Rare Nova Comic Book Drew Massey LLNL Livermore Nova Laser 1985 DOE For Sale

Artwork & Story by Drew Massey
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory / Nova Laser

Scarce vintage illustrated publication created in connection with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Nova laser program.

The comic follows “Sam Focus – Private Illuminator” on a tour of the Nova laser facility and combines original comic artwork with actual photographs and technical information explaining how the Nova laser operated.

The interior credits Drew Massey with the artwork and story. An “About the Artist” section states that Massey was only 15 years old and living in Livermore when he created the comic, spending approximately 80 hours drawing it over a two-month period.

The back cover features a photograph of “The Nova laser system” and is dated April 1985. It also bears U.S. Government Printing Office identification 1987/9-785-002/68545.

This publication has documented historical provenance: The Nova Comic Book by Drew Massey is cited in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory historical documentation concerning its High Energy Laser Facility.

The most useful provenance source is the official LLNL historical report, which explicitly cites “Drew Massey, The Nova Comic Book (Livermore: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)”

Details:

• Title: The Nova Comic Book / Sam Focus: Private Illuminator
• Artwork & Story: Drew Massey
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Subject: Nova laser / laser fusion research
• Back cover dated April 1985
• U.S. Government Printing Office identification: 1987/9-785-002/68545
• Illustrated comic, historical photographs and technical material
• Vintage U.S. government/scientific ephemera

1980s, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, LLNL, Nova Laser, Department of Energy, DOE, Laser Fusion, Inertial Confinement Fusion, Government Printing Office, Scientific History, Cold War, Government Ephemera, Drew Massey, Sam Focus