Awesome Tales #05

we get the fifth issue of Awesome Tales (Spring 2017), a fanzine produced by Black Cat Media (R. Allen Leider) and packaged/published by Bold Venture Press. Science fiction is the theme this issue, kicked off with a Tom Corbett story, which is the cover feature. For those who don’t recall Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, it was a fairly popular TV series from the space-crazed 1950s. It spawned a comic strip, juvenile book series (eight total), comic books (from Dell and later Prize), and radio show (he was originally developed for radio). We get an intro to the story that gives some basic background on the character. “Tom Corbett and the Mutant Masters,” by R. Allen Leider, has Tom and his associates looking into kidnappings on Mars. And they find the cause: a mad scientist who is doing genetic experiments. A fun read. While I know of Corbett, I am not familiar enough with the character to be able to judge how well this is as a Tom Corbett story. I enjoyed it, and hopefully others will also. The issue is rounded out with several other short SF tales. KT Pinto is back with “Casablanca Blues.” Here we have action and intrigue among several planets in the Casablanca system (hence the title). “Red Sands,” by DJ Tyrer, is set on Mars, when a crisis with one base requires some action. “The Finishers,” by Audrey Parente, puts forth an interesting story. A utopia society has a goal. But it’s a bit dystopic. Another great collection of stories. Each issue has had some kind of theme or focus.