Thursday, May 1, 2008

"So, what's your super-power?" "I can turn into water..."

Comic book scientists are incredibly clumsy.
They spill or ingest chemical concoctions that would kill any ordinary human, but always end up granting them amazing powers!
Such is the case of Harry Thurston, who developed a chemical that would convert any matter it touched to water.
And, of course, he spilled it on himself, turning his arm to liquid. Thankfully, labmate Bob Blake used another chemical to revert Harry's arm.
Deciding to take things a step further, Bob Blake then had himself injected with the chemical, making his whole body turn to water and using his force of will to control the level of transformation from human to liquid and back to human.
Like most scientists who gain weird powers, he becomes a costumed hero to fight enemy agents and crooks. Strangely, he strapped a .45 automatic to his belt when he first dons his costume, but never used it! (Whatever happened to Harry Thurston, who had the good sense not to inject himself with dangerous chemcals?)
With his ability to both become and control water, HydroMan was a remarkably-effective crimefighter, as long as he avoided sub-zero temperatures which would freeze him solid (his Achilles heel!)
HydroMan never had his own comic, but he was the cover feature for the first year or so of Reg'lar Fellas Heroic Comics. It is from this series that Atomic Kommie Comics™ has created a new line of kool kollectibles for our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ series, including his 1st appearance, and his 1st issue with partner RainBow Boy!
Note: HydroMan was created by Bill Everett, who later went on to create some other water-based heroes for Timely/Marvel including The Fin and some little-known guy called Namor, The Sub-Mariner.
Oh, him you've heard of...

Alex Ross has revived HydroMan in Project SuperPowers, teaming him with PyroMan on the upcoming cover for issue #4!
Oddly, he's renamed Hydroman "Hydro", even though the only extant Hydro-Man in comics is a seldom-used Marvel villain! (It's not unusual for characters at different companies to have the same name, especially if one's a hero, and the other's a villain. Example: The Sandman...a villain at Marvel, and several different heroes at DC!) But I digress...

Pick up Project SuperPowers, the best Golden Age revival on the stands today, and have a look at our retro-styled goodies at Atomic Kommie Comics™ (And when is Dyanmite going to do their own Alex Ross art-based line of Project SuperPowers collectibles? I'll be among the first to get 'em when they come out!)

PyroMan--the Shocking Superhero!

Despite his name, PyroMan is not a fire-based hero! (That ability is possessed by The Flame, in the Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ lineup.)
Wrongly-convicted and sent to the electric chair, Dick Martin somehow survived electrocution and gained electricity-based powers which he then used to escape and bring the real criminals to justice to prove his innocence!
He then donned a costume and fought crime and saboteurs by using his electromagnetic powers to fly, deflect bullets, and zap baddies!
Atomic Kommie Comics™ has launched a line of kool kollectibles for the Electric Enigma (catchy, eh?) with four of the best covers from his run in Startling Comics, where he alternated with The Fighting Yank on the cover! Among the digitally-restore and remastered covers are his 1st appearance and the classic Alex Schomberg cover at left.
Alex Ross' Project Superpowers is featuring him and Hydro (aka HydroMan) together on the cover of their 4th issue, to create a pseudo-Human Torch/Sub-Mariner theme. I suppose water and electricity go together as well as water and fire do...
Pick up Project SuperPowers, the best Golden Age revival on the stands today, and have a look at our retro-styled goodies at Atomic Kommie Comics™
Tune in tomorrow, when we cover the other half of #4's cover duo--HydroMan (er, "Hydro")!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Contemporary (relatively) Bad Grrrls, Bad Grrrls...


We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ know a winning concept when we see one!
You like Bad Girls (or is that "Bad Grrrls"?)
So we've taken the Women Outlaws idea and "updated" it in our Crime & Punishment section to the 1940s-50s with the Crimes by Women line of kool kollectibles.
10 different designs with lots of gun molls, a catfight, and women's prison action!
It's all PG-13 rated!
See the stuff your grandparents didn't want your parents to see! (They thought it would cause juvenile delinquency!)

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Captain Science: Hero of Nerds & Geeks everywhere!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ are major fans of the tv series The Big Bang Theory.
Sheldon, Leonard, and their associates speak to us as fellow geeks, pardon me, pop culture aficionados.

But what we want to know is...why don't they dress the part?

Sheldon wears Green Lantern t-shirts.
GREEN LANTERN!
Now consider the Earthmen who have worn the particular insignia of the intergalactic police corps that Sheldon wears...
A jock test pilot!
A psychotic social worker/teacher!
An architect/ex-marine!
Note: the newest GL, comic artist Kyle Rayner wears a variation of the insignia Sheldon wears, and is not included. Ironically, of all the Silver/Bronze/Current GLs, he's the GL Sheldon SHOULD be wearing!)

You'd think Sheldon would wear The Batman, the thinking-man's hero, the man with NO powers who can defeat even Superman!
Or the Golden Age Green Lantern, a radio technologist-turned media mogul (what a role model!)

But, if he'd really want to "go geek", he should go...
CAPTAIN SCIENCE (part of our O Captain, My Captain: Captains of the Cosmos line)!
After all, is he not Master of Technology™?
Does he not utilize his knowledge to triumph over bigger, stronger, foes?
Does he not have both a cool name and logo?
And he has a very retro look popular among us ner--I mean pop culture aficionados!
C'mon Big Bang crew, let Sheldon's true nerd shine thru!
Show him wearing CAPTAIN SCIENCE, the clothing line he was born to wear!