The
aliens arrive on a barren chunk of rock, in the aftermath of a terrible explosion.
Searching through the rubble, the reptilian creatures (with glass globes over their heads) find the last remnants of a civilization: several colorful pages bound together.
An alien cries out "Spa fon!" in surprise.
In these pages, we see a civilization founded through war, escalating a conflict through first
sticks and stones, then
arrows, then
guns,
airplanes and
tanks.
Finally, they use the ultimate weapon:
a nuclear missile so powerful that it destroys their world.
But the comic book continues, and the aliens see themselves landing on the asteroid. One of them cries out "Spa fon!"
The book ends on the last page, with the aliens looking at themselves in infinite variation all reading the same book!
"The Aliens," a story in
Weird Fantasy #17 (Jan-Feb 1952, drawn by
Al Williamson), was, if not the first, one of the first instances of
Educational Comics (
EC) using the
catch phrase "Spa fon!" In later years, it would become a line that nearly every technologically advanced alien would utter in surprise, usually while viewing the wreckage of Earth, post-nuclear disaster.
In the '70s, when EC comics were being reinvestigated by collectors and underground comix artists, Spa Fon (along with
Squa Tront!) became the name of a fanzine newsletter dedicated to unearthing the (by then obscure) runs of comics.
Often, the phrase will still get a chuckle out of sci-fi geeks of all ages.
Addendums:
From
Tiefling—
Squa Tront and
Spa Fon are used as the names of alien cockroaches from the future in the
Chrononauts games. The game's author has acknowledged the source.
From
Quizro— In
Mad's "
Superduperman,"
Captain Marbles' alter-ego is "
Billy Spafon."