Space Force Saturdays SPACE PATROL "Outlaws of Vesta"

Continuing the (sadly) short-lived cosmic comic adventures of Buzz Corry and the members of 1950's TV/radio Space Patrol...

...with another tale from Ziff-Davis' Space Patrol #1 (1952)!

Yes, Tonga was still a "bad" girl at this point in the series.
Though the art is clearly Bernie Krigstein, there's debate as to whether the scripter is prolific comic writer Paul S Newman or Drift Marlo creator/writer Phillip Evans.

There's more Space Patrol excitement to come as we present every tale from its' two-issue run!

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Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television

Space Patrol

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Space Force Saturdays SPACE PATROL "Lady of Diamonds"

It's not the Basil Wolverton series we previously presented...

...but a comic based on a saga about those who protect the 30th Century space-lanes in both the video and audio realms!

Tonga later reformed and ended up as the Assistant Security Chief for the entire Space Patrol organization!

Space Patrol ran Monday thru Friday on tv and semi-weekly on radio from 1950 to 1955, using the same performers for both media.

For a more extensive look at the tv and radio shows go HERE.

This comic book adaptation from Ziff-Davis Publishing ran for only two issues in 1952, was written by Philip Evans (who did a lot of movie and tv tie-ins and co-created Drift Marlo, which we presented HERE and HERE), and illustrated by Bernie Krigstein (who also did SpaceBusters, a comic series about intergalactic Marines, before moving on to EC Comics, where he achieved his greatest fame).
The book ended, not due to poor sales, but because Ziff-Davis left the comic book business during the "comics cause juvenile delinquency" controversy of the early 1950s, deciding to concentrate on publishing slick magazines instead, and still continuing to this day as seen HERE.

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Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television

Space Patrol

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Monday Madness RIOT "The Shadower"

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?"

Not this guy...

...as demonstrated in this never-reprinted tale from Atlas Comics' MAD clone, Riot #1 (1954)!

Though the writer of this satire of The Shadow radio show is unknown, odds are it was Stan Lee, who was writing almost everything at this point.

The illustrator is extremely well-known...Gene Colan!

This was not the first time The Shadow had been spoofed, since EC's MAD ran their own take on the character in #4 (1953) as shown HERE.

(It was even the cover feature!)

You'll note in this tale "The Shadower" doesn't have the usual cloak, slouch hat, and aquiline nose we associate with the character...

Art by Frank Robbins

In fact, he looks a lot like the Archie Comics version from a decade later...1964...

Art by John Rosenberger

...who, at least initially, was primarily-based on the radio show, but updated to the spy-oriented Sixties!

BTW, if you want more The Shadow stuff, have a look at our current Summer RetroBlog Blogathon participants...

CRIME & PUNISHMENT

...where we're re-presenting the Dark Avenger's never-reprinted 1970s-created, but 1940s-set adventures featuring art by Frank Robbins and E R Cruz.

AND

HERO HISTORIES

...where we began the re-presentation of the never-reprinted, final "Maxwell Grant" Shadow novel from the Swinging Sixties!

Friday Fun ABBOTT & COSTELLO "Biscuit Eater"

They were one of the top comedy acts in every existing media of the 1940s/50s including comic books...

...with simple but effective storylines, almost always leading up to a satisfying, entertaining conclusion!

This tale from St John's Abbott and Costello Comics #8 (1949) certainly wouldn't have been out of place on their 1950s TV series...if they had the budget to pull off either animal costuming or trained animals (which the low-budget series rarely did).
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Abbott & Costello Story
Sixty Years of "Who's on First?"

Friday Fun EH! "That's How T.V. was Born!!"

For the record, this is not a true story!
In fact, this never-reprinted tale from Charlton's EH! #1 (1953) isn't even close to the truth!

But, in the pre-cybertech era of the 1950s when all that existed was radio and blurry black-and-white TVs, this feature illustrated by Dick Ayers made a lot more sense.

As they say,"You had to be there!"

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Sincerest Form of Parody

The clock striking "12" signals the appearance of Santa and...

...Captain Midnight!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ are big fans of retro pop culture.
And in the 1940s-1950s one of the biggest pop cult phenomenons was Captain Midnight!
Books, Comics, Movies, Radio, TV...He was EVERYWHERE!

Created for radio in 1938, the patriotic aviator ran the Secret Squadron, what we today would call a "black ops" team, supported by the government but functioning outside of legal rules in dealing with spies, saboteurs, and (after the war) criminals!
Trivia note: the Secret Squadron originally used the code "SS" on their messages, decoders, and uniform patches, but changed it to "SQ" after World War II began to avoid reference to the notorious Nazi SS stormtroopers!
Cap replaced Little Orphan Annie as the flagship show for Ovaltine, carrying on the tradition of issuing mail-in collectible premiums in return for Ovaltine labels and jar seals, taking it to far greater levels than any other radio series in history! (The phrase "Captain Midnight Decoder" became synonymous with mail-in premiums.)
The show ran Monday thru Friday in 15-minute segments, with storylines running for several months at a time, ending each episode with a coded message which required a Captain Midnight Decoder to translate.
A series of Big Little Books, a newspaper comic strip, and two different comic book series quickly followed, as well as a 15-chapter movie serial.
You can read a couple of stories from the 1940s comic book HERE.
The radio show ended with a bang in 1949, as Cap's archenemy Ivan Shark (an evil aviator) was killed in the final episode! Talk about "closure"!

Ovaltine revived Cap (but not Ivan Shark) in 1954 as a weekly tv series with a heavier science fiction emphasis.
Midnight was now a civilian adventurer operating out of a mountaintop base in the SouthWest US, battling criminals and the occasional Communist spy.
Though it only ran for 39 episodes, the show reran continuously until the mid 1960s.
Trivia note: the syndicated version was retitled Jet Jackson: Flying Commando because Ovaltine owned the "Captain Midnight" trademark and didn't sponsor the reruns!
One actor redubbed "Jet Jackson" over everybody (men, women, children) when they said "Captain Midnight", producing some rather surreal moments in the syndicated reruns!

Ovaltine continued to use "Captain Midnight" on advertising and occasional tie-in premiums until the late 1990s, when they finally abandoned the trademark.
He's now part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics group with six different vintage designs including five classic covers and his stylish logo!
As a unique Xmas gift for collectors of pop culture kitch, you can't go wrong with one of our klassy and kool kollectibles as a stocking stuffer!

Our FREE Early Christmas Present to you: downloadable mp3s of the Captain Midnight radio show!
BONUS FREE Early Christmas Present: downloadable episode of the Captain Midnight tv show, complete with commercials!
EXTRA FREE BONUS Early Christmas Present: Another downloadable episode of the Captain Midnight TV show, complete with commercials!

Please support Atomic Kommie Comics this Christmas!

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Captain Midnight

the Movie Serial!

(which would make a great present with one of our Captain Midnight collectibles!)

Reading Room TALES CALCULATED TO DRIVE YOU BATS "Ghost Town"

Every few years, Archie Comics attempts to expand their audience...

...by taking stabs at other genres besides teen humor.

In the case of the 1961-62 title, Tales Calculated to Drive You Bats, it was doing comedy versions of monsters and aliens.

But after six issues, the sales indicated that wasn't what the audience wanted.

So, #7 (1962) took a different approach, presenting four tales like the sci-fi/fantasy stories currently running in comic competitors' anthologies like Tales to Astonish and Strange Adventures...but using the same "house style" art as the rest of the Archie Comics line!

Did it work?

Well, there was no issue #8 of Tales Calculated to Drive You Bats...

(Note: there was a one-shot giant-sized reprint issue published during the "camp" craze in 1966.

It didn't sell any better...)

Archie tried the idea of serious stories with Archie-style art one more time with Chilling Adventures in Sorcery as Told by Sabrina in 1972.

After two issues, the title dropped Sabrina as narrator-host and became Chilling Adventures in Sorcery, then Sorcery and switched over to using artists like Gray Morrow and Alex Toth for the remainder of its' 11-issue run.

BTW, the artist of this tale, Joe Edwards, was one of the most prolific of all the Archie Comics illustrators, with several thousand (yes, you read that right, thousand) covers, single/two-page strips, and stories to his credit, including almost all the ones featuring his creation, L'il Jinx!

It's Crime Time at Christmas Time!

Ah, Christmas...

What do we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ think of?

Peace on Earth!

Good Will towards Men!

25-to-Life at Sing-Sing!

What...?
Yep, you heard right!
For a subject-specific gift for the lawyer, or other legal professional in your life, the crew at Atomic Kommie Comics™ suggests you have a look at the Daring District Attorneys and other Legal Eagles section of our Crime & Punishment™ collection, featuring the long-running radio/tv character Mr. District Attorney!
Inspired by the racket-busting exploits of New York City DA Thomas E. Dewey (who later became Governor of New York State), law student-turned radio writer Ed Byron created a nameless "everyman" DA who maintained law and order in an unnamed Big City (implied to be NYC).
The stories, while rarely based on actual cases (like rival show GangBusters) followed actual legal procedures to the letter, even introducing CSI-style "lab boys" to analyze evidence and present testimony during courtroom sequences!
A couple of kool trivia items:
The narrator was known as "The Voice of the Law" who defined both the DA's case at the beginning of the episode and pronounced the criminal's sentence at the end of the show. (A conceit picked up by rival radio / tv show Dragnet!)
Though several actors played Mr. District Attorney, the DA's secretary, Edith Miller, was played by the same actress, Vicki Vola, for the entire run of the show both on radio and tv (1939-1953)!
The comic book series, from which we draw our imagery, was packaged by the Bob Kane comic book studio. Bob Kane was the co-creator (with Bill Finger) of the most famous fictional detective of the 20th Century--The Batman!
We offer four different classic comic book crime-busting covers on items ranging from mugs to mousepads to t-shirts.
And, if attorneys aren't your thing, we also have Real Life Criminals, Police--the REAL Heroes!, Sherlock Holmes, Top Secret--Images without Words, All-True Detective Cases, Crimes by Women, Gangsters, Private Dicks, and G-Men T-Men & Spies!
Use them responsibly this Yuletide season, citizens!

BONUS: A FREE Christmas present, to you, our faithful readers: mp3s of the Mr District Attorney radio show!

Spend Christmas Protecting America in the Far Future with...SPACE CADET!

You've come to Atomic Kommie Comics™ because you want something different (and reasonably-priced) for your kitch-loving Special Someone this Christmas!
What would we suggest?
Within our The Future WAS Fantastic!™ section are some of the niftiest sci-fi collectibles for the pop-culture fan, including Space Cadet!

In the 1950s, the Space Cadet series was to kids what Power Rangers are now; an incredibly-popular saga of teenagers banded together, using advanced technology to protect humanity from evil!
The 24th Century-set series followed heroic stalwart Tom Corbett, logical Venusian exchange student Astro, and cranky Roger Manning, during their tenure at the Space Academy, before graduating to join the Solar Guard. (Is it just me or does that sound a helluva lot like Kirk, Spock and McCoy in the recent Star Trek prequel film detailing their StarFleet Academy days?)
Despite the fact they were students, the trio (and assorted hangers-on) constantly found themselves in the thick of danger, usually due to the classic "we're the only ship in the area" plot device. (Geez this DOES sound like Star Trek!)
The show was done live as 15-minute episodes, three days a week. Storylines ran from a week (3-episodes) to a month (18-21 episodes).

Kids flocked home after school to watch Space Cadet, wore Space Cadet pajamas and costumes, and played with Space Cadet toys! (Now that sounds like Power Rangers, doesn't it?)

Trivia:
Some of the concepts are similar to the 1948 Space Cadet novel by Robert Heinlein, but the Joseph Lawrence-created series concept predates the book by several years, with an unsold radio show pilot and newspaper strip entitled "Tom Ranger and the Space Cadets" circulated for sale to licensors in the mid-1940s. Though Heinlein never officially contributed to the tv series, a number of concepts from his novel found their way to the final aired version in 1950. (Think of the way Star Wars-like elements [like cute robots and space fightercraft] were added to Buck Rogers when it was revived for tv in 1979!)
The show ran on all four tv networks during it's original run! In order: CBS (1950), ABC (51-52), NBC (52-53), DuMont (the home of Captain Video, 53-54) and back to NBC (54-55)!
The show's science advisor was Willy Ley, noted rocket scientist and author of the non-fiction book Conquest of Space (basis of a classic George Pal movie)
Space Cadet produced a dramatic radio spin-off, using the tv show actors, and adapting existing tv show scripts. (Usually, it was the other way around, with a radio show producing a tv show spin-off.)
There were also novels, comic books, a newspaper comic strip, and a couple of lp record albums featuring the show's cast in new stories! And, they were one of the first live-action tv shows to have their own View-Master 3-D reel sets!

We've brought back the teen hero and his buddies in our own Space Cadet line of mugs, messenger bags, shirts and other goodies, all of which would make kool stocking stuffers or presents under the tree!
Plus: we've also done some toddler-level Space Cadet stuff like bibs, onesies/creepers, infant t-shirts, and diaper bags!
Why should adults have all the fun?

This Christmas, let your loved ones enjoy a gift of the best of the future, produced in the past, and available now! (Wha???)

Christmastime is CRIME Time!

Ah, Christmas.
What do we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ think of?
Peace on Earth!
Good Will towards Men!
25-to-Life in Sing-Sing!
Wha...?
Yep, you heard right!
For a subject-specific gift for the lawyer, or other legal professional in your life, the crew at Atomic Kommie Comics™ suggests you have a look at the Daring District Attorneys and other Legal Eagles section of our Crime & Punishment™ collection, featuring the long-running radio / tv character Mr. District Attorney!

Inspired by the racket-busting exploits of New York City DA Thomas E. Dewey (who later became New York's Governor), law student-turned radio writer Ed Byron created a nameless "everyman" DA who maintained law and order in an unnamed Big City (implied to be NYC).
The stories, while rarely based on real-life cases (like rival show GangBusters) followed actual legal procedures to the letter, even introducing CSI-style "lab boys" to analyze evidence and present testimony during courtroom sequences!

Kool Trivia:
The narrator (known as "The Voice of the Law") defined both the DA's case at the beginning of the episode and pronounced the criminal's sentence at the end of the show. (A conceit picked up by rival radio / tv show Dragnet!)
Though several actors played Mr. District Attorney, the DA's secretary, Edith Miller, was played by the same actress, Vicki Vola, for the entire run of the show both on radio and tv (1939-1953)!
The comic book series, from which we draw our imagery, was packaged by the Bob Kane comic book studio. Kane was the co-creator (with Bill Finger) of the most famous fictional detective of the 20th Century--The Batman!

We offer four different classic comic book crime-busting covers on items ranging from mugs to mousepads to t-shirts.
PLUS: A 2010 12-Month Calendar with a dozen dynamic images of criminals getting what's coming to them!

If attorneys aren't your thing, we also have Real Life Criminals, Police--the REAL Heroes!, Sherlock Holmes, Top Secret--Images without Words, All-True Detective Cases, Crimes by Women, Gangsters, Private Dicks, and G-Men, T-Men & Spies!
Use them responsibly this Yuletide season, citizens!

BONUS: A FREE early Christmas present, to you, our faithful fans: mp3s of the Mr District Attorney radio show!

Big Town with Steve Wilson, Fighting Newspaper Editor!

Most of the time, editors sit behind a desk and send reporters and photographers out to cover stories, sometimes making them risk life and limb.
Not Steve Wilson, managing editor of Big Town's The Illustrated News!
From 1937 to 1952, Steve personally used the Power of the Press on the weekly radio series Big Town.
Aided by assistant editor/society editor-reporter Lorelei Kilbourne, Steve didn't hesitate to roll up his sleeve and dive into the thick of things, somehow always managing to meet deadlines despite the fact he was rarely in the office!
Wilson was technologically-savvy, using then-state-of-the-art equipment (mostly listening devices, wiretaps, mini-cameras, and even radio phones like the one seen on the cover above) in his battles against evil.
Once he had the info he needed, Wilson would contact District Attorney Miller and turn the info over to him, usually in exchange for an exclusive on the story for The Illustrated Press, and a chance to participate in the "take-down"!

The first radio Steve Wilson was none other than Edward G Robinson, who managed the weekly live broadcast from Hollywood despite an incredibly-hectic movie career!
He finally had to give it up in 1942, when the show moved to New York City for the remainder of it's run.

Like most successful radio shows, Big Town became a multi-media franchise including a comic book series, four B-movies, and a tv series that ran simultaneously with the radio show from 1950 to '52 (when the radio series was cancelled), and stayed on the air until 1956.

Trivia:
The comic book (from which we derive our images) featured some of the best artists in the business including Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, and Alex Toth.
The four B-movies featured Hillary Brooke (later the beautiful comic foil on The Abbott & Costello Show) as Lorelei Kilbourne!

Big Town is the headline feature in Atomic Kommie Comics' ™ newest kool kollectible collection Newpapermen (& Women) Against Crime™ with no less than three different designs!

If you have a media mogul in the family, here's a perfect (and relatively inexpensive) birthday or holiday gift for them.
Remind them of the way it used to be (and could be, again)!

Special Treat: Link to mp3s of the Big Town radio show (Some eps with Edward G Robinson!)

AND DON'T FORGET...
Atomic Kommie Comics™

FREE Shipping*
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FINAL DAY: October 23, 2009
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*Free Economy or Standard shipping for CafePress.com purchases of $40 or more, excluding shipping charges and applicable sales tax. Delivery address must be within the United States and cannot be a PO Box. All orders will be Economy shipping unless the order is not eligible for Economy shipping (e.g., order exceeds Economy weight restrictions). Coupon code must be entered at check out. Promotion starts on October 21, 2009, at 12:00 a.m. (PST) and ends on October 23, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Cannot be combined with any other CafePress.com coupons or promotions and this offer may change, be modified or cancelled at anytime without notice.