Fly Me to the Moon

Fly Me to the Moon

or: The Ride Home

I first stumbled across this piece about a year ago but decided to hold onto it for the Apollo 11 anniversary. And here we are.

Like most of my generation, the Space Race was a huge part of my childhood. One of my earliest memories is Dad giving me a piggy back ride to the field behind the house one night where we were met by, what seemed to my 4 year old mind, to be every single big person in the entire world. Bug-eyed and slack-jawed all were staring up, gasping for breath, as a tiny light streaked across the sky. It was Sputnik. I won't pretend I had any idea what is was or what it meant but, I could tell... the big people were not happy.

Nine years later, stationed at Norfolk, VA. Dad's assignment is rescuing Astronauts on their way home from outer space.

The space race caused a seismic shift in all aspects of American life including comics. Of all the strips, Dick Tracy's Chester Gould was especially interested in keeping up with modern technology and where it might lead. From the two-way wrist radio to Junior Tracy marrying the Moon Maid, Dick Tracy shifted from hard-boiled pulp to science fiction.

Dad grew up during the comic strips golden age and was a huge fan (Scorchy Smith and Buzz Sawyer being his favorites but those are stories for another day.)Near as I can figure, this piece was probably done in 1967 when Admiral Abhau left  Manned Space Flight Support to head up Anti-Submarine Welfare Systems. Dad wrote Gould a letter asking if he'd be interested in doing a "Hail and Farewell" cartoon in appreciation of Admiral Abhau's contributions to the cause. This was the result.

Happy Space Trails

Smitty