http://apps.heritagecomics.com/common/view_item.php?source=&Sale_No=810&Lot_No=1236&sid=B7537F73B9862F491DC2BE8378317ADA

This story appears to be an unpublished piece, circa late 1960s-early 1970s judging by the art, possibly for Charlton. Has anyone seen this before?

Wish I could help, but I've never seen this story before! Quite an interesting find.

looking this over again, this could have been a story appearing in Space War or Space Adventures in the late 1960s that I didn't recognize, but I'll have to check my collection tonight. The fact that this was re-worded and re-lettered tells us it was to be used somewhere other than Charlton. The page says "Flash Gordon Companion". Has anyone heard of such a publication?

I checked in with Robin Snyder and he also thinks its an unpublished piece that was intended for Flash Gordon circa 1969.

I wonder how easily those dummy dialog paste ups would peel off. . . .

Hmmm. Ditko and Flash Gordon sounds like an excellent fit. Come to think of it, his style would work very well in "space opera." Imagine if you will; Ditko on Adam Strange ....