Showing posts with label Barsoom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barsoom. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Best of Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "River of the Dead"

Art by Gil Kane and unknown inker
Meanwhile, we're continuing the adventures of his swashbuckling predecessor on Mars, Gullivar Jones, as we present the second, never-reprinted chapter of the short-lived comic adaptation from Creatures on the Loose #17 (1972)...
You'll note that Sam Grainger has replaced Bill Everett as the inker on this never-reprinted story from Marvel's Creatures on the Loose #17 (1972).
Unfortunately, Everett's health was declining and he had to cut back on the volume of work he was doing, preferring to devote what time he had to working on his greatest creation, Prince Namor: the Sub-Mariner.
He passed away a little over a year later.
Written by Roy Thomas, penciled by Gil Kane.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Best of Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "Warrior of Mars"

The Dreaded Deadline Doom caught up with us this week...
Art by Gil Kane and Bill Everett
...so we're re-presenting the never-reprinted adventures of the first Earthman on Mars, whose adventures predated Edgar Rice Burroughs' tales of John Carter of Mars by half a decade back at the beginning of the 20th Century.
 A bit of background: with the surprise success of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian, comics went pulp-mad, looking for other properties that were doing well in paperback reprints to adapt into the four-color format.
DC latched onto The Shadow, The Avenger, and Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser well as the entire Edgar Rice Burroughs library including Tarzan, Carson of Venus, and John Carter.
Marvel grabbed Doc Savage, added Kull (also a Robert E Howard character), and looked for another barbarian/swashbuckling hero.
They ended up adding two, Gullivar Jones and Lin Carter's Thongor, neither of whom ran more than eight issues.
Gullivar Jones had the advantage of only one novel to adapt, then the door was open to totally-new adventures.
Art by Frank Frazetta
This tale from Marvel's Creatures on the Loose #16 (1972) was Part 1, written by Roy Thomas, penciled by Gil Kane and inked by Bill Everett.
We'll be presenting the remaining chapters through this week, so be here tomorrow.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Martians! Martians! Martians! (Or what Jan Brady said when she saw War of the Worlds)

Halloween is coming up fast, so what do I think of?
Martians!
I've always been a big fan of War of the Worlds, whether it's the H.G. Wells novel, Orson Welles' radio adaptation, the '53 movie, the 80s tv series (Year One or Year Two), Jeff Wayne's remarkable concept album, or the many variations, sequels, and pastiches (like my favorite: Sherlock Holmes' War of the Worlds!)
So, I added a line of shirts. mugs, messenger bags, and tchochkes to Atomic Kommie Comics' already bulging sci-fi collectibles section entitled Martians! Martians! Martians! (Or: what Jan Brady said when she saw The War of the Worlds!)
From benevolent visitors to arrogant invaders to an EarthMan turned Martian, we have them all! See The Devil Girl from Mars, Lars of Mars, Man O' Mars, John Carter: WarLord of Mars, and of course, the War of the Worlds' various incarnations!
(BTW, the Tote Bags make great trick-or-treat bags!)
We even have a three-way battle between Earth, Mars, and Venus as well as the campy cult classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians!
So whether it's for Halloween, Christmas, a birthday, or anytime you feel the urge for alien antics, choose Martians! Martians! Martians!™
As the Martians in Mars Attacks! would say..."Ack! Ack! Ack!"

Sunday, November 18, 2012

2013 12-Month Pop Culture Calendars Now Available!

There are pop culture categories and subjects we've wanted in 12-month calendar form as presents for others (or for ourselves), but weren't available!
So, we decided to create them ourselves, using the wildest...rarest...kitchiest comic book, pulp magazine covers and movie posters we could find, each image digitally-restored and remastered from hi-rez scans of the original items, NO reprints or low-rez files!
(Would we do that to you?)
Only $19.99 each!

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
(shown above)
Werewolves of the Comics & Pulps
Zombies of Comics & Pulps

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! ;-)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

YouTube Wednesday: JOHN CARTER...Hit or Disaster?

Don't worry, John! We'll dig our way out of this hole!
The BBC's news/entertainment division did this piece about John Carter's less than stellar box-office...
...giving it a less-than stellar future.
Odd since JC has done over $125 million overseas, opened with over $10 million in China, and has yet to open in Japan, a strong market for films featuring sci-fi/fantasy and retro high-adventure (the two themes of JC)!
Personally, I think it'll end up doing very well on DVD/Blu-Ray, PPV, and 'net streaming, picking up the audience it didn't get in theatres.
Personally, I blame the marketing; terrible posters, trailers and commercials that didn't play up the "Carter was the FIRST!" concept and the whole "this is kool" idea, and, stupidiest of all, naming the flick the almost-useless "John Carter" instead of "John Carter and the Princess of Mars".
(Hey, "Hero and Plot Element" titles worked for Harry Potter and Indiana Jones!
Why not here?)

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Sunday, March 18, 2012

John Carter & Gullivar Jones...TOGETHER..sorta!

Though they worked together in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 2...
...a new mini-series, Warriors of Mars, pits John Carter and his predecessor on Mars, Gullivar Jones, against each other (at least initially)!
The two end up working together (and sharing the same tailor)...
...as the mini-series attempts to combine the two different versions of Mars into one coherent world!
Will they succeed?
I'll tell you after #5.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Reading Room: STORY OF OTHER WORLDS "Amazon of Barsoom"

The John Carter movie is in theaters now...
...so we're presenting the final never-reprinted Barsoom tale that ran in DC Comics' Tarzan Family in 1976!
This story from Tarzan Family #60 (1975) was written by Robert Kaniger and illustrated by Rudy Zamora.
The Heliumites in this tale are blue-skinned, not red (as in all other Barsoom stories), and the red "demon apes" who carry spears and talk have never appeared in any other Barsoom tale!
As we mentioned earlier, this story and the "Secret Diaries of John Carter" mini-series have never been reprinted since their publication in 1976, even in the recent Dark Horse trade paperback that presented all the other Barsoom-based stories that appeared in DC Comics!
(It's rumored that they were the reason ERB.Inc pulled the license from DC!)
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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Reading Room: GULLIVAR JONES "Martian Genesis"

The John Carter movie opens tomorrow...
 Meanwhile, we're concluding the adventures of his swashbuckling predecessor on Mars, Gullivar Jones, as we present, from the b/w magazine Monsters Unleashed #8 (1974), the final all-new, never-reprinted, sequel strip, produced by a team which included a newcomer to Marvel who would become one of the biggest names in the field (read the name in the credits below)...
Yes, this was George Perez's first assignment after breaking into the business as Rich Buckler's art assistant!
Oddly enough, this story isn't listed on George's own website!
And, there's uncredited inking by neophites Bob Layton and John Byrne, who helped inker Duffy Vohland meet the deadline!
Wonder whatever happened to Byrne and Layton?  ;-)

Despite the promise printed above, Gullivar Jones and company never graced another Marvel comic or magazine.
(Monsters Unleashed was cancelled with #10, two issues before Gullivar would have reappeared.

Beginning tomorrow:
The Secret Diaries of John Carter!

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