Long sought - after for its relative rarity , Whitman ’s The Black Hole # 4 is part of their continuation of the story from the Disney film .
Considered a reaction toStar Wars(1977 ) , Disney’sThe Black Holeactually begin living as a skill fiction disaster moving picture concept calledSpace Station Onein 1974 . Original creatorsBob BarbashandRichard Landauhad a dizzying range of television ( and in Landau ’s case , film ) acknowledgment between them . Landau ’s writing or producing mention included work on a routine of science fable projects , such asThe Quatermass Xperiment , The Outer Limits , Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea , andThe Six Million Dollar Manby that fourth dimension . The title itself was likely cheer byArthur C. Clarke ’s use of the name " Space Station One " for the now - celebrated place in2001 : A Space Odyssey . In 1975,Disney went so far as to announcethat it would start product on its " biggest science fiction moving picture ever — and its first quad change of location film — Space Station One " in June 1976 . Perhaps to head off an expostulation from2001distributor MGM , the deed was revise toSpace Probe Oneshortly after that 1975 declaration , and the conception move through a few revisions without derive any grip untilStar Warsblew up . According todirectorGary Nelson , " They never could get a handle on it . It got kicked around , and they went through a series of writings and rewrites , and they gave up on it . And then when there was such great interest inStar Wars , they brought it back out and search at it . "
The most expensive Disney moving picture made up to that clock time , with a yield budget of $ 20 million , The Black Holeopened two workweek afterStar Trek : The Motion Picture , to high prospect but mixed reviews . As Nelson would later on take on , part of the issue was that " We never had an ending for it . I did n’t like the closing . Nobody like the end . We just restrain shooting hop-skip that I would amount up with an ending … "
Despite this and the mixed reviews that followed , the film did attract a dedicated following who almost now hoped for a subsequence . While Nelson and most others seize to the project insist that this was never even contemplated , the picture show was sure as shooting marketed as if it had franchise potential , with product that included action mechanism figure , games , a lunch box , records , puzzles , trading cards , and a variety of stamp , stumper and coloring book . Fall 1979 convey a Sunday newspaper landing strip adaptation of the film byJack Kirby , written byCarl Fallberg , and inked byMike Royer . In 1980,The Black HolestarMaximilian Schellwasquoted as saying , " Maybe they used this cease because they want to make a subsequence — Beyond the Black Hole . "
Of course , the comic books would play us on the dot that . In addition to the Kirby Sunday paper strip , there was also another moving-picture show adaption comic released by Western Publishing Co. via their various imprints , written byMary Careywith art byDan Spiegle . The published versions from these imprint includedWalt Disney Showcase # 54(Gold Key , standard comic book format with 52 pages ) , and a squarebound magazine formatting with slick report from the Golden Press imprint , both of which were released shortly before the movie hit theaters in December 1979 . Western then launched the Whitman comic Bible seriesThe Black Hole , whose first two military issue reprinted that same moving-picture show adaptation material . Then , about two month after Schell speculated that Disney want to do a continuation calledBeyond the Black Hole , the Whitman mirthful book serial did on the nose that : the title was renamedBeyond the Black Hole , and the story continued .
The new material was written byMichael Teitelbaumand drawn byAl McWilliamsand Spiegle . The Whitman series overall was think to last at least six issues , but ended with military issue # 4 — which is now notoriously difficult to get . In plus to newsstand distribution , the first three return were useable together in a three - plurality and are relatively common . emergence # 4 receive no newsstand distribution and was only available from a dissimilar Whitman two - pack . The serial end there in the United States . For the UK marketplace , IPC reprinted the Western Publishing movie adaptation ofThe Black Holein magazine data format , and then reprinted the Whitman publication # 3 and # 4Beyond the Black Holematerial asThe Black HoleAnnual 1981 . The planned six effect , including the three - issue report ofBeyond the Black Hole , were concluded in theGermanandMexicanmarkets , and perhaps others .
While the abrupt terminal of the serial in the U.S. is typically attributed to the interracial chemical reaction to the film , Western Publishing had challenge of its own in the U.S. strip marketplace at this fourth dimension . The publisher was seek to launch a number of accredited science fabrication comics in the wake of theStar Warsphenomenon , includingFlash Gordon , Buck Rogers , Battle of the Planets , andThe Black Hole . Western also attempted to institute backDoctor Solar , Man of the Atom , and vivify the titleUFO Flying SaucersasUFO and Outer Spaceduring this time period .
Another of Western ’s Disney licence comics of the stop , Condorman , followed the same rule asThe Black Hole , with the first two issues adapting the film , followed by one issue of continuing escapade . The publisher had a noteworthy custom of producing fresh comic book storylines based on set up unrecorded - action tv / photographic film IP even before this era , in title such asAdam 12,Boris Karloff ’s Thriller , Dark Shadows , The Man from U.N.C.L.E , lose in Space , andStar Trek , among others . In fact , Western ’s personnel casualty of the Star Trek license to wonder at the prison term of the release ofStar Trek : The Motion Picture , combined with Marvel ’s success withStar Warsas an on-going serial , may be part of why they give way after the license forThe Black Holewith plan to continue the story .
With perhaps one exclusion , none of the title from Western ’s post - prima Wars science fiction adventure blitz survived for very long . Flash Gordonwas the longest - lasting of these , but ended along with the entirety of Western ’s dangerous undertaking funny rule book line in the first fourth part of 1982 , include the long - running classicTurok , Son of Stone , among other championship . In the decades since , The Black Hole # 4has become something of a caption for its difficulty to get and the underappreciated fact that it continues the story from the movie , and there’sa CGC 4.5 copy upfor auction today at Comic Connect .
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