Miss Masque aka Masquerade, now one of the "Scarlet Sisters"

Debuting in Exciting Comics #51, Miss Masque was another of the line of rich socialites-turned-masked crimefighters in the Golden Age which included The Shadow, The Batman, and The Green Hornet!
Diana Adams had no superpowers or abilities, just her keen deductive mind and a pair of .45 automatics.
And, unlike her male contemporaries, she didn't have a sidekick or aides!
Clad in bright red cape, mini-dress, gloves, and slouch hat, she pursued criminals and saboteurs thru several issues of Exciting Comics, appearing on the cover only once (#53) during her run, before transferring over to America's Best Comics, where she teamed up (on the covers) with other heroes, most notably The Black Terror, even though they didn't appear together inside the comic! (They all had separate strips!)
Also, she seemed to lose parts of her wardrobe when she changed homes, as her fedora disappeared along with the midriff of her costume (see below), making her predate the trailer-trash look of Britney Spears by decades!
(Maybe it was her summer ensemble!)
When superheroes faded away after the end of World War II, so did Miss Masque.
Since the 1990s, she's been revived by several publishers, most notably, by writer Alan Moore of Watchmen fame in DC Comics' America's Best Comics imprint (ironic, eh?), and artist Alex Ross in Dynamite Entertainment's Project SuperPowers series as well as a mini-series under her new code-name of Masquerade, and as a member of The Scarlet Sisters super-team along with red-clad characters Lady Satan and The Woman in Red cover-featured together on the upcoming Project SuperPowers V2 #4!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have also "revived" Miss Masque / Masquerade by digitally-restoring and remastering several of her best Golden Age cover appearances (including her first) on a line of t-shirts, mugs, and even calendars as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line of kool kollectibles!

She was a woman ahead of her time...but her time has finally come!

PS: Pick up the Project SuperPowers and Masquerade comics!
They're the best Golden Age revival books out there!

The Courageous Captain!

A plethora of patriotic super-heroes POW! THWOCK! and BIFF!ed their way into the pages of Golden Age comic books, usually clad in red, white, and blue garb.
A number of them were either assisted by an embodiment of an element of "American Spirit" (like Fighting Yank) or were themselves the actual embodiment of a "Spirit of Freedom", like Uncle Sam!
Captain Courageous was one of the latter.
He had no secret identity, and tended to appear when brave Americans were in perilous situations requiring almost divine intervention, disappearing after the threat was disposed of.
His powers were never clearly defined, and seemed almost limitless, including flight, super-strength and limited invulnerabilty, although he could be captured or knocked-out as the plot required.
(In addition, his costume went thru a number of variations in design and color, which could be attributed to different people perceiving him differently, but was more likely just mistakes by the variety of artists who drew and colored him!)

The Captain debuted in Banner Comics #3 and took over the title as of #6.
(There was no #7, so maybe renaming the book for him wasn't the best possible move.)
Instead he moved into the anthology Four Favorites from #5 on to #29, when the comic dropped superheroes in favor of humor features.

As you might have guessed, Alex Ross has included him in the assortment of characters revived in the new Project SuperPowers universe, this time as part of the "Super-MysteryMen" team made up of other characters from his original publisher, Ace Comics!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have revived Captain Courageous, as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, with two covers (including the single issue of his own title) on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!

Remember, Captain America ain't the only star-spangled captain in comics!

And don't forget to buy the NEWEST Project SuperPowers comics including...
Black Terror, Death Defying 'Devil, Masquerade, and Project SuperPowers "Volume 2", as well as Savage Dragon! ON SALE NOW!

Guess the connection between these two Lost Heroes!

Besides the fact that both can fly!

Answer: they're both jet-propelled!

(Air-Man's wings are balloons!
They don't flap like Hawkman, Birdman, or other avian-themed characters!)

When ornithologist Claude Stevens was brutally murdered by criminals with an unbreakable alibi, his son Drake decided to avenge him by becoming a masked vigilante.
Using a jet-pack of his own design along with wing-shaped balloons for maneuverability and lift, Drake created an appropriately bird-themed secret identity as Air-Man to work outside the law for justice!
Air-Man caught the murderers, and decided to continue battling evil wherever he found it in the pages of Keen Detective Funnies and Detective Eye Comics!

On the other hand, Cal Martin and Doris Dalton were scientists who used their jet-packs as RocketMan and Rocket Girl almost on a whim, and found they enjoyed crimefighting, so they kept at it for several years!
They appeared in the back pages of the entire run of Scoop Comics, but never made the cover spot!
When Scoop was cancelled, they moved to Punch Comics where Rocket Girl finally got a solo cover, but RocketMan never did!
When their publisher went out of business, another company picked up the rights but re-named them Zip-Jets, since the abandoned "RocketMan" trademark had been taken over by Republic Pictures for their otherwise unrelated leather-jacketed flying serial hero!
Two issues of Zip-Jet, reprinting their Scoop & Punch stories came out before their new publisher also went kaput!
The duo made a final appearance in a one-shot titled Atomic Comics, but whether it was new or reprinted material is unknown, since the issue we scanned for our kool kollectibles was slabbed! ;-(

All three characters have re-appeared in minor roles in Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers, with hints of bigger things to come!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have revived both Air-Man (both Keen Detective Funnies appearances) AND literally ALL RocketMan & Rocket Girl aka the Zip-Jets cover appearances, as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!

So, next time someone says "Look, up in the sky...", it might not be who you think...

And don't forget to buy the NEWEST Project SuperPowers comics including...
Black Terror, Death Defying 'Devil, Masquerade, and Project SuperPowers "Volume 2", as well as Savage Dragon! ON SALE NOW!

I've Got My EYE On You!

The Eye was a giant, flaming, sentient eyeball!
Seriously!
The actual title of the strip was "The Eye Sees..." and no origin was ever given to the character, but the implication was that The Eye was an extradimensional or extraterrestrial entity, not a human ghost or reincarnated spirit like The Spectre or Captain Trumph, as he (it) didn't really understand human behavior, but was obsessed with the concept of justice, working hand in...whatever...with private eye Jack Barrister in dispensing it.
Like The Spectre, The Eye had near-infinite abilities including being able to warp and alter time and space, although he (it) usually limited him (it)self to generating heat rays or a searchlight beam, grow or shrink, fly, and teleport just about anywhere.

He (it) appeared in every issue of Keen Detective Comics from #16 onward to the end of the run, sometimes as the cover feature.
Then, he (it) was given his own title, Detective Eye, for two issues, ironically featuring fellow hero Air Man on the first cover and Jack Barrister (without The Eye) on the second!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have revived The Eye as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!
While he (it) hasn't been included in Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers as of yet, we think we'll be seeing him soon!
So keep an eye out for...The Eye, because he (it) will be watching you!

Revenge of SuperPowers Sunday

This is the FINAL Sunday we'll present the nifty updated designs of the Project SuperPowers characters by Alex Ross along with links to a couple of Squidoo pages of background info and links about the series and characters...
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers
(featuring characters who've been cover-featured)
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers Strikes Again!
(featuring the other characters)
Erik Larsen's the Next Issue Project & Savage Dragon
(featuring several of the same characters as Project SuperPowers and others, but set in a different universe!)

In addition, you can find Atomic Kommie Comics™ kool kollectibles emblazoned with the ORIGINAL 1940s classic cover art featuring these classic characters...
Air Man
The Black Owl
(both of them!)
Boy King
Dart & Ace
Doc Strange (aka "Doc")
Golden Lad
Man of War
Radior
Rainbow Boy
Yank & Doodle
at
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!
SparkMan will be added shortly. but, unfortunately, we've been unable to find solo cover appearances for Man O'Metal.
If you know of any, e-mail us the issue numbers and we'll track 'em down and scan them!

And don't forget to buy the NEWEST Project SuperPowers comics including...
Black Terror,
Death Defying 'Devil,
Masquerade,
and Project SuperPowers "Volume 2",
as well as Savage Dragon!
ON SALE NOW!

Son of SuperPowers Sunday!

For the next few Sundays, we're going to present the nifty updated designs of the Project SuperPowers characters by Alex Ross along with links to a couple of Squidoo pages of background info and links about the series and characters...
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers
(featuring characters who've been cover-featured)
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers Strikes Again!
(featuring the other characters)
Erik Larsen's the Next Issue Project & Savage Dragon
(featuring several of the same characters as Project SuperPowers and others, but set in a different universe!)

In addition, you can find Atomic Kommie Comics™ kool kollectibles emblazoned with the ORIGINAL 1940s classic cover art featuring these classic characters...
Amazing-Man
The Arrow
The Black Terror & Tim
The Blue Bolt
Captain Battle & Capt Battle Jr
DareDevil
(aka Death-Defying 'Devil
& Dynamic DareDevil)
The Green Mask & Domino
PyroMan
Sub-Zero Man
U.S. Jones
at
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!
Unfortunately, we've been unable to find solo cover appearances for either The Liberator or Vulcan.
If you know of any, e-mail us the issue numbers and we'll track 'em down and scan them!

And don't forget to buy the NEWEST Project SuperPowers comics including...
Black Terror,
Death Defying 'Devil,
Masquerade,
and Project SuperPowers "Volume 2",
as well as Savage Dragon!
ON SALE NOW!

Sorceress of Zoom--Villain or Heroine?

One of a number of comics anti-heroes who at times helped humanity and other times opposed it (best typified by Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner), The Sorceress of Zoom was the immortal ruler of an other-dimensional city which popped into our universe from time to time.
The Sorceress (she never had any other name) was not evil, but simply thought humanity was inferior and should be ruled by her as were the creatures she created to populate Zoom after all the original inhabitants, except her, died!
When two average everyday people named Tom and Janice inadvertently became involved in her affairs, her attitude slowly shifted from arrogant superiority to arrogant benevolence as she decided not to rule the Earth, but help against the greater threat of the real-life Axis.

Credited to the nom-de-plume "Sandra Swift", The Sorceress' adventures were drawn (and probably written) by Don Rico, a prolific creator of the '40s and early '50s with credits at almost every comics company including Timely (later Marvel).
She had her own feature in Weird Comics for it's entire 20-issue run, but only made the cover once, on issue #4.
While she hasn't appeared in the Project SuperPowers Universe as of yet, it seems inevitable that Alex Ross won't let a character with such potential go un-utilized for long!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ are already utilizing The Sorceress as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, with her only cover appearance on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!

So, if you're looking for pop-culture collectibles featuring a powerful woman who doesn't take s**t from anyone, check out The Sorceress of Zoom!
Now!

Giant-Sized SuperPowers Sunday!

For the next few Sundays, we're going to present the nifty updated designs of the Project SuperPowers characters by Alex Ross along with links to a couple of Squidoo pages of background info and links about the series and characters...
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers
(featuring characters who've been cover-featured)
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers Strikes Again!
(featuring the other characters)
Erik Larsen's the Next Issue Project & Savage Dragon
(featuring several of the same characters as Project SuperPowers and others, but set in a different universe!)

In addition, you can find Atomic Kommie Comics™ kool kollectibles emblazoned with the ORIGINAL 1940s classic cover art featuring these really BIG characters...
Green Giant
Phantasmo
Boy King's Giant
The Claw
at
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!

And don't forget to buy the Project SuperPowers comics including Black Terror, Death Defying 'Devil, Masquerade, and Project SuperPowers Volume 2, as well as Savage Dragon!

Fire, Fire, Burning Bright...

Super heroes and Himalayan monasteries seem to go hand-in-hand.
In the Golden Age, next to exposure to something radioactive, being raised from childhood or trained after you crash-landed as an adult by Tibetan lamas was the primary factor in the creation of superheroes (and more than a few supervillains)!
Look at The Shadow, Amazing-Man, The Green Lama, etc, and later; Iron Fist, The Shroud, Dr Strange, and Dr Doom. (Even The Batman and Doc Savage visited lamaseries during their teens to train!)

Baby orphan Gary Preston was raised by a group of mystic priests to be an example of the pinnacle of human mental and physical development.
In addition, they trained him to control any fire in his immediate vicinity as well as regulate his own body temperature from normal to just short of bursting into flame himself! (He eventually learned how to do that, too!)
He was armed with a technologically-advanced pistol-sized flamethrower with a self-renewing fuel supply, since he couldn't create fire, just manipulate it.
And, as a final gift, he was taught how to enter flames without harm, then teleport himself to anywhere else in the world there was a fire, and appear, unharmed, from within it!
Thus armed and outfitted in a yellow and red costume, Gary returned to the Outside World as...The Flame!
(And before you ask, he arrived on the comics scene several months before The Human Torch debuted in Marvel Comics #1!)

His first appearance (and origin recounted above) was in WonderWorld Comics #3, created by writer / artist Will Eisner (The Spirit) and artist Lou Fine, who also did most of the covers!

The Flame went on to become one of Fox's top three superhero stars, as evidenced by his starring role in all seven issues of the anthology comic Big 3, which he shared with The Blue Beetle, Samson, and later, V-Man.
He also had his own title for eight issues.
He remained the lead feature in WonderWorld Comics until #33, the final issue, in 1942.

There was a brief revival in the 1950s, then he disappeared, not to be seen, except in comics reference books, until 2007 when Alex Ross revived him as one of the many Golden Age characters returned to action in the new Project SuperPowers mini-series!

Of course, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have revived The Flame as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, including six of his best 1940s covers, including his first appearance, on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!
And, there'll be a The Flame 2010 12-Month Calendar with a dozen dynamic covers on sale this August!

This summer, don't let your cash burn a hole in your wallet!
Put it to good use; The Flame collectibles for you or your pop-culture collecting loved one!

And catch The Flame in fantastic, fiery action in Project SuperPowers Vol 2, on sale NOW!

SuperPowers Sundays Strikes!

For the next few Sundays, we're going to present the nifty updated designs of the Project SuperPowers characters by Alex Ross along with links to a couple of Squidoo pages of background info and links about the series and characters...
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers
(featuring characters who've been cover-featured)
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers Strikes Again!
(featuring the other characters)
Erik Larsen's the Next Issue Project & Savage Dragon
(featuring several of the same characters as Project SuperPowers and others, but set in a different universe!)

In addition, you can find Atomic Kommie Comics™ kool kollectibles emblazoned with the ORIGINAL 1940s classic cover art featuring these characters...
Blue Beetle (aka Big Blue)
& Sparky
Cyclone
The Flame
The Grim Reaper
RocketMan & RocketGirl
(aka the Zip-Jets)
Samson & David
V-Man
YellowJacket (aka Jack)
at
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!
(Unfortunately, neither Black Venus nor The Hood had solo cover appearances, so we don't have anything on them...yet!)

And don't forget to buy the Project SuperPowers comics including Black Terror, Death Defying 'Devil, Masquerade, and Project SuperPowers Volume 2, as well as Savage Dragon!

Criminals are a cowardly, superstitious lot...

"...so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts."

Radio announcer Tony Trent, decided to fight crime after having witnessed a murder committed by gangsters disguised as cops.
But what could he do with no evidence and criminals who have a phony alibi?
Since a bat didn't fly thru his window, he decided to use a fright mask and pretend to be a creature of the night to scare the criminals into confessing.
The tactic proved so successful, Tony managed to use it for over 60 issues of Big Shot Comics as The Face, as well as two issues of his own title before discarding it, and continuing until Big Shot Comics ended as just a hard-hitting investigative reporter, operating without unusual garb or gimmicks.

He's been revived a couple of time since then...
In the 1980s, Ace Comics' What is...The Face?, drawn by comics legends Steve Ditko and Alex Toth ran four issues.
In 2007, as part of Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers series, The Face (now called Mister Face) was one of the heroes trapped in a mystic urn in the 1940s, but released in the present day with enhanced powers, and is unable to remove the mask!
Now, he can force people who look at him to experience their greatest fears!

And, of course, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have revived The Face as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, including three of his best 1940s covers on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!
But that's not all!
His unique cover logo is included in our Comic Cover LogoWear line, where the best of Golden Age cover lettering ends up on your chest or bookbag!
Plus, he'll soon be part of our Icons of the Golden Age of Comics series!
So, if you're looking for a comic hero who's scary, or a hero who's visually-kool, or a hero who kicks butt, go with The Face! He's all that...and MORE!

And don't forget to buy Project SuperPowers Volume 2, featuring The Face, I mean MISTER Face!

He's Amazing, Man!

He first appeared in the premiere issue of his own title, Amazing-Man Comics #5*.
John Aman was an orphan baby taken to a hidden monastery in Tibet by a secret society of monks.
There, the Council of Seven raised and trained him to be "the Ultimate Human", a perfect combination of physical development and mental ability.
They also gave him the chemically-induced ability to teleport thru a cloud of green mist.
This proved to be handy when a Council member, The Great Question, went renegade and set up his own cult and began plotting world domination.
The Council sent Aman into the outside world to prevent The Great Question from wreaking havoc.
Of course, when he appeared in public in his rather-skimpy outfit with an "A" on it, the tabloid press dubbed him "Amazing-Man".
During his short (less than three-year) run, he also helped against spies and saboteurs before Centaur Publications went out of business due to wartime paper shortages in late 1942.

Trivia note: Amazing-Man was one of the first creations of writer/artist Bill Everett.
Everett also created Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, Hydro-Man, and The Fin. (He had a penchant for aquatic characters)

Amazing-Man has returned in several incarnations since then...
Malibu Comics incorporated him (along with most of the other Centaur Publications heroes) into The Protectors series, which ran for a couple of years in the 1990s.
DC Comics introduced a similarly-named, though otherwise unrelated hero into The Justice Society of America's 1940s stories in All-Star Squadron and Young All-Stars (His secret identity is "Will Everett", named after Bill Everett.)
Dynamite Entertainment revived him in Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers, where he's been a background character up to this point. But since his nemesis, The Great Question, has been shown to be one of the conspiracy of The Supremacy, it's only a matter of time before John Aman takes a hand in matters!
And, Marvel Comics has put John Aman himself into a series inspired by his 1940s series, The Immortal Iron Fist!

Of course, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have revived Amazing-Man as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, including his FIRST cover appearances and two of his best covers on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!
But that's not all!
His unique cover logo is included in our Comic Cover LogoWear line, where the best of Golden Age cover lettering ends up on your chest or bookbag!
Plus, he'll soon be part of our Icons of the Golden Age of Comics series!
Pretty good for a guy who was cancelled in the mid-1940s, eh?

*No, that's not a mistake. Issues 1-4 of the comic had been titled Motion Picture Funnies Weekly.
When it didn't sell well, the publisher simply introduced a new character and retitled the comic, but kept the numbering.
Otherwise, he'd have to pay for a new 2nd class mailing permit for a new publication.
1940s publishers were nothing if not thrifty!

Icons of the Golden Age of Comics: The SkyMan

As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Atomic Kommie Comics™ is both introducing a NEW line of Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ collectibles, Icons of the Golden Age of Comics, AND thanking our kool kustomers and blogwatchers for their unswerving support!

We're posting the newest link only here on this blog to a special storefront to enable those who click on it to buy items at discount from today until July 20th!
Save up to 50% per item on this patriotic pummler...
The SkyMan Icon
PLUS: Each Monday, we'll be listing one or two MORE Icons ALSO at discount for a week before being offered to the general public at regular prices!
(We show the normal prices next to the item titles on these special pages)

Perfect for streetwear, beachwear and / or conventionwear!

And don't forget to buy Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers, and Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon to see him in action!

Return of SuperPowers Sunday!

For the next few Sundays, we're going to present the nifty updated designs of the Project SuperPowers characters by Alex Ross along with links to a couple of Squidoo pages of background info and links about the series and characters...
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers
(featuring characters who've been cover-featured)
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers Strikes Again!
(featuring the other characters)

In addition, you can find Atomic Kommie Comics™ kool kollectibles emblazoned with the ORIGINAL 1940s classic cover art featuring these characters...
American Crusader
American Eagle
Captain Courageous
The Face aka Mr Face
The Flag
The Green Lama
Flash / Lash Lightning
Marvelo
Mr Raven can be found at 4 Favorites
(he never had a solo cover appearance)
The SkyMan
Super-American
The Sword
Unknown Soldier aka Soldier Unknown
at
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!

And don't forget to buy the Project SuperPowers comics including Black Terror, Death Defying 'Devil, Masquerade, and Project SuperPowers Volume 2!

Icon of the Golden Age of Comics: The Face

As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Atomic Kommie Comics™ is both introducing a NEW line of Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ collectibles, Icons of the Golden Age of Comics, AND thanking our kool kustomers and blogwatchers for their unswerving support!

We're posting the newest link only here on this blog to a special storefront to enable those who click on it to buy items at discount from today until July 13th!
Save up to 50% per item on this horrible hero ...
The Face Icon
PLUS: Each Monday, we'll be listing one or two MORE Icons ALSO at discount for a week before being offered to the general public at regular prices!
(We show the normal prices next to the item titles on these special pages)

Perfect for streetwear, beachwear and / or conventionwear!

And don't forget to buy Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers, to see him in action as Mr. Face!

SuperPowers Sunday

For the next few Sundays, we're going to present the updated designs of the Project SuperPowers characters by Alex Ross along with links to a couple of Squidoo pages of background info and links about the series and characters...
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers
(featuring characters who've been cover-featured)

Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers Strikes Again!
(featuring the other characters)

In addition, you can find Atomic Kommie Comics™ kool kollectibles emblazoned with the ORIGINAL 1940s classic cover art featuring these characters...
Captain Future
Cat-Man (now Man-Cat) & Kitten
Dynamic Man
Fighting Yank
The Flame
HydroMan (now called Hydro)
Major Victory
The Owl
Silver Streak
StrongMan
The Target & Targeteers
at
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!
(unfortunately, The Woman in Red was never cover-featured, so there's no goodies featuring her...yet!)

And don't forget to buy the Project SuperPowers comics including Black Terror, Death Defying 'Devil, Masquerade, and Project SuperPowers Volume 2!

Salute The Fighting Yank on the 4th!

Our story starts in June of 1941...and in 1775.
At a critical point of the American Revolution, George Washington himself entrusted messenger Bruce Carter with vital information.
Carter was captured, tortured, and killed by the British, taking his military secrets to the grave, and vowing to return when danger threatened the Colonies.
Flash-forward to 1941, Cabot's great-great-grandson Bruce Cabot III, a rich idler obsessed with history sees patterns forming that will lead to the USA soon becoming involved in the World War raging in Europe and Asia! But what to do? He's only one man, albeit an extremely rich layabout!
The ghost of his ancestor appears and leads him to a trunk in the attic of the Cabot estate, where Cabot III discovers his ancestor's personal effects, including his cape!
Donning the cloak, Cabot III is granted amazing powers including super-strength and limited invulnerability. (He can't be killed, but he can be stunned.)
Wanting to disguise himself, Cabot rummages thru the attic and dons a tricorn hat, breeches, buckled shoes, a domino mask, and a shirt which he sews an American flag decal to!
Thus garbed, the newly-christened Fighting Yank takes on local saboteurs for "unnamed foreign powers" until December 1941, at which point, the "unnamed" spies became German and Japanese operatives!
In a twist, besides giving Cabot III his powers, the Revolutionary War ghost pops up to warn or advise his decendant about danger, and even occasionally transport the Fighting Yank garb to the non-costumed (and thus helpless) Carter III, who apparently didn't wear it under his street clothes like most superheroes!
Fighting Yank fought the Good Fight, first in Startling Comics, then his own title and the anthology America's Best Comics, until 1949, when superheroes gave way to an explosion of horror, crime, and Western comics.
He was revived in 2001, when Alan Moore brought him back, but quickly killed him off, so he could introduce a NEW Fighting Yank; Bruce Cabot III's daughter, while Carter III took over his ancestor's role of ghostly aide to the present Fighting Yank!
In 2007, Alex Ross revived the Fighting Yank as the lynchpin for the new Project SuperPowers line of comics which incorporates numerous characters from defunct comic companies into a cohesive universe!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have also revived Fighting Yank, taking the best of his classic 1940s cover art (including his first and last appearances), and emblazoning it on t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, 12-month calendar, and other kool kollectibles in our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line!
If you want REAL fireworks on the 4th, check out The Fighting Yank!

And don't forget Project SuperPowers, the best Golden Age revival on the stands!

Icon of the Golden Age of Comics: Monster of Frankenstein

As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Atomic Kommie Comics™ is both introducing a NEW line of Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ collectibles, Icons of the Golden Age of Comics, AND thanking our kool kustomers and blogwatchers for their unswerving support!

We're posting the newest link only here on this blog to a special storefront to enable those who click on it to buy items at discount from today until July 6th!
Save up to 50% per item on this titan of terror ...
Monster of Frankenstein Icon
PLUS: Each Monday, we'll be listing one or two MORE Icons ALSO at discount for a week before being offered to the general public at regular prices!
(We show the normal prices next to the item titles on these special pages)

Perfect for streetwear, beachwear and / or conventionwear!

And don't forget to buy Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers, to see his genetic successors, The F-Troop, in action! ;-)

Beware the Black Owl (both of them!)

We already covered The Owl here, but there was another hero (actually two of them in the same costume) based on the wise bird of legend.
The first Black Owl debuted in Prize Comics #1 as K the Unknown, but became Black Owl in #2. He didn't get a cover appearance until Prize Comics #7, which also featured the comic book intros of pulp hero Green Lama and literary character Monster of Frankenstein!
Now stop me if you've heard this one...
Bored millionare playboy Doug Danville decides to battle cowardly, superstitious criminals as a fearsome creature of the night.
Utilizing his personal fortune, he creates a masked identity with various non-lethal armaments and takes on the criminal element for several years.
Sounds like a whole slew of heroes of the period, eh?
But there's a twist, folks!
When World War II breaks out, he enlists in the Army!
(Most heroes remained on the Home Front battling spies and saboteurs.)
Realizing it would be best for the city he protects if The Black Owl was still believed to be fighting crime, Doug passes on his costume and equipment in Prize Comics #34 to another man...
The second Black Owl was Walt Walters, father of a pair of patriotic teen superheroes, Yank & Doodle whom Doug Danville had teamed up with on several occasions, most notably Prize Comics #24, when they, Green Lama and several other characters, took on the Monster of Frankenstein!
Once Dad became a superhero, the kids became his sidekicks, but remained Yank & Doodle, instead of renaming themselves something avian to match their father's motif!
(Luckily, their color schemes matched!)
When Walt is shot and wounded in Prize Comics #64, he retires from active crimefighting, serving as a non-costumed assistant to Yank & Doodle until their series is cancelled several months later.
Note: we never learn what became of Doug Danville after he entered the Army...

Alex Ross has now incorporated both Black Owls (and Yank & Doodle) into his Project SuperPowers Golden Age revival series, with one of the BOs somehow becoming a living black hole!

While we won't go that far, Atomic Kommie Comics™ has incorporated both Black Owls into our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, even giving them their own section featuring the first cover appearance as well as the best cover art for each Black Owl on t-shirts, mugs and other goodies!

So, whether it's The Owl or The Black Owl, we have something on WHOOOever (sorry, couldn't resist) holds your interest!

And buy Project SuperPowers, the best Golden Age revival series on the market!

OTHER Patriotic SuperHeroes (& SuperHeroines)

With all the tzimmis over the Return of Steve Rogers as Captain America (and who didn't know that was coming?), you might want to have a look at the other star-spangled heroes introduced during the Golden Age of comic books!

You did know Captain America was not the first superhero to wrap himself in the "colors that never run", didn't you?
The very first flag-wearing hero was Archie (then MLJ) Comics' The Shield who predated Cap by over a year!
Then, between 1940 and 1945, dozens of stars & stripes-wearing heroes (and heroines) flew, leaped, punched, kicked, and flipped thru the four-color newsprint world of comic books!
(Technically, Superman wore red, YELLOW, and blue, so he wasn't visually a flag-waving hero.
But Wonder Woman's Amazon garb was meant to show alliance with America's values and beliefs!)

In that virtuous vein, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ want to tell you about a plethora of patriotic pummelers at Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ in our Flag-Draped Heroes line of kool kollectibles!

We're talking about
American Crusader
American Eagle (now Burning Eagle)
Captain Battle & Captain Battle Jr
Captain Courageous
Captain V (illustrated above)
The Conqueror
The Eagle & Buddy
The Flag
Major Victory
Man of War
Miss Victory
Stars & Stripes
Super-American
Unknown Soldier (now Soldier Unknown)
U.S. Jones
V-Man
Yank & Doodle
Yankee Doodle Jones & Johnny Reb
on t-shirts, mugs, messenger bags, and other goodies!

(We'll be doing individual Hero(ine) Histories of each of them over the summer. Watch for them!)
Most, if not all of them have recently been revived in the new series Project SuperPowers and it's spin-off titles. (Pick them up at your local comic book store TODAY!)

So fly the flag (or The Flag himself) this 4th of July with Flag-Draped Heroes ONLY at Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!