Reading Room (JOURNEY INTO) UNKNOWN WORLDS "Prisoner of TIme!"

Here's a weird tale, even by the loose standards of 1950s comic book sci-fi...

...and, to top it off, thr tale is told by persons unknown!

Neither the writer nor artist(s) for this never-reprinted story from Atlas' Journey Into Unknown Worlds #36 (1950) have been conclusively identified, though some think longtime Atlas/Marvel production pro Sol Brodsky penciled it.
BTW, though it was numbered #36, it was actually #1 in the Journey into Unknown Worlds series!

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

Though It's Scary to Think About It, the Pandemic Ain't Quite Over Yet, Kiddies...

 ...whether you're answering the door to trick-or-treaters...

...or traveling about (for whatever reason)...

...you can look kreeply-kool in one of our exclusive PPE masks!

Each double-layer mask is reusable, washable, and built for comfort.

And, the one-size-fits-all mask features a pocket for optional filter use. 
PLUS: Each mask includes a free 2-pack of carbon filter inserts!

Whatta Deal!

Just Go HERE and see 15 exclusive designs!

It's HALLOWEEN...and You NEED a MASK!!!

 Whether you're answering the door to trick-or-treaters...

...or traveling about (for whatever reason)...

...you can look kreeply-kool in one of our exclusive PPE masks!

Each double-layer mask is reusable, washable, and built for comfort.

And, the one-size-fits-all mask features a pocket for optional filter use. 
PLUS: Each mask includes a free 2-pack of carbon filter inserts!

Whatta Deal!

Just Go HERE and see 15 exclusive designs!

Halloween PPE FaceMasks!

 Whether you're answering the door to trick-or-treaters...

...or traveling about (for whatever reason)...

...you can look kreeply-kool in one of our exclusive PPE masks!

Each double-layer mask is reusable, washable, and built for comfort.

And, the one-size-fits-all mask features a pocket for optional filter use. 

PLUS: Each mask includes a free 2-pack of carbon filter inserts!

Whatta Deal!

Just Go HERE and see several dozen exclusive designs!

Besides Halloween stuff, there's Christmas, giant robots, cowboys, and a host of other genres!

And, we'll be adding more designs as Christmas approaches!

Reading Room (JOURNEY INTO) UNKNOWN WORLDS "Strange Car!"

Did you know there are many 1950s Atlas/Marvel never-reprinted "lost" tales?

...here's one of them, a never-reprinted story of autos, aliens, and alternate universes!

If the police found the body of the alien, Earl would've been charged with murder as well.

Perhaps they found the body, saw it was alien in nature, and thought it was a mannikin?

This tale from Atlas' Unknown Worlds #36 (1950) has an odd artistic pedigree.

The inker has been positively-identified as Russ Heath, but the penciler and writer are both unknown.
BTW, you'll note our post's title says (Journey Into) Unknown Worlds.
The indicia says Unknown Worlds, and as of the next issue, until the end of the run, it would read Journey into Unknown Worlds.
Also, this is the first issue of the title!
The book had been Teen Comics, and before that, All-Teen Comics.
Comics publishers did this because they were notoriously cheap, and each new comic title (classified by law as a new periodical) required a new second-class mailing license for subscriptions.
So publishers tried to keep the numbering of already existing titles, modifying the name just slightly, to keep the already paid license!
But the postal authorities caught them, and Atlas had to pay for a new second-class license and restart the numbering!
So, technically, this was #1, and as of what would have been #39, the numbering restarted with #4!

As a result, the book has two different numbers 36, 37, and 38...which drives current collectors nuts!

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

Monday Mars Madness RACE FOR THE MOON "Face on Mars"

Perhaps the most famous story from Harvey's Race for the Moon...

...is this tale from #2 by writer/peniler Jack Kirby and inker Al Williamson which doesn't take place on the Moon...but on Mars!

Why is it so famous?

When NASA's Viking satellite reached Mars in 1976, it took this photo...

Keep in mind that this was the era of the Chariots of the Gods? fad, and to many, this pic was confirmation that aliens had either come thru the Solar System and stopped off not only on Earth, but Mars as well, or were from Mars initially!

And, there were those who remembered this little comic tale from their childhood.

The truth was a bit more mundane. Click HERE for NASA's explanation.

To this day, there are still those who say it's a cover-up, that there is life on Mars, and that "the face" is a relic of their existence.

Judge for yourself.

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics!

Visit Amazon and Order...

Mars in the Movies

A History

Halloween PPE FaceMasks!

 Whether you're answering the door to trick-or-treaters...

...or traveling about (for whatever reason)...

...you can look kreeply-kool in one of our exclusive PPE masks!

Each double-layer mask is reusable, washable, and built for comfort.

And, the one-size-fits-all mask features a pocket for optional filter use. 

PLUS: Each mask includes a free 2-pack of carbon filter inserts!

Whatta Deal!

Just Go HERE and see several dozen exclusive designs!

Besides Halloween stuff, there's Christmas, giant robots, cowboys, and a host of other genres!

And, we'll be adding more designs as Christmas approaches!

Happy 50th Anniversary, Apollo 11!

In the 1940s (and before), we dreamed of meeting (and battling) aliens on the Moon...

...In the 1950s, we feared meeting (and battling) Commies on the Moon...

...when we actually got to the Moon in 1969, thankfully, there was nothing to fear (or fight)!

Happy 50th Anniversary!

Space: the Final Frontier...for Christmas Gifts!

Since the 1890s, and the heyday of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, science fiction-themed presents had a place under the Christmas tree and in Xmas stockings for the young (and young at heart)!
Continuing that entertaining tradition, Atomic Kommie Comics™ is proud to offer our line of retro-design sci-fi/fantasy collectibles, The Future WAS Fantastic!™, for both kids AND adults!
We're talking 12-month calendars, messenger bags, mugs, magnets, t-shirts, sweatshirts and other goodies featuring some of the niftiest illustrations from the comic books, pulp magazines, and movie posters of the 1930s-1960s, all digitally-restored and remastered!
Spaceships with wings and big fins!
Ray Guns that zap an army in a flash!
Slimy Aliens!
Killer Robots!
Heroes in bubble-helmeted tight spacesuits!
Heroines in even tighter space suits!
Never did the future look so...stylish!
If you're looking for something in the vein of Star Wars or Star Trek (You did know that George Lucas wanted to remake Flash Gordon, but King Features didn't want to trust a young director whose biggest credit at that point was American Graffiti, didn't you?), here's some of the stuff that provided the visual inspiration for today's hi-tech flights of fantasy!
Enjoy, and may your rocket tubes never overheat...

Happy 45th Anniversary, Apollo 11!

In the 1940s (and before), we dreamed of meeting (and battling) aliens...

...In the 1950s, we feared meeting (and battling) Commies...

...when we actually got to the Moon in 1969, thankfully, there was nothing to fear (or fight)!
Happy 45th Anniversary!

Tomorrow: JET POWERS!

This scene does not actually occur in the comic...

Art by Bob Powell

...but it's a really kool cover and these characters (and the dinosaur) do get involved in overlapping stories involving time travel, aliens, a returning arch-villain, robots, and another mad scientist!

Be here tomorrow...

YouTube Wednesday: Prometheus / Alien

If you loved Alien (1979)...

...you'll plotz when you see Prometheus, Ridley Scott's new film set in the same universe, but before the events of Alien!
Here's the trailer currently-running in theatres...

Here's the international trailer (with some interesting differences)...

Now here's the trailer from its' sequel...from 1979!

Happy 40th Anniversary, Apollo 11!

In the 1940s (and before), we dreamed of meeting (and battling) aliens...

...In the 1950s, we feared meeting (and battling) Commies...

...when we actually got to the Moon in 1969, thankfully, there was nothing to fear (or fight)!
Happy 40th Anniversary!

The 1950s Live Again in "Alien Trespass"

UNSEEN FOR 50 YEARS!

Well, actually it's a recently-produced flick in the vein of Lost Skeleton of Cadevra.
It's both a tribute to and spoof of 1950s horror films.

LOST MASTERPIECE!

That remains to be seen, and hopefully I'll see it when it opens this weekend...
The poster and lobbycard graphics look appropriately retro.
The trailer is entertaining.
The casting seems good. Robert Patrick, Dan Lauria, and Erik McCormack all have genre cachet.

This is the sort of pic I personally look forward to for the sheer fanboy joy of it.
(Half the fun is spotting influences and references to earlier films.)

The NY Times Online has an overview of the movie along with trailers from 50s sf flix.

And, ('cause you just knew we were gonna tie this in to our own stuff) if you're into 1950s sci-fi flix, have a look at Atomic Kommie Comics™ nifty Martians, Martians, Martians™ and Horror--or Horrible?™ pop culture kitch collections!
Yep, T-shirts, mugs, messenger bags, and other kool kollectibles featuring exciting movie poster art from such alien invasion classics as Devil Girl from Mars, They Came from Beyond Space, Astro Zombies, Green Slime, I Married a Monster from Outer Space, War of the Worlds, even Plan Nine from Outer Space, are only a mouse-click away!
Who in the 1950s thought that would've been possible? ;-)