In 1959, director Ed Wood introduced us to Eros and Tanna, two alien beings sent to Earth in order to prevent the discovery of solarbonite -- a potentially dangerous element that if used in a bomb would destroy the entire universe. In the movie, we experience their 9th plan which involves zombies.

But what of the other eight plans? What were they? Why did they fail?

Well, wonder no more! In a new anthology, "Before Plan 9: Plans 1-8 from Outer Space", we finally learn of those previous plans, beginning with the aliens' first visit to our planet and their dealing with the original inhabitants -- the dinosaurs. As we travel through time, guided by the Amazing Criswell, we uncover the many failed attempts to thwart the discovery of solarbonite and how those run-ins with the aliens have been disguised throughout history.

The stories offered in this collection re-work some of the classic tales, such as Patrick D'Orazio's retelling of the Odyssey and Tony Schaab's tale of what really caused the big dinosaur extinction. Some tales are a bit tongue-in-cheek like Tonia Brown's western tale of corsets and cross-dressing to Craig DiLouie's B-movie send up of the "Fabulous Fifties". Jontahan Maberry mixes film noir and aliens while Joe McKinney and Mike McCarty weave a dangerous web with a giant spider invasion. An uprising in Ancient Egypt...the Pied Piper's alien origins...the Nazis trying to create a superhuman army....

I enjoyed reading each and every story, reveling in the imaginative ways of re-inventing past myths and fables and legends. A great collection of stories from some great authors, "Before Plan 9" is a fine companion to the classic Ed Wood film. ( )