William Morrison

Mel Oliver and Space Rover on Ganymede William Morrison

The circus loses one of it's star animal performers on Mars. Mel Oliver and the owners of the circus decide to travel to Ganymede, the largest moon of Jupiter, to capture new and exotic animals for the circus. There they meet their arch rival, Gard Closker and his beautiful niece, Betty. Soon they are plunged into a series of exciting and dangerous adventures. But fortunately, the highly intelligent and courageous enhanced collie, Space Rover, is there to rescue them.

About the author: William Morrison was a pen name used by Joseph Samachson (1906-1980). He earned a Ph. D. in chemistry from Yale at the age of 23. He was an assistant professor at the College of Medicine, University of Illinois. He also headed a laboratory in metabolic research dealing with diseases that affect the skeleton. Samachson worked as a research chemist until 1938, leaving to become a fulltime writer. He worked as a technical writer but also wrote science fiction for the pulp magazines. In the early 1940s he wrote primarily for the comics. From that period, he is best known as the co-creator of the Martian Manhunter at DC but also created other characters like Zatara, Tomahawk and Two-gun Percy. In the 1950s he produced science fiction novels and many short stories and was a frequent contributor to major magazines like GALAXY. With his wife, he wrote books about various subjects, including the theater, music and ballet. He returned to biochemistry in 1953, eventually retiring in 1973 after five years as Associate Clinical Professor of biochemistry at Loyola University, Chicago.