ROCKET SUMMER

Thirty-nine years ago today, this cartoon appeared in the Los Angeles Times...

This edition of the daily Below Olympus pocket cartoon by Frank Interlandi (1924-2010) celebrated the fact that the previous day, 19 June 1976, had seen Viking 1 make history with NASA's first ever landing on Mars.

The presence on the otherwise deserted Martian landscape of a mailbox bearing the name RAY BRADBURY also celebrated the fact that the beloved science fantasy writer had established his idiosyncratic presence on Mars twenty-six years earlier with the publication of his acclaimed story collection, The Martian Chronicles.

Ray bought the original cartoon and told me once that it had given him considerable pleasure to know that he was so associated with space travel and, in particular, with the Red Planet that readers of the LA Times would instantly understand the significance of Interlandi's drawing: NASA had finally made it to Mars – but Bradbury was already there!

When much of Ray's estate went up for auction last year, I was able to purchase the original and give a new home to a unique piece of space exploration history and memorable Bradburyana...