YouTube Wednesday: CAPTAIN NICE

Continuing our weekly feature "YouTube Wednesday"...

Yes, this promo art was by Jack (King) Kirby!

In January 1966, Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward debuted on ABC.
This set off a wave of Bat-Mania, and all three TV networks scrambled to add superhero programming to schedules already crowded with science fiction and fantasy programming ranging from Man from U.N.C.L.E. to My Favorite Martian!
While one or two, like The Green Hornet, were done seriously, most of the new shows were not even campy tongue-in-cheek like Batman, but flat-out comedies!
The best of the new shows was the brainchild of Get Smart co-creator Buck Henry, who was asked to to to superheroes what he had done to spies, hopefully with similar ratings.

"My mom made my costume!"

Broadway actor William Daniels was cast as police chemist/mamma's-boy Carter Nash who gained short-term super-powers by drinking a formula he accidentally created.
Along with veteran performers Alice Ghostly (Carter's overbearing mother), Liam Dunn (annoyed Mayor Finney), Bill Zuckert (inept Police Chief Segal) and newcomer Ann Prentess (police Sgt/Carter's girlfriend Candy Kane), the show tried it's best to capture the style and flavor that made Get Smart a hit.
It didn't.

It was amusing, and Daniels tried his best, but a limited budget caused a lot of the super-stuntwork to misfire, ruining the jokes.

After only 15 episodes, Captain Nice was cancelled.
Maybe if they had done a crossover with Get Smart...

There was some merchandising including a one-shot comic book, a novel written by the same author who did the Get Smart books, and a limited-distribution batch of trading cards, all of which are HTF.
It's not out on DVD, and unless you videotaped it when it ran on Comedy Channel around 1993-94 (like I did), the only place you'll find it is on bootleg dvds or YouTube.
Here's the pilot/origin episode "The Man Who Flies Like a Pigeon".
Enjoy!

Hero(ine) History Retro Edition: Captain America 1966!

With the new Captain America movie filming, we thought it time to take a look at the original 1940s movie Cap.
And, to make it even more fun, we'd look at it from a Silver Age perspective...
Specifically, an article from the HTF 1960s magazine On the Scene Presents: Super-Heroes!

 (Click on the pix for larger images)

Return of the ORIGINAL FanBoy PLUS: Discount coupon!

The Boy with the Most Comic Books in America!
Nope, it ain't YOU, Bunkie!
It's Koppy McFad! (or at least it was in 1942!)
In one of the first comics metafictions, Koppy was a kid who read comics and then daydreamed about being a superhero himself, including interacting with other comics characters, who were fictional characters in his world, as well as real-life villains like Adolf Hitler!
Debuting in the back pages of Shadow Comics, he quickly transferred to Army & Navy Comics, becoming so popular that the book was retitled SuperSnipe Comics as of #6!

(In fact his appearance in Army & Navy Comics was so important, it featured the only time Doc Savage and The Shadow appeared together in a story before the 1990s!)
Not content to merely fantasize about heroics, McFad donned a red flannel union suit and attempted to crush evil in his neighborhood, usually with embarrassing (but humorous) results.
BTW, you'll note that Koppy didn't start wearing his red underwear until he gained his own title...
Ironically, he outlasted most of the superheroes who inspired him, ending his title's run in late 1949.
Curiously, his adventures haven't been reprinted, resulting in his comics being among the most expensive on eBay and other venues!
So we've brought him back on a new line of collectibles including t-shirts, mugs, iPhone cases, and a 12-month calendar!
Since 1949, a number of comics characters obesessed with comic books have appeared...
Some, like Captain Klutz, have worn red woolly underwear, but most, like Flaming Carrot and FanBoy, don't.
But all owe a debt to the first FanBoy...Koppy McFad!
What could be a better Christmas present for the fanboy (or fangirl) in your life than a kool SuperSnipe kollectible combined with one of the related books listed below for a fan-dream gift set?

Plus, we're offering a discount on any items (including SuperSnipe, natch) totaling $40 or more from the Atomic Kommie Comics™ store...

*Save $5 off orders of $40 or more, excluding shipping charges, gift wrap charges, applicable taxes and custom duties. Coupon code SEASON40 must be entered at check out. Promotion starts on December 9, 2010, at 12:01 a.m. (PST) and ends on December 12, 2010, at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Cannot be combined with any other coupons or promotions and may change, be modified or cancelled at anytime without notice.

Beware...the Black Bat!

It's interesting to see how there are no new ideas in fiction, just innovative ways to combine existing ideas...
Take The Black Bat.
(Actually, Black Bat II. The first Black Bat was a gentleman detective similar to The Saint, who ran around town leaving calling cards with a bat. He didn't wear a costume, use gimmicks or have enhanced abilities.)

The Black Bat we're talking about was two-fisted, hard-fighting DA Tony Quinn, who got hit in the face by acid thrown by criminals.
It didn't disfigure him, but it did blind him!
Quinn learned to function without sight, slowly enhancing his other senses and even returning to practice law!
Then, an extremely-risky eye-transplant operation not only restored his sight, but actually enabled him to see in total darkness!
Quinn decided to keep his restored / enhanced sight from the world, pretending to still be blind, and using his connections in the police department and DA's office, to secretly battle criminals who evade capture and prosecution!
Donning all-black garb which incorporated a bat-like motif (to frighten criminals who are, after all, a cowardly, superstitious lot.), a pair of .45 automatics, and assorted low-tech gimmicks like smoke bombs and grappling hooks, Quinn took on spies and gangsters, not hesitating to kill when necessary.
Like most pulp heroes,  The Black Bat is assisted by a team of plain-clothes aides with specialized skills whose main function in the story is to discover plot elements and be caught by villains, requiring dramatic rescue by the hero.
Considered a vigilante, The Black Bat is hunted by the police, especially Captain McGrath who believes that "blind" Tony Quinn not only can see, but is The Black Bat!

As you can see, the character is a real amalgamation of elements of everything from Zorro to The Shadow to The Green Hornet.
But, ironically, NOT The Batman!
In one of those weird coincidences that occur in media (print/radio/tv/movie) production, The Black Bat and The Batman debuted almost simultaneously!
Black Bat's debut in Black Book Detective #1 was cover-dated July, 1939. (BTW, The Black Bat never had his own title! He only appeared in Black Book Detective!)
Batman's premiere in Detective Comics #27 was listed as May, 1939.
However, cover dates varied from 3-5 months ahead of actual on-sale date, so there's a potential overlap of at least a couple of months, and since conception and preparation of material for print took anywhere from three months to a year, deliberate copying was highly-unlikely.
That didn't stop their publishers from suing each other, claiming plagiarism!
Luckily, editor Whitney Ellsworth, who had worked for both publishers, created an out-of-court deal so that the two characters could co-exist on the newsstands.
One of the provisos was that each character would stay within their respective format...no pulp version of The Batman, no comic book version of The Black Bat.
There was a slight problem there, since The Black Bat's publisher (who also published Captain Future) was incorporating his pulp characters (including The Black Bat) into his new comic book line (which also featured original-to-comics characters like The Fighting Yank!
With a few minor changes, Tony Quinn aka The Black Bat, became Tony Colby aka The Mask (with an owl-motif garb) who appeared in the first 20 issues of Exciting Comics (but never made the cover)!

Interest in The Black Bat continues to this day, with both reprints and new tales currently in print!
And we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have decided to incorporate The Black Bat into our retro-kool collection on t-shirts, mugs, and other collectibles.
Why not combine one (or more) of our goodies with either the reprint or original tales for a pulp aficionado's dream-come-true gift set?

Design of the Week--Captain 3-D Redux

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week...due to popular demand (and pretty good sales), the first superhero created specifically for 3-D...Captain 3-D!

In the early 1950s, "3-D" using red and green prints of simultaneously-shot movie footage from cameras a couple of feet apart. (note: sometimes blue was used instead of green, but the stereotype of 3-D is a red / green lens juxtposition.)

When a viewer wore glasses like these they would perceive the two projected images as a single 3-D image!

Taking comic book line art and modifying it to produce a similar 3-D effect was technically simple, so almost every company attempted at least one 3-D book between 1952-55.
Most were 3-D versions of existing comics including Superman, Batman, Tales from the Crypt, Tor, even Katy Keene.
However, Captain 3-D was the Simon & Kirby team's attempt to jump on the 3-D bandwagon with NEW material.

A disheveled, stranger stumbles into a seedy used bookstore.
He hands a book and pair of weird glasses to the young clerk, warns him to never sell it, just as a gunman comes in and shoots the stranger, disintegrating him.
The clerk, Danny Davis, disarms the gunman, who flees and is shot by an associate waiting outside.
Danny puts on the glasses and looks thru the book, which is blank except for an illustration of a costumed man which jumps from the page and stands in front of Danny.
Before another word is said, the associate gunman returns...with allies!
The costumed man defeats the group with ease and tells Danny to look at them thru the strange glasses.
Danny sees the attackers as cat-people!
As it turns out, the costumed man is the last survivor of an advanced civilization wiped out in a war against the Cat People 50,000 years earlier.
Placed in the book by advanced technology, he is brought to life by the holder of the book and glasses to battle the Cat People, who were all but wiped out, but who now have sufficient numbers to try to conquer the world again!

A cool premise and nice set-up, playing up the use of glasses to both empower the hero and perceive villains. (The movie They Live! used a similar gimmick)

Unfortunately, a legal battle involving the 3-D process all but killed the financial viability of producing 3-D books, and, though material was already finished, there was never a second issue of Captain 3-D!

Due to your interest, Captain 3-D will be a permanent part of the Atomic Kommie Comics™ lineup.
The only question being; where do we put him?
First appearing in 1953, he's definitely after the Golden Age (1938-1949), but a couple of years before the earliest of the Silver Age (1955-1969) heroes!
Or, since we're doing an entirely-new section dedicated to 3-D in movies and comics, we'll put him there! (Oops! did I say that out loud?)

Design of the Week--Captain 3-D

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week...the return of the first superhero created specifically for 3-D...Captain 3-D!

In the early 1950s, "3-D" using red and green prints of simultaneously-shot movie footage from cameras a couple of feet apart. (note: sometimes blue was used instead of green, but the stereotype of 3-D is a red / green lens juxtposition.)

When a viewer wore glasses like these they would perceive the two projected images as a single 3-D image!

Taking comic book line art and modifying it to produce a similar 3-D effect was technically simple, so almost every company attempted at least one 3-D book between 1952-55.
Most were 3-D versions of existing comics including Superman, Batman, Tales from the Crypt, Tor, even Katy Keene.
However, Captain 3-D was the Simon & Kirby team's attempt to jump on the 3-D bandwagon with NEW material.

A disheveled, stranger stumbles into a seedy used bookstore.
He hands a book and pair of weird glasses to the young clerk, warns him to never sell it, just as a gunman comes in and shoots the stranger, disintegrating him.
The clerk, Danny Davis, disarms the gunman, who flees and is shot by an associate waiting outside.
Danny puts on the glasses and looks thru the book, which is blank except for an illustration of a costumed man which jumps from the page and stands in front of Danny.
Before another word is said, the associate gunman returns...with allies!
The costumed man defeats the group with ease and tells Danny to look at them thru the strange glasses.
Danny sees the attackers as cat-people!
As it turns out, the costumed man is the last survivor of an advanced civilization wiped out in a war against the Cat People 50,000 years earlier.
Placed in the book by advanced technology, he is brought to life by the holder of the book and glasses to battle the Cat People, who were all but wiped out, but who now have sufficient numbers to try to conquer the world again!

A cool premise and nice set-up, playing up the use of glasses to both empower the hero and perceive villains. (The movie They Live! used a similar gimmick)

Unfortunately, a legal battle involving the 3-D process all but killed the financial viability of producing 3-D books, and, though material was already finished, there was never a second issue of Captain 3-D!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ feel the character deserves better than that, so we restored him (or at least his cover) to our Design of the Week line to test his viability.
If he sells well, we'll find him a permanent place in our lineup. If he doesn't, he's gone after next Friday!
You decide if he "lives" or "dies"! Vote now...

Design of the Week--Modesty Blaise...in Japanese!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week...the Swinging 60s come to life with the astounding-campy adventures of Modesty Blaise!
Initially a very successful comic strip by Peter O'Donnell and Jim Holdaway about a "bad girl" gone good, Modesty Blaise was produced as a feature film in 1966 starring Monica Vitti, during the spy film craze spawned by the James Bond films.
Unfortunately, the film's producers went the "camp" route, producing one of the first "spy-spoof" films!
O'Donnell, who had done the first draft of the flick's script was so displeased, he took his version of the script and turned it into a prose novel, which sold very well (and received praise by critics and fans alike, unlike the movie)! This launched a second career for O'Donnell, who continued to script the comic strip and penned more novels both adapting the strip storylines and doing new tales, which were then rewritten into the comic series!
After the first movie, there was a tv pilot which turned the character into a generic private eye, and in the 1990s, an origin tale, My Name is Modesty, which went straight to video.

Time has been kind to the first Modesty film, and the campy style which turned off 1960s audiences who expected a more accurate portrayal of the character, has become an attraction to 21st Century viewers who now look upon it as ironic deconstruction of the heroic concept!
Go figure!

We'll go with the flow, and offer one of the best poster images from the film (and one of the few with her looking like the comic strip version!) on a kool kitschy kollection!
Plus, all the text is in Japanese, for an added layer of koolness!
With all due modesty (ouch), we think you'll just snap these goodies up!

More Than Just Archie Comics--Tippy Teen & Bunny!

To most people, the 'tween / teen comics scene begins and ends with the Archie Comics line.
Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and the rest seem to be the only non-super powered teenagers in the four-color world!
But it wasn't always that way...
Others rose to challenge Archie's domination of the genre!
Even DC and Marvel have attempted teen-themed series, but none had the staying power of the red-head from Riverdale!
In the 1960s, when comics companies big and small flourished in the era of Pop Art and "Camp", every company had teen-age characters side-by-side with superheroes and spies!
Two companies in particular, Tower and Harvey, had teen lines headed by female leads, rather than males!

Tower's character, Tippy Teen, was not an Archie clone.
She didn't have two boys fighting over her, as Betty and Veronica did over Archie, but a number of her supporting characters seemed like close relatives to some of Archie's pals and gals.
It's not surprising, since a number of Archie writers and artists were also doing work for Tower, including Dan DeCarlo and Bob White!
Interestingly, Tippy was the longest-lasting title at Tower, running five issues longer than the now-legendary T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents!
Tippy also had several spin-offs including Tippy's Friends Go-Go & Animal and Teen-In, which serves as the basis of our Tippy line of kool kollectibles!

Harvey's female teen character, Bunny, was a doll...literally!
1n 1966, a toy company wanted to launch a line of Barbie-type dolls, with the added kick of a comic book tie-in to boost public awareness!
Much like the way the 1980s GI Joe series was co-conceived by Hasbro and Marvel, Harvey's writers and artists worked with the toy company's staff on character development and storylines for the comic and toys.
Like most Harvey characters, Bunny had an ongoing obsession--in this case with teen fads and trends...clothing, dances, hairstyles, etc! Presumably, this was to encourage doll buyers to pick up the newest clothing and accessories the manufacturer could produce after seeing them in the comic!
The Bunny line also had what would have been the first African-American fashion doll character, her best friend Marcy, beating out Barbie's "Colored" Francie by a year! (The character was a major part of the comic series, including performing in an all-Black band called SOULar System which had it's own backup strip!)
However, before a single doll could roll out of the factory, the toy company collapsed!
The Harveys, deciding not to let all the already written and drawn pages go to waste, decided to publish the comic anyway.
It sold well enough to keep going for several years and produce a spin-off, Rock Happening, which, like Tippy's spin-off, serves as the basis for our line of Bunny goodies!

We'll be adding to both the Tippy and Bunny collectible lines as we acquire more of these hard-to-find books. (It is convention season...)