Space Force Saturdays SPACE PATROL "Vengeance on Venus"

There have been numerous "Space Patrol" series in pop culture...

...as far as I can tell, this is the first!

As was typical in such series of the period, the non-human is the sidekick, but he is treated as an equal.

The Space Patrol was more a para-military organization than just a police force, occasionally engaging in pitched battles involving fleets of spaceships.

This premiere tale from Centaur's Amazing Mystery Funnies V2N12 (1939) was written and illustrated by Basil Wolverton, easily one of the most idiosyncratic creators ever to work in comics, and a major artistic influence on the underground comics of the 1960s-80s.

Nick Nelson and Kodi traversed the Solar System for a half-dozen tales before disappearing into the ether.

You'll see them all over the next couple of months
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Basil Wolverton in Space
Reprinting the entire Space Patrol series along with other kool tales and extras!

Friday Fun BATMAN "Bat-Climb featuring Santa Claus"

Let's kick off Friday Fun's Yuletide season with the ultimate team-up: Kris Kringle...

...and the legendary Dynamic Duo, Batman and Robin!

One of the hallmarks of 1960s Batman series was the "Bat-Climb", where the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder would encounter celebrities or characters from other shows as they scaled the wall of a building with their Bat-Rope (using a set turned sideways so the actors were merely pretending to be climbing.)

In this second-season episode ("The Duo is Slumming", featuring the one-shot villain Puzzler), airing right before Christmas in 1966, the Dynamic Duo meet Kris Kringle, played by an uncredited Andy Devine.

(After all, the producers didn't want kids to think Santa wasn't real...)
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Batman
the Complete 1960s TV Series

Holiday Reading Room HUMBUG "Voyage of the Mayflower II"

Here's a look from Humbug #3  (1957) at how a trend begins...

...which writer/artist R. O. Blechman derived from the real-life adventure of the Mayflower II, which apparently made a boodle of cash and inspired construction (and exploitation) of replicas of other famous sailing vessels!

Utilizing reconstructed ship blueprints held by the American museum Plymouth Plantation, and hand-built by English shipbuilders using traditional methods, the sea-worthy vessel actually sailed the Atlantic from England to Plymouth Rock, Mass, where it's been a tourist attraction ever since.

The Mayflower II is currently drydocked and undergoing restoration.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder ROCKET TO THE MOON Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

The first appearance of Maza of the Moon. Art by Robert A. Graef

...Held captive by P'an-Ku, Ted Dustin, along with scientist Shen Ho, plan their escape...

Note: May be NSFW due to racial stereotypes common to eras of both the original novel and the comic.

While there was the potential for one or more sequel stories to this "scientific romance", none was ever done either in prose or comic form.

However, the novel does fit into a "Kline-verse" that links it to OAK's other tales set on other worlds as show HERE.

Note: 

This 1951 one-shot comic from Avon Comics , based on the novel Maza of the Moon by Otis Adelbert Kline, was scripted by Walter (The Shadow) Gibson and illustrated by the legendary Joe Orlando and Wally Wood.

Now that's a pop culture pedigree!

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Maza of the Moon

by Otis Aldelbert Kline

Reading Room PLANET COMICS "Star Pirate"

In space, no one can hear you say "Arrr, matey..."

...as this example of the little-known "pirates in space" sub-genre proves!

Like most pirates (who are romantics at heart), Star Pirate is a sucker for a pretty face.
The Star Pirate became a fixture in Planet Comics, running from 1941 until just before the book's cancellation in 1953.

The name "Leonardo Vinci" on this intro tale from #12 (1941) is a pen-name assigned to this particular strip.

The general consensus is that the artist is Al Gabrielle, but the writer is unknown.

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

Monday Mars Madness JOHN CARTER OF MARS "Lights of Doom"

When Last We Left the First EarthMan on Mars...

...well that pretty much covers it, so let's rejoin Carter as he faces imminent peril!

This all-new tale from DC's Tarzan Family #64 (1976) was written by Bob Kanigher, penciled by Noly Zamora and inked by Vic Catan with several panels modifed/redrawn by editor Joe Kubert.

Unfortunately, the story ends on a cliffhanger as the remaining two issues of Tarzan Family featured reprints of Carter's first DC Comics appearances from Tarzan #207-208!
DC then cancelled both of their Burroughs-related titles as ERB.Inc announced plans to publish their own line of comic books which, unfortunately didn't work out, as seen HERE.

In 1977, Marvel Comics was granted the license for ERB characters, doing both Tarzan and John Carter as stand-alone titles ignoring any storylines DC had produced (including adaptations).

When those titles were cancelled in 1979, unused artwork for both of them was adapted (ironically) into other licensed-property titles!

The unused Tarzan story became, with rescripting and additional art, a two-part BattleStar Galactica tale!

John Carter's unpiublished tale was modified into a two-part Star Wars story (#53-54) with Carter becoming Aron Peacebringer, Dejah Thoris relabeled Alisande, and Tars Tarkas losing his extra arms, becoming orange, and renamed Keral Longknife!

As we mentioned earlier, the "Secret Diaries" mini-series has never been reprinted since it's publication in 1976, even in the recent Dark Horse trade paperback that presented all the other John Carter stories that appeared in DC Comics!
There is one more never-reprinted Barsoom tale (without John Carter or any established characters) from DC which you'll see next week!

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Check out our artifacts at the

Art of Barsoom™
 Collectibles Corner

Thanksgiving's Almost Here...Time for CHRISTMAS!

The Christmas shopping season has been more-or-less underway since Halloween.
(Remember when it didn't begin until after Thanksgiving?)

In order to make your Yuletide shopping a breeze, we're offering a guide to reasonably-priced pop culture collectibles that would make great gifts for the-hard-to-please person in your life!

You think the economic situation is bad now?Go back 83 years ago, to November 1938 and see...elves were picketing Santa's WorkShop for better pay!

(You'll note that the cover is dated January, 1939. But it was actually on sale in November, 1938! Publishers used to cover-date comics and pulps two to three months ahead of the actual on-sale date to keep the books on the stands for as long as possible!)

Thus do we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ offer another retro-styled collectible for your Christmas gift-giving consideration, and offer you a bit of media history at the same time!

In this case, we proudly present one of our Christmas in the Comics line from our Cool Christmas collection: numerous digitally-remastered comic covers featuring classic characters celebrating Christmas, including The Green Lama, Fast Willie Jackson, SuperSnipe, and Edison Bell: Boy Inventor, as well as two long-out-of-print versions of The Big Man, Santa, himself!

Available on a multitude of memorabilia including greeting cards, mugs, hoodies, face masks, and other goodies, these pop-art collectibles are NOT available in any brick-and-mortar stores, only on-line thru us!

And don't forget our Santa Claus--the Man Himself, A Christmas Carol starring Scrooge, the Hardly-Abominable SnowMan, and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians lines!

There's something for everyone under the tree at Atomic Kommie Comics™!