Showing posts with label black americana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black americana. Show all posts

Friday, February 21, 2020

Friday Fun ABBOTT & COSTELLO COMICS "Comics Convention!"

Like Roy Thomas, Jim Shooter, Marv Wolfman, and numerous others... 
...writer/artist Grass Green was part of the first generation of fanboys-turned-pros in the 1960s.
What few people knew was that Grass was one of the few Black fanboys!
While he occasionally worked in mainstream comics, as shown in this never-reprinted tale from Charlton's Abbott & Costello Comics #16 (1972), Green found his greatest professional success as the first Black underground comix writer/artist!
From the early 1970s to the late 1990s, Grass did quite a bit of work for Kitchen Sink, Renegade, Rip Off, and Fantagraphics' Eros imprint.
Sadly, Grass Green passed away from lung cancer in 2002.
Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics!
Visit Amazon and Order...

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Baker Reading Room STRANGE SUSPENSE STORIES "Inexplicable"

Can you guess which cover-featured tale from this book was pencilled by Matt Baker?
Considering Baker was one of the foremost "good girl" illustrators of the 1940s-50s, it should be obvious, even with the terrible inking by Vince Colletta!
That is one smart bear!
This never-reprinted story from Charlton's Strange Suspense Stories #44 (1959), penciled by Baker and inked by Vince Colletta, was one of the last tales published before his death earlier in 1959 of a heart attack at the age of 38.
Note that Matt was so prolific that the inventory of stories he worked on though Colletta's studio for both Charlton and Atlas (later Marvel) wasn't exhausted until a year after his passing!
Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Order...

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder NIOURK

Did you know the tale behind this cover...
...is about the most powerful African-American character in fiction?
True!
The novel, written by French author Stefan Wul (who also created/wrote Fantastic Planet) features...
...a Black teenager (named "Black Child" or "Dark Child" depending on the translation from the original French) wandering through the East Coast of post-apocalyptic America...
...until he reaches the ruins of New York City (the "Niourk" of the title), where he encounters both robots running the city and humans who avoided the apocalypse by traveling to Mars, whose tech evolves him into a superhuman calling himself "Alpha"!
There's a Twilight Zone-style ending that provides an ending that's both logical and emotionally-satisfying!
(Sorry, no spoilers!)
Though the prose novel has never been translated into English, there is a Dark Horse graphic novel adapted and illustrated in 2012 by noted French artist Olivier Vatine which has been Anglicized!
While the captions and dialogue, like most translations, are a tad stilted, the story is superb and the artwork is captivating!
Since it's currently in print, I'm only running excerpts.
But I recommend you pick it up, either through your local comic shop or on-line!
Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Order...

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Baker Reading Room UNUSUAL TALES "Blotting Threat"

Here's another rarely-seen sci-fi/fantasy tale by Black artest Matt Baker...
...the never-reprinted cover story from Charlton's Unusual Tales #19 (1959), about a disillusioned commercial artist involved with...
This story, penciled by Baker and inked by Vince Colletta, was one of the last tales published before his death later in 1959 of a heart attack at the age of 38.
Note that Matt was so prolific that the inventory of stories he worked on though Colletta's studio for both Charlton and Atlas (later Marvel) wasn't exhausted until a year after his passing!
Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Order...

Monday, February 17, 2020

Monday Madness TREASURE CHEST "1976: Pettigrew For President"

In 1964, Treasure Chest, an educational comic distributed only to Catholic schools...
...published a multi-part serial about how Presidential elections occurred, using the then-future Bicentennial year's elections as the example!
Their Teacher's Edition described the storyline's premise...
...while leaving out specific plot points!
The story begins innocuously-enough...
...with a candidate who sounds similar to the then-recently assassinated John F Kennedy!
He's a war hero who already held political office, and a Catholic in good standing!
"A man like that in the White House...never!"
Considering JFK had been killed less than a year before this saw print, it was pretty daring for the publishers to show something like this to schoolkids!
But this potential Prez shows that, even without the Secret Service, he's not helpless!
What did the would-be assassin mean by "your kind"?
Considering this was a Catholic-oriented periodical, and fear of a "papist" being the most powerful man in America was used against Kennedy during the election in 1960, it's not unreasonable that Pettigrew's religion might be the reason he was targeted!
Overcoming numerous obstacles, Pettigrew reaches the stage of the last debate before his party's convention, where he easily handles his opponents...


Is the "war hero" about to be exposed as a fraud...on national television?
(BTW, the reason he lost his voice was laryngitis due to a cold!)
Wow!
 "Swift boating" decades before it was tried on John Kerry!
Despite dirty tricks, slander, and assassination attempts, Pettigrew perseveres...
Written by Treasure Chest Editor Berry Reece and illustrated by legendary Marvel artist Joe Sinnott, this never-reprinted 10-issue serial (Treasure Chest V19N11 to V19N20) is considered one of the title's high points.
I've presented only excerpts here because the story runs over 50 pages spread over 10 chapters, and, since Pettigrew isn't revealed until the last page of the last chapter, I didn't believe most of the audience would hang on, even if I posted a chapter per day!
For those who do want to read the entire mini-series at one shot, just click HERE!
Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics!
Visit Amazon and Order...

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Saturday, February 15, 2020

"Good Girl" Artist Bill Ward Goes Black!

Though known for his...stimulating...renditions of buxom (and usually blonde) women...

...Bill Ward was one of several well-known comic artists who provided Playboy-style cartoons featuring Black women (and men) to Duke, a 1950s magazine intended to attract the young, male, African-American audience that other male-oriented mags didn't (yet) cater to!
You'l note that while the men are clearly African-American, the women have more of a "look" like Dorothy Dandridge (here as seen in her only genre film, Tarzan's Peril).
Since some of the cartoons in the issue showed both men and women as Black...

...we're not sure if it was editorial choice or Ward's lack of ability to portray attractive Black women with more "ethnic" features...
I don't know if Ward contributed any illustrations for the remaining five issues of the mag's run.
If anybody can provide more info, please contact me!
Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Order...

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Baker Reading Room OUT OF THIS WORLD "Xondu the Eternal"

A never-reprinted 1950s sci-fi tale by legendary Black artist Matt Baker...
..with a Twilight Zone-style twist ending!
OK, it's more a "Third from the Sun" than "To Serve Man" ending, but still, it's fairly effective!
(And kudos to those who didn't have to click on the links to understand what I was talking about!)
Penciled by Matt Baker and inked by Vince Colletta, this tale from Out of This World #15 (1959) unfortunately suffers from both Colletta's rushed inking and the poor printing Charlton was notorious for.
(Unlike other comics companies, Charlton had their own printing press, which had been designed for packaging...including breakfast cereal boxes...not newsprint!)
The writer is unknown, but many believe it to be Joe Gill, who was rapidly making a name for himself with an impressive, and varied, body of work.
Penciler Matt Baker was one of the few Black comic book artists of the Golden and Silver Ages, and was easily the most prolific of them!
Though known for his "good girl" art, including the famous (and infamous) Phantom Girl stories, he handled every genre with ease, including horror, war, sci-fi, and romance!
Sadly, though, few of his stories featured Black characters...who were rare in comics until the mid-1960s!
You can read a short, but complete bio HERE!
He'll be our featured artist this month in the Baker Reading Room at Atomic Kommie Comics, spotlighting his amazing cross-genre versatility!
Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics
Visit Amazon and Order...