Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby

From the late 1950s, these are the original tales of four death-defying adventurers and their impossible, unimaginable exploits. After surviving the crash of a small aircraft, test pilot Ace Morgan, daredevil Red Ryan, heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Davis and marine scientist Professor Haley unite as The Challengers of The Unknown. Their mission: to explore the unexplainable for the good of mankind. This beautiful hardcover edition tells the earliest adventurers of these four adventurers as they encounter powerful aliens, deadly robots, and creatures of unknown origins, including a mysterious "star stone" that bestows super-powers, a space circus, monsters from space, a planet populated by robots and more.

Jack "King" Kirby's comics career began in 1937 and continued for nearly six decades. With partner Joe Simon, Kirby first made his mark in comics in the 1940s by drawing and/or creating numerous features for DC Comics including Captain America, the Young Allies, the Kid Commandos, Sandman, the Newsboy Legion and Manhunter. As the most valued team in comics, Simon and Kirby went on to create titles and concepts including Fighting American, Boys' Ranch and the creation of the romance comics genre. In 1961, the first issue of Marvel's Fantastic Four cemented Kirby's reputation as comics' preeminent creator, and a slew of famous titles followed that elevated him to legendary status, including Incredible Hulk, Avengers and X-Men. Kirby returned to DC in 1971 with his classic "Fourth World Trilogy," which was followed by The Demon, Omac and Kamandi. Kirby continued working and innovating in comics until his death in 1994.