Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts

Thursday, November 28, 2024

Holiday Reading Room EVERY DAY IS A HOLLY DAY "Thanksgiving Day" & HUMBUG "Like How to Carve Turkey"

A look at Thanksgiving...including before it was Thanksgiving!
Note there is a historically-inaccurate aspect below...
Interestingly, this page from Brevity Inc's one-shot giveaway Every Day is a Holly Day (1956) plays up the fallacy that turkeys were served at the first Thanksgiving, when the primary dish was eel!
In fact, Benjamin Franklin wanted the wild turkey to be America's official bird and you don't eat your official bird!
Why is this comic entitled "Every Day is a Holly Day" instead of "Every Day is a Holiday"?
Because it was given away to kids by grocers who sold Holly Sugar!
Illustrated by John Rosenberger, it's a unique pamphlet covering a number of American holidays, including both Lincoln and Washington's Birthdays (before they were combined into "Presidents' Day"), Mothers' Day (though not Fathers' Day), Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and a couple of holidays we've largely abandoned...Pan-American Day and American Indian Day!
Now, let's switch from reverence to sarcasm, with a never-reprinted one-pager by Arnold Roth from Humbug Publications' Humbug #5 (1957) covering a major culinary conundrum...
Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, July 4, 2024

A Safety Tip from The Fighting Yank for the 4th of July...

Here's the word, kids, from The Fighting Yank himself...
Art by Mort Meskin
...from the final issue of his 1940s series, Standard's Fighting Yank #29 (1949)
Art by Alex Schomburg
And here's the patriotic cover from that issue!

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Little Bunny"

Walt (Pogo) Kelly went into full-on "cute" mode with his holiday stories...
...including this never-reprinted one from Dell's Four Color ComicsEaster with Mother Goose #185 (1948)!

Besides doing an annual comic of Easter stories featuring fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters celebrating the holiday, Walt also did an even-more popular series of annual Christmas comics utilizing the same concept!

Monday, February 19, 2024

Monday Holiday Madness PRESIDENTS' DAY...the Holiday that Combines TWO Presidents' Birthdays!

Before they combined Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays into a "floating" holiday...
...Washington's Birthday was always celebrated each year on Feb 22nd...
...and Lincoln's Birthday was always on February 12th!
Why the change?
USA Today has an explanation HERE!
Since this is a comics blog, let's get back on-topic!
These two features appeared in a 1956 comic called "Every Day's a Holly Day"
(No, it's not a typo...as you can see!)
Why was it called that instead of "Every Day's a Holiday"?
Because it was given away to kids by grocers who sold Holly Sugar!
Illustrated by John Rosenberger, it's a unique pamphlet covering a number of American holidays, including Mothers' Day (though not Fathers' Day), Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and a couple of holidays we've largely abandoned...Pan-American Day and American Indian Day!
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Sunday, September 24, 2023

G, PG, and PG-13-Rated Halloween "Horrors"

The leaves are turning orange and brown, and our somewhat-warped thoughts naturally turn to...
HALLOWEEN
...the koolest holiday of all!
We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have told you about our Horror Comics of the 1950s™ and Seduction of the Innocent™ sections, PLUS the Martians, Martians, Martians™ category of The Future WAS Fantastic™, all of which have kool retro horror-oriented goodies year-round for the older kids-at-heart.
But what about something for the younger crowd, the tweens and pre-teens, the toddlers and babies?
Well, never let it be said we ignored a target demographic!
We have a kreepy-kool Haunted Halloween™ section with a subsection specifically-for those little ones who want a slightly-scary take on the spectral and spooky, as well as one for the 7-13 category who want a bit more meat on the bone (as it were).
Note to the older crowd, sorry, but the shirts 'n stuff are kid-sized only.
Have a look and order now, to avoid being tricked so you get your treats!

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Holiday Reading Room: EVERY DAY IS A HOLLY DAY: "Independence Day"

From 1956, here's a never-reprinted tale from a unique comic...
...produced to promote, of all things, sugar!
Why is the Brevity, Inc comic entitled "Every Day is a Holly Day" instead of "Every Day is a Holiday"?
Because it was given away to kids by grocers who sold Holly Sugar!
Illustrated by John Rosenberger, it's a unique pamphlet covering a number of American holidays, including both Lincoln and Washington's Birthdays (before they were combined into "Presidents' Day"), Mothers' Day (though not Fathers' Day), Flag Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, and a couple of holidays we've largely abandoned...Pan-American Day and American Indian Day!
We'll be presenting the other chapters on the dates they fall upon.
Watch for them!

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Sunday, April 9, 2023

Holiday Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Easter Sunday"

Our final Walt (Pogo) Kelly post for Easter...
...is a never-reprinted piece from Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #220 (1949).
We hope you've enjoyed our presentation of these long-lost pieces by one of the field's masters.
Now go eat a chocolate bunny and some marshmallow chicks!

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Gorgeous Goodies for Your Easter Basket!

Back in the 1940s and '50s, comic book companies produced a prodigious number of holiday-themed annuals and one-shots!
For example, a multitude of Christmas-themed comic books flooded America's magazine racks every November and December!
(In fact, a large part of our popular Cool Christmas collection is based on them.)
But, did you know that several publishers also did Easter-oriented books?
And, that noted comics illustrators including Walt (Pogo) Kelly contributed art to them?
Believing that there's always room for more classic comics collectibles, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ added a new line of goodies to our Happy Holidays section entitled Exciting Easter!
Yes, it's eggs, bunnies, chicks, and other fuzzy animals galore digitally-restored and remastered from Baby Boomer-era classic comics covers on baby bibs, infant creepers / onesies, toddler and kid t-shirts, greeting cards, mugs, and a plethora of other kool kollectibles!
They make great Easter basket stuffers! (And they won't rot your kids' teeth like marshmallow chicks or chocolate bunnies!)
So click over and see what's in our basket!

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Easter Egg-citement with Walt Kelly!

April Fools Day is this coming Saturday...
...but we don't believe in waiting to play an April Fools Day trick on you!
This centerfold from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #103 (1946) is a splendid example.
Can you find the bunnies, chicks, and eggs hidden in the art?
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Sunday, March 12, 2023

Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Easter Bunny and the Dwarf"

...so just sit back and enjoy the never-reprinted tale from Dell's Four Color Comics: Easter with Mother Goose #140 (1947)!
This story, written and illustrated by Walt (Pogo) Kelly features a number of nursery rhyme characters including Jack and Jill (who went up a hill), Little Jack Horner, and Mother Goose herself.
But, it is not, as was often the case with Kelly's holiday pieces, an adaptation of existing nursery rhymes, but a totally-new tale!
It's also a prequel to the book's lead tale featuring an Easter party...which you'll see on Easter Sunday!

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Easter Reading Room EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE

Here's a short story featuring a plethora of fairy tale characters...
...as presented by a (then) future superstar of the comic strip or, (if you want to be pretentious) graphic novel form!
The title story from Dell's Four Color Comics #103: Easter with Mother Goose (1946) was written and illustrated by Walt Kelly, whose signature series Pogo wouldn't debut for another three years.
Trivia:
While Pogo as a stand-alone series began in 1949, various characters including Pogo himself and Albert the Alligator had appeared as supporting characters in other Walt Kelly-written and drawn strips since 1941.
Besides doing an annual comic of Easter stories featuring fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters celebrating the holiday, Walt also did an even-more popular series of annual Christmas comics utilizing the same concept!

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Holiday Reading Room CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL "Santa's Red Red Nose"

What happens if Kris Kringle gets sick on Christmas Eve?
This tale from St John's Christmas Carnival (1952) 100-page one-shot gives you the answer!
It was all a dream!
Thank Heavens!
The thought of a Christmas without Santa is just too much to bear! ;-)
This tale (and the entire Christmas Carnival 100-page 25-cent book) were published twice!
Once in 1952 by Ziff-Davis and again in 1955 by St John Publishing, which bought the Ziff-Davis comics line's material when the publisher liquidated that division after the "Seduction of the Innocent" witch hunt!
Ironic, since Ziff-Davis Comics was one of the least-offensive publishers on the magazine racks!
The writer and artist(s) are unknown.
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Monday, December 12, 2022

Monday Madness CHRISTMAS WITH MOTHER GOOSE "3 Blind Mice and a Christmas Deed"

Sometimes Walt (Pogo) Kelly combined several nursery rhyme or fairy tale characters...
...into something totally-new, like this never-reprinted story from Dell's Four Color Comics: Christmas with Mother Goose #172 (1947)!
Interesting how the mice reference the actual Mother Hubbard nursery rhyme!
"Meta" before it was "meta", eh?

Support Atomic Kommie Comics this Christmas!
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