by Eando Binder
Contents
COPYRIGHT INFO
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
ADVENTURE IN SPACE
LT. JARL ON MARS
THE SPACE OLYMPICS
REVENGE OF THE SPACE HERMIT
VENUS, 23RD CENTURY
SATELLITE PRISON
THE DICTATOR OF SPACE
TREASURE ON SATURN
HUMAN PETS OF NEPTUNE
EXILE ON MERCURY
HITCHHIKER OF SPACE
MIND OVER MATTER
THE WORLD STEALERS
ROCKET RACE
DUEL IN SPACE
THE SPACE TRAP
HOBO OF THE VOID
THE ATOM DICTATOR
THE INVISIBLE MAN OF MARS
THE FREEDOM ROCKET
THE GREAT RHEAN WAR
TINY TERROR
MENACE OF THE METAL MEN
WORLD OF TITANS
MYSTERY WORLD
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Space Patrol Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art copyright © Danomyte / Fotolia.
* * * *
“Adventure in Space” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures, #66, Feb. 1947.
“Lt. Jarl on Mars” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #67, Mar. 1947.
“The Space Olympics” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #68, Apr. 1947.
“Revenge of the Space Hermit” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #69, May 1947.
“Venus, 23rd Century” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #70, Jun. 1947.
“Satellite Prison” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #71, Jul. 1947.
“The Dictator of Space” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #72, Aug. 1947.
“Treasure on Saturn” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #73, Sep. 1947.
“Human Pets of Neptune” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #74, Oct. 1947.
“Exile on Mercury” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #75, Nov. 1947.
“Hitchhiker of Space” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #76, Dec. 1947.
“Mind Over Matter” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #77, Jan. 1948.
“The World Stealers” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #78, Feb. 1948.
“Rocket Race” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #79, Mar. 1948.
“Duel in Space” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #80, Apr. 1948.
“The Space Trap” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #81, May 1948.
“Hobo of the Void” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #82, Jun. 1948.
“The Atom Dictator” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #83, Jul. 1948.
“The Invible Man of Mars” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #84, Aug. 1948.
“The Freedom Rocket” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #85, Sep. 1948.
“The Great Rhean War” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #86, Oct. 1948.
“Tiny Terror” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #87, Nov. 1948.
“Menace of the Metal Men” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #88, Dec. 1948.
“World of Titans” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #89, Jan. 1949.
“Mystery World” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #90, Feb. 1949.
“Jaunt on Jupiter” originally appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #91, Mar. 1949.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Otto O. Binder (who wrote as “Eando Binder”) was one of those rare authors whose career extnded far into both the science fiction and comics fields. He’s actually best known the comics for his contributions to Fawcett’s Captain Marvel series, where he wrote 986 stories (out of 1,743)—more than half—between 1941 and 1953. He went on to write for D.C., Gold Medal, and many others.
Less well known is that he wrote numerous 2-page fiction “fillers” for the comics. These prose pieces were a requirement for comics to qualify for discount postal rates in those days, so every comic whose distribution included mail-order subscription copies had to include one.
Starting with the February, 1946 issue, every issue of Captain Marvel Adventures included a 2-page short story by “Eando Binder.” All featured Lt. Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol. These juvenile space operas—designed to appeal to kids (primarily boys, one assumes)—featured daring-do by a two-fisted young member of the Space Patrol. In a solar system where seemingly every planet and moon can support life and the asteroid belt harbors numerous space pirates and criminals, Jon Jarl always seems to save the day.
If you’ve seen the early TV adventures of Captain Video and His Video Rangers, Space Patrol, or Tom Corbett, Spcae Cadel—which were clearly influenced by Binder’s writing (as well as the shared universe of “space opera” that had been developed in Amazing Stories magazine under editor Ray Palmer)—you will know what you’re in for…a ride into the Wild West of outer space, where physics and logic never get in the way of a good story!
Enjoy!
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS
Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”
The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)
RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?
Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).
Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.
TYPOS
Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.
If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
MYSTERY
The First Mystery Megapack
The Second Mystery Megapack
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Bulldog Drummond Megapack*
The Carolyn Wells Mystery Megapack
The Charlie Chan Megapack*
The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack
The Detective Megapack
The Father Brown Megapack
The Girl Detective Megapack
The Second Girl Detective Megapack
The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack
The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Philo Vance Megapack*
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Raffles Megapack
The Red Finger Pulp Mystery Megapack, by Arthur Leo Zagat*
The Sherlock Holmes Megapack
The Victorian Mystery Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
GENERAL INTEREST
The Adventure Megapack
The Baseball Megapack
The Cat Story Megapack
The Second Cat Story Megapack
The Third Cat Story Megapack
The Third Cat Story Megapack
The Christmas Megapack
The Second Christmas Megapack
The Classic American Short Stories Megapack, Vol. 1.
The Classic Humor Megapack
The Dog Story Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The Horse Story Megapack
The Military Megapack
The Pirate Story Megapack
The Sea-Story Megapack
THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION MEGAPACKS
1. Winston K. Marks
2. Mark Clifton
3. Poul Anderson
4. Clifford D. Simak
5. Lester del Rey
6. Charles L. Fontenay
7. H.B. Fyfe
8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
The First Science Fiction Megapack
The Second Science Fiction Megapack
The Third Science Fiction Megapack
The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack
The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack
The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack
The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack
The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack
The Ninth Science Fiction Megapack
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Fred M. White Disaster Megapack
The First Theodore Cogswell Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Dragon Megapack
The Randall Garrett Megapack
The Second Randall Garrett Megapack
The Edmond Hamilton Megapack
The C.J. Henderson Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Jack London Science Fiction Megapack
The Martian Megapack
The A. Merritt Megapack*
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Science-Fantasy Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Space Opera Megapack
The Space Patrol Megapack
The Steampunk Megapack
The Time Travel Megapack
The Second Time Travel Megapack
The William Hope Hodgson Megapack
The First Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack
The Second Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack
The Willam P. McGivern Fantasy Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
HORROR
The Horror Megapack
The Second Horror Megapack
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The Ghost Story Megapack
The Second Ghost Story Megapack
The Third Ghost Story Megapack
The Haunts & Horrors Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Macabre Megapack
The Second Macabre Megapack
The Third Macabre Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The Mummy Megapack
The Occult Detective Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Vampire Megapack
The Weird Fiction Megapack
The Werewolf Megapack
The William Hope Hodgson Megapack
WESTERNS
The Western Megapack
The Second Western Megapack
The Third Western Megapack
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The Buffalo Bill Megapack
The Cowboy Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
YOUNG ADULT
The Bobbsey Twins Megapack
The Boys’ Adventure Megapack
The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack
The Dare Boys Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The G.A. Henty Megapack
The Girl Detectives Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Pinocchio Megapack
The Rover Boys Megapack
The Second Carolyn Wells Megapack
The Space Patrol Megapack
The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack
The Tom Swift Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
AUTHOR MEGAPACKS
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Henri Bergson Megapack
The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Second Fredric Brown Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
The Stephen Crane Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Guy de Maupassant Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Frederick Douglass Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Megapack
The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack
The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Randall Garrett Megapack
The Second Randall Garrett Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Edmond Hamilton Megapack
The Dashiell Hammett Megapack
The C.J. Henderson Megapack
The William Hope Hodgson Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Selma Lagerlof Megapack
The Harold Lamb Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Jonas Lie Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The Katherine Mansfield Megapack
The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack
The William P. McGivern Fantasy Megapack
The First William P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack
The Second William P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack
The A. Merritt Megapack*
The Talbot Mundy Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Rafael Sabatini Megapack
The Saki Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
&n
bsp; The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Bram Stoker Megapack
The Fred M. White Disaster Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The Virginia Woolf Megapack
The Arthur Leo Zagat Science Fiction Megapack
* Not available in the United States
** Not available in the European Union
***Out of print.
OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY
The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)
The Wildside Book of Fantasy
The Wildside Book of Science Fiction
Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries
ADVENTURE IN SPACE
“The masked badmen, robbing the stagecoach, turned in alarm at the sound of galloping hooves. Up came Pecos Pete, on his great horse Dasher, with both six-guns blazing. The bandits made the mistake of trading shots with the famed Western hero, and in seconds were stretched flat on the sand. Laconically, Pecos Pete blew the smoke out of his guns, waved genially to the admiring stage-coach passengers, and thundered off, seeking more badmen…”
The reader of these deathless lines, Jon Jarl, snapped shut the book with an excited sigh. Those old Westerners, he pondered, certainly led a life of thrills and danger. No period in human history had been more colorful, more heroic.
Ah, but those days had been long ago. Let’s see—about 400 years ago, to be exact. This was now the year 2261 A.D.
Jon Jarl sighed. Here he was, living in the super-scientific and highly civilized days of the 23rd Century. The great and adventurous days of the Old West were buried in the dim past. He turned to his controls, correcting his course slightly. It wouldn’t do to miss Mars on his routine patrol flight.
Jon Jarl was on his way to Mars, in a small, sleek spaceship. He was Lieutenant Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol, the police of 2261 A.D. It was his duty to cruise the space lanes between Earth and Mars, along the same routes followed by the giant space liners and cargo rockets. But the distance was great—some 45 million miles—and for long periods he merely set the robot pilot and relaxed in his seat. It was during such times that he read from his well-stocked little library of Western literature. Somehow, the mighty deeds of those old Western heroes satisfied him more than any present-day writings.