Showing posts with label Bob Powell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bob Powell. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Lunar Reading Room RACE FOR THE MOON "First Man on the Moon"

This Comic Was Published in 1958...

...but the date established for the events of this tale (which obviously shows technology beyond what was available at the time) is also 1958!

Was this Bob Powell-illustrated story part of the unpublished inventory for Harvey's cancelled early 1950s horror comics line?
That would explain the 1958 dateline, which would've been five years or more in the future!
In fact, the only material in the entire book that had been done specifically for Harvey's Race for the Moon #1 (1958) was the cover by editor Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, and Marvin Stein...
...which showed spacecraft then in development, and the intro page, also illustrated by Powell, which showed the Russkie Sputnik satellite, which had only recently been launched!
The rest of the issue consists of reprints from Harvey's early 1950s horror comics, re-edited to conform to the Comics Code Authority and one other previously-unpublished story, clearly set in the future, and also illustrated by Powell as seen HERE!
The two later Race for the Moon issues featured all-new material, mostly set in the near-future like the tale shown HERE.

Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Buy...

Thursday, February 5, 2026

Lunar Reading Room ADVENTURES INTO MYSTERY "Dark Side of the Moon!"

The Upcoming Artemis Moon Flight is Restoring a Long-Lost Excitement and "Sense of Wonder"...
...exemplified by this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Adventures into Mystery #1 (1956)!
Remember, this was even before Sputnik was launched, so we truly had no idea of what was out there beyond what Earth-based telescopes had revealed!
Bob Powell turns in his usual superbly-rendered artwork with distinctive individualistic characters and detailed settings and textures.
The writer is unknown.
Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Order...
Volume 1
Paid Link

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Reading Room EERIE ADVENTURES "Vampires from Venus!"

 It's Freezing, Windy, and Snowy Outside...

...perfect weather for a tale about an invasion by aliens from a hot and steamy planet!


This 1951 tale combining mobila, lethal plants (based on the Triffids from the novel Day of the Triffids which had just been published) and vampires (with their classic weakness, sunlight) from the Ziff-Davis one-shot Eerie Adventures was illustrated by Bob Powell and Howard Nostrand.
The writer is unknown.
Eerie Adventures used leftover material from the recently-cancelled Amazing Adventures with an attempt to market it as horror rather than sci-fi/fantasy.
Only one issue was published as the title was dropped by Ziff-Davis to avoid legal action by Avon who already had an ongoing Eerie comics title.
ZD then did a Weird Adventures one-shot, which sold well, but discovered there was already a title with the same name from PL Publishing which debuted the month before!
So ZD retitled their book Weird Thrillers, before PL could take legal action.
The series ran five more issues before the Dr Wertham-led Seduction of the Innocent witch-hunt forced the cancellation of all horror-related comic books.
(Ironically, the PL series only ran two more issues before the entire company folded.)
Support Atomic Kommie Comics!
Visit Amazon and Buy...
Vol 3
Paid Link

Friday, November 21, 2025

Friday Fun ALL-NEW COMICS "Mummy Madness"

If You Like Slapstick Abbott & Costello-Style Comedy...

...you'll love this never-reprinted one-shot feature from Harvey's All-New Comics #5 (1943)!
The team of Huff & Guff, produced by Bob Powell's art studio, were obviously patterned after Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, and were meant to be an ongoing feature.
Sadly, the response to them must have been absolutely minimal, since no further stories about them ever appeared!
Bob Powell and his assistants remained prolific contributors to numerous publishers (including Harvey) in every genre from romance to horror to humor to Westerns and more, through the 1940s and 50s

Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Buy...
Paid Link

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Twice-Told Tale of Terror INVASION!

One of the best-known Mars invasion tales is Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio show...
Edited version
...which this twice-told tale "updates" to the television era!
But, it's radically-altered from it's first appearance, and the original version had never been reprinted!
First the toned-down version, then the original, scarier version...
Original version
 Note in the original version, both the wife and singer on tv show a lot more cleavage!
Edited version
Original version
Again, more cleavage in the original version...
Edited version
Original version
Oddly enough, the wife's cleavage is unchanged, but the look of terror in the last panel is toned down!
Edited version
Original version

Panel four in the original version is much more gruesome than the edited version. 
Note the dialogue balloon is 
unchanged, even though there's no actual weapons fire in the edited version!

Edited version
 This last page is radically-different! Prepare yourself!
Ready?
Proceed...but remember, I warned you...
Original version
Wow!
The edited pages were from Harvey's Race for the Moon #1 (1958), which was reprinted in Harvey's Shocking Tales Digest #1 (1981)
The original, never-reprinted, story was from Harvey's Witches' Tales #21 (1953)
As you can see, the Comics Code Authority insisted on some major redos, including most of the last page!
What do you think, fans?
Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Buy...
Terror
Paid Link

Friday, June 20, 2025

Space Hero Saturdays MAJOR INAPAK: SPACE ACE

Buckle On Your Blaster Belts, Kiddies...

...as we hurtle through the depths of outer space (and learn invaluable scientific facts) with the one-and-only Major Inapak and kid stowaway-turned-sidekick, Robin John!
Our tale begins in the far-distant year of 2031...














Sadly, there were no further adventures of Major Inapak and Robin John/"Master Rocketeer"!

Illustrated by Bob Powell and scripted by Powell, Gardner Fox or the two in collaboration.
We presented background info about Major Inapak and Inapak Chocolate Drink  HERE and HERE!
You may note the cover doesn't have a price on it!
It wasn't sold on newsstands or in candy stores!
It was likely handed out at licensing trade shows to show merchandisers how publisher Magazine Enterprises could produce a tie-in comic with their products, just as DC and Marvel do today!

Support Atomic Kommie Comics!
Visit Amazon and Order...