Buck Rogers in the 25th Century #15 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In this Gold Key/Whitman Variant issue based on the NBC series starring Gil Gerard and Erin Grey, it's a double feature. 

In the cover story, Buck Rogers' arch enemy Killer Kane has escaped from his prison cell thanks to a new mutation. Able to suddenly change shape and form, Kane plans on killing Buck while crippling the fleet of the Earth Defense Directorate leaving the planet vulnerable for attack by the Draconian Empire. As skilled, decorated pilots die in very unusual ways during routine patrols, Buck and Dr. Huer uncover evidence of a traitor in their midst. But is it jealousy instead of credible evidence when the finger points at an old flame of Wilma's?

The second adventure sees the Earth imperiled once again. Only it's not by any of the multitude of current adversaries doing the threatening. Instead, it's a threat from the very Earth itself and almost 500 years in the past. 

While Buck Rogers was in his cryogenic slumber, the Earth had a nuclear war that almost made the human race extinct. Most of the warheads were launched from Earth's orbit. Now one of those bombs has returned after floating off course for centuries. With time running out, it's up to Buck and his robot sidekick Twiki to navigate the gigantic bomb's booby traps and deactivate it; least the rest of humanity be wiped out!

Both 'That Which Seems to be...' and '10 Levels of Death' were written by B.S. Watson and illustrated by Mike Roy. 

The penultimate issue of the series, Whitman's legacy numbering puts the total series run from 1964 through to 1982. That means issue #1 debuted 15 years before Buck Rogers appeared on TV. Though a single season series had aired on ABC in 1951, the lone issue from the 1960s was based on the newspaper comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan. The first issue to be based on the NBC series was published in 1979. Issues 2-4 are an adaptation of the 2-hour pilot which debuted in theaters before NBC green-lit a full series. The live action series aired for 2 seasons for a total of 37 episodes, with the last episode airing in April 1981. The comic book continued on until May of the following year.

Completing this review completes Task #24 (Starring Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.