 Towards the end of 1933 , King Features asked him to create a Sunday page that could compete with Buck Rogers in the 25th Century , a popular science @-@ fiction adventure strip that had debuted in 1929 and already spawned the rival Brick Bradford in 1933 . According to King Features , syndicate president Joe Connolly " gave Raymond an idea ... based on fantastic adventures similar to those of Jules Verne " . 
