan demands that the Ranagarans surrender to him or he will unleash the beasts within a forcefield created around the city. Adam traces the transmission and tracks Mortan to his hide-out. Then he destroys the control device, preventing Mortan from unleashing his monsters. After freeing Zhoran, Adam is drawn back to Earth by the Zeta Beam.

Next is "The Genius Epidemic" from Strange Adventures #21 and created by Gardner Fox, Irwin Hasen and Joe Giella. This is a cute story about a bunch of hillbilly boys, the Herbert Brothers. who came into town one day to join the army. Though they looked like something out of Lil' Abner, they soon prove themselves to have amazing genius minds. In looking for the cause of their brilliance the army finds out that a meteorite crashed near their house on the night they were born. The army puts the bothers to work on one project after another which annoys them so much they make a space ship and leave Earth to get some peace.

We end with our cover-story, the Atomic Knights in "War in Washington" from Strange Adventures #135 and the product of John Broome and Murphy Anderson. Wayne and Hollis Hobard are captured by the Atlantides. Gardner and Bryndon mount a rescue mission with the help of Dalas, a reformed Atlantide prisoner. Dalas leads them to Washington where the Khagan and the Atlantides have established a base of operations.

Gardner and Bryndon stop a plot by the Atlantides to let in ultraviolet radiation over Durvale. Dalas located the Hobards and frees them. The remaining Atlantides escape with the Khagan vowing to conquer Earth.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.