Friday Holiday Fun SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS Part 1

Believe it or not, there was a comic book version of this holiday "classic" flick...

...in 1966, from Dell Comics!

Next Friday: Santa's trip to Mars...

(...not to be confused with Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars!)

The writer/adaptor is unknown, but the art is by Bob Jenney, who did quite a few movie and tv adaptations for Dell.

The actual title of the comic is Dell Movie Classic #725.
Not only was it sold on newsstands, but it was packaged with an LP album of the movie's audio including dialogue, sound effects and (shudder) the earworm-creating theme song!
(Remember, they didn't have streaming services, DVDs/Blu Rays, or even videocassettes back in the 1960s!)

Holiday Reading Room JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS "They Wait in the Shadows!" & JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY "Monsters on Mercury!"

No Matter Where Humans Travel in the Universe...

...they will find a way to celebrate joy and happiness even under the most stressful of circumstances, as in this tale behind a very misleading (but extremely-kool) Bill Everett cover!

Illustrated by Bob Forgione and scripted by an unknown writer, this story from Atlas' Journey into Unknown Worlds #47 (1956) is more "hard" science-fiction and less "science-fantasy" than this later tale by a pair of Silver Age legends following the same basic plot...

This long-forgotten Stan Lee/Steve Ditko (You've heard of them, right?) tale from Atlas' Journey into Mystery #78 (1962) amps up the humans' paranoia, but plays down scientific accuracy!
(Even in 1962, we knew Mercury was unlivable for humans without extensive protective equipment and clothing!)

But, to be fair, both tales are equally-good at getting the Yuletide message across, eh?

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Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories

Monday Madness / Holiday Reading Room HOT WHEELS "Humbug Run"

If a Santa in a motorized sleigh running two teens down isn't the very definition of "madness"...

Art by Neal Adams & Dick Giordano

...I don't know what is!
Enjoy this never-reprinted tale from the Silver Age of Comics!

The cover story for DC's Hot Wheels #6 (1971) was written by Len Wein, with art by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, following Alex Toth's character designs from the 1969-1971 animated series based on the toy line.
Toth also illustrated most of the stories in the comic series, as shown below!

Art by Alex Toth from Hot Wheels #1

Guess Who's Getting Ready for the Holiday Season?

 

Yep!

Him!

Since our Nation's Retailers have Decreed that Christmas Season is underway, Atomic Kommie Comics is jumping headfirst with Yuletide fun from now until the Big Day

(Except for Space Hero/Heroine/Force Saturdays and Wednesday Worlds of Wonder)

The sleigh arrives tomorrow!

Merry Christmas

Santa Claus' World War II-era attempt at updating his transportation...

...doesn't quite go as planned in this wraparound cover from Dell's Santa Claus Funnies #1 (1942).

Unfortunately, the artist didn't sign it, and the experts at various comic indexing sites have been unable to offer possible illustrators.

Personally, I'm thinking Walt Kelly.

(The snarky reindeer are an obvious giveaway)

Any suggestions?

Merry Christmas to All!

And Now, a Note from Santa Himself...

...from Dell's Santa Claus Funnies #1 (1942).

See you tomorrow with a long-unseen cover by a comics legend!

Reading Room: Kool Walt Scott Christmas Treats!

For our final Walt Scott-themed post this year...

...here's a few Yuletide one-page features starring his Little People characters...that Scott himself neither wrote nor drew!

The first two pages were from the front and back inside covers of Dell's Four Color Comics: Walt Scott's the Little People #868 (1957), which were printed (as was the case with many comics) in black and white.

The last one was the comic's back cover, in full color, of course!
Unlike the two Walt Scott's Christmas Stories issues which Scott himself adapted from the newspaper comic strip into comic book format, the ten Little People issues were written and illustrated by Dell Comics' creatives, in this case, by artist Dan Gormley.

But we're not letting you go Scott-free (as it were)!

Here are the new painted covers Scott did for the two Four Color Comics Christmas Stories issues...

#959 (1958)

#1062 (1959-60)

Plus, the cover for the three-color promo brochure for NEA's 1957 Christmas strip...

...which was only seen by the art directors of NEA's client newspapers!

(We presented thst strip HERE!)

Holiday Reading Room WALT SCOTT"S CHRISTMAS STORIES "Animals' Christmas"

Here's another Yuletide tale unseen by anyone...

...since its' appearance in Dell's Four Color Comics: Walt Scott's Christmas Stories #969 (1958).

This story originally-appeared in newspapers as NEA's 1956 Christmas strip running between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Scott himself did the modifications to adapt the art to comic book formatting.