Saturday, June 15, 2013

Previous Men of Steel!

With a "rebooted" Man of Steel currently in release...
...I thought we'd take a look at the previous live-action movie versions!
First up, Kirk Alyn's highly-underrated serial hero...

Then George Reeves' Superman, who first appeared in the movies...

...and, though he popped up almost continuously on the small screen, the Last Son of Krypton didn't reappear on the big screen until 1978...
..restored scene from Superman II explaining how he got his powers back!

...after two awful sequels, Superman didn't come back to movies until 2006 in a sincere, but flawed, attempt to continue the story from the end of Superman II...
And now, a total reboot!
Check out

Man of Celluloid Steel

Friday, June 14, 2013

Before MAN OF STEEL was SUPERMAN!

Man of Steel, opening today, is only the latest version of Superman to hit movie screens
The first one was an Academy Award-nominated flick...

...the first of 17 tales rendered in astonishing animated form!
When you go to see the newest celluloid Superman (and you know you will), remember the first one...

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Man of Animated Celluloid Steel!

In 1941, Max and Dave Fleischer, the animators who had previously brought Popeye and Betty Boop to the silver screen, presented Superman's first movie appearance in full-color cartoon shorts.
Meticulously-following co-creator Joe Shuster's character designs, the cartoons also contributed several elements to the Superman mythos including; changing clothes in a phone booth, Superman actually flying (Up to this point, he had leaped from point to point) and the catch phrase "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!"
Voices were provided by the dramatic radio Superman / Clark Kent (Bud Collier) and Lois Lane (Joan Alexander) who would also reprise the roles in the first tv Superman cartoons in 1966!
Trivia: Though nominated for several Oscars, the Superman shorts lost each time!
We're proud to present one of the koolest of the original 1940s advertising posters for the cartoon series, digitally-restored and remastered, both as a limited-edition print and as a collectible t-shirt!
The bold graphic, though deceptively-simple, leaps off the page at you with it's power!
It's also the only Fleischer Superman poster we've seen that commissioned new art, rather than use existing comic book or animation art!
And best of all, it's in Swedish!
Perfect as a gift for an animation aficionado or Superman fan (or someone who's both)!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Segregationist George C Wallace: the Comic Book!

50 years ago today, Alabama Governor George C Wallace made history...
...by attempting to defy the Federal Government's order to de-segregate Alabama schools.
(He backed down when he realized that the Feds meant business.)
Wallace was so proud of his segregationist attitudes that he had them included in a comic book produced in 1960 during his election campaign!
These pages are excerpts of the 16-page comic considered instrumental in Wallace's victory in 1960.
You can see the complete comic HERE.
You'll note an emphasis on "states' rights" of the sort Tea Partiers advocate as well as the paranoid fear that the Feds wanted to "take over" Alabama.
BTW, In his inaugural speech after winning the race, Wallace promised "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
Note: Ironically, Wallace was a Democrat.
However, Federally-forced desegregation as well as the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 caused many racist Democrats to switch to the Republican Party (which began catering to the right-wing audience with the "Southern Strategy") or, as in the case of Wallace, joining the newly-created American Independent Party.
In the late 1970s, Wallace became a born-again Christian and recanted his racist attitudes.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Reading Room: STRANGE WORLDS "Death on the Earth-Mars Run!"

Murder on a cruise ship is an old mystery story trope...
...but transposing the plot from an ocean liner to a space liner emphasized the "trapped with a killer" aspect!
This tale of murder and mayhem on the high seas in deep space appeared in Avon's Strange Worlds #8 (1952) and was rendered by Everett Raymond Kinstler, who eventually left pulps and comics for fine art (including several official portraits of US Presidents).
Unlike most pulp/comic artists who moved into fine art, Kinstler is happy to discuss and display his early work.
You'll note a lot of swipes of Flash Gordon art by Alex Raymond.
This wasn't unusual, since Raymond (along with Milton Caniff, Hal Foster, and Noel Sickles) were seminal inspirations for the first generation of comic book artists.
BTW, the writer of the tale is unknown.
When the story was reprinted in the back of Skywald's The Heap #1 (1971), the Comics Code forced a couple of odd changes...
Page 3 Panel 1
Making Santley's adopted daughter his stepdaughter and eliminating the "he signed for me" quote!
Page 5 Panel 1
Adding a "Space Police" sig to the note, emphasizing the "official" aspect of the order.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Reading Room: SPACE ACTION "MIssion into Time"

Look at what's going to happen next year...
...as predicted in this tale published in the third and final issue of Ace's sci-fi anthology, Space Action (1952)!
At least this tale, illustrated by Lou Cameron, offers an explanation as to why time travelers haven't come back to the past.
But, I find it difficult to believe the people of the future couldn't retrofit a vehicle with still-functioning (though centuries-old) technology with a control device.
BTW, the writer is unknown.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Calendars are NOW 25% Off!

From now until July 4, 2013, all calendars are discounted from $19.99 to $14.99!
Here are the  
Atomic Kommie Comics
2013 12-Month Calendars 
by genre

Mystery / Crime
Sherlock Holmes: the Greatest Sleuth of All! 
Basil Rathbone IS Sherlock Holmes!
Mr District Attorney


Horror
WereWolves & Vampires
Horror Comics of the 1950s
Vampires of Pulps & Comics
Werewolves of the Comics & Pulps
Zombies of Comics & Pulps
(shown above)

Camp / Kitsch
3-D Movies
3-D Comic Books
Seduction of the Innocent!!
Jungle Girls
Good Girl / Bad Grrrl


Romance
True Love Comics Tales


Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Martians, Martians, Martians!
Art of Barsoom 
Thrilling Science-Fiction Tales 
Bugs & Creepy Crawlies of Comics & Pulps
Dinosaurs of the Comics & Pulps™ 

SuperHeroes
Captains of the Comics
Heroines!
Classic Phantom Lady

Lost Heroes of the Silver Age of Comics
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics Team-Ups
1st Appearance Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics
Flag-Waving Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics

Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics vs HITLER
Classic Captain Future

Classic Green Hornet
Classic Monster of Frankenstein 

Classic SuperSnipe

Western
Western Comics Adventures
Real-Life Western Comics
The Cisco Kid and Pancho



Military
Captain MidNight
Aviators of the Golden Age of Comics
WAR: Past, Present & Future
Classic Korean War Comics

NOT available in stores, only on-line! Order now...before time runs out! ;-)